"This is the real Damian! This is—the complete me!"
Hearing Damian say that, the three of them finally couldn't help changing color.
"Damian! This is wrong!" Steven barked, voice low.
"If you have to pin your sense of belonging and your dreams on an evil organization, then something's already gone wrong."
Cynthia retorted as well.
She couldn't imagine how Damian's thinking had gotten this distorted.
"Damian, you've always been you—one of a kind. You don't need to prove that you exist to anyone at all!"
"That's just your naïve little ideology talking." Damian gave a cold laugh.
"Cynthia, you still don't get why Caitlin would rather choose Team Rocket than come back to your side."
"Your life is perfect. That doesn't mean everyone else's life is."
At that, Cynthia's face went a bit pale and ugly, her thoughts a tangled mess.
"I've had my fun with you long enough. It's about time to wrap this up."
Damian glanced toward the battlefield elsewhere. Zinnia had already seriously damaged Regirock and Registeel; she'd be able to beat Brandon soon.
Nemona, on the other hand, was still locked in a heated fight with Caitlin.
As for Wallace—yeah, he'd basically turned into a cheerleader, shouting support for Nemona.
Wallacei's "stability" was, as always, rock‑solid.
"Don't even think about it! Damian, we are not letting you walk away today!"
Steven's eyes were firm. Things had already gone this far.
They would not give up.
"Mewtwo."
Hands shoved in his pockets, Damian called lazily to Armored Mewtwo.
Deep purple light flashed in Armored Mewtwo's creepy eyes—and the wind just… stopped.
The next moment, two black twisters roared up from the ground out of nowhere, whipping the air into a frenzy as they tore toward Giovanni's trio.
Twin tornadoes born purely from Psychic.
"Aggron, Stone Edge!"
With the hurricane winds shrieking around them, Steven hurriedly gave the order.
Aggron roared as jagged stones condensed in front of it, then launched forward, shooting straight toward the two Psychic‑born twisters.
But when Stone Edge hit the twin funnels, the rocks were simply swallowed whole.
Damn it!!
Seeing that, Steven's face turned very sour. Was he really just going to have to stand here and watch Damian walk out of here like he owned the place?
"Fell Stinger!"
A low voice rang out.
A yellow silhouette shot forward at high speed, coming to a stop in front of the twin funnels. Its twin stingers glowed white as they drove hard into the tornadoes.
Bang!
Two sharp sonic booms exploded as the twin funnels struck by Fell Stinger froze in place—then slowly unraveled and vanished.
Steven and Cynthia both froze, staring in shock at the yellow silhouette ahead.
Because it was actually a Beedrill—Weedle's final evolution, Beedrill.
One of the most common Wild Pokémon you'd see in forested areas.
And yet this completely unassuming Beedrill had just shattered two Psychic tornadoes whipped up by Armored Mewtwo.
"Hm?"
Damian, who'd been heading toward Zinnia and Caitlin, turned back and looked at the Beedrill with clear surprise.
"This Beedrill—is it yours, Gym Leader Giovanni?"
Cynthia turned to the grim, tightly contained Giovanni. There was no doubt about it—this was Giovanni's Pokémon.
"Ah～ this is my starter. Sorry to disappoint you." Giovanni said quietly.
No—no one was laughing. This Beedrill seemed absurdly strong.
Steven's eyelid twitched. His own core main‑roster Aggron's STAB Stone Edge hadn't even touched those Psychic twisters—
But this Beedrill had pierced and dispersed them with a single Fell Stinger. The gap was obvious.
This Beedrill was absolutely terrifying.
"Damian, I'm truly sorry. Back then, I failed to give you the care you needed." Giovanni's voice was low.
"But your sense of belonging shouldn't be Team Rocket. I can't accept that. And—"
As Giovanni's words fell, Beedrill shot down like an arrow, lightning‑fast.
So fast!
Cynthia's eyes could barely track Beedrill's silhouette. Was that really just raw speed?
Bang!
Armored Mewtwo raised its arm. Deep purple light glowed from the Psychic wall that sprang up—and Beedrill's Fell Stinger had already slammed into the barrier.
They could see it with the naked eye: Beedrill's stinger was steadily drilling into the barrier's surface.
Armored Mewtwo curled its fingers, a wave of formless Psychic energy blanketing Beedrill.
Beedrill instantly picked up on it. Its twin stingers lashed, shredding the Psychic around its body, then it immediately darted back at high speed, putting distance between itself and Armored Mewtwo.
So strong!!
The same thought hit Steven and Cynthia at the same time.
