At this moment, Yakusho's four Pokémon were launching a frenzy of attacks, while Director Fukiishi's Pokémon did everything they could to dodge.
Flames, water currents, icicles, and thunderbolts were being unleashed everywhere. The energy fluctuations were violent, leaving the ground riddled with craters and hollows.
Despite the best efforts of Fukiishi's Pokémon to evade the onslaught, they couldn't dodge every strike. Within moments, two Pokémon let out pained cries under the relentless barrage and lost their ability to battle.
Fukiishi's expression darkened as he recalled his two Pokémon. This can't go on, he thought. Dodging forever isn't a solution. Director, why aren't you back yet?
He scanned the surroundings. Once Eichi and the others had left, many Team Rocket members lost their will to resist, but without an order to retreat from their executive leader, they didn't dare run.
Now, however, with Hiraoka having fled and over a dozen Team Rocket members dead from Self-Destruct, the group was like a falling tree with scattering monkeys.
Everyone began to flee toward the exit. Some lucky ones with high speed managed to escape.
Others, less fortunate, were intercepted by the teachers and found themselves unable to leave. It was in moments like these that everyone truly witnessed the cold-blooded ruthlessness of Team Rocket.
A large portion of them had prepared a Pokémon capable of using Self-Destruct.
They would sacrifice it at a critical moment to buy themselves time to escape.
In just the past few minutes, over a dozen Pokémon had triggered massive explosions.
The teachers were caught off guard. Their Pokémon were injured one after another, with several even falling into a near-death state.
The main cavern hall was now nearly empty. Most people had run outside, with some teachers in pursuit.
A few teachers moved to provide backup, while Yakusho continued to search for an opening.
He was frantic, his entire body drenched in sweat. Suddenly, while Fukiishi was momentarily distracted, Yakusho seized his chance.
"Crobat, charge! Use Shadow Ball repeatedly!"
With its feet gripping Yakusho's shoulders, Crobat charged madly toward an Ampharos ahead.
Purple energy spheres formed in front of Crobat and were launched at Ampharos.
Ampharos scrambled to dodge, but the assault wasn't over. Crobat formed and fired Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball at an incredible speed.
Fukiishi reacted and tried to command Ampharos to block Crobat, but it was too late.
Multiple Shadow Ball attacks struck Ampharos, sending it flying backward into a large rock.
The rock shattered. Ampharos was heavily injured and lost its ability to battle.
Seeing his chance, Crobat sped toward the exit. Fukiishi hurriedly recalled Ampharos and his other two Pokémon, mounting his Skarmory to give chase.
"Crobat, faster, faster, even faster!"
"We're almost out!"
Crobat accelerated desperately. The look of anticipation in Yakusho's eyes grew stronger. Just as they were about to exit the hall, a figure suddenly charged out from the opposite tunnel.
Yakusho looked closely and saw it was a Flygon.
The moment he saw it, he knew Director Yanagi had returned. His expression instantly shifted to one of utter despair.
It was hopeless!
Upon seeing Yakusho, Director Yanagi burst into laughter. "Oh? If it isn't Yakusho. What a coincidence."
"Since you've run into me, don't think about leaving."
"Flygon, Flamethrower!"
A massive pillar of fire erupted from Flygon's mouth. Crobat had no way to dodge and took the hit directly.
The pillar of fire slammed into Crobat, and Yakusho took some damage as well.
Normally, this single hit wouldn't have caused such devastating damage to Crobat. However, it was already injured from the battle with Fukiishi and had exhausted a massive amount of stamina.
It was already at its limit. This Flamethrower immediately caused it to lose its ability to battle.
It crashed to the ground along with Yakusho. Having fallen from such a height, Yakusho didn't die, but he was knocked unconscious.
Director Yanagi had Flygon land on the ground and checked Yakusho's condition; he was still alive.
Shortly after, Fukiishi caught up, followed by Director Yoshijima and Miss Lin, who had been trailing Director Yanagi. They arrived to see the scene as it stood.
Director Yanagi took out a pair of handcuffs and secured the unconscious Yakusho.
Looking at the three of them, Director Yanagi sighed with emotion. "It wasn't easy, but I finally captured an executive."
"Fukiishi, it's thanks to you for taking care of those Pokémon of his that knew Self-Destruct. Otherwise, he really might have escaped."
Fukiishi didn't look happy; instead, he lamented, "Exactly. We've clashed with them several times, and they use that trick every single time. I've been on guard against him for a long while!"
Director Yanagi's mood improved significantly. Looking further inside, several teachers had also captured some Team Rocket squad and unit leaders.
In particular, Yakushimaru, Kawai, and Ueno were handcuffed the moment they regained consciousness.
Outside, Eichi had no idea what was happening inside the cavern. He had just seen one Team Rocket executive try to flee.
Then, another executive had bolted from the cave with Director Yanagi in pursuit.
With two executives fleeing and two directors plus Miss Lin chasing them, they eventually went too far for him to see.
After a while, they returned. The two executives were nowhere to be seen, likely having escaped.
In reality, after the two executives fled, Team Rocket suffered a total collapse. They either escaped or were captured.
Now, Director Yanagi emerged from the cave again. As he drew closer, Eichi saw him bringing out a semiconscious Team Rocket executive. The man was covered in injuries—it was a pitiful sight.
All the police officers were conducting the cleanup. The wail of sirens filled the air as one ambulance after another arrived.
Nurse Joy stepped out of the vehicles—not just one, but several—followed by many medical personnel.
The battle had been too intense. Many police officers and Team Rocket members were injured.
Looking around, the ground was scarred with various craters and marks left by moves.
The scene was one of complete devastation. Eichi didn't quite know how to describe his feelings.
Seeing Director Yanagi approach, Eichi composed himself. The Director walked over and immediately asked, "Eichi, how are you all? Anyone injured?"
"We're all fine," Eichi replied. "With Aggron's protection, we're all safe."
The Director looked at the Aggron nearby and nodded. Miss Lin added, "You did well, Aggron. Thank you for your hard work. Return."
Director Yanagi then addressed Eichi and the others. "Let's go. Your Pokémon must be injured. Let's head to the Pokémon Center."
An hour later, at the Pokémon Center in the quiet town.
Eichi and the others sat in the lobby alongside the teachers and a few police officers.