Facing a double attack from the jet flas below and the high-speed Star ray coming in from the right, both Green and Celio widened their eyes, eager to see how the mysterious Pokémon, Kartana, would react.
Would it simply overpower them with brute force?
If so, that would be a bit boring.
In the next second, everyone watched as Kartana lifted its sword-like left arm, letting the high-speed Star Ray collide with it.
At the mont when the Star ray clashed with the blade, Kartana's left arm subtly twisted at a barely visible angle.
Instantly, the Star ray was forcefully redirected downward at a 90° angle, smashing into the jet flas.
Boom!
A fierce explosion erupted in mid-air.
"What was that just now?!"
Celio shuddered.
As a researcher with no fighting experience, he couldn't comprehend what had happened.
"It changed the Star ray's trajectory using its blade," said Green bluntly.
Although Greeb was the weakest battler among the trio from Pallet Town, any kid favored by Pyrce couldn't be simple. She sighed, "Kartana's attacks are softer than I thought. Seeing how sharp its arms are, I expected a brutal, overwhelming battle style."
"A sword without flexibility cannot beco strong," Stephen comnted with a slight smile.
As Stephen spoke, the jet flas quickly overpowered the Star Ray, pushing a pillar of fire toward Kartana in the sky.
But in those two seconds, the Star Ray held back the flas, Kartana had done everything it needed.
In the next instant, Kartana dove down like a blade, closing the gap with Charleon along the pillar of fire.
"Fla Vortex!" Red commanded without hesitation.
He didn't know Kartana's battle style, but its appearance scread close-range fighter.
Charleon was good at close combat too, but going head-to-head with Kartana would be like showing off your skills in front of a master.
Charleon took a step back, and the fla pillar in its mouth instantly expanded, forming a wide, spiral ring.
Fla Vortex wasn't as powerful as Flathrower, but it covered a much larger area.
"Red's pretty good!" Green's eyes lit up.
When receiving her starter Pokémon, Professor Oak told her there were two other outstanding trainers in her cohort. Green hadn't thought much of it—she was a genius herself, after all, and had trained under a master-level trainer for years.
She hadn't seen Blue's ability yet, but Red's moves were already making her feel outclassed.
If her two fellow townsfolk were so strong, why hadn't the Masked Man kidnapped them during that incident?
She thought indignantly.
"He's going to get hit!" Celio shouted, pulling Green's attention back.
Looking up, she saw the fla vortex closing in on Kartana.
Even with a level gap, a 4x type-effective move was dangerous if it landed.
Just as Kartana was backed into a corner with nowhere to dodge, Red, Green, and Celio saw Kartana extend its right arm forward, poking into the fla vortex. The flas wrapped around its arm, on the verge of engulfing its entire body!
Green stared in shock. "Is it crazy?!"
It reached out to touch a fire-type move with 4x effectiveness?!
But then everyone noticed—the fla vortex stopped at Kartana's shoulder, unable to move any further.
Even Red's normally stoic face under his cap was full of disbelief.
What was going on?
"Wind can make the fire stronger, but it can also control its path," Stephen explained.
Kartana raised its right arm, now wrapped in flas—a flaming greatsword more than 20 ters long.
It looked like a fiery version of the Excalibur!
Green squinted and observed a swirling wind around Kartana's right arm.
That was... Air Slash!
Kartana had coated its arm with Air Slash's hurricane. The swirling wind changed the fire's direction, causing it to loop endlessly around Kartana's arm like a Möbius strip, never harming its body.
"You can even do that?!" Celio exclaid—echoing Red's inner thoughts.
"Take this, Red," Su Sheng chuckled. "Sword of Victory: Excalibur!"
As he spoke, all three present had question marks pop up over their heads.
Even the Hoopa floating and Kartana holding the flaming sword looked confused.
What the heck?
But Kartana quickly responded, swinging the 20-ter flaming blade down with a roar.
"Dragon Claw!" Red commanded instantly.
With such a large area of attack, Charleon couldn't dodge—he could only hope to block so of the damage.
Charleon's claws glowed blue, forming a trident shape, and t the flaming holy sword head-on.
Boom!
The flaming sword clashed with the twin claws.
They held for less than a second before Charleon was completely overpowered.
In the end, both Charleon and the flaming sword crashed down.
A loud explosion echoed out.
