However, there was nowhere to hide in this office.
Natsui scanned the room and quickly focused his attention on a filing cabinet against the wall. Upon closer inspection, he saw a scuff mark where the cabinet met the floor, a mark made from it being moved. The mark was still fresh, clearly made not long ago.
He walked over quickly and pushed the filing cabinet with force. Sure enough, a deep, dark secret door was revealed behind it.
The secret door was ajar, and through the gap, a staircase leading down into the darkness could be vaguely seen.
Standing in front of the door, he could feel a draft, which meant the space below was not sealed. This had to be the warehouse's secret passage.
Lorelei came over and also glanced down. "It seems that executive escaped from here!"
Seeing that she was about to go down into the secret passage immediately, Natsui held out a hand to stop her.
Lorelei asked in surprise, "What is it now?"
Natsui said, "From what I know of Archer, he's a rather sinister person. We'd better be careful!"
With that, acting cautiously, he first gestured to Haunter, sending it into the secret passage to scout ahead. After a moment, Haunter returned and gave them an 'OK' sign. Only then did he relax, and together with Lorelei and Sabrina, he stepped through the secret door.
Behind the door was a long, straight, and narrow passage. It looked to be less than a meter wide. Perhaps it had been built in a hurry, as the ground was uneven, and the walls still bore the square marks of a shovel.
By the faint light of the emergency lamps, they had only taken a few steps when, alerted by Haunter, they suddenly saw a disabled flip-board trap not far ahead!
So there really were traps!
Below the trap, a dozen sharp spikes stood menacingly, glinting in the dim light.
Seeing this, Lorelei felt a shiver of lingering fear and couldn't help but look at Natsui with even greater respect.
He's bold, yet meticulous and has his own ideas. His Pokémon are outstandingly strong, and he's very handsome. No wonder Sabrina has fallen for him!
Bypassing the trap, they continued deeper. After walking quickly for another minute or so, the passage began to slope upwards. Finally, when they emerged from a cave opening, they had left the warehouse area and were now in a dense forest!
"He's over there!"
Lorelei's sharp eyes were the first to spot a man running hastily towards the edge of the forest!
Needless to say, this man was Archer!
In the distance, hearing the voices behind him, Archer glanced back. When he saw Natsui and the others, his face changed dramatically!
Damn it! How did they catch up so quickly!?
He panicked, and not watching his step, he tripped over a tree root and fell flat on his face!
Seeing his pursuers getting closer, he scrambled to his feet with his hands and knees, no longer caring about his image, and continued his pathetic escape!
Natsui pointed forward. Gardevoir used Teleport, flashing in front of Archer and blocking his path.
"Get out of the way! Don't block my path!"
Archer pulled out his Poké Balls and released his Pokémon, trying to use them to stall Gardevoir. But with the addition of Haunter and Dewgong, his Pokémon were quickly overwhelmed. They only lasted a few seconds before they were all defeated, failing to make even a ripple.
Now alone, Archer ran for another few dozen meters, finally arriving, out of breath, at the seashore.
At the bay was a small, simple port, with miscellaneous cargo scattered about. It had clearly been built temporarily by Team Rocket to transport supplies.
A speedboat was docked there, and this was Archer's last hope of escape.
He untied the ropes, jumped into the speedboat, and was just about to leave when Sabrina, who had caught up, used her psychic powers to lift both him and the boat out of the water.
"Aaaahhhh!"
Archer screamed in impotent rage, but suspended in mid-air, he had now run out of all possible escape routes.
Finally, when the speedboat was dropped heavily onto the ground, Archer was also jolted out and onto the dirt. Before he could even get up, Natsui, who had arrived, knocked him out with a punch to the temple.
Looking at the collapsed Archer, to be honest, Natsui had never hit anyone that hard before and was worried he might have killed him.
Fortunately, after Lorelei checked, she smiled and shook her head at him.
"It's fine, he's just unconscious. He'll wake up after a little nap."
With that, the matter was finally settled.
