Chapter 128: Typhlosion’s Noble Eruption

"Retreat, you two. Job's done."

Zhu Suihan returned Lapras and Milcery to their Poke Balls. Before entering her ball, Milcery had asked with some excitement when they would go to pick up the third sister of the family.

Zhu Suihan was silent for a moment. "Well, strictly speaking, we cannot yet determine the gender of our third partner."

"As for the Viridian Festival, there should still be half a month left. We only need to head over a bit early. We can stop by Saffron City on the way to let Sabrina recharge me."

He truly hadn't expected Milcery to ask that, and it seemed the little one had firmly decided the third partner would also be female.

If he remembered correctly, Mewtwo was a genderless Pokemon. However, given the strength of its psychic powers, which were nothing short of miraculous, it wouldn't be impossible for it to change its gender.

To be precise, it wasn't that it couldn't, but that there was no need.

Zhu Suihan could almost feel the Mewtwo from his previous life grabbing him by the collar in his mind and roaring.

"A miracle of life like me is standing right in front of you, and you're here bickering with me about gender? Do you want me to use my psychic powers to 'adjust' your gender for you?"

"That seems to be a problem."

Zhu Suihan pondered for a moment. If he wanted to recruit Mewtwo as his partner, he couldn't just keep milking its powers endlessly, even if they were far superior to Sabrina's.

Simply put, if Mewtwo got tired or sleepy, he would be the one paying the bill out of his own pocket.

"Sabrina is better after all. The big sister from Saffron City never makes me worry about having to pay to replenish her energy."

Even if it weren't for Drayden and N, Zhu Suihan planned to visit the Unova League in the future to broaden his horizons.

Setting everything else aside, he was quite interested in that Battle Castle princess—or rather, the Queen. He could also solve that freak Ghetsis while he was at it.

Caitlin, the legal loli and one of the Unova Elite Four.

If nothing else, he just wanted to make friends!

"Let me see who has more stamina between you and Sabrina!"

After tucking the two little ones into bed, Zhu Suihan poured himself a glass of berry juice and leaned back on a lounge chair in the courtyard to ponder life.

Meanwhile, in Viridian City, others were holding drinks with a higher alcohol content, looking calmly at the people gathered around the table.

Lt. Surge sat with his legs crossed, a cigar in his mouth, looking somewhat bewildered at his colleagues.

"All three commanders gathered together? Boss, are you planning some kind of secret operation?"

Giovanni nodded at Domino, who was standing beside him. The bowl-cut girl with glasses divided the documents in her hand into three copies and gave them to the three commanders at the table.

"The League seems to have used some method unknown to us. The movements of Team Go-Rock seem increasingly strange."

The reason he used the word "strange" instead of "rampant" was purely due to the battle reports recorded in the file.

The number of secret hideouts of Team Go-Rock being wiped out had suddenly increased. Previously, they might not have found a single location in a month or two, but now the League had uncovered three hideouts in a single month.

"Sabrina, you were involved in this. Do you know why?"

Sabrina clicked her tongue. "That white-haired monkey didn't tell me the specifics. I can only confirm that he is the one who did it."

She was just the muscle hired to help, and muscle usually didn't require high intelligence. That was why Sabrina was so annoyed with Zhu Suihan.

"Oh, that white-haired guy? He's really quite a troublemaker. To think he'd be involved in something like this, and as the mastermind, no less."

Lt. Surge put down the documents. "Boss, what are you worried about?"

"I am indeed worried."

Giovanni watched the wine and ice cubes swirling in his glass, shifting colors and shadows under the light.

"If this continues, I'm afraid that by the time we catch Prof. Hastings, he won't be worth anything anymore. What then?"

He always felt as if Hastings had been cursed by some Ghost-type Pokemon from ancient ruins with a nightmare-level hex.

The ruins of Pokelantis had been completely emptied by that genius researcher calling himself Scrooge McDuck.

Looking at the comprehensive intelligence now, the most valuable things from the two ruins were still the pile of treasures the guy had left for the landlord Scott in Hoenn.

If the old Hastings was worth five mountain ranges, the current one was worth at most three—and the kind that the League would drive the price down on.

Aside from being cursed, Giovanni couldn't think of a more suitable reason.

Archer suddenly spoke up. "Boss, is it possible this is internal strife?"

"Internal strife is unlikely. No matter how foolish Hastings is, he wouldn't let his subordinates possess power that exceeds his own."

Giovanni frowned. "Moreover, aside from the Capture Styler, Hastings' own strength is not weak. He is still capable of fighting an Elite Four member."

Sabrina handed her juice to the Alakazam standing behind her.

"Boss, if that white-haired monkey was trading some kind of ancient artifact that could boost strength with that runaway subordinate, then the possibility of internal strife does exist."

For villainous organizations, the most common narrative was the simultaneous growth of ambition and power, often with a chain reaction.

"If that's the case, then it is indeed possible for internal strife to occur within Team Go-Rock."

Giovanni suddenly felt that the land he had prepared for the expansion of the Viridian Forest wasn't very secure; the business venture might fall through.

The reason Hastings was so good at hiding, besides the convenience provided by the Capture Styler technology in the wild, was that he was a highly intelligent villain who knew how to bide his time.

But it seemed that there was trouble within Team Go-Rock now. A bad apple had appeared in their ranks.

Even if that bad apple didn't succeed, it was enough for the League to follow the clues and wipe out Team Go-Rock in one go.

If the League took action, then the land he wanted would no longer be on the table.

He couldn't possibly secretly support a few villains to go up against the League.

