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Chapter 143: Farewell, Mew
🕑 Added 2025-02-15 15:11:14 +0000 UTCChapter 143: Farewell, Mew
"Asahi, I just saw your message. You suspect Koga?" Lance asked.
In Lance’s mind, Koga had always been a quiet yet reliable Gym Leader. Hearing Asahi’s suspicion made him skeptical.
If even Koga had problems, then who in the League could still be trusted?
"That's right. I have solid evidence," Asahi replied.
Evidence that Koga himself had provided.
Lance fell silent. He didn’t believe Asahi would lie about something like this.
Which meant… Koga was really with Team Rocket?
A chill ran down Lance’s spine.
First Lt. Surge, and now Koga—just how deeply had Team Rocket infiltrated the League?
Good thing we have Asahi…
Lance suddenly felt that recruiting Asahi into the International Police was one of the best decisions he had ever made.
"So, what’s your plan for dealing with Koga?"
Lance knew Koga was a master of poison. In a normal battle, it was one thing, but in an unrestricted fight, Koga could be incredibly difficult to handle.
"Do you need me to send a team of inspectors to assist you?"
He was aware that Asahi didn’t have many people under his command.
"No need..."
“Don’t push yourself…”
Lance had barely spoken when Asahi flipped his phone’s camera.
The moment Lance saw the screen, his words cut off abruptly.
Koga sat on the ground, hands secured in handcuffs.
“???”
Lance was utterly baffled.
He scrutinized the defeated Koga several times, then checked the timestamp of Asahi’s message.
This… this was way too fast!
Asahi said, “There’s only Green and me here. We can’t handle this many captives alone—you’ll have to come take care of it.”
Lance finally snapped out of his daze. “I’ll be there immediately.”
After ending the call, Asahi pocketed his phone and turned to Koga. “Lance is on his way. Do you have any last words?”
“Want to switch sides?”
“.....” Koga remained silent.
“Tsk…” Asahi clicked his tongue.
“Lt. Surge was like this, and now you too. Is Team Rocket really worth your loyalty?”
Koga finally spoke. “Raid On the City! Knock out, Evil Tusks!”
“I know, I know… ‘Attack the city, defeat them, you are the fangs of evil.’ I’ve heard your Team Rocket slogan a hundred times already.” Asahi waved dismissively.
“But come on, you’re a father, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you think about your daughter?”
“Her name is Janine, right?”
At the mention of his daughter, the cold expression on Koga’s face wavered for a brief moment.
After a long silence, he finally muttered, “She will understand. This is the fate of a ninja.”
“If you keep clinging to the old ways and refuse to embrace the new era, you’ll be left behind sooner or later.”
Asahi shook his head. “Anyway, I’ve said my piece. If you ever change your mind and want to defect, my offer stands.”
Koga didn’t respond.
The only sound left was Lugia Jr. yawning.
---
Asahi was busy helping Slowpoke practice Psychic with Gardevoir’s guidance.
Despite its blank expression, Slowpoke was quite the fast learner. It grasped the technique in no time.
When Lance arrived, the first thing he saw was Slowpoke launching a Weezing into the sky with Psychic.
“Good job, remember that feeling,” Asahi encouraged Slowpoke.
Then, turning to Lance, who had just landed with Dragonite, he said, “Koga and his men are all here.”
“Nice Slowpoke,” Lance complimented.
Then, glancing at the pile of unconscious ninjas, he continued, “I’ll take care of these guys. What about Koga? Kanto’s prison is still empty, isn’t it?”
“Forget it, he’s all yours. Our Kanto branch barely has enough people as it is—we don’t have time to babysit and interrogate prisoners.” Asahi shrugged.
Green rolled her eyes.
If he hadn’t dragged Sabrina into an underground dungeon for interrogation before, she might’ve believed him.
Lance didn’t think too much about it, though—he was well aware of the Kanto branch’s lack of manpower.
“By the way, how did you get proof that Koga was with Team Rocket?”
“Oh, that…”
Asahi briefly recounted what had happened.
Hearing the full story, Lance didn’t even know how to react.
This wasn’t just baiting Koga into exposing himself—this was outright blowing him up for the truth.
Did Asahi even consider the possibility that Koga wasn’t with Team Rocket?
Then again, thinking back on Asahi’s track record…
Fine. He had to admit—so far, Asahi’s instincts had never been wrong.
Still…
“You really caught me off guard with this one,” Lance said.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not just about Koga. The Indigo Conference is coming up soon, but now both Lt. Surge and Koga have been taken out, and you also issued a reconstruction notice for Cerulean Gym…” Lance sighed. “With so many Gym Leaders missing, this will affect a lot of Trainers.”
“That was two months ago, and Vermilion Gym still hasn’t found a replacement?” Asahi looked genuinely surprised.
Were Kanto Trainers really this indifferent to fame and fortune?
No one wanted a Gym Leader position?
“Nope. We found a few decent candidates, but they all failed the later interviews.” Lance pulled up a file and sent it to Asahi.
Asahi flipped through it on his tablet.
Oh wow…
The three candidates who barely passed the strength test?
All had suspected ties to Team Rocket.
“…Why are they all from Team Rocket?” Asahi looked at Lance.
Lance sighed. “From what we’ve gathered, several Trainers who applied for the position were mysteriously attacked by Team Rocket. At least ten have been hospitalized.”
“Because of this, many Trainers have given up on the selection process altogether.”
“So the ones who do make it through the strength test… are mostly connected to Team Rocket.”
Hearing this, Asahi couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow, so this is basically the Pokémon world’s version of rigging bids?”
Eliminate all competition through physical means to monopolize the position.
