"Shh!"
Caleb made a gesture to Amber, signaling her to stay quiet and hidden...
Amber obediently nodded, then hugged Caleb's travel bag as she retreated behind a stack of cardboard boxes in the corner.
Caleb glanced at Mimikyu's status panel...
«Mimikyu»
- Level: 34
- Gender: Female
- Type: Ghost / Fairy
- Ability: Disguise
- Egg Move: Destiny Bond
- Known Moves: Scratch, Astonish, Copycat, Double Team, Wood Hammer... Shadow Sneak, Mimic, Feint Attack...
After the battle with the cemetery caretaker's Tyranitar earlier, Mimikyu had leveled up to Lv. 34 and learned three new moves: Shadow Sneak, Mimic, and Feint Attack...
"I'll lure them over. You sneak up from behind and knock them out with Feint Attack or Shadow Sneak. Got it?" Caleb instructed.
Mimikyu nodded solemnly.
Satisfied, Caleb turned and pulled out two shrunken Poké Balls from his backpack, gripping them tightly in his hand.
He gently pushed open the door, sidestepped out, and used a Team Rocket grunt's blind spot to roll into cover behind a cross-shaped corridor.
The Team Rocket member hadn't expected anyone else to be in the manor at this hour, so he hadn't bothered sending out his Pokémon.
He was systematically searching room by room from left to right. Just as his hand touched the doorknob of the storage room where Amber was hiding, a red-and-white Poké Ball rolled out from around the corner like a marble.
The Team Rocket grunt froze, instantly becoming alert as he snapped his gaze toward the movement.
"Who's there?!" he barked.
No answer.
The hallway was so quiet, he could hear his own nervous breathing.
*Rustle*
A strange noise came from behind him.
The Rocket member whirled around, only to see a shadowy figure darting toward him with a burst of wind before slamming into his temple.
A wave of dizziness crashed over him. Stars exploded in his vision as his body crumpled to the floor with a heavy *thud*.
'First one down...'
Just as Caleb started dragging the unconscious man into a nearby room, rapid footsteps suddenly pounded up the wooden staircase.
'Damn it! They noticed!'
Without thinking, Caleb instinctively scooped up Mimikyu and ducked into the nearest room.
Outside, the noise had drawn another Team Rocket member, who immediately spotted his fallen comrade.
His guard shot up. He pulled out a Poké Ball and released his Pokémon, a dark-blue Golbat.
Golbats typically lived in swarms inside pitch-black caves. Over time, their eyes had degenerated from disuse in the darkness.
But as their vision weakened, another ability evolved in its place... Ultrasonic waves.
After being captured by human trainers, this ability was further honed into a new purpose: tracking targets.
That was exactly why this Team Rocket grunt had sent out his Golbat, to find whoever had attacked his teammate.
The Golbat obeyed, emitting ultrasonic waves as it circled the hallway before stopping in front of a certain door.
But then, as if detecting something else, it abruptly flapped its wings and hovered in front of another door.
Which meant… There were two people hiding...
The grunt's pupils constricted. His expression turned grave as he grabbed the walkie-talkie from his belt, ready to alert the other three.
*Bzzzt*
A faint static noise crackled from the device. The grunt tensed and kept his eyes locked on one of the doors while waiting for the call to connect.
Because of that, he didn't notice the first door silently creaking open behind him.
Caleb, wielding a wooden chair, swung it straight at the man's head without hesitation.
Mimikyu followed up instantly, slamming into the back of the man's knees.
Their perfect teamwork sent the grunt crashing to the floor. His mouth opened, as if trying to speak, but no sound came out.
*Thud*
Another heavy collapse echoed through the hallway.
Seeing its trainer attacked, the Golbat instantly flew into a rage.
Its wings flapped rapidly, conjuring two razor-sharp Air Slashes that shot toward Caleb in a cross formation.
Mimikyu noticed. It leaped high into the air, shielding its trainer and taking the hit head-on.
The attack didn't deal real damage... it only broke Mimikyu's Disguise.
"Nice one!" Caleb commanded sharply, "Use Mimic!"
Mimikyu hopped onto a nearby chair, its tiny eyes widening as a strange glow flickered within them.
Wind gathered before it, forming into the same cross-shaped Air Slash before hurtling straight at the Golbat.
Without its trainer's guidance, the Golbat reacted too slowly. The attack struck it head-on, sending it spiraling to the ground.
"Finish it with Feint Attack!" Caleb ordered.
Mimikyu lunged, a burst of wind trailing behind it as it smashed straight into the Golbat's stomach.
The Golbat's eyes nearly bulged out of its skull. Unable to withstand the blow, it finally passed out.
But it wasn't over yet...
The unconscious grunt's walkie-talkie had somehow activated during the chaos. The static buzz was deafening in the silent hallway.
By the time Caleb noticed, it was already too late...
Rapid footsteps echoed from both ends of the corridor. The remaining three Team Rocket grunts closed in from either side.
Dr. Fuji followed behind them, his gaze sweeping over the two unconscious men before locking onto Caleb's face.
His expression darkened, "Where is my little Amber?" His voice, thick with suppressed fury, reverberated through the hallway.
Caleb didn't answer.
Dr. Fuji abruptly pulled out a Poké Ball. A flash of white light later, a hulking purple Nidoking materialized beside him, its armored muscles rippling.
The moment it appeared, the Nidoking threw its head back and let out an earth-shaking roar.
Caleb's eyes narrowed, 'So this is the hidden mission's difficulty spike?'
Then, the storage room door burst open.
Amber, struggling under the weight of Caleb's oversized travel backpack, rushed out and planted herself in front of him, her small face fierce, "Don't you hurt my Onii-san!"
Dr. Fuji took a deep breath, his facial muscles twitching as he visibly fought to control his emotions, "Amber-chan, come to Daddy!"
Amber stubbornly shook her head.
That was the last straw... The rejection triggered Dr. Fuji's extreme personality switch, flipping him into a state of hysterical rage.
"So disobedient… It seems I'll have to teach you a lesson so that you'll learn to listen!" A twisted grin split his face as he snarled, and his eyes became bloodshot as he ordered, "Nidoking! Use Hyper Beam! BLAST THEM TO PIECES!"
Amber's face instantly drained of color.
The second the words left Fuji's mouth, Caleb grabbed both Amber and Mimikyu, kicked aside a grunt obstructing his path, and bolted.
Behind him, the terrified screams of the Team Rocket grunts erupted:
"D-Doctor?! What are you– WE'RE ON YOUR SIDE– AAAAAGH—!"
Caleb didn't look back.
A massive, hyper-concentrated energy beam seared past his arm... And everything behind him vanished into white noise...
...
Nidoking & Golbat...
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Read ahead on my P@treon...
[email protected]/MayaMatengele01