The ground was gouged with a straight trench thirty to forty ters long.
And in the center of the trench lay Charleon, flat on its back, tongue lolling out.
"Ch-Charleon is unable to battle! Kartana wins!" Green finally announced after a stunned pause.
Though it was unclear whether she was more shocked by Kartana's power, or Stephen's naming sense.
"My fault," Red recalled Charleon into its Poké Ball, quietly apologizing before calling out his next partner: Pikachu!
Red's two signature Pokémon.
"Pikachu's typing won't help here, but typing isn't everything," Green comnted.
Ten minutes later, Kartana's super-effective Holy Sword finished off Red's last partner, Lapras, ending the friendly match.
Red tipped his hat, recalled Lapras, nodded in gratitude to Stephen, and turned to leave.
"He's just leaving? How boring," Green muttered.
"He was born to battle. He knows there's no point staying, so he left," Stephen smiled.
"Haha, after such a loss, it'll take him a while to recover," Green grinned mischievously.
If Stephen had only won by level difference, it wouldn't have ant much. But in this one-vs-three sweep, Stephen had won through skill and technique.
In other words, Red hadn't lost because of level, but because of a gap in their abilities as trainers.
That's a tough blow.
"You're underestimating your fellow townsman," Stephen smiled. "Soone who would give up being Champion just to improve himself isn't so easily defeated."
"This is goodbye for now. I hope you'll invent more things for the harmony of people and Pokémon, Celio," Stephen waved.
"Doctor, won't you stay a few more days? Just the other day I saw a mysterious giant Pokémon near the lighthouse—I have a feeling it's strong. Maybe you could catch it!" Celio said, reluctant to part.
"I prefer to capture Pokémon by fate," Stephen replied. Though Aether Paradise could help with training, he still tried to keep his team at a manageable size so every Pokémon could shine.
"Where are you going next, Dr. Stephen?" Green asked, intrigued.
"What do you want?" Stephen eyed her suspiciously.
"If possible, I'd like you to introduce to your brother. There's sothing I'd like to thank him for," Green said.
Both of her fellow townsfolk had gone to challenge the Indigo League, but Green wasn't interested in becoming stronger or being champion. She just wanted to find Joker and thank him—otherwise, she wouldn't dare return ho and face her parents.
"Sorry, I can't reach him. You'll have to find another way," Stephen replied. He wanted to ask Green about Silver's whereabouts. The two had been partnered during training under Pryce, almost like siblings. He figured they were still in touch, but decided not to pry.
Seeing Stephen leave, Green pouted. "So stingy! Whatever, finding soone isn't hard for ."
"Ditto, did you rember Dr. Stephen's face?" Green released a Ditto, the best partner for egg hatching in the gas. Ditto nodded its soft head, then transford into Stephen.
"With this face, infiltrating Team Rocket will be easy!" Green grinned.
Just then, her phone rang.
"Hello, Silver? Calling your sister?"
A boy's voice answered, "I heard you got your starter, so I wanted to congratulate you."
"Thanks! How's living in Ecruteak City?" Green replied.
After hearing about the Masked Man's defeat on Sinnoh's Lily of the Valley Island, Green and Silver went there and confird the Masked Man was truly dead—told to them by Lance himself.
Knowing the Masked Man was gone, Green returned to Pallet Town to reunite with her parents. She'd been kidnapped at age five and still rembered her hotown. Silver, kidnapped at age two, didn't even rember his na, if not for the pendant he wore.
Green had invited Silver to live with her, but he declined, wanting to find his origins. Lance, who was also at Lily of the Valley Island, offered to let Silver stay in Ecruteak City while searching for his past.
If Stephen knew Silver was now with Lance, he'd probably make a funny face. In the manga, Silver did work for Lance for a while and learned a lot of battle skills.
But the real question is, how will Giovanni react?
...
Stephen then arrived at Celadon City's Ga Corner—Team Rocket's largest base in Kanto.
In the headquarters eting room, Sird knelt on one knee to report to Stephen and Giovanni.
"How did the organization react after the news was released?" Stephen asked.
Sird replied, "The lower ranks didn't react much—they know becoming boss is just a dream for them. The main issue is with the executives. Sabrina, Koga, and Lt. Surge all said that if Boss Giovanni steps down, regardless of the successor, they'll quit Team Rocket."
