Ambush (2)

'A hidden elite trainer?' Landrick thought to himself as he put his guard up.

Lucario is a rare pokemon that countless trainers dream of having. It's even rarer in the Kanto region.

Furthermore, it had excellent decision making and could cooperate with another pokemon hidden in the dark.

'It's definitely a hidden elite. This is troublesome' Landrick said internally as he knitted his brows.

He didn't even consider the possibility that the trainer of Lucario is just some 12 years old rookie trainer. In his mind, only elite trainers' pokemon can pull off such coordinated moves in the dark.

He was not wrong for thinking so. Currently, there's no known aura user in this world, at least, according to the Team Rocket database. Heck, even information about aura isn't so widespread either.

Even within the Team Rocket database, information about aura is so scarce that they might as well consider aura as something in the legends.

"Weezing, be careful" Landrick reminded. He forced one ambusher to reveal itself but there is still another one in the dark. With his vigilant nature, he also took into account that there might still be other pokemon or trainer who hadn't made their move yet.

Weezing didn't respond, but it became more vigilant towards its surroundings. Landrick then reached into his pocket and produced a spherical device with a red button on top. He hurled it in the direction of Lucario's location.

Folker, who was concealed in a nearby bush, observed Landrick throwing the device. He immediately telepathically shouted, "Quick, get out of there, Luca!"

Lucario also appeared to have sensed danger as soon as it saw the device Landrick had thrown. It rapidly employed [Quick Attack] to move away from the device.

Boom! The spherical device exploded... silently.

Folker, Farlan, and Chelsea expected a deafening explosion that would devastate the forest. However, it turned out to be quiet and small, with a blast radius of just one meter.

"Is it a dud?" Folker pondered to himself, his face creased with a frown.

"Arrrrgh!" Lucario screamed in agony as it covered its ears. Charmeleon, on the other side, also appeared to be in pain, emitting a high-pitched wail.

"Charmeleon, what's wrong?" Chelsea inquired, her face filled with concern.

"There you are," Landrick said with a twisted smirk, eyeing Charmeleon and its trainer, Chelsea.

'Just a little girl? She's the hidden elite trainer? So young yet so talented. I must recruit her to my team,' Landrick thought to himself in surprise. He had anticipated a prominent trainer, given the ability to execute coordinated attacks in various directions is no mean feat. He had never imagined that it would be a mere child.

"Girl, you possess remarkable talent. It's a waste for someone like you to perish here. Join my team, or face death... No, you must join my team. You won't have the option to die, even if you wish to," Landrick declared, his face contorted with malice.

"What have you done to Charmeleon?" Chelsea demanded, hugging her pokemon tightly.

Meanwhile, Folker, who was concealed in a nearby bush, was screaming inwardly. "Luca, what's happening?" he telepathically inquired of Lucario. However, Luca was unresponsive and continued to scream in agony.

Farlan, who was near Folker, silently opined, "It must be that device. Besides, it only affects pokemon, not humans. Nevertheless, Weezing appears to be immune as well. Landrick must have made arrangements in this regard."

Farlan gazed at Folker, who appeared poised to leap to Lucario's aid. "Don't worry. It appears to be causing them only pain. There should be no long-term consequences. Lucario and Charmeleon aren't in immediate danger yet."

Farlan then tapped Folker's back in an attempt to calm him down. Shortly afterwards, Folker calmed down as he gathered his thoughts and looked at Landrick's figure.

Seeing that Folker appeared to have calmed down, Farlan then said, "Have you given the signal already?".

Folker then nodded. "That's good. Now, let's just wait for Zapdos to show itself and give Landrick hell", Farlan added.

…

Meanwhile, in another part of the Cerulean forest, an enormous thunderbird, covered in yellow sparks of lightning, let out a loud, sharp cry as it soared through the sky. Its body was riddled with wounds and burns, evidence of a brutal battle.

"Zapdos!"

Scattered among the bloodied and fried corpses of both Pokémon and trainers, Koichi looked upon the scene with a pained voice, "I shouldn't have suggested a raid battle." His heart ached with regret as he remembered the faces of his fellow Dojo members.

"Team Rocket, what have you done?" Koichi asked, gazing up at Zapdos in the sky. His own Pokémon, Hawlucha, panted for breath with an exhausted look.

"We may have exhausted it to this extent, but at what cost?" Officer Jenny expressed her regret as she surveyed the scattered corpses.

"I failed my duty as a police officer," Officer Jenny said, making up her mind. After today, she would take responsibility for the deaths of these trainers and quit.

"Legendary raid battles aren't supposed to be this dangerous," a former captive trainer said, his voice trembling with fear as he stared up at Zapdos.

Currently, only seven trainers, including Koichi and Officer Jenny, survived. Three of them had lost their Pokémon.

"Zapdos!"

Once more, the legendary Pokémon let out a sharp cry and turned its head towards a particular direction. Koichi and the others flinched at the sound before steeling their hearts once more and preparing for another round of battle.

Suddenly, Zapdos flapped its wings and flew away in the direction it had been looking at. Koichi, Officer Jenny, and the remaining surviving trainers were left dumbfounded.

"What's going on?" Officer Jenny asked with a confused look on her face.

"Perhaps it's better this way," Koichi said, releasing a sigh of relief. The others also exhaled, falling to the ground in exhaustion and grief.

"Whatever is going on with Zapdos, I'll make sure it doesn't fall into Team Rocket's hands. It's the least I can do for my fallen Dojo members. Officer Jenny, please take these people to safety," Koichi said before quickly departing, not waiting for Officer Jenny to respond.

As Officer Jenny watched Koichi's retreating figure, she lacked the energy to stop and argue with him. She knew that he had made up his mind and that nothing she could say would change it. Moreover, as a police officer, she had a duty to take the surviving trainers to safety.