"Kazuki, give me another chance! This time I won't mess up!"
Misty, ever determined, wanted to try again.
Kazuki gently pulled her aside and whispered near her ear, "Beating them is easy, but what about all the injured Pokémon inside?"
"If we fight here and damage the Pokémon Center, that'll be a huge problem."
"So go find Officer Jenny. I'll handle things here."
"But there are three of them… can you really manage?"
Because Kazuki had already saved her once, Misty now genuinely worried about his safety.
"No problem."
Kazuki's confident response finally convinced Misty, and she quietly slipped away.
"Hey, your little girlfriend ran off. Aren't you gonna run too? Don't tell me you're seriously thinking of fighting our Pokémon?"
Jessie sneered, and beside her, Ekans and Koffing bared their fangs menacingly in sync.
But Kazuki just smirked in contempt. "What kind of big shot needs to hide behind Pokémon to prove themselves?"
"Huh?" Jessie was momentarily stunned. "We are Pokémon Trainers. Isn't that… the point?"
"Heh."
Kazuki rolled his shoulders with a casual grin. "Pokémon are an extension of the Trainer. A Trainer's true strength comes from within."
"You guys call yourselves villains, but all you rely on are your Pokémon? That's it?"
Jessie and James—who both dropped out of school early—stood there, genuinely baffled by his logic.
"What else are we supposed to rely on?" James asked, completely confused.
"Hey! Are you two seriously taking this guy seriously?" Meowth interjected in a panic.
"Shush, Meowth. I think he's making some sense," James said, waving him off.
"What you also need," Kazuki said, raising his voice deliberately so Nurse Joy inside the center could hear, "is a solid physical foundation!"
"You've been villains this long, and you're telling me you're all physically useless?"
"I—" Jessie began, but James cut her off with a raised hand and an odd laugh.
"I gotta admit, you've done your homework on being a villain. I respect that!"
Then James struck a bizarre pose. "You're clearly trying to provoke me into fighting you without using Pokémon. And you know what? I accept!"
Sure enough, these theatrics-prone weirdos were easy to manipulate.
Kazuki hadn't even brought up hand-to-hand combat, yet James offered it himself.
Kazuki had the physique to hoist Delia and carry her all over the house—
now strengthened by a 50% boost to physical stats. Facing James? He wasn't worried in the slightest.
"Uh, James, that kid may look young, but he's got a pretty solid build. You sure about this?"
Jessie asked, a bit uncertain.
"Totally! I did two years of karate! Beating up a kid like this is nothing!"
James puffed up his chest and turned to Kazuki. "Ready, punk?"
But the area was still filled with Koffing's gas, making it hard to see.
Kazuki shrugged. "Hard to go all out here with all this smog from your Koffing. Let's move to somewhere open."
"Fair enough! Let's go!"
Just like that, Kazuki successfully lured Team Rocket away from the Pokémon Center.
Once on a clear patch of land, James began performing exaggerated warm-up stances.
"Today, punk, you'll taste defeat and hand over your Pokémon to the great James!"
Kazuki had no idea what James was flailing around for—
but that suited him just fine. After all, stalling was exactly his plan.
"Come at me, brat!" James roared and charged in.
Kazuki didn't even strike back—he casually dodged.
James lunged again and again, but Kazuki evaded every move with ease.
"Go, James! Get him, James!"
Jessie and Meowth, now totally immersed in the scene, cheered from the sidelines—
completely forgetting their original mission.
"Hah! You keep dodging, punk. Scared, huh?! Let's see you dodge when I go full speed!"
James launched a flurry of faster attacks—
but Kazuki continued dodging effortlessly until…
WEEE-OOO WEEE-OOO
Police sirens rang in the distance.
That's when Kazuki caught James' fist mid-swing.
"Huh?" James blinked in confusion, trying to pull back—but Kazuki's grip was unshakable.
"My turn."
Kazuki smoothly twisted and launched James into the air with a judo throw—
slam—knocking him out cold.
"Pokémon thieves, surrender immediately!"
Officer Jenny arrived on the scene just in time to witness Kazuki's throw.
Her eyes widened with admiration. "A-Amazing…"
"Damn! We fell for his trick—he was stalling the whole time!"
Jessie finally snapped out of it.
"But don't think one little cop can stop us! Ekans! Koffing! Attack!"
"Wait—Pikachu! You haven't fully recovered yet!"
Nurse Joy, having returned after moving the Poké Balls, saw what was happening.
Pikachu, upon seeing Kazuki in danger, leapt off the bed and dashed to his side.
Kazuki looked at Pikachu. "Can you still fight?"
"Pika! Pika!"
Pikachu nodded firmly.
"Alright! Don't attack right away. When Koffing releases its gas, target the smoke cloud with Thunder Shock!"
"Pika!"
"Heh, you really are a fool, kid!" Meowth sneered. "You think a little electric rodent can stop us? I'll claw you to pieces! Meow!"
Meowth lunged forward.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack, now!"
Pikachu dashed forward with lightning speed—
and Meowth, who'd spent most of his potential learning to talk, was no match.
With one blow, he collapsed.
"Wh-What just happened?"
Meowth stared in confusion at Pikachu, now calmly back beside Kazuki.
"Meowth, get back! Ekans! Koffing! Go!"
"Koffing—"
"Ekansss!"
Koffing floated forward and started releasing thick clouds of gas.
"Now! Pikachu—Thunder Shock!"
"Piii—ka—CHUUUUUU!"
Pikachu's electricity surged through the gas—
BOOOOM!
The explosion rocked the area, blasting Team Rocket sky-high.
"What the—how is Pikachu this strong?! Aaaaaahhhhh!"
And just like that, the trio disappeared into the sky.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"