Giovanni frowned. "Even if it's Stephen-kun? They won't accept him?"
If it was Silver, he could understand—he wasn't sure how talented his son was. But Joker was unquestionably strong.
Why wouldn't they follow him?
Stephen smiled. "Uncle, you underestimate your charisma. So people follow not just for strength."
It's like in the previous world—even when Whitebeard was old, many young pirates still followed him. That's personal charm.
It was the sa for the three executives. Maybe they followed Giovanni for his strength at first, but over ti, they admired his character.
"...What about the Four Generals?" Giovanni asked after a pause.
"Archer and Ariana said they'd follow Silver if he had Boss Giovanni's leadership. Proton and Petrel said if they could keep their positions after Boss Giovanni stepped down, they'd accept Silver as boss."
"Accept Proton and Petrel's conditions," Giovanni decided without hesitation.
"So, how many want to rebel?" Stephen asked, resting his chin on one hand.
"Right now, we can confirm Carr and Faba, who disappeared two days ago," Sird replied.
"You called it, uncle," Stephen laughed. Faba had been with Team Rocket for three years but never rose in rank, even when others left. No wonder he'd betray them.
Just then, Stephen's phone rang.
A grumpy old man's voice shouted, ["It's Namba, not Ramba!"]
Stephen: ...
I was just thinking about it, how'd you know?
Anyway, Faba had always been dissatisfied with his position in Team Rocket. In Alola, he'd at least been number two at the Aether Foundation. Here, he could barely make the top twenty.
Three years ago, when Team Rocket took over Aether Paradise, Giovanni said n like Faba should never be trusted with important roles. Today, he'd betray Lusamine for status, tomorrow he'd betray you the sa way.
"He probably thinks if Carr becos boss, he can be number two," Stephen smiled.
"At best number three—don't forget the King is still around," Sird added.
"That idiot's brain only works for science," Giovanni sneered. "Just those two, what can they do?"
If the Three Beasts or all Four Generals revolted, Giovanni might worry. But just Carr and Faba? They couldn't make waves, especially with Shadow wtwo in his hands.
"I'm not interested in this, uncle. I'll treat your illness now—Hoopa, summon Ho-Oh or Xerneas..."
Stephen wasn't interested in cleaning up traitors. Sird's statents were mainly bait, mixing truth and lies to fish out the real traitors. The leader's fatal illness part was true, but it was in the early stages. Top scientists said as long as Giovanni avoided serious injury, he'd be fine for three years.
But since Stephen was here, he figured he might as well treat Giovanni.
...
"Eat my Orochi! Cry! Scream! Then die! Wahahaha!" In the now-empty arcade, the only custor—Hoopa—shouted as it slamd the buttons with one hand while clutching its waist with the other, jumping around excitedly.
Since befriending w and Zoroark, Hoopa had joined the Alola gaming addicts.
"Please don't hit the machines," a red-haired, broom-headed young woman said, forcing a smile. "If the boss hadn't told us you were a VIP, I'd have thrown you out already!"
"Calm down, Jessie, this is the boss's VIP," a blue-haired man said, only to be interrupted by a voice.
"Hoopa, ti to go," Stephen called.
"But I still have a lot of coins left..." Hoopa pouted.
"We have things to do. I'll buy you so machines for ho later, okay?"
"Really?!" Hoopa's eyes sparkled, then dimd. "No, put them at your house instead. ray will just put them away."
Stephen smiled, picked up Hoopa, gave the red-and-blue duo a friendly nod, and left.
"That—that was the King, right?!" Jessie whispered excitedly.
"If only I'd had ti to flatter him—maybe I'd get promoted!" Jas lanted.
On the rooftop of the Ga Corner...
"Hoopa, summon—hmm, summon Xerneas," Stephen decided.
Both Ho-Oh and Xerneas were legendary healers, but Ho-Oh was too picky and wouldn't save soone like Giovanni. Xerneas, the benevolent saint, would have no such scruples.
"Okay!" Hoopa didn't know who the bandaged man was, but if Stephen said so, it must be right.
Hoopa enlarged a golden ring, his eyes glowing blue.
"Co out, co out—"
...
anwhile, in the Lumiose City TV studio in Kalos, a golden ring appeared live on the news—broadcast for all Kalos to see.
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