Catching a key Team Rocket executive was certainly a cause for celebration. After Haunter lifted the unconscious Archer with Ominous Wind, the three of them planned to return to the warehouse the way they came.
But they had been in such a hurry during the chase that for a moment, they couldn't find where the secret passage's exit was hidden!
Luckily, Lorelei remembered the location of the warehouse. After some turning left and right, they found another path and headed back towards the center of the island.
This operation could be considered a complete success. Once they handed Archer over to the police, the matter would be officially closed. His subsequent custody and transfer would have nothing to do with them.
But as they were walking, they came to a strange place.
In a clearing, a 'tower' made of stacked stones stood before them.
The tower was over ten meters high, and upon closer inspection, its shape resembled the giant tail of an Onix!
And at the base of the tower stood a tombstone.
Sabrina's curiosity was piqued. She couldn't help but walk up to the tombstone and look at the inscription.
'Rocky rests here. In memory of my former partner.'
"Rocky? That must mean an Onix, right?"
Hearing her, Lorelei nodded. "That's right. This is called the Memorial Pillar, also known as Onix's Grave. It's said that the body of an Onix is buried deep beneath the tower. It's very famous here and has been around for over a decade."
On the other side, looking at the grave, Natsui's thoughts drifted elsewhere.
He remembered when he played the game and came to this place. Looking at this Onix tombstone, he couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow.
Now that it was really in front of him, especially after having formed so many bonds with his own Pokémon, he was overwhelmed with emotion.
"For a Pokémon to pass away unexpectedly, its trainer must have been in terrible pain."
With mixed feelings, he saw that the area was covered in weeds and felt a sense of desolate empathy.
Unsure what nerve had been struck, he bent down and began to pull out the weeds one by one.
Lorelei and Sabrina stood by, silently watching his every move.
As trainers themselves, they could naturally understand Natsui's feelings, so they didn't say anything about his actions.
As he pulled more and more weeds, sweat began to trickle down Natsui's cheeks.
When he had cleared about half of it and moved to another patch of grass, he pushed aside the long weeds and suddenly discovered a small pile of rocks!
And on the topmost rock, a line of small words was also engraved.
'Thank you for your kindness, stranger. I have buried this item here. I hope it can help you.'
Huh!?
There's something underneath?
Filled with curiosity, he removed the rocks and saw a stone with a metallic sheen buried inside!
Natsui was amazed.
This small pile of rocks had been here for who knows how long. If not for his sudden whim, he would never have noticed this seemingly ordinary pile of rocks, nor the secret hidden beneath it!
But what is it?
From a distance, sensing something was up, Sabrina and Lorelei also came closer.
After examining it for a moment, Sabrina also shook her head, not knowing what it was. Only the more knowledgeable Lorelei recognized its origin.
"This should be the legendary Onix Metal."
"Onix Metal?" Natsui was taken aback. "What's that?"
"So there are things you don't know!"
Lorelei shot him a look, seeming a bit excited to see Natsui at a loss. However, after seeing Sabrina's expression, she quickly composed herself.
"Ahem, the so-called Onix Metal is a very rare mineral. Some people process it into a Metal Coat and attach it to an Onix, which changes its body structure and allows it to evolve into a Steelix! So, for trainers who have an Onix, this is a rare treasure!"
------------------------
Support my projects and get immediate access to hundreds of chapters of Bleach, Naruto, Pokémon, and more! ✨ Key Benefit: Your favorite novels, with my quality, and always up-to-date.
Featured Novels (with hundreds of chapters available NOW!):
The Heroine Wants to Join My Harem (1050 caps)
Goddess Training Manual (800 caps)
I Have Caught a Pokémon (700 caps)
Bleach Getting Stronger (330 caps)
Naruto: Saving the Uchiha (300 caps)
And many more!
Why subscribe?
🔥 Immediate Access: Read my new chapters before anyone else.
📚 Huge Library: Access my complete catalog instantly.
⭐️ High Quality: Enjoy the novels with a professional and well-crafted text written by me.