"Rainbow… Rocket?"
Xerosic repeated the words slowly, as if tasting them. The phrase struck something familiar in his memory.
He didn't fully understand what Team Rocket was, but he had certainly heard those three infamous words before.
"That's right," Tobias said confidently, his tone brimming with authority. "After absorbing your Team Flare, Team Rocket has been officially renamed—Rainbow Rocket. Our Boss, Giovanni, is already on his way here. Your leader, Lysandre, should also be arriving soon. Perfect timing, wouldn't you say?"
Tobias radiated the air of a strategist who had everything under control.
Back during the Sinnoh League Lily of the Valley Conference, if not for Ash, Tobias would have long since risen to become a core figure within the Sinnoh League.
If that had happened, Team Rocket wouldn't have needed to strong-arm other underground organizations into submission like this.
"Fifth… Flare Squad? The fifth… could it be that you…"
Xerosic stared at Tobias in utter shock.
"You guessed correctly," Tobias said with a smirk. "Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova—their underground organizations are already under Rocket's control. And you… you will be our small division in Kalos. Submit and prosper, or resist and perish. The choice is yours."
From within Tobias's shadow, Darkrai's eyes gleamed menacingly, keeping its gaze locked firmly on Xerosic and the entire Team Flare entourage.
Meanwhile, Lysandre himself was growing increasingly uneasy.
Something was very wrong—he had tried to contact his subordinates, yet every single Team Flare member was unreachable. Far too unusual!
His instincts screamed at him. He immediately summoned his Pyroar and Gyarados, keeping them at the ready as he advanced toward the location of Z2.
But what greeted him there made his eyes widen.
Parked before him were numerous flying craft, but they weren't Team Flare's.
Each one bore the unmistakable crimson "R" insignia.
"Team Rocket…?" Lysandre muttered under his breath.
"Correct," a voice answered him. "Team Rocket. But as of today, we will no longer be known by that name. From this moment forth, we are—Rainbow Rocket. And I shall lead Team Rocket to heights never before imagined. As for Team Flare… if you are willing, you may stand as witnesses."
From the shadows emerged a towering man with a slicked-back hairstyle and a sharp, commanding presence.
At his side padded a Persian, the red jewel on its forehead glowing ominously as it fixed its gaze on Lysandre's Pyroar.
"I already know everything about Z2," the man declared. "Lysandre, I regret to inform you… you are finished."
This man was none other than Giovanni—the Boss of Team Rocket.
A man whose ambition was boundless, terrifying in its scope.
Team Flare could be absorbed entirely into Rainbow Rocket. But Lysandre himself was a different story.
His personal strength was too great. Giovanni would never allow such an unstable variable to remain among his subordinates.
"Xerosic…" Lysandre's eyes burned with cold fury. He knew the truth now. Aside from himself, there was no one in Team Flare who understood Z2 better than Doctor Xerosic, the scientist who had been in charge of researching it from the start.
"Come," Giovanni said, his voice sharp and commanding. "Battle me. Defeat me, and it will be the only chance you have left to live."
With that, Giovanni hurled a Poké Ball into the air.
Out burst a towering Beedrill.
The Persian beside him padded forward, its cold, calculating eyes fixed firmly on Lysandre's Pyroar.
"I see now," Lysandre muttered darkly. "It seems my plan overlooked you outsiders from other regions. Very well. Come then!"
Fearless, Lysandre stood his ground, confident in his own might.
From his pocket, he drew out a Keystone. With a sharp motion, he pressed it down, activating its power!
"Gyarados—Mega Evolve!!"
Giovanni merely chuckled, producing a Keystone of his own.
"Beedrill—Mega Evolve!!"
Twin flashes of dazzling light lit up the battlefield.
Both sides unleashed Mega Evolution simultaneously.
"Pyroar—Flamethrower!!"
"Rooaarrr!!"
"Persian—Thunderbolt!!"
"Meooowth!!"
The clash was titanic. The battle between Giovanni and Lysandre raged with apocalyptic force, the sheer destructive power of their Pokémon nearly leveling the entire area.
But in the end, it was Giovanni who emerged victorious.
His Mega Beedrill had long surpassed the limits of a Champion-tier Pokémon.
Even Legendary Pokémon at the third-tier deity level would be shackled before its strength.
This was the might of a second-tier deity-class Pokémon!
"Hahaha! Excellent!" Giovanni's laughter thundered through the battlefield. "From this moment forth, everyone listen well—the name of Team Rocket is no more! We are now Rainbow Rocket!!"
"Understood!"
The admins saluted in unison, immediately relaying the order to their squads.
"According to the intel provided by Team Flare, the power contained within Z2 is beyond anything we've ever seen. With the energy beam device, we can seize control of it and bend it to our will. Another trump card for us! Begin the activation sequence—now!"
"Yes, Boss!"
The energy beam was primed, aimed directly at Z2 to take command of it.
At the same time, Rainbow Rocket's scientists—including Professor Namba and several other Rocket researchers—worked at full capacity.
In an instant, they unleashed a blackout across all of Kalos's electronic networks!
Every piece of technology was forcibly shut down and rebooted.
Radios, telephones, televisions, computers—every single device flickered back to life…
And on every screen, Giovanni's image appeared.
His voice boomed out across the entire Kalos region.
"People of Kalos—bear witness to the birth of a miracle! Today marks the dawn of a new era. From this moment forth… Rainbow Rocket is officially established!
And all who witness this day—rejoice, and celebrate our glory!"
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T/N:
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