Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Rewards and Iono
Chapter 65: Rewards and Iono
Lt. Surge was not a match for Asahi.
Over the next ten minutes, he sent out four Voltorb, two Magneton, and a Raichu.
But now, the only ones left standing were him and his Electivire.
Huff… Huff…
Leaning against his battered Electivire, Lt. Surge gasped for air.
His arms bore deep claw marks—souvenirs from Shelgon's Dragon Claw.
Electivire looked even worse.
Its once-pristine yellow-and-black fur was covered in wounds, its body swaying as if it could collapse at any moment.
He had tried to escape multiple times, but…
Lt. Surge gritted his teeth as he glared at the drowsy Eevee lying lazily on the ground.
Every time he tried to flee, that ridiculously overpowered Eevee blocked him.
Then Gardevoir would catch up, and he'd be pincered between them.
Both of his Magneton had been taken down that way.
Now, as he looked at Gardevoir floating high above, Lt. Surge realized escaping on his own was impossible.
So, he made a last-ditch effort.
"If you really are International Police…" Lt. Surge shouted, "don't you want to know where your captured agents are?"
"Let me go, and I'll tell you where they are."
"Otherwise, you'll never find them."
He refused to be arrested.
Desperate, he even tried using the captured International Police officers as leverage, hoping Asahi would take the bait.
If Asahi could rescue his former colleagues and superiors, it would be a massive achievement.
Possibly enough to get him promoted several ranks.
But…
Asahi simply waved his hand.
Gardevoir unleashed a powerful Psychic blast, knocking Electivire out cold.
Lt. Surge stood frozen in disbelief.
"Making deals with Team Rocket? No thanks."
"If I want something, I'll take it myself."
Asahi motioned for Gardevoir to use Hypnosis.
Lt. Surge slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Once he was completely out, Asahi walked over and slapped a pair of handcuffs on him.
The moment the cuffs clicked shut—
[You have successfully arrested Lt. Surge, one of Team Rocket's Three Executives.]
[You have earned the title: 'Rocket Bane.']
[Please select your reward:]
1. Zap Plate
2. Regieleki's Restraint Device
3. Electrium Z Set
Hearing the system's notification, Asahi wasn't surprised.
Capturing a high-ranking Rocket Executive was a big deal.
But looking at the rewards…
"I kind of want all of these."
The Zap Plate—he had already seen firsthand how powerful the Psychic Plate was with Gardevoir.
The Regieleki Restraint Device—most likely one of the rings used to suppress Regieleki's power, similar to the Dragon Crystal he had. Extremely valuable.
And the Electrium Z Set—a must-have for using Z-Moves.
It was really hard to choose.
After hesitating for a while…
"…I'll decide later."
System rewards wouldn't disappear, so there was no rush. He could pick later when he had more time.
For now, Asahi took out his communicator and snapped a photo of the unconscious Lt. Surge.
He was about to send it to Lance to report the success—
But then he noticed Lance was offline.
"…Celadon City isn't finished yet? Did something go wrong?"
Asahi frowned.
Lance had messaged him earlier, saying he was launching his operation in Celadon.
That was why Asahi made his move against Lt. Surge.
But now, his mission was complete, while Lance's was still ongoing.
Had something unexpected happened?
"No way… Lance and Bruno are both Elite Four members. There shouldn't be a problem. Maybe Team Rocket's base over there is just bigger than expected."
Asahi reassured himself.
If two Elite Four couldn't take down a Rocket base, then Kanto might as well rename itself "Rocket League."
While waiting for Green to finish collecting evidence, Asahi idly scrolled through his phone.
Suddenly, a notification popped up.
[The streamer DenDen★Iono has started broadcasting.]
On reflex, he tapped in.
A cheerful face filled the screen.
A moment later, the camera zoomed out, revealing a Magnemite-shaped hair clip, blue-and-pink twin ponytails, and a slender figure hidden beneath an oversized jacket.
"Catching your eyeballs with my Electro-Web—who's Iono? It's me, Iono! Welcome to DenDen★Live! Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, hello, ciao~!"
Iono waved her massive sleeves playfully while her Magnemite hair clip blinked in sync.
The chat exploded.
"Good morning, afternoon, evening—hello, ciao~!"
"Iono! Life without your streams was unbearable!"
"Kawaii~!"
Asahi had been following Iono for a while.
Back when he was a ranger, he started watching her streams out of boredom.
But due to the time difference between Kanto and Paldea, he didn't watch often.
On-screen, Iono was showcasing her Pokémon and giving tips to new trainers preparing for Gym Challenges.
A viewer asked: "Who's the strongest Electric-type Gym Leader?"
It was clearly a trick question, but Iono smiled sweetly.
"Hmm… Hoenn's Wattson, Sinnoh's Volkner, Unova's Elesa, Kalos's Clemont, and Kanto's Lt. Surge—they're all super strong~!"
A very diplomatic answer.
But Asahi, ever the mischief-maker, sent a Super Chat.
Moments later, Iono's Magnemite hair clip sparked.
Far away in Paldea, Iono glanced at the chat and read aloud:
"Ooh~ Iono just got a Super Chat~!"
"This one's from 'Slacking Off at Work Again'—they say, 'Just beat Kanto's Electric Gym Leader, Lt. Surge. He was pretty mid.'"
"Wow~ Iono has fans in Kanto too? So happy~!"
"Lt. Surge is a really tough Gym Leader, though!"
"Maybe this viewer is just really strong~!"
Iono winked at the camera.
The chat exploded.
"SO CUTE!"
"I'M DYING—CALL AN AMBULANCE!"
"I CAN'T HANDLE THIS!"
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