"Who took my cake?!"
Misty scanned the table. It was completely empty.
The cake she had prepared earlier had mysteriously disappeared.
"Why are you looking at me? I didn't eat your cake. Don't accuse me without evidence."
Feeling Misty's suspicious gaze, Ash immediately denied everything in three quick steps.
He had been practicing his psychic powers the whole time—when would he even have time to steal cake?
Misty pouted and turned to Brock.
"Huh?"
"My rice balls are gone too," Brock said in surprise.
The two exchanged looks and cautiously scanned their surroundings.
"Pika~!"
Pikachu sniffed the air and caught the scent of food. It pointed toward a nearby stone platform where faint noises were coming from.
Everyone looked over.
There sat a very smug-looking Mankey, happily devouring rice balls.
Beside it lay a cake that had only been bitten once.
"Mankey?"
Ash stared at it with a strange expression.
"So you're the one who stole the food," Misty said.
She had been mildly annoyed at first—but when she noticed that Mankey seemed to dislike the carefully chosen cake she brought, a spark of anger ignited inside her.
"You seem to be enjoying those rice balls," Brock said with a warm smile. "They're made with the best ingredients."
Mankey ate enthusiastically, occasionally making monkey-like sounds as its thin tail swayed back and forth.
Even though Ash's group was watching, it showed no intention of running away.
Instead, Mankey glanced between the freshly made rice balls and Ash's hat.
Its eyes gleamed with temptation.
It wanted them all.
Although it didn't take the three trainers seriously, the Pikachu nearby gave it a lot of pressure.
Mankey paused to think.
It might be hot-tempered—but it wasn't stupid.
"You want this?" Ash asked while spinning his hat, trying to confirm something.
Mankey nodded excitedly, thinking the trainer had finally gotten the message.
But Ash calmly put the hat back on his head.
Mankey froze.
Then its eyes widened in anger as it jumped up and down.
Hat on the head—applause for the streetwise monkey.
"I think that monkey really likes your hat," Misty said, noticing its strange behavior.
Remove the "I think."
Ash's eyes lit up.
No doubt about it.
This was exactly the Mankey he had planned to catch.
Pokémon: Mankey — Level 27
"Pikachu, get ready to battle."
It was only one level away from evolving.
Ash glanced around but didn't see Team Rocket anywhere. He wondered if the "evolution trigger" would still happen.
Well, he could worry about that later.
First—catch it.
Pikachu crouched low as electricity crackled from its cheeks.
The sooner this was done, the sooner they could eat lunch.
Sensing Pikachu's powerful aura, Mankey instinctively retreated strategically.
But before leaving, it stared deeply at Ash—
Specifically at the hat on his head.
Seeing Pikachu's strength and still refusing to attack head-on…
Does it want me to battle it personally? Ash wondered.
"Wow, it ran fast," Misty snorted.
"Don't worry," Ash said confidently. "It'll definitely come back."
He released several of his Pokémon to wait.
After all, judging from that reluctant look in Mankey's eyes earlier—it wouldn't give up so easily.
Meanwhile…
"Did the brat really run off that fast?" Jessie muttered.
*Team Rocket—Jessie, James, and Meowth—*were wandering around, checking nearby campsites for Ash.
"Who knows," Meowth said while biting into a rice ball. "But we can't bully that kid so easily now. That scary Gastly he has is still with him, meow."
Just mentioning Gastly reminded Meowth of the hours of torture they suffered from the Gastly trio.
James suddenly turned away and started chuckling.
"Did you choke or something?" Jessie asked.
"These rice balls aren't that good."
"I saw the twerp send those Ghost Pokémon back earlier today," James said, turning back with a grin.
"They're gone."
Gone?
That meant—
Catching Pikachu just got easier!
Team Rocket's eyes lit up with excitement.
Flames of ambition burned in their eyes.
"Meowth, James," Jessie said seriously. "This is our chance."
She finished her rice ball and crouched down so the three of them were face-to-face.
"You two hurry up and build the machine. We're really close to Celadon City. If we're too slow, the twerp will escape."
"Got it!" ×2
The trio walked while discussing their plan.
Suddenly—
Thunk!
Thunk!
Thunk!
Three rocks smacked directly into their heads.
"Ow!"
"Who did that?!" Jessie shouted angrily.
"Heh heh…"
A very smug Mankey jumped out of the nearby grass.
Its eyes were locked onto the rice ball in Meowth's hand.
"…Wow," James muttered.
"That thing is even more arrogant than we are."
"Seriously asking for a beating."
James rolled up his sleeves.
"It says it wants us to hand over all the rice balls," Meowth translated after taking another bite.
"Wow," James laughed.
"We're actually getting robbed by a Pokémon. Usually we're the ones doing the robbing."
He paused, his face turning blank.
"Scram. Or I'll beat you so badly your mom won't recognize you."
Meowth spoke arrogantly, completely ignoring the Mankey.
None of them noticed that Mankey's eyes had already filled with rage.
Seeing two humans babbling and a scrawny-looking cat Pokémon, Mankey decided they weren't worth worrying about.
It charged forward.
Moments later—
The forest echoed with screams.
After a simple and brutally honest fistfight, Team Rocket lay flat on the ground.
Mankey stood nearby, covered with scratches but still victorious.
It picked up a rice ball and took a bite.
"…!"
Mankey suddenly froze.
Then it angrily threw the rice ball directly at Meowth.
After muttering something in annoyance, it turned and left.
"Unbelievable!" Meowth shouted.
"That monkey beat us up, stole my rice ball—AND complained that it tasted terrible, meow!"
"This is bullying!"
Meowth stared at Mankey's departing figure, furious but helpless.
"Jessie! James! We have to get revenge!"
Jessie and James felt exactly the same.
Even the twerp had never humiliated them like this.
It seemed they needed to 'educate' this Pokémon properly.
"That thing is injured too," Jessie said.
"Later, we'll have Ekans and Koffing attack."
"We must teach that monkey a lesson."
Otherwise, if word got out that Team Rocket was bullied by a single Mankey, they'd lose all their reputation.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on Patreon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789
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