Catch Feelings, Not Just Pokemon

his is a trap?!

Now what? How was she supposed to escape?

The moment those glowing ropes bound her limbs, Sabrina instantly understood what had happened.

Everyone knew: mystery becomes meaningless in the face of a higher mystery—and the same holds true for Psychic powers.

As a fellow Psychic-type, she was naturally vulnerable to Psychic Veil—and her opponent didn't even need to reveal themselves to do it.

No matter how strong she had been before, at this very moment, she was truly panicking...

Whoever they were, they clearly knew a lot about her and her team. They had even prepared well in advance for this exact scenario. That was definitely not normal.

"Who are you? What are you planning?!"

Doing her best not to show weakness, Sabrina forced herself to stay composed, trying to look calm and collected.

"You'll know soon enough. I'm not the kind of guy who likes playing guessing games."

In fact, the moment Haru first saw Proton, he had already quietly released Mew.

He knew full well—compared to other villainous groups, Team Rocket didn't even have the bare minimum of "honor among thieves." If morality were a floor tile, Team Rocket was the tile glue.

Especially Giovanni. That man wouldn't hesitate to use any means necessary to achieve his goals.

For example, kidnapping someone's loved ones to force compliance. Most villainous teams wouldn't even go that far—but Giovanni? He wouldn't even blink.

Of course, as a villain, that wasn't exactly shocking. If anything, those other groups constantly babbling about "changing the world" or "saving the world" were more bizarre.

Right, Cyrus the Jailbird?

And as it happened, among Giovanni's three executives, there was one especially dangerous person particularly suited for this sort of thing.

Sabrina.

Known as the Psychic Queen, she wielded powers far beyond what normal humans could comprehend. Haru couldn't afford to take her lightly.

Her Psychic abilities were powerful—but no matter how strong, they couldn't possibly match a true Psychic-type Mythical Pokémon.

As Haru had predicted, after a brief clash, he managed to successfully capture one new female Trainer. She was definitely going to rack up a ton of experience points in captivity.

Just then, several shuriken flew toward Haru—but were instantly blocked by the invisible Psychic barrier in front of him.

But those weren't meant to hurt him—they were only a feint. Their real target was the dazed and bruised Proton still standing at the center of the battlefield.

They were trying to rescue him!

Suddenly, the battle-worn platform—already wrecked by Earthquake and Earth Power—collapsed downward with a cloud of yellow dust.

And when the dust cleared, Proton had vanished from sight.

"We did it! Saved the exec! Boss Giovanni's gonna reward us big time—promotion and a raise, here we come! Woohoo!"

Excited voices rang out from somewhere below the rubble.

Yeah... that tone. Those voices. That ridiculous phrasing...

Even without seeing them, Haru instantly guessed their identities.

Jessie, James, and Meowth—the real protagonists of the Pokémon anime. "Charming yet mischievous villains," eternal icons of comic relief who never quit their jobs.

Sure, technically they were part of Team Rocket, but let's be honest—they never did anything truly unforgivable.

Why? Simple: they were too weak to ever succeed. Any evil plan they cooked up would 100% backfire, and beneath it all, they actually had… surprising amounts of conscience.

If Haru ordered Big Neko to use Earthquake again now, the comic trio—and Proton—would probably get buried alive. Game over.

He shook his head at the thought.

Forget it. Let them run. He had other ways to catch them later anyway.

No—maybe letting them escape was actually a good thing.

With that decision made, Haru recalled the invisible Mew, then tied Sabrina to the wall in a full "大" spread-eagle pose.

Only then did he turn back to Larry, who still stood there staring blankly.

"Can we resume the Gym Test now, Mr. Larry?"

"Our battle isn't finished yet, right?"

Despite the "minor" incident, Haru hadn't forgotten his original goal.

"Uhh, oh. Yeah."

Elite Four member Larry was still visibly shaken by what had just happened.

"I mean… we could, but I kinda feel like there's no point anymore…"

Who the hell brings a Tier One Legendary to a Gym Test?! Who even is this guy?!

He didn't know what Pokémon that was, but based on its performance, it was almost definitely a Tier One Legendary.

He'd need to report this. Tournaments getting "fishy" was one thing—but now people were bringing overkill gods to Gym battles?!

Paldea's Pokémon League was heading for chaos.

And when this guy reached the Elite Four Challenge, Larry would have to face him for real.

What a nightmare. The life of a salaryman never gets easier.

Larry rubbed his tired eyes, then finally pulled out a Poké Ball.

"Still, rules are rules. If I don't follow them, Chairwoman Geeta will chew me out."

"Gym difficulty scales with the challenger's strength—so I'll be using my strongest Gym-level Pokémon. Are you ready?"

"Of course."

"Then let's begin."

—

Five minutes later...

Haru and Nemona exited the Treasure Eatery—Gym badge in hand.

Technically, they'd just faced Larryi's "strongest Gym-level Pokémon," but their strength had long since surpassed that level. A quick sweep was no surprise.

If Larry had used his Flying-types, the fight might've been more interesting. But the man had a classic Slow Start personality—he only went all out at the very end.

Originally, Larry had intended to take Sabrina into League custody for questioning.

But after some back-and-forth negotiations—and one long look at Haru's Necrozma—he agreed to let Haru handle her instead.

After all, he was the one who caught her. Leaving her in his hands wasn't unreasonable.

Besides, talking things out was exhausting. Better to let someone higher up deal with it.

Larry thought this as he sat in the wrecked Eatery, munching on a rice ball.

---

By the time they left with the badge, the sky had begun to darken.

Haru had hoped to collect two Gym badges in one day, but it looked like that plan would have to wait.

Not that Nemona minded—she was practically bouncing with excitement, showing zero signs of recently being held hostage.

"That Pokémon you used just now—what was it? It looked so strong! And it could even turn into a human!"

"Can she throw Poké Balls in that form? Could she battle as a Trainer against other Trainers?"

"Come to think of it, I have read records of Pokémon taking on human form… like Zoroark and Latias."

"But none of them were nearly as lifelike as yours. She was like… a real person!"

Even Haru had to admit—this girl was fearless to the point of absurdity.

Too bad her courage didn't match her actual strength. She was just slightly above rippling wave tier—a notch better than sea level, but still not much.

"Hmm… She's a Pokémon from Alola. Or… probably counts as Alolan, anyway."

"As for throwing Poké Balls or battling other Trainers like a human… I don't think that's possible."

"Then next time, please let her fight me! I'm begging you!"

"I really want to witness the power of a god firsthand!"

Nemona clung to Haru's sleeve, eyes burning with passion so intense it actually made him a little afraid.

Haru had no doubt: if he asked her to kneel, Nemona would drop to her knees right then and there—possibly grabbing his pant leg while she was at it.

This woman… really really wanted to battle.

Especially when it came to godlike powers—her battle mania went into overdrive.

Most people who wanted to fight a Legendary just wanted to see its power.

Nemona? She wanted to defeat it.

And as a result… Haru himself had become an object of intense fascination in her eyes.

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