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Chapter 183: Asahi: Pryce, I’m Here to Help!
🕑 Added 2025-02-25 11:14:06 +0000 UTCChapter 183: Asahi: Pryce, I’m Here to Help!
The moment Pryce glanced in his direction, Asahi knew he'd been spotted.
He couldn’t help but marvel at the old man’s awareness.
His first instinct was to have Mewtwo strike, but then he hesitated.
Why was he rushing?
He was still disguised, and Pryce was a League Gym Leader — not a member of the Masked Army. They were technically on the same side.
No need to start a fight.
Changing tactics, Asahi telepathically instructed, Mewtwo, Gardevoir — protect me.
He quickly altered his face to resemble a random bystander he once saw, adjusted his clothes, then stepped into view.
"Watch out, Pryce!" Asahi shouted, tossing a Poké Ball.
"Pidgeot — Quick Attack!"
His newly evolved Pidgeot finally got its chance to shine, streaking like a blur toward one of the Team Rocket grunts.
Pryce: "..."
You yelled so dramatically — I thought you were actually going to help me.
As Raticate’s Hyper Fang bore down on him, Pryce briefly considered summoning Delibird — but instead, he calmly blocked the attack with his cane.
Recalling Swinub, he knocked Raticate aside and followed up with an Icy Wind — freezing the attacking Pokémon solid.
Lambda's face darkened — he hadn't expected his carefully planned attack to be blocked so easily.
Instinctively, he blamed the random bystander who had suddenly appeared. If this guy hadn't warned Pryce, he might have taken Pryce out already!
Feeling Lambda's hostile glare, Asahi raised an eyebrow.
[Your Raticate got frozen by Pryce — why are you staring at me?]
Pryce, however, didn't stop after freezing Raticate. Without missing a beat, he launched a follow-up attack against Team Rocket.
His cane tapped the ground in quick succession.
Swinub, understanding the command, took a deep breath — its body visibly swelling as icy energy gathered within it.
Seeing this, Lambda's expression changed, and he hastily ordered his Weezing to shield him.
The next moment—
Whoosh!
A fierce Blizzard burst from Swinub's mouth, roaring toward Team Rocket.
Everything in its path was frozen solid.
The luckier grunts managed to have their Pokémon block the brunt of the attack, barely avoiding being encased in ice themselves.
The less fortunate ones? They were left standing with a thin layer of ice clinging to their bodies.
[Well… Pokémon World people are built different — they should be fine.]
Lambda, one of the "lucky" ones, had his Weezing frozen, but he himself remained unscathed.
Just as Pryce prepared to press his advantage and capture Lambda—
Without hesitation, Lambda threw a handful of Poké Balls.
A swarm of Koffing appeared, instantly releasing thick clouds of Smokescreen.
Taking full advantage of the cover, Lambda bolted, abandoning his subordinates without a second thought.
By the time the smoke began to clear, the remaining Rocket grunts were left bewildered — only then realizing their boss had already escaped.
Panic erupted among them as they scrambled to flee, but it was too late.
Swinub's Powder Snow sealed some of their feet to the ground, while Asahi had Pidgeot swoop down to subdue a few others.
In the end, most of the grunts were captured — but Lambda was long gone.
Asahi clicked his tongue in admiration.
[No wonder this guy managed to escape Pryce alongside Athena before — his getaway skills are top-notch.]
Of course, Asahi had been tracking Lambda with his Aura the entire time. During the chaos of the Smokescreen, Lambda had changed disguises four times, ultimately blending in as a nondescript grunt before slipping away.
Why didn't Asahi stop him?
Well — aside from not wanting to blow his cover by revealing Gardevoir or Mewtwo…
There was also the bigger picture.
Asahi saw the Rocket Executive as a useful pawn in his fight against the Masked Army.
Why would he help Pryce eliminate his "ally"?
Naturally, Asahi put on a regretful face and sighed dramatically. "He got away… What a shame."
Pryce: "..."
The old Gym Leader remained silent.
Pryce's goal for being here was clear — to eliminate Lambda.
Ever since Lambda and Athena had sabotaged his plans before, Pryce had been searching for an opportunity to get rid of them.
But the two had been hiding in Rocket HQ, untouchable.
This had been his best shot — he'd chased Lambda deep into this secluded forest, fully intending to end it today.
He'd planned to have Delibird block Raticate's attack and use Swinub to finish Lambda off…
But then this random stranger jumped in and disrupted his plan.
Exposing Delibird was no longer an option, forcing him to pull Swinub back and miss the perfect moment to strike.
Suppressing his irritation at Asahi's interference, Pryce considered whether to reveal his true identity.
But something felt… off. A vague sense of unease.
In the end, he chose to let it go.
Lambda was just one man — there would be other opportunities.
On the surface, Pryce maintained his usual calm smile. "Thanks to your warning, I avoided danger. May I ask your name?"
"I'm Hayato," Asahi replied smoothly, borrowing the alias he had once used as a Rocket grunt at Mt. Moon.
Feigning modesty, he added, "You're too kind, Pryce. As a Gym Leader of Mahogany Town, dealing with Team Rocket is everyone's responsibility. Honestly, without me, you would have handled it just fine."
He even threw in a self-deprecating laugh. "If anything, I might've just gotten in your way."
Pryce: "..."
[Oh, so you realize that?]
But with Lambda gone, there was no point in arguing.
Pryce's smile never wavered — the old man was a master at masking his emotions, even better than Giovanni.
Asahi and Pryce were still exchanging polite words when a groan came from the side.
The captured inspector — who had been knocked out earlier — finally regained consciousness.
Blinking in confusion, the inspector's gaze darted around, taking in the scene of unconscious Rocket grunts littering the ground.
Wait… wasn’t he the one who got captured?
Why were the Rocket members the ones defeated now?
"What happened…?"
Before he could process it all, Asahi spoke up, smiling. "You should thank Pryce here — he took down Team Rocket and saved you."
Pryce opened his mouth to deflect the praise, but Asahi cut him off.
"And that's not all — even Lambda, one of Team Rocket's Four Executives, couldn't stand up to him. Pryce nearly caught him too — so close."
Asahi pinched his fingers together, showing just how "close" Pryce had been.
Pryce: "..."
[Can we stop talking about that?]
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