Hearing that voice, Saturn frowned deeply.
Him again?
"Is this the guy who tricked you last time?" The tall, red-haired girl beside him— Mars—looked toward Ash approaching from the distance. "That Gengar just now had some impressive speed… but I'd still like to test it for myself."
Saturn narrowed his eyes at her. "Mars, I'd advise you not to pick a fight with him lightly…"
The Galactic Team had four high-ranking Commanders: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and the enigmatic scientist, Charon. Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars handled most of the organization's daily operations, while Charon was in charge of their technological and scientific developments—like creating the Red Chain.
As Ash walked up, Saturn subtly stepped back and gestured with his hand.
The nearby Galactic Grunts instantly understood—this was the signal to begin jamming the electric signals across Veilstone City using electromagnetic waves.
"So… they're starting the signal disruption already?" Ash muttered.
Gengar floated beside him and handed over the Lustrous Key—the " Spear Key"—to Ash.
Mars had already stepped into Ash's path. "Little boy, be good and hand over the toy. Maybe big sister will come play with you later~" she said with a coy smile, though her fingers were already moving fast.
Two Poké Balls were released: one revealed a Purugly, the other a Golbat.
"Hey," Ash said coldly, "Last time's business is over. So what's this supposed to be?"
Saturn was clearly trying to avoid direct conflict. Not because he was scared—but because they were already walking a thin line. Their mission in Veilstone was to collect meteor fragments, and Officer Jenny's team was likely already aware of their presence.
"Exactly. Last time is in the past. I even let you go. But now…" Ash said, tossing the Spear Key in his hand casually. "This thing? How much are you willing to pay for it?"
The Key glowed faintly with golden light, drawing eyes in the darkness.
Mars's face twisted with annoyance as Ash brushed her off. "Saturn, you're getting soft! Since when were we scared of one brat?" she snapped. "Purugly, go! Shadow Claw!"
"Purrr!" The bulky feline sprang forward.
"Golbat, use Air Cutter to assist!"
The two Pokémon lunged forward in sync!
Saturn didn't have time to stop her.
"No choice then…" he muttered. "Let's test him. If Mars and I both go in, we might have a shot. Toxicroak, Bastiodon, go!"
He released his Pokémon into battle.
Ash took a few steps back, clutching the Spear Key. "Gengar. You're up."
Instantly, the surrounding grunts closed in, worried Ash would flee with the artifact.
Their mission this time wasn't just the meteorite—above all, they needed that Key.
Gengar shot forward, flinging a Shadow Ball directly at the charging Purugly.
Despite its high level—easily above 45—Purugly's Shadow Claw collided with the incoming orb, but the sheer force knocked its paw off course.
Being a Normal-type, Gengar obviously had a plan. While Purugly staggered from the impact, Gengar darted forward in a blur and—
Smack!
"Purrrr…"
One strike to the face, and Purugly collapsed, completely knocked out.
Golbat swooped down, unleashing its Air Cutter, but Gengar's eyes suddenly lit up with a wave of dark power—Night Shade!
BOOM!
A shockwave erupted as the attacks clashed mid-air!
Saturn's Toxicroak and Bastiodon had just been sent out but already lost sight of their target. Gengar had vanished again.
"Forget Gengar! Capture the trainer!" Saturn barked. "He's the key!"
Even with both him and Mars working together, it was clear they couldn't overpower Gengar. The only way to turn the tables was to get Ash himself.
Toxicroak lunged forward while Bastiodon prepared Rock Tomb to trap Ash.
BOOM!
Four massive rocks shot from the ground.
"Sceptile! Use Bullet Seed!"
Ash threw a Poké Ball— Sceptile burst out, eyes sharp.
"Chaaa!"
Biu! Biu! Biu!
The rocks shattered in mid-air under the rapid-fire barrage. But Sceptile didn't stop there—the Bullet Seed carried on, pelting Bastiodon directly!
Though weakened slightly by the rocks, it was still a 4x effective Grass attack!
Battle XP Sharing Activated!
Tenfold XP Boost Card Ready!
Sceptile didn't even glance at Bastiodon afterward.
"Chaaa!" Its forearms shimmered as the leaf-blades extended—Leaf Blade!
With a burst of speed, it dashed toward Toxicroak, who was still targeting Ash.
Shing!
A green blur zipped past—Toxicroak dropped instantly.
At the same time, Gengar reappeared in the air above Golbat—Shadow Punch!
SMASH!
"Ding! Congratulations, host! Gengar defeated Purugly and earned 8,500 XP! Sceptile defeated Bastiodon and earned 9,500 XP!
XP Sharing and 10x Boost Applied!
Gengar and Sceptile both gain 180,000 XP!"
Sceptile leveled up from 71 to 72, narrowly missing another level.
Gengar, meanwhile, broke past the Elite Four and entered into Champions Level—reaching Level 70, its aura exploding with power!
"Ding! Gengar defeated Golbat and earned 8,000 XP! Sceptile defeated Toxicroak and earned 9,800 XP!
XP Sharing and 10x Boost Applied!
Both Pokémon gain 178,000 XP!"
Sceptile jumped from Level 72 to 73—just as Ash expected.
Gengar climbed again to Level 71.
After breaking into the Champion tier, leveling up became exponentially harder for Pokémon. Without the XP Boost Cards, this kind of rapid growth would've been impossible.
With all four enemy Pokémon defeated, Gengar and Sceptile returned to Ash's side, glaring silently at Saturn and Mars.
"…Name your price." Saturn gritted his teeth.
Cyrus had entrusted him with three hundred million Poké Coins to fund their missions. Right now, he just hoped Ash wouldn't be too unreasonable.
"Saturn! What are you—?"
"Enough!" he barked. "The boss's mission is the top priority!"
Mars, still shocked by how fast they'd been defeated, wanted to argue, but she bit her tongue.
After all, Red Chain came first.
And truth be told—after the last mission—Cyrus had already told Saturn how he planned to deal with Ash.
Once the New World was created, and with the powers of Dialga and Palkia in hand… would a mere Pokémon trainer really still matter?
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T/N:
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