A classic case of If I can’t have it, no one can.
“And the League isn’t doing anything about this?” Asahi asked.
Sure, the League tended to be slow to react, but Team Rocket was practically rubbing this in their faces.
“At first, we deployed a lot of forces to hunt down Team Rocket,” Lance explained. “But they’re too slippery—out of ten raids, eight were complete failures. The remaining two? One was an ambush where we fell into their trap. The other? We caught a few grunts—nothing useful.”
“…..”
So the League was completely getting played.
“And the Council is just letting this go? Couldn’t they assign bodyguards to Gym candidates?” Asahi asked.
Lance shook his head. “The Council debated it and concluded that if a Trainer can’t handle a Team Rocket attack, they wouldn’t be able to deal with them as a Gym Leader either.”
“They can’t rely on protection forever.”
Asahi thought about it… and had to admit, that did make some sense.
If a Gym Leader needed protection just to take the job, what was the point of making them a Gym Leader in the first place?
“So what you’re saying is… the League really can’t find a better candidate than Lt. Surge?” Asahi found this hard to believe.
But Lance nodded helplessly.
Aside from the whole Team Rocket affiliation issue, Lt. Surge had been a competent Gym Leader.
“The Council even considered pardoning Lt. Surge and reinstating him as Gym Leader… but I proposed a vote to reject it.” Lance said.
“…I suggest a thorough investigation. I highly suspect the person who suggested that is a mole.” Asahi said flatly.
Lance chose to skip over that topic.
They briefly discussed Asahi’s request for help finding Silver.
Lance was curious why Asahi was looking for a kid in Johto, but he didn’t pry. He simply agreed to notify the local Jennys and Joys.
He was confident they’d have news soon.
---
Viridian Gym
Giovanni sat in his office, reading a report with an unreadable expression.
Executive Proton stood nearby, looking uneasy.
As soon as she learned that Lance had flown to Fuchsia City, she sensed something was wrong and immediately tried to contact Koga—only to find him completely unreachable.
She had rushed to inform Giovanni.
Giovanni, tapping his fingers on the chair, finally spoke. “Have we assessed the damage?”
“According to our undercover agents, Fuchsia Gym has been completely locked down by the League.”
“Three of our safehouses in Fuchsia City—two have been raided, but the most classified one remains secure.”
Proton’s face was grim as she reported.
Koga was missing. The Gym was sealed off. Their safehouses were compromised.
The implications were obvious.
Yet, to her surprise, Giovanni wasn’t angry.
Not only was he not furious—he actually smiled.
“…Interesting.”
“First Lt. Surge, now Koga. Of Kanto’s three Executives, only Sabrina remains.”
“In Johto, the Masked Army has my Four Generals in chaos…”
“Proton, when was the last time Team Rocket faced such resistance?”
Proton worried for Giovanni’s mental state but still answered, “Not once in the past ten years under your leadership.”
Since Giovanni took over, Team Rocket had rapidly expanded, growing into a global powerhouse.
“But now… our core territory, Kanto, is taking direct hits.”
“And we still don’t know who’s behind it.”
“…Our strategy division and intelligence unit are responsible,” Proton quickly took the blame.
“This isn’t your fault,” Giovanni said as he stood. “It’s because Team Rocket has been too complacent.”
“Notify Dr. Fuji—initiate the final phase of the Mewtwo Project.”
“Send reinforcements to Sabrina—she must capture Articuno.”
Proton’s eyes widened. “Understood!”
She couldn’t help but feel excited.
Finally, Team Rocket was about to strike back!
Asahi had no idea that Giovanni had just initiated the final phase of the Mewtwo Project.
At that moment, as he walked through the streets of Fuchsia City, he suddenly felt like he was being watched.
“Gardevoir, do you sense anything following us?” Asahi asked.
Gardevoir’s eyes glowed blue as it scanned the surroundings, then shook its head.
“Strange…” Asahi frowned. His Aura had definitely picked up something unusual.
Just as he was pondering this, a Fearow suddenly dove down from the sky, its sharp beak aiming straight for Asahi’s back.
Green, who had just been scanning the area for the stalker Asahi mentioned, happened to see the attack.
Her body tensed. Though she was nervous, she forced herself to stay calm and shouted, “Watch out!”
Asahi had already sensed the disturbance behind him. The moment Green called out, he swiftly activated his Aura to shield his back.
At the same time, Gardevoir’s eyes glowed blue, attempting to use Psychic to subdue the Fearow that dared to attack Asahi.
But the moment its psychic energy touched the Fearow, Gardevoir hesitated for a split second.
In that brief moment, the Fearow closed in on Asahi’s back.
The Aura defense Asahi had set up was bypassed as if it didn’t exist.
Green’s eyes widened in horror as she watched the Fearow’s beak about to stab into Asahi’s back—
Suddenly, the charging Fearow’s body blurred.
The once-ferocious Fearow instantly transformed into a cute, pink feline.
With a light and playful pounce, it landed on Asahi.
“Mew~”
Mew perched on Asahi’s shoulder, swaying its long tail and covering its mouth as it giggled—a mischievous "Gotcha!" expression on its face.
Clearly, the Fearow from earlier had been Mew’s transformation.
Asahi was still processing what had happened, but Green’s legs nearly gave out.
Her ornithophobia had never fully gone away, and seeing Asahi nearly skewered by a Fearow had terrified her beyond words.
Asahi patted Green’s shoulder to reassure her, then turned to Mew. “You didn’t scare me, but you nearly gave my partner a heart attack.”
“So, Mew, how do you plan to compensate her for emotional damages?”
Mew, still giggling, froze.
“Mew…!?”
---
