"This is bad!"
"Hiraoka, you're using that move again!"
Director Yanagi roared in anger, but he had no choice but to order Flygon to retreat a certain distance.
Below them, Exeggutor did not hesitate for a moment. Its body swayed as its eyes emitted an orange-red glow. Energy surged frantically, building into a massive eruption within a few short seconds.
Boom!
A colossal explosion erupted from Exeggutor's position, accompanied by a deafening roar.
Scorching flames enveloped the area, sending shattered rocks flying in every direction. Several nearby excavators were caught in the blast and exploded instantly, the shockwave rippling through the entire vicinity.
An Self-Destruct used by a Gym Leader-level Pokémon instantly covered half the area in its destructive range.
This move truly made no distinction between friend and foe. Not only were the teachers from Silver Academy harmed, but the Team Rocket members suffered as well. Pokémon caught within the radius were all flattened against the ground.
Fortunately, the academy teachers were protected by their Pokémon's self-sacrifice, so they didn't sustain major injuries. Others weren't so lucky.
Deaths began to occur among the Team Rocket ranks. It seemed their Pokémon weren't particularly loyal; seeing their masters perish, several Pokémon stopped fighting altogether and fled the scene.
At the source of the blast, a deep crater with a radius of 10 meters had formed. Black smoke billowed from the pit where Exeggutor had been blown to pieces.
By this time, Hiraoka, Exeggutor's trainer, had already escaped. Director Yanagi stared gloomily at the crater, watching a Pokémon's life vanish before his eyes.
"Flygon, let's go. Catch up to him," Yanagi commanded.
Beneath him, Flygon understood its master's mood. It vibrated its wings and gave chase at maximum speed.
Now that Director Yanagi had pursued him out of the cave, Hiraoka immediately spotted Sanzhi.
Seeing Sanzhi in such a wretched state, Hiraoka shouted, "Sanzhi, retreat! The Boss's reinforcements have arrived!"
Upon hearing this, Sanzhi didn't care about his remaining Pokémon. He abandoned them instantly, riding an Aerodactyl to flee into the distance alongside Hiraoka.
Director Yanagi pursued them without a second thought, with Director Yoshijima following close behind.
Seeing the situation, Teacher Kelly recalled Tyranitar, Rhyperior, and Arcanine before pulling out another Poké Ball.
"Come out, Charizard!"
A Charizard appeared before her. Kelly climbed onto its back and said, "Charizard, catch up to them!"
"Roar!"
Charizard spread its wings and soared into the sky in pursuit.
Director Yanagi was fast, drawing closer and closer to Hiraoka and Sanzhi.
The expressions of Hiraoka and Sanzhi turned ugly until they suddenly spotted something flying toward them from the distance.
Hiraoka's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "The headquarters' reinforcements are here!"
The black object quickly approached, revealing itself to be a black aircraft. It bore a resemblance to a helicopter, with rotors on the sides of its wings. Anyone familiar with the media would recognize it as identical to the aircraft used by Boss Giovanni.
The nose of the aircraft opened up, revealing two rows of machine guns that looked incredibly dangerous. These guns locked onto Director Yanagi, who was in the lead.
Then, they opened fire.
Rat-tat-tat!
Countless bullets flew toward Director Yanagi. The speed was so great that dodging was impossible.
"Flygon, Protect!"
Flygon's eyes glowed with a cyan light, and a green circular screen manifested in front of it. Every bullet that struck the screen was deflected.
Director Yoshijima and Teacher Kelly caught up, but the two rows of muzzles turned toward the trio, firing relentlessly.
Taking advantage of this window, the aircraft's rear door opened. Hiraoka and Sanzhi hurriedly flew inside.
As the aircraft turned around, four figures could be seen standing inside the rear hold. Aside from the newly arrived Hiraoka and Sanzhi, there were two others.
They were a man and a woman, one tall and one short. The man was somewhat short, looking almost like a child, wearing a cynical smile on his face. The woman was exceptionally beautiful with fiery red hair and bright red lips, wearing a long purple dress—looking every bit like a rose with thorns.
Director Yanagi's expression grew solemn upon seeing them. "Ogura, Celeste... it's actually the two of you."
Ogura chuckled playfully. "Long time no see, Yanagawa."
Celeste gave a charming smile. "Director Yanagi is as serious as ever."
"I say, Director Yanagi, you should stop chasing," Celeste added. "Since we've arrived, you should know that continuing this is useless."
Yoshijima also spotted Ogura and Celeste, and his face turned visibly pale. Only Teacher Kelly didn't recognize them. Seeing Director Yanagi refrain from attacking, she felt confused but didn't ask, staying quietly by his side.
Under their gaze, the rear door slowly began to close. Celeste said to Director Yanagi, "Goodbye, Director Yanagi."
Ogura laughed. "Yanagawa, I'll find you for a fight next time."
Hiraoka shouted unwillingly at Director Yanagi, "Yanagawa, you just wait!"
Director Yanagi replied calmly, "I'll be waiting."
The rear door closed completely, the black aircraft's engines roared, and it sped away.
Once the plane was gone, Teacher Kelly asked, "Director, why didn't we make a move?"
"Those two... the man is Ogura and the woman is Celeste," Yanagi explained. "They are the two strongest Executives in the Johto region."
"With our current strength, we might not be their match."
"Wait, Yakusho is still here. We need to go back immediately. This time, we must make sure that guy stays behind."
With that, Flygon flapped its wings and headed back toward the cave. Director Yoshijima and Teacher Kelly followed quickly with heavy expressions.
Yakusho was currently furious. Hiraoka had actually abandoned him and fled.
He wanted to run as well, but Fukiishi kept blocking his path, making escape impossible. Now that Director Yanagi had left, if Yakusho didn't leave soon, he never would.
He wanted to use the same tactic as Hiraoka, but Fukiishi didn't give him the chance. All of his Pokémon capable of Self-Destruct had already lost their ability to battle.
In short, he was cornered. With a crazed look on his face, he barked out attack orders.
"Crobat, Shadow Ball!"
"Steelix, use Stone Edge!"
Yakusho pushed his four remaining Pokémon to fight with their lives on the line.
Fukiishi saw that Yakusho was desperate but didn't care. He knew exactly what kind of people Team Rocket were. He only needed to stall this guy; once Director Yanagi returned, the two of them together would definitely be able to capture him.
"Everyone, don't clash head-on. Just stall them!"
Consequently, his Pokémon began to avoid attacks one after another, no longer engaging in direct confrontations.