"Did you get a bite yet?"
Ash leaned quietly against a tree trunk, his eyes fixed on Misty's completely still fishing rod.
"Hmph, don't talk." Misty shot him a glare, a hint of embarrassment on her cheeks.
Ash heard a cracking sound nearby and turned his head toward Brock, who was crouching not far away trying to catch a Pokémon.
"I'll go check over there first," Ash said.
He decided to take a look at the situation with the Dratini. He had almost forgotten that Team Rocket was also eyeing Dratini greedily.
If they got there first, that would be a huge loss.
"Wait, I'll come too."
Misty brushed the dirt off her clothes and put away her fishing rod. There were barely any Pokémon in this lake anyway—even Magikarp were pitifully scarce.
Following the navigation clues provided by the system, Ash walked deeper into the area. Along the way, he noticed that the number of wild Pokémon around them was steadily decreasing.
Rustle!
The bushes suddenly shook with a soft rustling sound.
Could it be a Raticate?
Ash grinned. He decided he might as well catch a Pokémon as a gift for Misty.
He aimed at the bush and tossed a Safari Ball. The ball struck something, and the familiar sound of a Pokémon being drawn inside echoed out.
A few seconds later—
Pop!
The Safari Ball burst open.
Misty glanced at it and sighed. Judging from how hard it had been to catch Tauros, she wondered if the remaining six Safari Balls would fail to catch even a single Pokémon.
"Pika pika!"
"Meow."
"Which idiot threw that?! I almost got caught, meow!"
A talking Meowth suddenly jumped out.
"Don't you think that Meowth looks like the one from Team Rocket?" Misty said suspiciously as she stared at the puffed-up Meowth.
It definitely was.
Ash tossed the Safari Ball lightly in his hand, wondering if he could actually capture this Meowth with it.
"Brat! Little girl!"
Meowth looked shocked. Their sworn enemies had appeared here too.
"Who are you calling 'little girl'?" Misty's face darkened. She hated being called little.
"You," Meowth replied instinctively.
Misty grabbed a Safari Ball and prepared to throw it.
"I'll catch you and make you regret it."
"Don't!"
Meowth moved with impressive agility, dodging several Safari Balls in a row.
"Meowth, where are Jessie and James?" Ash asked, already suspecting something.
He wondered if Meowth had been left here as a lookout to stall for time.
"Don't know, meow!" Meowth answered immediately.
They must be trying to catch Dratini here…
Ash pointed toward the lake ahead and raised an eyebrow.
"Are they over there trying to catch Dratini?"
"How did you know—?!"
Meowth gasped, quickly covering his mouth.
Ash walked right past Meowth. As she followed, Misty kicked Meowth lightly and snorted.
Meowth was furious but didn't dare say anything. After all, the Pikachu on Ash's shoulder wouldn't go easy on him.
"Oh great, it's Team Rocket again," Ash muttered.
Did Team Rocket secretly install trackers on them or something? Why did they keep running into each other everywhere?
"I hope they don't hurt the Pokémon here," Misty said softly.
Suddenly—
Ash grabbed Misty's arm and pulled her behind a tree.
"Look, Team Rocket's over there."
Caught off guard by the sudden movement, Misty's face flushed red. Her body felt weak and tingly—almost as if she had been shocked by Pikachu.
Her bright eyes flickered with curiosity and nervousness as she stared at Team Rocket in the distance.
"We can stop them like this," Ash whispered.
He leaned close to Misty and quietly explained his plan into her ear.
"You're so bad," Misty said, lightly smacking his arm.
"Jessie, are you sure you saw Dratini here?"
James fiddled with a machine, frowning as he scanned the surroundings.
"I definitely saw it here. Meowth should be keeping watch," Jessie replied quietly.
Her eyes were serious. This mission was extremely important—they had to act quietly. If they caused a big disturbance, it could attract trouble… or worse, that old man might start shooting again.
Suddenly—
Two stones flew out of the bushes and smacked directly into James's forehead.
"Ow!"
Clutching his head, James looked around in confusion.
"Who's there? Come out!"
Only the wind rustling through the grass answered him.
Jessie looked around warily.
Then—
A very familiar voice rang out.
Not only the voice was familiar—the lines were too.
"If you want an answer so badly…"
"Then we'll generously give it to you!"
Jessie and James froze.
They stared as two kids jumped out—reciting their own motto.
"We are trainers who travel across the galaxy!"
"A white hole—white tomorrow is waiting for us!"
"Pika pika!"
Pikachu even imitated Meowth.
Jessie's forehead twitched with anger as she punched the machine.
"Stop copying us!"
"Where's Meowth anyway?" James muttered anxiously, looking around.
They had trusted Meowth to keep watch, yet their greatest enemies had sneaked right in.
He really wanted to grab Meowth by the head and ask: Is this how you stand guard?!
"Team Rocket! You're up to no good again!" Misty shouted helplessly, sounding annoyed.
Since she couldn't catch anything while fishing, she might as well vent her frustration on them.
"You think you can beat us?" Team Rocket burst into laughter.
Did I walk into the wrong channel or something?
"Weezing! Arbok!"
Ah, so they've evolved. No wonder they're so confident.
Weezing – Lv. 34
Arbok – Lv. 33
"Starmie! Squirtle!"
"Use Water Gun!"
Starmie and Squirtle fired Water Gun at the same time, striking Arbok directly.
"Smog!"
Weezing released a thick cloud of irritating toxic gas that forced everyone to cover their noses and mouths.
"Jump into the water!"
Ash made a quick decision.
First focus on Arbok, then dive into the lake to avoid Weezing's poisonous gas.
After evolving, Arbok's durability had clearly increased.
"Starmie, Rapid Spin!"
"Squirtle, Water Gun!"
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
This became Weezing and Arbok's first defeat since evolving.
Pikachu's Thunderbolt was devastating, blasting Team Rocket so badly they practically lost their armor.
Boom!
A smoke bomb rolled to Jessie and James's feet.
"Meowth!"
Accompanied by Meowth's voice—and Jessie and James yelling curses—the smoke spread quickly.
When it cleared, Team Rocket had vanished.
"They run away fast every single time," Misty complained.
Ash checked the system's clue about Dratini. They still needed to go deeper.
The lake here was actually connected to another one further ahead.
Soon—
They finally reached the target lake.
"Haha! Now this is the perfect fishing spot!"
Misty immediately attached bait and began fishing.
But fishing was too slow.
Ash wondered—
Should he use a special, more efficient method instead?
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 .
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