----
Kai had hoped to finish the battle quickly.
But the storm had other plans.
Before Dragonair and Typhlosion could reach a conclusion, a massive lightning bolt slammed into the nearby forest with a deafening CRACK!
KRRRRA-KA-THOOM!
The sound tore through the field like a cannon blast. Marina shrieked and stumbled back instinctively.
"Aahh!!"
Smoke immediately began rising from the direction of the impact, thick, black, and ominous.
"What was that?! Did lightning hit something?!" Jimmy asked, squinting toward the hills.
Kai and Erika exchanged a look.
"Should we check it out?" Erika asked quietly.
Kai nodded. "Yeah. If it sparked a wildfire, it could get out of control fast."
They were right to worry. Even if rain was on the way, wildfires moved quickly, especially in a dense forest where rain might not reach the underbrush.
With the battle now forgotten, the group, including their Pokémon, rushed toward the smoke. Thunder continued to rumble overhead as they made their way through the woods.
Eventually, the trees thinned out, revealing a rocky gorge.
Even before they reached the edge, they heard a strange sound.
Buzzing. Humming. Static electricity.
Kai slowed his pace and motioned for the others to do the same.
They pushed aside some bushes to get a clearer view.
In the middle of a clearing was a crystalline device, pulsing with arcs of electricity like a living storm battery.
But that wasn't all.
Beside the device stood two men in Team Rocket uniforms, fiddling with controls attached to a shark-shaped mecha the size of a car.
"Team Rocket!" Erika whispered, scowling.
"Team… what?" Jimmy asked, confused.
"They're a criminal group," Erika explained quickly. "They steal Pokémon and use them for their own gain, dangerous people who'll do anything to get power."
Kai narrowed his eyes. He didn't recognize these two agents.
One was muscular, tan-skinned, and loud, his blonde hair slicked back, sunglasses hiding his eyes.
The other was tall and lean, pale with sharp silver hair and a colder aura.
'Not grunts,' Kai thought. 'These two must be high-ranking.'
But what were they doing way out here? There were no ruins, no mines, no settlements nearby. Just an untamed forest.
That's when the forest around the clearing began to stir.
One by one, Electric-type Pokémon emerged from the trees, drawn to the crystal device. Small Magnemite, Electrike, Mareep, even Pikachu and their evolutions gathered, captivated by the stormy hum of the crystal.
Kai's eyes narrowed.
"They're all Electric-types…"
Erika's eyes widened. "That crystal is attracting them!"
"And trapping them," Kai said grimly. "That lightning earlier? It wasn't natural. That thing created it."
The blonde Rocket agent barked a command, and the shark-shaped mech extended two metal arms, grabbing several Mareep and dragging them inside its body.
A Raichu tried to fight back, hurling a Thunderbolt but the moment the bolt left its body, the electricity swerved in midair sucked straight into the crystal!
Worse, it didn't just absorb the energy. The crystal amplified it and launched the blast back in a wave of crackling energy, slamming into Raichu and the surrounding Pokémon!
They went down hard, crying out, then collapsing, unconscious.
Kai's jaw clenched.
That wasn't just a battery. It was a weapon.
The blonde Rocket agent threw back his head and laughed.
"Pathetic! These Electric-types are sitting ducks! This is way too easy!"
The mecha's claws kept moving, scooping up Pokémon like fruit from a tree.
Jimmy stepped forward, fury on his face.
"That's it—I'm stopping them!"
But before he could charge in, another bolt of lightning crashed down, not far in front of them.
The group froze.
The clouds above twisted into a massive swirling vortex, thunder rumbling louder now, shaking the earth.
And then, from within that spiral, another blinding flash.
A silhouette appeared, leaping down from the cliffs.
Golden fur. Black stripes. A muscular, feline frame cloaked in a mane of stormclouds.
It landed on a high ledge above the clearing, illuminated by lightning.
Raikou.
Jimmy stood frozen, eyes wide.
Kai didn't need a Pokédex.
"It's Raikou," he said quietly.
One of the Three Legendary Beasts of Johto.
Even Erika stared in awe. Marina gasped beside her.
"Raikou?!"
"It's real…?"
Kai kept his gaze on the Legendary Pokémon. He had met Raikou once before—on the plains near Greenfield. He'd almost captured it. Almost.
Was this the same one?
There was no way to know. But one thing was certain:
Team Rocket's true target… wasn't the wild Pokémon.
They were here for Raikou.
----
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