After Natsui's threat, the Team Rocket grunt seemed to let go of his mental burden, completely gave up resisting, and became very cooperative.
He answered all of Lorelei's questions, and from his words, Lorelei learned a lot of useful information.
It turned out that after their failure on the Kanto mainland, Team Rocket had been forced to turn its attention to these remote areas, intending to gather strength and make a comeback.
Therefore, capturing Pokémon to rapidly increase their combat power had become their top priority!
What surprised Lorelei, however, was that Team Rocket hadn't established any secret base here; it was merely a hidden warehouse in the forest of Five Island.
And to avoid being detected by the locals, they hadn't dispatched many people here, only a dozen or so.
Hearing this, Lorelei couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they hadn't been on the island for long. She had been genuinely afraid that these Team Rocket members had already infiltrated all walks of life in the Sevii Islands.
Now, it seemed they could be nipped in the bud!
"Who is the highest-ranking person in charge here?"
The grunt hesitated for a moment. "It's... Lord Archer, one of the four executives."
Archer?
Him again!
Hearing his name, Natsui was taken aback. This was an old acquaintance. After so many encounters, he was all too familiar with him and his Pokémon!
But even though this was an enemy who had been defeated by him several times, Natsui didn't dare to be complacent for a second.
Never underestimating any opponent was a principle he always followed!
At this point, seeing that there was nothing more to ask, Sabrina waved her hand and turned the other grunts back to normal. Natsui then used Team Rocket's own ropes to tie their hands, linked them together, and prepared to return to the surface.
However, just as they were about to leave, Natsui happened to notice something under a distant ice pillar that was different from the ordinary ice, shining brightly.
What's that!?
Puzzled, he couldn't help but walk over and pick it up.
It was hard to describe. The object was cold to the touch and, although its shape was no different from an ordinary block of ice, crystal clear, it felt as hard as a stone when he touched it.
And the strangest thing was that, despite being in contact with the warmth of Natsui's palm for so long, the block of ice showed no signs of melting!
"What is this?"
Hearing Natsui's words, Lorelei walked over to his side. After getting a clear look at the item, her eyes lit up, and she said joyfully, "Huh? Isn't this a Never-Melt Ice!?"
A Never-Melt Ice?
Seeing Natsui's confused expression, Lorelei smiled. "It's a type of ice that has absorbed a strange power, causing it to change. It's said that no matter how high the temperature, it can't be melted. And when a Pokémon holds it, it can increase the power of its Ice-type moves!"
Oh, so it's that thing...
Although he had played several Pokémon games in the past, to be honest, Natsui was the type to just play through the story. He rarely even used potions, and in the past, even if he had obtained useful items, he had just thrown them into storage without ever really paying attention to them.
Seeing the look of longing in Lorelei's eyes, Natsui didn't hesitate and simply stuffed it into his backpack.
Lorelei: ...
Looking at her expression, which was caught between wanting to speak and holding back, Natsui remained impassive, appearing cool and indifferent.
Did you think I was going to give it to you!?
You've got to be kidding. So what if you're an Ice-type Elite Four member! In front of Sabrina, how could I possibly do something that would cause me trouble!
Besides, he had an Ice-type Pokémon of his own. It would be a perfect fit for Articuno!
However, unlike in the games, such a large object obviously couldn't be held directly. He would have to study it carefully to figure out how to use it.
Retracing their steps, Natsui and the others escorted the Team Rocket grunts out of Icefall Cave.
Now that they had solid information, they naturally didn't need to bother going to Six and Seven Islands.
Lorelei took out her phone and contacted a local police officer she knew, asking him to take the grunts away and to have his men stand by outside Five Island, ready to support them at any moment.
The purpose of this was, of course, to avoid startling the snake and alerting Team Rocket.
After the handover was complete, the three of them had a quick bite to eat and then took the speedboat straight to Five Island.
The official name of Five Island was Chrono Island.
The island's name was very strange; even Lorelei couldn't figure out what it had to do with time.
As the most scenic of the Sevii Islands, Five Island's tourism industry was very well-developed, with countless tourists visiting every year. To accommodate them, a wealthy local had even built a luxury resort on the northern part of the island!
As they docked their speedboat and stepped onto the pier, they happened to see a ship named the "S.S. Tidal," carrying a large number of tourists, also arriving at the island.
Brushing past the bustling crowd, they didn't linger. Under Lorelei's guidance, they navigated with ease to the depths of the forest in the center of the island.
The surroundings were lush with dense foliage, with towering ancient trees that would take two people to encircle. Further in was the location of the Team Rocket warehouse.
Crouching behind a large tree, Natsui peered through the thick bushes and saw a building that was almost perfectly camouflaged with its surroundings. At the entrance, Team Rocket grunts were constantly moving boxes of goods in and out.
"Tch, these guys are really cunning!"
Lorelei spat softly. She said this because the building had been camouflaged by Team Rocket. If she hadn't known about it beforehand from someone else, it would have been very difficult to find this secret warehouse hidden in the forest just by searching aimlessly or flying over quickly.
After watching for a moment, Natsui turned and asked, "Do you have a strategy?"
Lorelei observed for a while, not acting rashly, and instead asked back, "Do you have any suggestions?"
Sabrina remained silent, looking as if the matter had nothing to do with her. Knowing he couldn't count on her, Natsui thought for a moment and suggested, "Although there aren't many of them, to ensure no fish escape the net, I think we should clear them out from the outside in, taking them down one by one."
Lorelei nodded. With their strength, she was naturally confident they could capture everyone here. But just in case, she took out her phone and contacted the police officer, asking him to move closer.
However, just before she was about to act, she saw Natsui pull a strange mask from his backpack and put it on his face.
"Hm? What are you doing?"
"This is a good habit of mine," Natsui's voice sounded like a completely different person's through the Gengar mask. "For someone like me who does good deeds anonymously and doesn't seek recognition, how could I possibly let these people see my face!"
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