"Stop Team Rocket!" Lusamine commanded.
At this mont, Lusamine felt fortunate that she had made preparations in advance... even if those preparations were originally intended for dealing with Luo Yuan.
The forces she had gathered to confront Luo Yuan were now being deployed against Team Rocket instead.
Her Aether Foundation staff mbers wasted no ti throwing their Poké Balls.
Shh-shh-shh!
Blinding white light filled the area as nurous Pokémon unique to Alola appeared on the battlefield.
The most eye-catching among them was an Exeggutor, its towering neck stretching several ters into the sky as it stood tall and proud.
Compared to the diverse lineup of Aether Foundation Pokémon, Team Rocket's side was far more uniform.
Rows of Arbok, Weezing, hordes of Zubat, and a smattering of Golbat worked in synchronized three-person squads to launch a fierce offensive against the Aether Foundation.
The helipad of Aether Paradise had transford into a chaotic battlefield, resembling a small-scale war. Poison, venom, and projectiles flew through the air, lightning flashed, and flas burned intensely.
Occasionally, the sound of exploding Voltorb could be heard, detonated deliberately by Team Rocket trainers.
Abandoning the formalities of standard battles, trainers on both sides resorted to every ans necessary. Their singular objective: defeat the opposing forces.
However, as an organization born from a mission to protect Pokémon, the Aether Foundation lacked the combat experience of Team Rocket, a group seasoned in countless operations.
Within re minutes, the Aether Foundation began to falter.
Nurous Pokémon collapsed from exhaustion, unable to continue fighting. So trainers were also rendered incapacitated by Poison Stings or disoriented by Supersonic waves.
And this was happening on their ho turf.
It was easy to imagine how much worse the situation would have been in a neutral or unfamiliar location.
Watching the chaos unfold, Lusamine frowned deeply. She attempted to call for reinforcents via her communicator.
As Aether Paradise was the headquarters of the Aether Foundation, there were still nurous trainers available. If they could be summoned, their superior numbers and ho-field advantage might be enough to drive Team Rocket away.
But every number she dialed went unanswered.
It dawned on Lusamine that Faba had ordered most of his subordinates to the outer periter earlier in the evening.
The majority of the trainers she was trying to reach were likely Faba's people—and by now, they had either defected with him or been taken out of commission.
Had he planned this all along?
Deprived of internal reinforcents, Lusamine was forced to consider the unthinkable. She could expose the Aether Foundation's research into Ultra Beasts to the outside world, alert the Alolan Kahunas, and seek their support.
After all, even if the Ultra Beast project was uncovered, the worst-case scenario would be submitting to regulation and ceasing the research.
But if Team Rocket successfully breached Aether Paradise, the Aether Foundation would be utterly annihilated.
Yet, when Lusamine attempted to contact the outside world, she discovered that all communications from Aether Paradise had been cut off.
Not a single ssage could get through.
The only explanation was that the signal tower had been sabotaged. And among those familiar enough with the facility to execute such a plan, only a few nas ca to mind.
One of them was glaringly obvious.
"Faba!" Lusamine spat, her anger boiling over.
Faba was the orchestrator of this betrayal.
While Lusamine's attention had been consud with plotting against Luo Yuan, Faba had executed a masterful inside job right under her nose.
Her fury made her want to tear him apart on the spot, but the worsening situation demanded her imdiate focus. She had no choice but to personally join the battle to stem the tide.
"Clefable! Bewear!"
A Clefable, standing about half her height, and a towering Bewear appeared before Lusamine, ready for her command.
She hoped her direct involvent could turn the tide.
However, Lusamine had overlooked a crucial detail: none of Team Rocket's executives had entered the fray yet.
As she prepared to join the battle, the doors of Team Rocket's airship opened again, and two familiar figures erged.
"You..." Lusamine's expression shifted to one of shock.
"President!" Guzma, standing in the rear, wore an awkward expression.
But Guzma's presence wasn't what truly stunned Lusamine.
After seeing Faba's betrayal, she had already braced herself for Guzma's defection.
No, what caught her off guard was the person leading the group—the one standing at the forefront.
"Luo Yuan!"
The man who had declared he would co for a "ho visit" that evening had just stepped off Team Rocket's airship.
This could only an one thing—Luo Yuan was a mber of Team Rocket.
"Good evening, Mrs. Lusamine. Nice to finally et you. Shall we begin the ho visit now?" Luo Yuan said with a pleasant smile.
His words, so at odds with the surrounding battlefield, made Lusamine feel a chill down her spine.
In that instant, everything clicked into place.
She realized it had all been a setup.
From the arrival of a Johto Elite Four mber to his teaching stint at the Pokémon school, from his "abduction" of Lillie to the defeat of Guzma, every step had been ticulously crafted.
Luo Yuan had manipulated her into believing he was a justice-driven ddler, blind to the fact that Team Rocket had been quietly encircling Aether Paradise.
"An Elite Four mber bought off by Team Rocket..." Lusamine sneered, trying to mask her growing dread.
"Correction," Luo Yuan replied earnestly. "I beca a Team Rocket executive before I beca an Elite Four mber."
To him, this was a matter of principle. Letting her think otherwise might make it seem like he was an undercover operative for the League, and that simply wasn't true.
But to Lusamine, his words were utterly chilling.
Before becoming an Elite Four mber? But at that age...
Her investigation into Luo Yuan had revealed that he was only two years older than Lillie. Becoming an Elite Four mber at his age was already staggering, but to hear that he was a Team Rocket executive before that...
It was horrifying to contemplate.
Lusamine forced herself not to dwell on it, afraid that continuing to think about it would completely shatter her will to fight.
"And what about your reputation? Aren't you afraid your identity will be exposed with so many witnesses here?" Lusamine asked, trying to shift the conversation.
"There's no need to worry about that," Luo Yuan said as his eyes glowed faintly blue.
"After all, they'd have to survive long enough to tell anyone."
---
T/N: Oh he's only 2 years older...? How young is he... (this is where i found out about his age!)
...
Huh. You really stuck it out all the way to the end.
Didn't think you had the patience. Guess I was wrong.
WiseTL's the one who actually made all this co together. I'm just here putting a bow on it... or, well, shoving it in a backpack and calling it a day. Sa thing.
If you had fun, you know what to do:
👉 [/WiseTL]
Heads up—Patreon's 50% off for all tiers during May. So if you were on the fence? Now's the ti.
And if you're the social type, there's a Discord too. Pretty decent spot to hang out—no battles required.
👉 [discord.gg/wisetl]
Alright. That's enough standing around. Go on—before you make it weird.
—Leaf
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