Natsui directed Haunter to use Hypnosis, taking down all the perimeter guards and their Pokémon.
Although the men had been patrolling diligently, they were no match for the elusive Haunter, which snuck up behind them silently, giving them no chance to even cry out in alarm.
From a distance, watching how skillfully it operated, Lorelei adjusted her glasses. While amazed, she also knew that this was clearly not the first time it had done something like this.
"Your Haunter is incredible. Its Hypnosis is so strong and effective, it feels just like Agatha's Gengar... no, perhaps even stronger!"
"Does that even need to be said?" Natsui held up two fingers, making a '2' sign at her. "If your Pokémon could also live for two thousand years, they would become just as strong as it is."
"Two thousand years!? How is that possible!" Lorelei was dumbfounded, thinking for a moment that Natsui was joking. "Has it really been alive for that long!?"
"What's so surprising about that?" Haunter had returned to Natsui's side by now. Seeing Lorelei's incredulous expression, it couldn't help but tease, "Little girl, the last time I went into a long slumber, you were probably still an embryo in your mother's belly!"
Lorelei: ...
Hearing Haunter's words, and then remembering the incident with the Never-Melt Ice, Lorelei was truly infuriated.
Hmph, as they say, like trainer, like Pokémon! They're cut from the same cloth!
After clearing out the perimeter guards, Natsui and the others carefully approached the back door of the warehouse. They had thought everything would go smoothly, but unexpectedly, their presence was detected by a hidden infrared security sensor.
Instantly, alarms blared inside the warehouse. The next second, heavy steel shutters slammed down over all the doors and windows!
"I knew it wouldn't be this easy!"
Lorelei sighed. With their stealth approach having failed, she had no choice but to switch to a direct assault.
She took out her phone and sent a message to the police officer, telling them to stop hiding and come for reinforcements immediately. At the same time, she sent out a Dewgong and had it attack the back door, attempting to break in by force.
Unfortunately, it was unclear what material the shutters and door were made of, but they were extremely tough. No matter how much the Dewgong attacked, it only managed to create a few shallow scratches, and it was clear they couldn't break through any time soon!
Just then, a slightly hoarse man's voice came from a speaker next to a security camera.
"Lorelei!? Damn it, I can't believe you found the warehouse we worked so hard to build so quickly! But I advise you not to waste your energy. Without the password, you'll never be able to break in!"
The speaker was, of course, Archer, one of the four Team Rocket executives!
Hearing his voice, Lorelei turned her head and, sure enough, saw a small keypad on the wall nearby.
"What are you so proud of!" Lorelei glared up at the camera, seemingly venting all her recent frustrations on Team Rocket. "We may not be able to get in, but you can't get out either! Sooner or later, you'll be trapped in there!"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Archer sneered. "Let's just see if you have what it takes to catch me!"
Hearing this, Natsui glanced around. Seeing no reinforcements or heavy weapons nearby that could serve as Archer's trump card, he couldn't understand where Archer's confidence was coming from.
An idea came to him, and he couldn't help but offer a reminder. "He seems so calm, he must have a backup plan. I'm guessing, based on their usual methods, there's probably a secret escape tunnel inside the warehouse that will allow them to leave at their leisure."
Archer: ...
From the speaker, there was a pause from Archer, as if his secret had been exposed, making things a bit awkward. It was only then that he seemed to notice Natsui's presence.
The security camera swiveled towards Natsui, its lens quickly focusing.
"It's you!? Ridiculous, do you think I wouldn't recognize you just because you're wearing a mask!?" Archer's voice was now filled with hatred. "I can't believe you're here too. You're like a persistent ghost. You repeatedly ruin Team Rocket's great plans. Just you wait, sooner or later you will fall into our hands, and when you do, we'll make you feel the full wrath of Team Rocket!"
"I look forward to that day," Natsui said, completely unfazed by the trash talk. "But for now, you should probably worry about yourself. Once we find that secret passage, you'll truly have no escape!"
With that, Natsui shot a look at Haunter. Haunter understood, and with a wicked grin, it phased through the thick wall.
Originally, the Team Rocket members inside had planned to hold out behind the sturdy walls for a while and then retreat in an orderly fashion. But when Haunter appeared inside, it quickly descended into utter chaos.
"Waaah!"
Screams and the sounds of battle intermittently came from inside the warehouse.
Since Natsui and the others were outside, they had no idea what was happening inside. However, the noise quickly died down, and the keypad next to the door sparked a few times before going dark.
Understanding that Haunter had disabled the wiring, Sabrina and her Gardevoir simultaneously used their psychic powers to slowly pry open the heavy warehouse door.
Nearby, Lorelei, who had been struggling to figure out how to break in, was utterly amazed to see Natsui and Sabrina breach the warehouse so easily.
"You two are really reliable. If it were just me here, I probably would have been helpless by now, just watching them escape. It seems that inviting you to deal with Team Rocket together was a truly wise decision!"
Natsui smiled. "You could say we're specialists. When it comes to dealing with Team Rocket, we're professionals!"
Inside the warehouse, several Team Rocket grunts and their Pokémon lay scattered about. However, after looking around, they saw no sign of Archer.
Did he get away!?
Just then, they noticed several hundred cages stacked in a corner. Although most were empty, many still contained the Pokémon that had been poached!
Seeing Lorelei about to go and release them, Natsui quickly stopped her.
"No, there are too many Pokémon here. Releasing them will take too much time. Let's leave them for the police. We should hurry and chase after the one who escaped!"
Hearing this, Lorelei realized she had nearly lost sight of the bigger picture. She quickly composed herself and returned to Natsui's side.
"You're right. But where could that guy be hiding?"
They looked around. Although it was only one floor, the interior of the warehouse was vast. Besides the main hall for storing goods, it was also divided into several small rooms for Team Rocket members to live and work in.
They searched several rooms without finding any sign of Archer. Finally, they set their sights on the last office.
Natsui kicked the door open, and the three of them looked inside, only to find that Archer wasn't there either.
However, from the dozen or so screens on the wall displaying live security footage, and the microphone on the desk, they knew they had come to the right place.
It seemed this was where Archer had been speaking to them from just moments ago!
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