Chapter 548: Crouching Dragon, Hidden Phoenix

Because of someone's clowning around.

At one point, the originally normal enemy-approach segment descended into chaos.

A low hilltop.

The three-person Team Rocket group got into an argument over whether All Baimu was a fan, completely forgetting what they'd even come here to do.

On the neighboring hilltop, Keldeo and Heracross exchanged glances.

Can these three be trusted?

Below.

Volcanion's peripheral gaze watched the thoroughly amused All Baimu as if he were a lunatic; Pikachu raised a little chubby paw to touch its cheek, head full of question marks; the gathered Ash and the others were likewise momentarily at a loss.

Yurika spoke up in bewilderment:

"Big brother, do you know those Team Rocket people?"

"I know them, but they don't know me." All Baimu replied with a smile, then added: "Alright, the details can wait until we've dealt with these guys."

As his words fell, the three-person Team Rocket group on the hilltop had also reached a conclusion.

"Whether he's a fan or not—"

"First, get our hands on Magearna!"

"That's the plan, meow!"

The three, looking down from above, struck their poses anew and declared in ringing voices: "We're no ordinary Team Rocket today!"

"We're the Mega Wave~ Team Rocket!"

Jessie and James, backs to the moonlight, chanted as they raised their left hands, revealing metal wristbands set with jet-black, single-eyed gemstones.

Everyone was stunned.

"That's…"

"A Key Stone!?"

"Their Pokémon are different from usual too!"

Facing Citron and Yurika's confusion, the smug-faced Jessie acted like an automatic answer machine and immediately spilled the beans:

"This is proof of our alliance with Prince Raqiel!"

Prince Raqiel.

A foolish child blinded by the villains, trying to use Magearna's power to revive the Azoth Kingdom, unaware that he was nothing more than the villains' tool.

"Mega Wave~ Team Rocket!"

Jessie and James triggered the devices on their hands without hesitation.

Ding!

A precisely structured sphere of black light materialized on the wristbands, shooting eerie crimson light waves toward Keldeo and Heracross.

The two Pokémon, brows tightly furrowed and faces twisted in agony, had chaotic streams of black and blood-red energy swirling around their bodies, forming jet-black Mega Evolution sigils that seemed to force their genetic code to complete the Mega Evolution.

"Kero!"

"Ghh…"

The Mega Pokémon emerged, their eyes veiled in a layer of purple light; the agony of forced transformation had morphed into brutality and malice toward their enemies.

"You've gotta be kidding!"

"Mega Evolution?"

Ash and the others were dumbfounded; Volcanion's expression grew heavy as it shielded the dazed Magearna behind it.

"The most important prerequisite for Mega Evolution should be the bond between Pokémon and Trainer! Not something like this!"

Citron shouted in anger.

As a genius inventor, he had already discerned that the Mega Evolution before them was achieved through abnormal means, and had formed a fair guess.

Sure enough.

The ever-helpful Jessie spilled the beans again: "Of course, this is Jarvis's… uh, what was it?"

"New Mysterious Science!"

James sighed and picked up the thread, then excitedly raised both hands high: "This is the good stuff that lets Pokémon Mega Evolve without any bond at all!"

"So that's how it is… Gengar and the others too…"

"How can you ignore the Pokémon's feelings and just force it! That thing isn't Mega Evolution at all!"

"Mysterious Science is a technology meant to make both humans and Pokémon happy! Creating something like that is a grave disrespect to Eliphas too!"

Ash, Serena, and Citron were all riled up, denouncing it with unusual fury.

All Baimu frowned along with them.

While watching the anime, he'd felt that the Mega Wave caused Pokémon pain; now, seeing it in person, it was indeed so—worse even than he'd imagined.

Though it wasn't on the level of some dark modification surgery, if this original tech were submitted and discovered by N, he'd be done for.

He could almost picture the scene of N coming to question him on how he differed from Team Shadow.

However.

The reason All Baimu valued this technology was that it allowed Mega Evolution without relying on a Key Stone or Mega Stone; the omission of the bond between Trainer and Pokémon was irrelevant to him.

Hopefully, he could find a way to improve it.

He muttered to himself, slipped his phone back into his pocket, and pulled out a Poké Ball; tilting his head slightly, he glanced at the dazed Volcanion and Pikachu.

This bunch couldn't be counted on, most likely.

In everything, he still had to rely on himself.

He gave a subtle nod to mid-air; on the low hilltop, Meowth, unable to win the argument, hopped about issuing attack orders.

"Attack, meow!"

"Hold the line!"

All Baimu pressed the Poké Ball release as he stepped forward to the very front, calmly gazing up at the pitch-black light pillar and emerald energy blasts raining down.

Bang!

Boom!

Crack-crack-crack-crack—

Chaotic explosions rang out one after another, multicolored lights colliding and kicking up great clouds of smoke.

But the smoke was quickly dispersed.

A massive, glowing blue honeycomb shield came into the Rocket trio's view; when it flickered and vanished, it revealed a glowering Hydreigon — and All Baimu's group, completely unscathed.

"They blocked it?"

"They actually blocked it, meow!"

They had only meant to scare Ash and his group into scattering and fleeing, then lure them into the many traps they had dug in advance.

This…

If they blocked it, how are we supposed to play this?

"Attack! Attack! Keep attacking, meow!"

Meowth bellowed in furious frustration, never expecting the panicked cries of Jessie and James to suddenly ring out beside his ears.

"What—"

"Meowth—"

He whipped his head around — and the two of them were already gone from either side.

At the same time.

"Dragon Pulse!"

A terrifying energy dragon roared past its side, and amid the howling gale, it sent the Mega Heracross — which had been about to fire another Seed Machine Gun — flying!

Bang!

The shockwave of the energy explosion sent the Mega Pinsir beside it flying as well!

The two Pokémon crashed down at different spots in the forest.

"Wh-wh-wh…what on earth just happened?"

Knocked askew by the shockwave, Meowth slumped onto a rock, frantically looking this way and that for Jessie and James, so flustered he couldn't even string his words together.

Below.

Ash and the others first stared at All Baimu in shock, then couldn't help showing looks of joy.

"Amazing!"

"Pika!"

"He wrapped it up in an instant!"

"The Pokémon that just knocked Jessie and James flying was…"

"Big brother is so cool! And Hydreigon is awesome too!"

"Beep beep beep beep…"

"Hmph, not bad."

The voices of people and Pokémon rose one after another, and All Baimu, standing at the very front, turned his head with a rather helpless look. "Are you guys a cheer squad? Those two Pokémon aren't finished yet!

"Hydreigon and I will take Pinsir; Ash, Pikachu, and Volcanion take Heracross! Citron go catch Meowth! Serena and Eureka stay where you are and protect Magearna! Move, move!"

"Oh… oh!"

Everyone answered in unison.

Ash and the others' biggest flaw was that they loved to watch the show — loved to wait until the enemy had played every last card before stepping in to tangle with them.

The worst part was that bad habit was contagious; even Volcanion, originally fairly sharp, had turned sluggish.

And it still had the nerve to talk tough.

"I would've gone in without you telling me! Although I really hate relying on humans… I'll leave Magearna to you lot!"

Volcanion stepped forward, taking Ash and Pikachu with it.

"You two, come with me!"

"Let's go."

All Baimu patted Hydreigon's head and ran into the trees alongside it.

Since it was only the aftershock of an attack, Mega Pinsir hadn't been sent flying far; as it tried to fly back, the moment it spotted the two of them, it attacked without hesitation.

"Kero!"

Cloaked in azure light, it streaked back and forth through the trees like a bolt of lightning!

"Quick Attack? So this one knows how to use its own Aerilate ability."

All Baimu was rather surprised by this Pinsir's autonomy, but then figured it made sense — it was one of the members of villain Jarvis's Mega Evolution Pokémon army, so having its own combat logic was normal.

But…

"It's too slow."

He and Hydreigon raised their heads almost in sync — the Mega Pinsir that had been darting about everywhere was now high above, diving straight down!

"Dark Pulse."

"Sha—sho!

"

A maelstrom of dark-red and black energy surged wildly from Hydreigon's three great maws, the air shrieking with piercing, eerie whistles; like a flock of crows filling the sky, it swallowed the Mega Pinsir in an instant.

Crash!

Amid the swirling smoke, countless broken branches and fallen leaves danced through the air, scattering across the ground.

Good thing he hadn't used any Fire-type moves.

All Baimu shielded his eyes with one hand against the leaves and dust, and in his peripheral vision caught sight of Heracross lying where Pengdong had crashed nearby, thinking that in this kind of environment, if a fire ever broke out, putting it out would be next to impossible.

"Grab it and bring it back."

He picked some leaves and twigs off the Three-Headed Dragon, glanced at the gleaming cerulean light in the distance, and upon hearing the rumble, turned and headed outward.

"Meow~"

The Three-Headed Dragon flew over, picked up Heracross in its mouth, and trotted along behind him.

Outside the forest.

Meowth was bound by a rope from who-knows-where, sitting dejectedly on the ground, with a Luxray beside it, watching it intently while its tail glowed.

Citron, Serena, and Yurika were gathered around Magearna, watching All Baimu as he walked out with wary eyes.

Once they saw it was him, they relaxed.

"Baimu-san! Are you all right?" Citron jogged over.

"Meow! Where did you send Musashi and Kojiro, meow!"

Meowth struggled to its feet in agitation, but was immediately pinned back down by a single Luxray paw, nearly knocking a front tooth out on a small stone.

"Guess."

All Baimu watched it with a smile. Objectively speaking, a cat speaking human language looked pretty strange—at least when other Pokémon used telepathy, their mouths didn't move.

Getting no answer, Meowth was terrified; there was probably nothing scarier than a teammate mysteriously vanishing.

The other side of the forest.

Volcanion had brought Ash and Pikachu back.

"Hm?"

All Baimu glanced behind it. "Where's Heracross? You didn't bring it back?"

Volcanion said carelessly, "That guy got hit by my Hydro Pump and ran off on its own. What? You still want to catch it?"

"Obviously! Letting an enemy Pokémon escape—are you waiting for it to rest up and come back with reinforcements for some grand return?"

He twitched the corner of his mouth, truly not knowing what to say about this guy.

Ash, meanwhile, sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and laughed awkwardly a couple of times. "Hehehe, sorry."

"Pika…"

Pikachu on his shoulder wore much the same expression.

All Baimu waved a hand and stopped dwelling on it, turning back to Meowth's side, scooping it into his arms and kneading it for a bit, commenting, "Mm… the feel's not bad."

"Wh-what are you doing, meow!"

Meowth's expression went from initial terror, to panic, to enjoyment, and finally to such comfort that its eyes narrowed into slits.

Unfortunately, the pleasure didn't last long before All Baimu set it back on the ground.

The latter, meeting everyone's gazes, pulled out his phone and tapped at it.

The next instant.

Musashi and Kojiro, covered in dust and groping around on the ground, appeared out of thin air, and upon seeing All Baimu and the others around them, both froze.

"Musashi! Kojiro!" Meowth excitedly tried to rush over, but was pinned down again by Luxray.

"Huh?"

"We're out?"

The two were about to get up when a strong electric current struck from behind, jolting them flat onto the ground again.

All Baimu briskly stepped forward and cuffed them with the rose-gold handcuffs he'd specifically bought, also confiscating their Poké Balls and various other small props.

Never mind that Musashi and Kojiro always came up short against Ash—at the very least, they were outstanding graduates of Team Rocket's rookie training camp, and they had all kinds of little tricks up their sleeves.

In any case, he didn't dare give these two talents too many chances.

And by the time Musashi and Kojiro came back to their senses, they were already squeezed together with Meowth, their mouths taped shut and their hands cuffed beneath their legs, unable to move.

Not far away.

All Baimu introduced Porygon2 to Citron and the others.

It had been the one who, under cover of night, rammed straight into Musashi and Kojiro, using Teleport to shift the two into a trap Team Rocket had dug themselves.

Only upon hearing this did everyone suddenly realize.

Citron, meanwhile, looked at Porygon2 with great interest. "Genius! Absolutely genius! I've heard of Professor Akihabara's Porygon, but never had the chance to see one in person. I didn't expect such a magnificent invention!"

"A modern artificial Pokémon—incredible~" Serena said in amazement, glancing at the Magearna beside her going "beep beep beep."

To think that in such a short time, they could see two crystallizations of human wisdom back to back.

Yurika threw herself straight at Porygon2, laughing. "Kawaii~ this little one is super cute!"

"Pory…"

Porygon2 blushed a little.

Shy now, are we?

All Baimu muttered inwardly, when suddenly a voice came from beside his ear.

"The power of science is amazing!"

His expression changed, and he whipped his head toward Ash beside him, who was full of admiration—his heart nearly skipped a beat.

Self-destruct chant!

"Um, Baimu-san? What's wrong?"

Ash was startled by his expression and hurriedly looked down at his own body and even behind him.

"Nothing. I just sensed someone coming."

All Baimu raised his gaze and replied casually; the others turned their heads to look at the sky he was staring at, and clearly saw a flying machine heading their way.

"Really! Is it pursuers?"

"Let's get out of here, quick!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

The group spoke in panic. All Baimu, who knew the plot well, raised a hand and said: "Everyone, don't panic. They probably aren't enemies—I don't sense any hostility."

The earlier encounter battle had successfully earned him the trust of Ash and the others, and they instinctively listened to his instructions.

So the moment he spoke, the group immediately calmed down.

Tapu Koko glanced at him, snorted, and said nothing.

All Baimu watched the flying machine descend toward them, casually patted Z2's head, and recalled whether Ash's "explosion incantation" had ever failed to trigger.

What is the explosion incantation?

It's that whenever Ash saw one of Clemont's inventions during his travels in the Kalos region, he would always utter some exclamation like "The power of science is amazing."

And after he said it, within a longer or shorter period of time, that invention would explode.

This is also why All Baimu thought Clemont should go make bombs.

Clemont makes the bombs, Ash serves as the detonator.

A hidden dragon and a phoenix chick—unmatched beneath the heavens!