The swarms of Beedrill that flocked to the area left behind a bountiful supply of honey, while the Butterfree danced joyfully in the sky. These Pokémon seemed to be expressing their heartfelt gratitude to Feng Che and Bugsy.
"Feng Che, there's a Bug-Catching Contest starting soon in Azalea Town. Are you interested in joining?" Bugsy extended an enthusiastic invitation.
"Sure, I'm quite interested in the Bug Crystal," Feng Che replied. The Bug-type he intended to cultivate was Scyther, and he wanted to evolve it into Scizor. Aside from the ultra-pure alloy he already possessed, he lacked a high-quality Bug Crystal. It would be even better if that crystal had been condensed by a powerful Scizor of the past.
"You want to evolve your Scyther, don't you?" Bugsy said, seeing through Feng Che's intent. "The Bug Crystal for this contest was indeed condensed by a powerful Scizor. I unearthed it during an archaeological dig. The contest officially begins in three days. This is an invitation—with this, you'll be granted entry immediately."
Bugsy pulled a golden invitation from his backpack and handed it over.
"Thank you," Feng Che said, taking the card before heading toward the edge of the forest.
At that moment, he received an encrypted message from Sabrina.
Sabrina: Boss Giovanni has decided to attack the League in one month. Sabrina: He wants you to increase your strength as quickly as possible.
Feng Che replied: Understood, Lady Sabrina.
Giovanni is still cautious, Feng Che thought. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't attack the League so soon either. Rayquaza escaped, and Goodshow's plan failed. On top of that, Goodshow has broken ties with the Elite Four. He'll likely pull all League personnel back from other cities to fortify Indigo Plateau. If Giovanni attacks now, he'll face desperate resistance. If Lance chooses this moment to rebel, he'll be seen as a righteous liberator. I should find a way to advise Lance—tell him not to rush his rebellion. He needs to wait for the perfect moment to use Team Rocket as a scapegoat to purge the corrupt Great Families.
Mt. Silver
Lance was deep in training. Two Dragonite were launching a coordinated Dragon Pulse at the Dragonite by his side, only for his partner to swat the attacks away with a single claw.
"Dragonite, use Extreme Speed!" Lance commanded.
In a blink, his Dragonite appeared before the challengers and delivered a Dragon Claw, knocking both out instantly.
"That's enough for today," Lance muttered. He was currently feeling indecisive. How should he initiate the rebellion? How could he achieve the greatest impact? He didn't have the answers yet. That was why he had avoided Lorelei and Agatha, coming alone to the depths of Mt. Silver to meditate.
Just then, his communicator chirped. He opened it to see a summary of recent events in Johto.
"Rayquaza escaped... Good. A Tier-1 God isn't something humans can control," Lance murmured. "I didn't realize Goodshow's schemes ran so deep—he didn't breathe a word of that operation. If Rayquaza hadn't fled, our rebellion would have been a joke. Our Dragon Legion would have crumbled under the pressure of the Sky God."
Lance let out a cold laugh. "But now Rayquaza is gone, and Team Rocket holds the Triple-Birds. Goodshow must be panicking."
He scrolled further until he hit another headline: "Giant Iceberg Appears in Bug Forest, Shattered by Mysterious Trainer."
Lance studied the accompanying photo. A blue bird was partially visible in the frame. "That bird... it looks familiar. Isn't that Feng Che's Corvisquire?"
"So, Feng Che is in Johto. Perfect. I need to feel him out—see if I can pull him to my side. A genius pharmacist and master breeder would give my rebellion a 70% better chance of success."
Lance recalled his dragons and leaped onto his partner's back. "Go, Dragonite! To Azalea Town! The Bug Forest is nearby; he shouldn't have traveled far."
Azalea Town
Azalea Town was an isolated settlement in the south of Johto, famous for Kurt, the craftsman who made specialized Poké Balls from Apricorns found in Ilex Forest. It was also home to the Slowpoke Well, where the town's guardian deity was worshipped.
The town was currently festive, backed by a lush forest teeming with Bug-type resources. The annual contest served to curb the population of powerful insects while boosting the local economy.
As Feng Che arrived at the town gates, he saw massive balloons floating in the air and heard the pop-pop of daytime fireworks.
"I'm so excited! The Azalea Bug-Catching Contest is finally starting!" "I heard there are Bug Pokémon with incredible potential here. Bugsy's team is so strong because of this forest." "The winner gets a Bug Crystal! Every Bug trainer's dream treasure!"
The crowd was buzzing. The registration site was in the town center, swarming with bug-catching experts from around the world.
"Hello everyone! I am the Mayor of Azalea Town, known to many as 'Hardworking Old Hakke'!" A slightly plump, middle-aged man with sharp eyes and a booming voice stood on the podium. "This contest is our town's greatest tradition. The grand prize is a Bug Crystal provided by Gym Leader Bugsy, along with a set of handmade Apricorn Balls from Master Kurt."
"We have brought in top entomologists to analyze and score your catches. You may only use one Pokémon to battle the wild targets. The entire event will be monitored by drones. Any rule-breakers will be disqualified. Now, please collect your Sport Balls from the staff. Only Pokémon caught in these balls will be eligible for scoring!"
Feng Che collected his balls and headed toward the forest. What should I catch? I've already caught Heracross and Pinsir. Butterfree and Beedrill are too common to win first place. I'll just head into the deeper woods and see what's available. If all else fails, I'll have to pick the best of the 'short-lings'.
As he entered the forest, he looked up to see a cluster of Pineco hanging from the branches. Pineco resemble large pinecones, primarily greyish-green with a shell made of overlapping hardened scales.
Suddenly, Feng Che's eyes narrowed. High in the canopy, tucked away in the shadows, was a Golden Pineco.
"A Shiny Pineco... that would fetch an astronomical price," Feng Che noted. He glanced at the hovering drone monitoring him, then discreetly reached into his cloak and released Ditto.
Ditto, see that golden Pineco up there? Feng Che sent a telepathic command. Split off a small clone and use a Poké Ball to catch it quietly.
Ditto rippled, shedding a small pink fragment of itself. The fragment transformed into a standard grey-green Pineco and began hopping up the trunk toward the shiny specimen.
The golden Pineco blinked curiously as the newcomer approached. But just as the clone reached it, the "grey" Pineco suddenly began to glow and emit an intense heat.
Ditto! You idiot! Feng Che cursed. Not another "騷操作" (outlandish maneuver)!
The Ditto clone had initiated Self-Destruct.
BOOM!
The explosion rocked the tree. Dozens of nearby Pineco were jolted awake by the blast. Feeling threatened, they reacted instinctively. The entire grove began to glow with a collective, blinding white light.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
A series of chain-reaction explosions tore through the forest.
"Which poor soul wandered into the Pineco grove and set them all off?" Mayor Hakke muttered back at the podium. He wasn't particularly worried about safety; Bugsy had cleared the area of any truly dangerous threats, and the contestants' Pokémon would protect them from anything more than minor scrapes.
Meanwhile, amidst the smoke and chaos, Feng Che and Ditto sprinted deeper into the forest. In Feng Che's hand was a Sport Ball containing the Golden Pineco—his clone had successfully secured the prize before the chain reaction began.