After an awkward minute of eye contact, it was still Daisy, who knew both people, that broke the silence.
"Little Red, come in and sit down quickly."
"We were just talking about you. Aunt Delia said you also caught a pretty good Pikachu, is that true?"
"Ahem, yes," Red rubbed his hands and lifted the Pikachu on his shoulder to the front.
"This is the new partner I caught, Pikachu."
"He's just as amazing as little brother's Pikachu!"
"Pika!", Pikachu waved toward Axel, forcibly squeezing a smile onto his face, trying to break the social death atmosphere caused by his own trainer.
Axel's gaze fell on Pikachu and Red.
This Pikachu's talent was also terrifyingly strong.
Although it didn't have an overpowered tag like 'Nirvana,' it did have another substitute.
[Actor (Gold): When facing a powerful opponent, there's a chance to temporarily elevate one's own attributes to the opponent's level.]
Even though this tag was still gold for now, Axel could tell that the golden text already had some colorful glow within it.
Red himself also had an tag, called Man of Battle.
[Man of Battle (Supreme): Can effectively utilize the environment to accomplish battle feats impossible for ordinary people. Possesses strong fighting will, always able to turn the tide in desperate situations.]
The only pity was that Red kept calling him "brother-in-law" every time, so Axel never had the chance to challenge him.
Red was thinking along similar lines.
Having just caught his "brother-in-law" with Sister Daisy, he felt too awkward to challenge him.
He could only wait until later to battle.
Anyway, Mewtwo's partner hadn't been rescued yet. Axel planned to come back again after leveling up Mewtwo and Ho-Oh.
———
[Foot of Mt. Moon]
A Murkrow Boss descended from the sky. Its frame was broad, nearly twice the size of a regular Murkrow Boss.
A man and a woman descended together from its back, walking slowly up the hillside.
The man wore a white suit, and his short blue hair was slicked down with a glossy shine.
"Apollo, are you sure we can handle Mt. Moon?", Ariana's tone was extremely irritable.
Ever since reuniting with the gods last time, Ariana had completely grown to hate Team Rocket in her heart.
A bunch of trash trying to overthrow the gods, sooner or later they'd die under the wrath of the divine.
As for her, Ariana, she would take the powerful Pokémon developed using Team Rocket's resources and defect to the gods.
Since Giovanni had already assumed that the Mewtwo Ariana brought with her was doomed, he didn't blame her after she left.
On the contrary, he gave her new resources to study changes in Pokémon attributes.
In just a few days, Ariana had already identified a few suitable Pokémon.
But at the crucial moment, Apollo actually said there was a great opportunity to redeem herself.
Ariana had almost cursed aloud.
'Working for Team Rocket is the real crime!'
But to avoid suspicion from Giovanni, Ariana still came.
She always remembered: only by protecting herself could she inflict greater losses on Team Rocket.
Hearing Ariana's displeased tone, Apollo's upright posture paused slightly, and he revealed a very gentlemanly smile, "Don't worry, I've been planning the Mt. Moon operation for a long time."
"Every time during the Clefairy ritual, the wild Fairy Pokémon here almost completely lose their combat abilities."
"Besides, the situation here is special."
"Each Fairy-type Pokémon can only undergo the cleansing once in this place, so generally, no veteran trainers are present."
"The only trouble is a kid called Red. I heard he's already cleared three gyms."
"There's also a shiny Gardevoir that apparently killed two of my subordinates."
"I had someone look into it, their Pokémon are only around level thirty-something. No match for us."
"After we kill them, we'll extract the moonlight energy from this place and surely be able to research some very powerful Pokémon."
"Wait!", Hearing the word 'Gardevoir,' Ariana's heart suddenly surged with excitement.
Not long ago, the god's friend also had a shiny Gardevoir, and a particularly powerful one at that.
'Couldn't be such a coincidence.'
'If the two Gardevoirs are actually the same one, then I really have to put on a good show today.'
Though Apollo was strong, during this time she had also successfully evolved her Murkrow into a Murkrow Boss.
Add in that Gardevoir...
It might be totally possible to kill Apollo and let Gardevoir extract the moonlight energy and get a power boost.
'That will help the god's friend.'
'Then surely the god will adore me even more, right?'
The way Ariana looked at Apollo suddenly became tender.
'As expected of you, Apollo. You'd actually sacrifice your own life to help me redeem myself.'
'You're just too much of a gentleman!'
"Apollo, can you tell me the detailed plan?", Ariana's gaze landed on Apollo, "I'll fully cooperate with you."
Seeing Ariana's shift, Apollo didn't think much of it.
In his eyes, Ariana was just greedy for the moonlight energy he was going to extract.
"The plan is actually really simple. Besides Red and that Gardevoir trainer, there's also a female trainer with decent strength in Mt. Moon this time."
"According to my intel, that woman seems to be catching some weak new Pokémon right now."
"We'll grab her first. That way, when night comes, there'll be less pressure."
A trainer with level-30 Pokémon would already be considered a top-tier trainer anywhere.
Apollo's plan could be called meticulous.
Ariana lightly nodded, "Then you go capture her first. I'll go summon a few more subordinates."
"Tonight, I want one-third of the moonlight energy."
Apollo didn't hesitate and agreed directly, turning around and leading his men into the deep mountains.
Once they were far away, Ariana immediately took out her phone and dialed Axel's number.
"Is this Lord Axel?"
"I'd like to report something to you..."
Ariana explained Apollo's plan in detail, only leaving out the part about Little Blue.
In Ariana's view, if Little Blue dared to butt heads with Gardevoir, then running into Apollo was what she deserved.
———
"A special container that can store moonlight?", After hanging up, Axel turned and looked at Daisy, "Have you heard of such a container?"
Daisy nodded, "The stones of Mt. Moon all have that kind of property."
"Every time during the Clefairy ritual, there are events where stones evolve into Moon Stones."
"To store moonlight energy, the container should be entirely made of Moon Stone."
"Such a large piece of Moon Stone would be extremely rare. Given Team Rocket's personality, they might preemptively kill most of the trainers on the mountain to clear the area."
"Want me to borrow Grandpa's Dragonite?"
"No need, I can handle it," Axel's tone grew excited.
Moon Stones themselves were already incredibly rare, they could evolve many kinds of Pokémon.
A container entirely made of Moon Stone would be even more valuable.
'By then, I'd like to see who still dares to call me a freeloader!'
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