Five large bombs crashed down heavily onto the place where Houndoom and Apollo had just been standing.
A series of explosion sounds rang out, flames surged on the ground.
A large area of rocks were shattered by the shockwave of the explosion, the impact hitting the Rocket Team members who didn't manage to escape in time.
The entire mountain was filled with screams of misery.
Sitting on Houndoom's back, Apollo's heart pounded wildly, "Houndoom, quick, use Flame Charge on the rock ahead, if we don't speed up, we're dead!"
Apollo never would have dreamed that in this small Mt. Moon mission, he would actually run into the legendary Ho-oh.
And this Ho-oh even broke the laws of the world, able to use five moves in an instant.
'Even a god-tier being can't cheat like this, right?'
'This is scalp-numbing, bro!'
Houndoom let out a low growl, blazing flames rose from his body instantly, charging toward the giant rock in the distance.
A circle of light shot upward, Houndoom's speed instantly increased by one level.
But before they could run far, a problem arose.
Even though his flames deliberately avoided Apollo, Apollo was still baked by the heat until his whole body was burning hot, and his blue hair instantly caught fire.
Houndoom, worried about his trainer, slightly slowed down.
"Don't worry, I can hold on!"
"Use Flame Charge one more time, stack the speed!"
Just as Apollo's blood boiled with determination, ready to risk injury to escape Ho-oh's attack range, a faint ripple suddenly spread in the air ahead.
Ho-oh's massive body suddenly appeared, looking indifferently at the disheveled Apollo.
On its back, Axel and Gardevoir stood side by side.
"Since you've delivered yourself, then don't think of leaving."
"Little Phoenix, use Sacred Fire!"
"Ho-Oh!"
The moment Axel gave the command, Ho-oh raised its head high, and endless Sacred Fire burst forth with it as the center.
Unlike Houndoom's flames, Ho-oh's fire carried holy power. Burning on Axel and Gardevoir didn't cause the slightest harm, instead, it brought a comforting sensation.
The difference between the two sides was immediately clear.
But in Apollo and Houndoom's perspective, the temperature of this fire was scorching to the extreme.
Even Houndoom, a Fire-type, felt like he was about to ignite.
"I was wrong, I surrender!"
Hearing Apollo's words, Ho-oh tilted its head slightly.
The Sacred Fire avoided all the Rocket Team trainers, only targeting and knocking out their Pokémon into a fainted state.
"Phew~", Apollo let out a breath of relief, his body went limp and he knelt on the ground.
'Terrifying, too terrifying!'
Luckily this divine beast wasn't inherently violent, otherwise, he would've been dead already.
Gardevoir's eyes flickered with red light, killing intent in her heart almost turning tangible.
She remembered this man.
After the Rocket Team was defeated by Red in Kanto, this man had been plotting to rebuild the Rocket Team.
After Giovanni formed Team Rainbow Rocket, he also reinstated this guy.
Although this man later focused on attacking the Kanto League, the fall of the Aurient League definitely had something to do with him.
'Damn it!'
A flash of icy blue passed through Gardevoir's eyes, howling wind pierced through Ho-oh's Sacred Fire, about to slam into Apollo.
Just then, Mewtwo's voice suddenly transmitted through the Poké Ball.
["Gardevoir… don't kill him…"]
["If you kill him, the Rocket Team will still have other executives… It's better to subdue him like Ariana…"]
After a brief moment of thought, Gardevoir nodded slightly.
In her past life, no one knew how Team Rainbow Rocket appeared.
If enough insiders were placed within the Rocket Team, perhaps the truth could be uncovered, maybe even control Team Rainbow Rocket early.
"Gardevoir, what's wrong?", Noticing something off with Gardevoir, Axel worriedly pulled her into his arms.
Gardevoir blinked her eyes, looking like she hadn't fully woken up.
["No… nothing?"]
The howling wind suddenly disappeared, Mewtwo's Poké Ball "accidentally" fell to the ground, and after a flash of light, he appeared in front of Apollo.
Seeing the purple Pokémon in front of him, Apollo couldn't help but widen his eyes.
"Me… Mewtwo!"
"Aren't you in the lab? How did you end up here?"
"No, you're not the perfect dream, you're the one Ariana lost!"
Axel looked thoughtfully at Gardevoir, then finally set his gaze on Apollo, showing a warm smile.
"Correct answer, your prize is a trainer."
Apollo: "Huh?"
———
Five minutes later, the Rocket Team members, all confused, woke up from the ground and rushed to Apollo's side.
"Sir, weren't we capturing that girl just now? How did we suddenly all faint?"
Apollo put on a lingering-fear expression, "Maybe it was due to today's Mt. Moon ritual, Ho-oh just flew overhead."
"Fortunately Houndoom raised a huge shield, otherwise we'd probably all be dead by now."
"Thank you, sir, for saving our lives!"
"Don't say such useless things," Apollo waved his hand coldly.
"The current top priority is taking the Mt. Moon ritual. That woman is missing, so we need to reinforce our troops."
"Contact Lance, have him come help."
"Also, the Moon Stone container we brought is lost. Have Lance bring another one."
"Understood, sir!"
———
At the villa, only Little Blue and Axel were left.
"Axel, are you sure you want to make the Rocket Team your enemy? They're really strong," Little Blue recalled the earlier scene, and instinctively distanced herself a bit from Axel.
Hypnotized Apollo, stole the Rocket Team's big chunk of Moon Stone, and even tricked Apollo into luring Lance over for a kill.
If the Rocket Team found out, it would be a deadly grudge, with no possibility of resolution.
"We don't have to be enemies, how about I give you back to them right now and ask for forgiveness?"
Little Blue: "..."
'That's totally unnecessary!'
Axel played with the Moon Stone box in his hand and couldn't help but laugh.
Little Blue's nature was greedy and cowardly, but that didn't mean she was a bad woman.
To put it plainly, she just lacked a sense of security.
Also from Pallet Town, Red, Green, Ash, and Gary all got Rotom Dexes, but she was kidnapped by Flying-type Pokémon when she was little, always lonely and helpless.
After the Quartz League, Professor Oak discovered Little Blue's inner fragility and helped her truly find herself again.
Moreover, in later storylines, Little Blue also provided great support to the next generation of protagonists.
"Don't think too much about today, go take a nap, recharge for tonight's Clefairy ritual."
'Sleep?'
Little Blue suddenly clamped her legs tight, like a startled rabbit, quickly looking away from the Moon Stone in Axel's hand.
'Already ready to give myself to him?'
Slap!
Axel slapped her on the head, "If you want to heat up, go make dinner. I meant take the Fairy-type Pokémon to rest…"
Little Blue's pretty face flushed red all the way to her ears, burying her face into her knees.
'Damn, so embarrassing!'
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y