"What are you saying, little girl? It's all your fault for being too weak, allowing that woman to be so arrogant! You're useless without the kid!"
Jessie, hearing Misty's words, naturally wasn't convinced and immediately began to retaliate. However, upon hearing Jessie's words, Misty and Brock's faces both changed. They wished they could sew Jessie's mouth shut.
But ultimately, it was already too late. Listening to their argument, Athena also caught the key points.
"Kid? It seems there's another bug outside!"
Athena's face revealed a chilling smirk. She had thought only these few people had broken in, but now it seemed there was still a fish that got away.
Misty and Brock didn't know what to do. They believed Ash would come, but they also worried that Ash couldn't handle it. But no matter what, Ash being in the dark was definitely better than being known by the opponent.
"Little sister, you have companions here, don't you?" Athena looked at Misty and Brock and asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Although she knew the other party must have already known, otherwise they wouldn't ask that way, Misty was still unwilling to admit it.
"Heh heh! Little sister has a strong personality, I like it. But even if you don't say anything, it's useless. As long as he's still here, he absolutely can't escape."
Athena, far from getting angry at Misty's reaction, actually smiled, seemingly unconcerned that someone else was still outside.
"…" Misty didn't respond, but she couldn't help but agree with Jessie on one point: this woman was really annoying.
"Take them back first. I'll go meet this fish that got away!"
Knowing there was someone else, Athena didn't plan to return. She had her subordinates take Misty and the others. And just at that moment.
Pikachu~~~~chu!!
From the nearby bushes, a commotion began, and then a golden electric snake shot out, heading directly towards Athena. Athena's expression subtly changed, and she leaped backward, arching her body.
She landed in a backflip, squatting on the ground, avoiding the attack. The electric current missed her, continuing backwards. The Team Rocket members also quickly dodged.
Jessie and James, standing on the spot, instantly widened their eyes. In their surprise, they couldn't dodge in time, and both were directly struck by the electric current.
"Aargh! Zap zap zap!!!" Both cried out simultaneously. With a bang, the lightning exploded, and as the smoke cleared, the two were seen scorched black, exhaling black smoke from their mouths.
Swish swish swish swish!!!
The nearby bushes rustled, and Athena frowned and looked over. Then, a figure emerged, holding down his hat brim with one hand, and walking out with Pikachu.
"No need to look for me, I'll deliver myself to your doorstep!" Ash appeared before everyone and said calmly.
"Ash!!" Misty and Brock both showed expressions of pleasant surprise. Ash had indeed come to rescue them, but they were still a little worried. Ash alone couldn't handle it; he shouldn't have just charged in like that.
"Are you the remaining bug? You've got guts. I like boys with guts." Athena slowly stood up, looking at Ash.
Ash was also observing Athena. The previous attack not hitting her was not surprising. He had roughly determined her identity. If she didn't have some skill, she wouldn't be able to serve as a Team Rocket executive.
"But I don't like rude women. Are you, are you Athena??"
Ash responded calmly, then asked. What he needed to do now was stall for time, waiting for his Pokémon's actions, so he had to find a way to distract her.
"Hmm??" Athena frowned slightly upon hearing this. Although she didn't show a very surprised expression, there was still a hint of surprise in her eyes.
Although her identity was not a secret, young trainers simply didn't know who she was. Even Jessie and James from the same organization didn't recognize her. He never expected this young boy to recognize her.
"Little brother, you even know my name. It seems you know quite a lot! Who are you?"
Few young trainers knew her. Since he knew her name, he should also know her background. So this boy's identity must not be simple.
Ash also thought to himself that he had indeed guessed correctly. This woman was a Team Rocket executive, one of the Four Generals, Athena.
However, in his memory, she had not appeared in the anime, only in the manga of the special edition and in games. Moreover, she had never appeared here in the anime. It seemed the butterfly effect in the Pacific was stirring up quite a storm.
"I don't need to tell you, do I?" Ash responded calmly to Athena.
"Then I'll just capture you and slowly interrogate you."
Athena wasn't annoyed by Ash's response. She immediately took out a Poké Ball, clearly intending to let strength do the talking.
"Alright! Are you all coming at once?" Ash wasn't flustered. Instead, he deliberately used a provocation tactic. This woman was arrogant. If they all attacked him, and he only had Pikachu, he really wouldn't stand a chance.
As for Meowth, who was too scared to come out, he couldn't count on it, so he could only use this method.
"Little brother has a lot of guts! You all stand down!" Athena, hearing Ash's words, actually fell for it and motioned for the other eager members around them to retreat.
Misty and Brock looked worriedly at Ash's side. They clearly understood that even if Ash won, these guys wouldn't let them go. Ash had no reason not to know this, so why was he still entangling with them?
"Let me see what you're capable of, little brother! Go, Arbok, use Poison Sting!!"
Hiss!
Arbok burst from its Poké Ball, opened its blood-red maw, and launched a Poison Sting attack. Purple, slender poison needles rained down like a storm. Ash, seeing this, slightly raised his shoulder.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!!"
Pika~~~~chu!!!
Pikachu leaped from Ash's body and released Thunderbolt. Lightning power erupted forward, and both attacks clashed.
Bang!!!
The two attacks collided, creating a sudden explosion, and black smoke permeated the air.
"Arbok, use Poison Fang!!"
Just as the explosion ended and Pikachu landed, Athena launched another attack. From within the smoke, Arbok burst out. Arbok, being a snake, naturally had the same abilities as snakes.
They sense their opponents by their body temperature. Even with smoke obscuring their vision, they could still sense Pikachu's location.
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