"The big fish is finally taking the bait."
In the pitch-dark, silent conference room, Renard stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing up at the stars beyond the window.
"Hisss—"
A low, serpentine sound slithered out of the shadows, as though something massive were gliding across the floor. Moments later, two Arbok, each over four meters long and ferocious in appearance, emerged behind Renard. They slowly raised their bodies, spreading the hooded bones around their necks, like twin living statues standing guard over their owner.
Though Granny Agatha was a Ghost-type Elite Four member, Ghost and Poison Pokémon had always been closely linked. As her favorite grandson, Renard naturally excelled at using both Ghost- and Poison-type Pokémon.
...
S.S. Anne, Deck One
"All right, patrol's over."
Mondo glanced at his watch, then suddenly turned toward the four sailors behind him, a strange smile creeping onto his face.
A middle-aged sailor frowned. "Mr. Mondo, there's still more than an hour left according to patrol regulations. How can it be over?"
"If I say it's over, then it's over."
Mondo burst into laughter—and in the same instant, lunged forward and drove a punch straight into the man's abdomen.
The impact was brutal. The sailor's eyes bulged, his face flushed crimson as foam spilled from his mouth. Clutching his stomach, he collapsed to the deck.
"Mondo! What are you doing?!"
Seeing their colleague attacked, the remaining three young sailors shouted in unison, glaring at him as they raised their stun batons.
Mondo casually dug a finger into his ear, clearly uninterested in answering.
"Ah!—Ah!"
A few screams rang out, and moments later, the three sailors met the same fate as their senior. Bare-handed, Mondo effortlessly knocked them all unconscious—men armed with stun batons, yet completely outclassed.
He bound the four men in the lower cargo hold and stuffed cloth into their mouths. From a corner of the storage room, Mondo retrieved a single-strap backpack. Inside were rows of silver-white metallic timed explosives.
Following the plan, he installed the bombs at several key locations in the lower hold. They were dual-control devices—timer and remote. If anything went wrong, one press of a button would erase all evidence.
Once finished, Mondo hurried to the top deck. From inside his coat, he pulled out a signal flare and pressed the trigger.
Whoosh—!
A red flare shot into the night sky and exploded, forming a massive crimson "R" symbol.
The mission was going perfectly.
Watching the symbol bloom overhead, Mondo couldn't suppress a smile. Once this job was complete, he'd be promoted—from squad leader to platoon leader.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sudden applause made Mondo's expression stiffen. Immediately after came the sound of footsteps—many of them. He didn't even need to turn around to know he was surrounded.
"Well done, Mr. Mondo."
Renard stepped out from behind, clapping slowly, a pleasant smile on his face.
"Didn't it strike you as odd? The entire way up here, you never ran into a single staff member. Everything went a little too smoothly—don't you think?"
Mondo's face darkened. "You… that so-called sponsor of some Pokémon tournament."
"How rude. I almost forgot to introduce myself."
Renard smiled.
"My name is Renard. And my real identity is Chief Inspector of the Eastern Kanto League."
"You think you've already won?"
Mondo suddenly burst out laughing.
"Idiot. If you'd stopped me before I launched the signal flare, you might have had a chance. But now? My reinforcements are already here. You really think these useless sailors can stand up to Team Rocket?"
The surrounding sailors erupted in anger, shouting as they glared at the arrogant Rocket operative.
A faint breeze brushed past Renard's hair.
Danger screamed through his instincts.
Without hesitation, Renard shouted, "Everyone—get down!" and dove sharply to the left.
Most sailors looked confused, unsure what the command meant. Still, a few quick-thinking ones covered their heads and threw themselves flat onto the deck.
The instant Renard hit the deck—
A violent gust tore through the air.
A massive brown-feathered Fearow appeared above the spot where he had been standing. Its shrill screech pierced the night as its razor-sharp beak slammed into the deck, punching a gaping hole straight through the metal.
Had Renard reacted even a second slower, that hole would've been torn through his body instead.
Missing its strike, the Fearow didn't linger. It immediately spread its wings and shot back into the air.
Those sailors who hadn't obeyed Renard's warning were far less lucky.
From the opposite side, a second Fearow dove in, launching a frenzied assault. Its long, blade-like beak struck again and again—each stab opening a bloody hole.
Piercing screams echoed across the top deck.
Renard's expression turned ice-cold.
"Haha! That's Boss Tyson's 'Sakon' and 'Ukon'!"
Mondo laughed wildly as he looked up at the sky.
"So much for a 'Chief Inspector'—what a joke!"
"Boss!"
Cole came running up the stairwell, panting. Without wasting time on explanations, he shouted, "Gengar—Shadow Ball!"
"Ghehehe—"
A twisted, eerie laugh rang out as a shiny white Gengar appeared in front of Renard. Raising both arms, it formed two black spheres of compressed energy and hurled them skyward.
The Shadow Balls screamed toward the two Fearow causing chaos above.
Shadow Ball traveled fast—and as a Ghost-type move, it was launched in near silence.
By the time the Fearow sensed something wrong, the attacks were already within a meter.
"Gah! Gah-kwa!"
As elite Pokémon personally trained by Rocket executive Tyson, the two Fearow were veterans of countless battles. Even without a trainer's command, their instincts kicked in instantly.
They folded their wings tight and dropped sharply toward the deck, narrowly evading the ambush.
The Shadow Balls streaked past, slicing off a few feathers—but dealing no critical damage.