Pokemon: Skybound

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Kai and the others gathered around Quackenpoker, eyes fixed on the lake. Even without binoculars, the moonlight reflected off the water, revealing a churning disturbance of bubbles rising as if the lake were boiling from below.

The deep rumbling noise that had disrupted Kai's sleep was emanating from the depths of the lake.

Misty pulled her jacket tighter. "Mr Quackenpoker, is this… the Magikarp evolving?"

Quackenpoker hesitated, his gaze locked onto the bubbling water.

"In theory, this is the right time… but this disturbance is different from what I expected."

His hoarse voice betrayed his exhaustion, and Kai noticed his bloodshot eyes, a clear result of staying up all night. But before Kai could say anything, the rumbling intensified.

Then—

SPLASH!

Something huge burst from the water.

A giant Magikarp emerged, twin beams of light shining from its eyes, illuminating the darkened shore. Water cascaded down its golden-red scales, dripping off its gaping jaws, making it look almost monstrous.

For a second, everyone froze.

Ash's jaw dropped. "W-What kind of Magikarp is that?!"

But Kai's sharp eyes immediately saw through the trick.

That wasn't a Magikarp.

It was a submarine.

The "scales" were nothing more than metal plating, the screws and rivets along its sides blatantly obvious.

The "glowing eyes" were just spotlights, and right between them, stamped on the "head," was a bright red "R".

Recognition dawned instantly.

"Team Rocket…" Misty muttered.

"Not these guys again!" Ash groaned, fists clenched.

Quackenpoker, however, looked genuinely confused. "Team Rocket? Who are they?"

"They're a bunch of crooks!" Ash snapped. "And they're always trying to steal Pokémon!"

Before anyone could answer further a booming voice erupted from the submarine's speakers.

"Hmph! Since you so earnestly asked, we shall magnanimously answer!"

Kai's stomach dropped.

He knew exactly what was coming next.

Team Rocket's Motto.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

Kai sighed.

Even without seeing them, he could picture their ridiculous poses inside the submarine.

"You guys again!" Ash shouted. "What are you even doing here?!"

A mocking laugh echoed from the speakers.

"To assemble our mighty Gyarados army, of course!" Jessie declared.

James chimed in, "Once we succeed, Team Rocket will become unstoppable! The whole world will tremble at our power Mwahahaha!"

"Gyarados army?!" Tracey's eyes widened. "Wait… so you're the reason the Magikarp haven't evolved yet?! You've been interfering with their migration!"

"Ugh, don't make it sound so bad!" James scoffed.

"This island isn't protected, you know," Meowth added smugly. "It's free territory! We didn't steal anything we caught these Magikarp fair and square!"

Kai's eyes narrowed.

Now that they mentioned it, the number of Magikarp in the lake did seem lower than before.

"You really took them…?" Quackenpoker's voice trembled with rage. "Release those Magikarp immediately!"

Meowth scoffed. "Listen, old-timer, you oughta mind your own business! Now, if ya hand over your Pokémon and Pikachu, maybe we'll let ya go peacefully."

Kai sighed.

For some reason, Team Rocket never gave up, no matter how many times they lost.

Despite all their failures, they somehow always came back as persistent as ever.

In a weird way…

It was almost impressive.

Quackenpoker refused to back down. "If you don't return the Magikarp, I'll call the authorities!"

Jessie, James, and Meowth suddenly burst into laughter.

"Oh, that's rich!" Jessie cackled.

"Go ahead! Call them!" James mocked.

"By the time they get here, we'll be LONG gone!" Meowth sneered.

Kai shook his head.

It was obvious that relying on the police wasn't an option.

Here, in the middle of nowhere, they were on their own and if Team Rocket wasn't going to back down.

They'd just have to stop them by force.

He turned to Quackenpoker, placing a hand on the old man's shoulder.

"Forget them, Mr Quackenpoker. There's only one way we're stopping this."

Quackenpoker looked at him.

Kai said with a slight annoyance, "We take them down ourselves."

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