"Scyther, use Air Slash!" Red ordered.
After Charizard's battle against the six Pokémon ended, Red used the Power of Viridian to heal all his Pokémon. To help Cubone grow and develop as soon as possible, Red threw a Poké Ball to catch it and chose to send it to Professor Oak's Laboratory, instructing Professor Oak to prepare the proper food for Cubone's growth.
Afterward, Red returned alone to Saffron City. On the way there, he happened to see a woman being pursued by Team Rocket.
Seeing this, Red sent out his gleaming Scyther and Thousand-Year Gengar to help, interrupting Team Rocket's attempt to capture the woman.
"Damn it! That brat's Scyther is way too strong!" one Team Rocket member cried in fear. All the Pokémon they had sent out were completely unable to withstand Scyther's attacks. In just a few swift strikes, they were defeated by its razor-sharp slashes.
"Boss, what should we do with these people?" Thousand-Year Gengar asked. It didn't believe Red would foolishly let the Team Rocket members go and expose their whereabouts.
"Gengar, use Psychic to restrain their movements!" Red commanded. Upon hearing the order, Thousand-Year Gengar's eyes glowed blue as it used Psychic to immobilize the Team Rocket squad before them, leaving them unable to move in the slightest.
In order not to alert the Team Rocket members still inside Silph Co., and to avoid arousing suspicion over this squad's disappearance, Red instructed Thousand-Year Gengar to hypnotize them and implant suggestions, making them forget everything that had just happened. That way, Red and the others' whereabouts would not be exposed.
Once the hypnosis was successful, Red used his psychic powers to Teleport the small squad elsewhere, allowing the woman to escape safely.
"Thank you, young man!" the woman said gratefully. If Red hadn't appeared in time, she might have been captured by Team Rocket.
"Who are you, and why were you being chased by Team Rocket?" Red asked, glancing at the injured thigh of the woman.
"I'm the president's secretary of Silph Co. Silph Co. has already been occupied by Team Rocket!" the secretary explained.
"For what reason?" Red asked in confusion.
"It's because of the Master Ball! The Master Ball had originally been strictly banned by the League, but recently the League seemed to receive certain intelligence from agents. The report said that Team Rocket is creating a powerful Pokémon similar to a war weapon. In order to counter this Pokémon, the League made an exception and instructed Silph Co. to resume production of the Master Ball!" the secretary explained.
(Is it to prevent the birth of Mewtwo? It seems the Pokémon League has secretly placed agents within Team Rocket. As expected, none of these organizations are simple…)
Red speculated that perhaps some high-ranking League officials already knew Giovanni's true identity, but refrained from exposing him due to conflicting interests. After all, certain dirty dealings were better carried out by a public evil organization like Team Rocket to preserve the Pokémon League's reputation.
But clearly, Team Rocket's creation of Mewtwo as a weapon had crossed the line, trampling on the unspoken agreement of shared interests with the League.
The Master Ball is a Poké Ball capable of perfectly containing the power of Legendary Pokémon and can almost 100% capture any Pokémon. However, this type of Poké Ball was later opposed by various advocates of justice, who believed it violated the trainer's code. It forcibly restricted Pokémon's freedom and mocked those trainers who truly aspired to become Pokémon Masters.
When battling trainers, many Pokémon are sometimes drawn to a trainer's command, or convinced by their outstanding training abilities, longing to become just as strong. That is why they are willing to be captured and grow alongside their trainer as companions.
But the Master Ball completely denies this process and tramples it into the mud. Regardless of whether a battle took place, or whether the Pokémon was truly willing to follow the trainer, it would be forcibly captured into the Master Ball—a fate akin to locking a Pokémon inside an endless prison.
"What a terrifying Poké Ball…" Thousand-Year Gengar shuddered and muttered. Part of the reason it chose to follow Red was to grow stronger. If it were forcibly captured by such a Master Ball, it would be mental torment for a Pokémon like it.
"However, the Master Ball's restart hasn't gone smoothly. It's still in the development stage. But Team Rocket's leader has threatened the president and researchers, saying that once the Master Ball is produced, he intends to keep it for himself. The researchers are currently being monitored and confined by Team Rocket while manufacturing the Master Ball!"
"What's even more painful is that radicals within Team Rocket proposed using wild Pokémon for experiments to test whether the current Master Ball can forcibly capture Pokémon. Because of these experiments, many wild Pokémon are now in life-threatening danger!" the secretary said with anguish.
"If this continues, even more wild Pokémon will suffer under Team Rocket's persecution," Red said coldly.
After hearing the secretary's account, Red roughly understood Silph Co.'s current crisis. If Giovanni obtained the Master Ball, it would mean that Mewtwo, the artificially created Legendary Pokémon, would be bound to obey Giovanni for life. After all, since Giovanni dared to create a Pokémon like Mewtwo, he must also possess the strength to control it.
"The president is worried about that as well, so he tried to seek help from the outside. But the restart of the Master Ball was a secret mission, so it wasn't publicly announced. The League didn't want too many forces to know about the plan," the secretary said helplessly.
"But we didn't expect that Team Rocket had already planted spies inside Silph Co. Now their surveillance is so strict that we have no way to contact the outside world!"
"The president entrusted me to seek help from the police in Celadon City. I barely managed to escape, so I can't stay here!"
After saying that, the secretary stood up, preparing to head to Celadon City. Saffron City was already filled with Team Rocket's informants; there was no way to get help from the local police.
"Do you really think there's still time to seek police assistance?" Red said calmly. "I'm afraid that the moment the police arrive downstairs, Team Rocket will immediately withdraw. The radicals might even resort to cruel measures."
Red's words left the secretary stunned. If they acted rashly, it might indeed cause negative consequences.
"I'll help your Silph Co.," Red said confidently. "When it comes to Team Rocket, I'm fairly confident."
Red recalled Scyther and Thousand-Year Gengar into their Poké Balls, then placed his hand on the secretary's shoulder. Under her puzzled gaze, he used Teleport and arrived at the Pokémon Center in Saffron City.
After learning that Giovanni was inside Silph Co., Red planned to change his lineup at the Pokémon Center and assemble his original six Pokémon. Only then would he be qualified to contend with Giovanni.
"Red, why are you mobilizing your team in such a hurry? Has something serious happened?!" Professor Oak asked.
"I'll explain briefly. Professor Oak, please inform the League to dispatch the Dragon-type Elite Four to Saffron City. The restart of the Master Ball plan at Silph Co. was discovered by Team Rocket long ago. Silph Co. has now been taken over!" Red said.
"What?! The Master Ball plan has been restarted? And it's under Team Rocket's control?!" Professor Oak exclaimed in disbelief. If they didn't move quickly, once the Master Ball fell into Team Rocket's hands, the Pokémon League would lose another method of suppressing them.
"I've received all the Poké Balls. Please take care of the Pokémon I sent over. There's no time to explain. I have to head to Silph Co. now!"
With that, Red hung up the phone before Professor Oak could stop him. Clutching Beedrill's Poké Ball tightly in his hand, his eyes shone with the confidence of a strong trainer.
(I'm counting on you—my very first partner!)
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo