Chapter 157: Mamon: Everyone, You Can Trust Me Forever

On the island that serves as the Team Rocket base, chaos now reigns supreme.

The battle between Team Rocket and the League Trainers is fierce.

"Dragon Pulse!"

The roar of the Salamence is deafening as a pure Dragon Pulse tears through the air.

Yet the agile Mightyena dodges with keen reflexes, but as the Mightyena readjusts its stance, the vicious Salamence is already upon it, its sharp Dragon Claw tearing straight toward it.

Dragon Claw!

Boom!

A violent explosion erupts.

The Mightyena is blasted away, skidding backward on all fours until it finally comes to a halt.

"Tch~ You old thing, you really are formidable!"

Archie, seeing this, bares his teeth and glares at the elderly man opposite him, who wears a high-collared trench coat and exudes a dignified, imposing aura.

His posture is straight; the white beard on his face reveals his advanced age, yet his sharp and majestic eyes are extremely striking.

His exposed abdomen even faintly reveals defined abs; he is none other than Drayden, the head of the Hoenn Elite Four!

He is also undoubtedly the number one person in the Hoenn region below the Champion level!

"As a man of Hoenn, to join Team Rocket... Archie, you have truly chosen to degrade yourself."

Drayden's voice, full of vigor, is extremely stern.

"Hahaha~ What nonsense are you spouting?" Archie, upon hearing this, grins with a grotesque smile.

"Laozi was already considered a villain by your Hoenn League, wasn't he? If I don't join Team Rocket, should I turn myself in to your League?"

Archie retorts with disdain.

"Team Rocket has swallowed your Aqua Team; it is now devouring this fertile land."

Drayden's eyes are cold; his left hand raises another Poké Ball, his domineering stance looking nothing like that of an old man.

Another low dragon cry sounds as a Flygon spreads its wings and takes flight.

"And you have become their pawn, harming your own people and this land alongside them. Archie, if you possess even a shred of conscience, for the sake of Hoenn's beauty and future, you should know what you must do now!"

Drayden speaks in a deep voice; the Aqua Team's former goal was merely to expand the sea, something that could still be defined as an extreme environmental organization.

But now, it is different!

"Hahaha~ Sorry, Laozi doesn't know!" Archie laughs wildly.

"Old thing, there is no need for you to preach great principles to Laozi; Laozi does not care about such things."

Archie grins, revealing a set of bright white teeth, looking like a ferocious demon.

"Laozi only knows that staying with Team Rocket is comfortable, and it has given Laozi the life he wants; that is enough."

"I see." Drayden's expression grows even colder.

"You truly deserve to die!"

He has always been dedicated to ensuring that people and Pokémon in this world can obtain a better life; whenever he sees cute children and Pokémon, he feels happiness from the bottom of his heart.

Why? Because a very, very long time ago, he fell off a boat into the water and nearly drowned, but a wild Dragonite saved him, leaving him with unforgettable memories.

From that moment on, Drayden understood that Pokémon, nature, and humans, all elements combined, constitute this world.

To protect such a Hoenn, and for the Dragonite that taught him this lesson, Drayden has always stood firm in his post as an Elite Four member.

He absolutely will not allow any evil or darkness to defile this beautiful and harmonious land!

""

"Hehe~ You want to kill Laozi? I'm afraid you can't do it." Archie smiles wickedly, showing no fear whatsoever.

"Come and try; this is the power granted to me by my lord Mamon."

Archie opens a Great Ball.

"Grrr~!"

Accompanied by a low roar, a massive black Pokémon lands heavily before Archie, opening the terrifying maw on its abdomen, two black claw-tongues snapping and writhing.

The Ultra Beast designated 'UB05: Gluttony', Guzzlord!

This is the Pokémon Mamon rewarded Archie for his Great Achievement in providing the Magma Team base last time.

Mamon has always been generous toward subordinates.

"An Ultra Beast, Guzzlord?"

Drayden narrows his eyes slightly; as a Trainer, he often pays attention to newly recorded Pokémon in the Pokédex.

"Hahaha~ Not bad, you actually recognize it; then let's properly test Guzzlord's power!"

Archie laughs loudly.

"Today, I will definitely arrest you, Archie."

Seeing Archie's arrogant and domineering appearance, Drayden snorts coldly.

On the other side.

Inside the base, Hala, with a tuft of small red hair, shoves his hands into his pockets and saunters casually toward the depths of the base.

By his side are an Absol and a Mightyena.

Although Team Rocket members came to stop him, they were all easily defeated by him.

Until...

"Tsk tsk tsk~ Finally, a big fish has appeared."

Hala grins, looking at the cold, blond-haired boy appearing around the corner ahead.

"If I remember correctly, your name is Gladion, right?"

Gladion, a high-ranking executive of Team Rocket, and also a member on Team Rocket's special list.

"I am Phoebe of the Hoenn Elite Four. What bad luck; I'd very much like to test your strength."

"You will regret this," Gladion said calmly.

"I don't think so. This entire island is surrounded by us, you Team Rocket people~"

Phoebe revealed a maliciously grim smile and spoke with ill intent.

"Not a single one of you will escape."

But to Phoebe's surprise, the blond youth before him did not change expression at all; he simply opened two Poké Balls.

The Silvally and Zoroark from the data appeared before Gladion.

"Huh? Aren't you worried?" Phoebe asked strangely. "Our people have completely surrounded this island; you are already fish in a jar."

"So what?"

Gladion calmly retorted with a question.

Phoebe was stunned.

"It's useless. Lord Marmen is already on his way; you have no chance of victory."

"Hah?" Phoebe raised an eyebrow.

"And before that, defeating a high-level combatant like you will earn me considerable merit."

"???" Phoebe couldn't help but laugh in anger.

"Kid, you're small but your mouth is big. You think you can defeat me? How truly arrogant."

Phoebe considered himself at least one of the Hoenn Elite Four; he knew the cold, arrogant blond kid before him was also Elite Four level, but so what?

"It is not arrogance. Even if two more Hoenn Elite Four like you came, they would not be my match."

Gladion said calmly.

But if he could defeat two more Elite Four-level opponents, he could earn a lot of merit and exchange it for the Moltres at headquarters!

That way, he could also have a legendary Pokémon as his main force.

Hmm, Gladion did not know that his own Silvally actually counted as a legendary Pokémon.

"Hah, it seems I am truly being underestimated," Phoebe sneered.

Although he did not care particularly about victory or defeat, that depended on the situation.

"I bet my beautiful hair, Phoebe, that today I will definitely defeat you! Arrogant kid!"

Looking at the unsightly tuft of red hair on Phoebe's head, Gladion fell silent.

That must be satisfied for you.

The battle between Team Rocket and the Hoenn League was in full swing.

But without a doubt, the Hoenn League side was gradually gaining the upper hand; after all, most of the Team Rocket members in this base were originally members of Team Aqua and Team Magma, and their strength was generally quite ordinary.

Meanwhile, the Hoenn League side had sent elites, and the battle situation was gradually tilting.

"Marmen hasn't arrived yet."

Not far from the small island, on the back of a Wailord, Steven and the others were currently watching.

"Phoebe said the intelligence obtained from Gladion is that Marmen is already on his way," Steven said very calmly.

"However, Phoebe has already called for reinforcements; he is not Gladion's match. It is said that Gladion even insulted him."

Wallace's expression was strange because, according to Phoebe's voice message, Gladion forcibly cut the hair he was so proud of!

Phoebe's voice was choked with emotion.

"Team Rocket! Truly evil!"

Wallace was filled with righteous indignation, but if he could restrain the smile on his face, it would be more convincing.

"Over there, Yuzuru is proceeding quite smoothly; Archie has already been suppressed by him."

"But if Gladion and Archie join forces, I fear Yuzuru will not be their match."

Steven pondered.

"Then I'll go help!"

Nemona was eager to try; she could not wait to fight!

"Nemona, you stay. Wallace will go and quickly take control of all the Team Rocket members in this base."

Steven's gaze fixed on Nemona for a moment before he finally decided to send Wallace.

After all, when Wallace faced Cynthia and Caitlin, the result was also capture; it was better to let him deal with Gladion and the others.

"OK! Leave it to me," Wallace-sensei said, standing up very calmly and confidently.

"Be careful; try not to let any of them escape," Steven instructed.

"Rest assured; you can always trust me, Steven!"

Teacher Big-Mi smoothed his bangs, lowered his head, and smiled faintly.

Hearing this, Cynthia and the others all had somewhat strange expressions.

And Steven almost lost his composure. "Bro, I beg you, stop planting flags for yourself!!"

"No problem, right? Wallace."

Steven was a bit worried about Wallace again.

"What are you saying, Steven? Could it be that I cannot deal with a few mere Elite Four executives?"

Wallace-sensei felt questioned by his closest friend and was very unhappy.

Although in the previous few times he was indeed captured, who was he fighting then?

It's different!

"Fine, go ahead."

Steven thought for a moment and agreed; after all, no top executives of Team Rocket had appeared yet, and just dealing with Gladion, Archie, and the others, Wallace should still be fine.

"Wait for my good news, everyone!"

Wallace released Gyarados, which carried him flying toward the island as he made a confident declaration.

Ridiculous; he was Wallace, the former Hoenn Champion who mastered Mega Evolution!

"With Wallace's intervention, this base is certainly ours to take."

"Everyone, I have a strange feeling. Don't you think there are too many High Commanders in this base?"

Sakaki suddenly frowned and spoke up.

Originally, their goal was to capture Maxie from this base, then use Maxie to force Mame out or interrogate him about the whereabouts of the two top commanders, Xerneas and Caitlin.

But now, before Maxie has even emerged, Guzma and Archie, these two High Commanders, have appeared.

Isn't this a bit too coincidental? Could it be that these two High Commanders just happened to be in this base?

"Indeed." Upon hearing this, Steven and the others also sensed something was off.

It was as if Team Rocket had learned of their actions in advance and was deliberately waiting for them here?

"Regardless, we have come this far, and this aligns with our plans." Steven turned his head to the other side.

Perhaps Team Rocket was luring them into a trap, but that suited them just fine.

If they could capture most of the High Commanders of the Hoenn Team Rocket in one fell swoop, then the Hoenn Team Rocket would pose no threat.

A fierce dragon roar echoed from afar as a Dragonite with blood-red wings flew toward them.

A black-haired girl sat cross-legged atop the Dragonite, looking down at Steven and the others below.

"Yo~ Hello, midday, all you League Champions!"

The black-haired girl grinned, tilted her head, and greeted Steven and the others.

Xerneas, the top commander of Team Rocket!

Ps: Sorry, sorry. I left home a bit past eight yesterday, was busy all day, and got back at nine in the evening. I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed and slept until one in the afternoon today. Then I drove for over two hours to buy things, and got home at six.

My goodness, I've never been this busy in my entire life.

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(End of Chapter)