Every time he remembered what kind of manga and storybooks were most prevalent in Silver's room, Giovanni felt he wasn't yet so monstrous as to go to such lengths for the expansion of the Viridian Forest.

If Silver found out about that later, his image as a father would completely collapse.

"Sabrina, you have that young man's contact information, right? I'd like to have a chat with him."

Sabrina snorted and turned her head away. "Sorry, Boss, I don't."

Giovanni: ?

Giovanni looked at Lt. Surge. Lt. Surge, who was happily smoking his cigar, drinking, and watching the show, was suddenly stunned. How could this be dragged onto him?

"Lt. Surge, you seem to be the first one to have contact with that young man."

"Uh..."

Lt. Surge felt Sabrina's death stare. "Yes, Boss. Even the internal cell phones we use were delivered to Mr. Suihan by me."

Archer coughed. "Boss, the Viridian Festival is about to start. I heard from Sabrina that the young man has also accepted the invitation, so there's no need to rush."

Giovanni rubbed his forehead. "Fine, it seems I am indeed a bit impatient."

In Giovanni's view, as long as he found Hastings' location, he could crush his defenses with just his Beedrill and then go to the League to "redeem the bounty."

"The Viridian Festival... It seems I'll have to have a word with that young man."

*Young man, are you interested in joining our Rocket organization? Standard working hours, high salary, paid leave is a must, plus quarterly bonuses.*

Sabrina glanced at her Alakazam, then at a stone shimmering with seven colors in her pocket.

*Just you wait, white-haired monkey. I'll show you what the possibility of a bond really looks like!*

After deciphering the Capture Styler, Zhu Suihan's life returned to normal. The Gyarados in the big lake had finally recovered from its injuries and had also calmed its inner fears.

Then, it challenged the Typhlosion, one of the big bosses of the back mountain. Zhu Suihan's family was invited to watch, similar to how Ash's friends watched gym battles.

Of course, there was also the reason that Gyarados wanted to find a reliable "priest."

It would be too embarrassing to go to other students and teachers at the Nurse Joy Academy, so it was better to find this acquaintance he saw every day.

Being laughed at by an acquaintance was always better than social death.

Then, Zhu Suihan witnessed the terror of the strong.

Although there was no such thing as "cracking the laws of the universe" in the Pokemon world, aside from the two legendary dragons of time and space, one could see the gap in strength through the most intuitive environmental changes.

Just moments ago, Gyarados was flying in the sky, charging up a big move. It used Rain Dance to cover the battlefield and the surrounding area, then unleashed Hurricane to disrupt the weather, while simultaneously giving Typhlosion a "scratch."

This change was also a test of the resilience of the white-haired monkey's hair roots.

Rain Dance provided a field advantage, and while Hurricane scratched, it accelerated itself. Gyarados suddenly unleashed a long-charged Hydro Pump, which rushed toward the Typhlosion below with the help of the storm!

At the same time, Gyarados' huge tail gradually became covered in blue light, its color deepening.

Aqua Tail!

This was a dual combo. After the Hydro Pump finished, Gyarados would use the downward momentum to boost the power of the Aqua Tail, hitting Typhlosion's relatively smaller body hard.

Because Gyarados' training wasn't quite up to par, the composition of the Aqua Tail move was a bit slow; it could only charge slowly in the sky this way, and that was only because Typhlosion was giving it the chance.

The scene looked like a five-year-old child preparing to fight their combat instructor.

Typhlosion stood there motionless, arms crossed, watching the Gyarados performing magic in the sky with an arrogant look. The flames on its body did not intentionally surge, nor were they weakened by the water.

This posture and look made Milcery's eyes shine, and she pulled on Zhu Suihan's hair even harder.

*That's it!*

*What a cool emperor-like stance!*

*I want to be like that in the future!*

Lapras, on the other hand, cautiously considered whether its parents could beat this Typhlosion and whether they needed to call upon the two big seniors—the pig and the bird—back home.

Gyarados dove straight down, and Typhlosion finally made a move. After dropping its arms, it roared at the sky, and flames like a volcanic eruption swept across the entire field!

Eruption!

Not only was the surrounding water vapor instantly evaporated, but the Hydro Pump that Gyarados had dove down with was also heavily focused by the erupting flames, disappearing at a quite unscientific speed!

"No, actually it's very scientific."

Zhu Suihan put away the frying pan he had been using to heat things up.

"When the firepower is intense enough, this kind of situation does indeed occur."

Gyarados' dive looked like a warrior facing death without fear, or like a sparkler burning in reverse after being lit from the end.

Looking at the rising readings on the detector, Zhu Suihan was now certain: he didn't know if there were other big bosses in the back mountain, but Typhlosion and Tyranitar were definitely at the level of regional champions.

"No wonder it lost so miserably."

Typhlosion just changed its stance and roared, and Gyarados lay on the ground with swirl-eyes.

Moreover, until it fainted, Gyarados didn't touch Typhlosion even once.

Milcery had stars in her eyes. "Milcery!"

*Master of fire, I want to learn your stance and your look!*

Typhlosion: ?

*Is this kid's brain muddled from the mix of heat and cold?*

*Even if you want to learn, you should learn Flamethrower... No, wait, it's unlikely that thing could learn Flamethrower.*

The phone rang. Zhu Suihan picked it up and looked, a smile appearing on his face.

"Hello?"

"Hello, outlaw. I'm getting ready to go to the Viridian Festival. I heard from the organizers that you're going too."

Lance, standing on his Dragonite's back, had one hand in his pocket and was holding his phone with the other.

"I'll come to the Nurse Joy Academy and fly you over. How about that?"

"Boss is generous! By the way, on the way, could you take me to Saffron City first?"

"Huh?"