To clash head‑on with Armored Mewtwo and not fall behind—this Beedrill was insane.
"I knew it. My darling father—of course a man like you would still have a hidden ace."
Damian's grin stretched high, a shadow seeming to slide over his face, lending it an evil cast.
"And it's because of you that I'm even more determined not to let you walk out of here."
Giovanni finally finished the second half of his sentence, grief and iron resolve both in his eyes.
"Now you say that? It's already too late."
Damian's half‑amused, half‑mocking smile was pure ice.
"Besides, even if I want to leave… you can't stop me."
Armored Mewtwo raised its right arm.
Caitlin and Zinnia were snatched from afar by Psychic and pulled in at high speed.
Wallace came with them as well.
Zinnia and Caitlin both looked perfectly composed; their side of the battle had gone very smoothly, after all.
"Wallace!"
Seeing that, Steven's expression changed. How had Wallace gotten caught again??
"Wallace‑sensei, let me give you a taste of high‑altitude flight."
Damian beamed at Wallace.
"Damian! What are you planning?!"
A horrible premonition surged up in Wallace's heart.
Damian didn't answer. He just called out to Mewtwo.
"Mewtwo."
Armored Mewtwo swept its hand upward.
Wallace instantly shot skyward like an arrow.
The wind howled in his face; Wallace‑sensei went pale on the spot.
"AAAAAAH!! Steven, save me! Steven, save meee!!!"
"Wallace!!"
Steven watched his close friend shrink to a dot In the blink of an eye, his face going white.
"Beedrill!" Giovanni, without the slightest hesitation, sent Beedrill streaking into the sky to make the rescue.
"Well then, everyone, this has been fun. Let's do this again sometime."
Seeing that, Damian waved goodbye to Steven and the others—and to Nemona and Brandon, who'd just run back over.
"Damian! You're not getting away!"
Of course Steven wasn't about to just let Damian and the others leave.
But Beedrill was already on its way to catch Wallace.
And as for the rest of the Pokémon they had on hand—none of them could stop Armored Mewtwo.
"You can't stop us. Don't waste your strength, Steven‑sensei."
Armored Mewtwo lifted into the air with Damian and the other two in tow.
"And if you want to catch me, Steven‑sensei—you'd better go find yourself a much stronger lineup. I'll be looking forward to it."
Like he was saying goodbye to a darling friend, Damian's smile was warm and easy.
The next second, Armored Mewtwo and the three of them turned into specks of light and vanished at the horizon, their speed incredible.
Steven and the others had no chance at all to stop them.
Once Armored Mewtwo and Damian's group had completely disappeared from sight, Beedrill came dropping back down from above.
In its arms—in a full princess carry—Wallace was pale as a sheet. He'd just been scared half to death.
The atmosphere went still.
"Um… should we go after them?"
Nemona hesitated, then asked the question nervously.
Things had actually gone pretty well on her side—she and Caitlin had been evenly matched.
But it seemed like these Seniors hadn't had such smooth sailing.
Senior Brandon had been completely suppressed by Zinnia. Steven, Cynthia, and Senior Giovanni's battle hadn't gone well either. As for Senior Wallace… best not to mention him.
Nemona honestly hadn't expected it. Six Champions fighting three, and they'd ended up like this.
Team Rocket was way too strong.
She finally understood why Hoenn League had needed to call for backup.
And Team Rocket had supposedly originated in Kanto Region.
Good grief—how had Indigo League managed to keep an organization like that in check all this time?
"No need to chase. Catching up to Damian would be very difficult."
Steven rubbed his brow, utterly exhausted, his tone just as heavy.
There was no question this battle had taught him a lot more about Damian.
"I'm ashamed. I couldn't even take down one evil‑organization Admin."
Brandon spoke up in deep, bitter shame.
"Senior Brandon, there's no need to beat yourself up. Team Rocket's overwhelming strength… sure, we didn't manage to capture them this time."
"But at least we picked up more intel. We can prepare for the next operation."
Steven forced a smile and tried to comfort Brandon.
They really had failed here.
They'd mobilized six Champion‑tier Trainers. Six Champions. That was unprecedented.
And they hadn't managed to catch a single person. Who would've believed it?
Roar～!
Just then, a roar rolled in from the sky.
Steven and the others looked up. A Charizard was flying toward them at high speed.
The man on Charizard's back spotted them too; his eyes lit up and Charizard swooped down.
"That's Champion Leon, right?"
Nemona froze, immediately recognizing the newcomer.
"Sorry I'm late. I, uh, ran into some… surprises on the way."
Leon hopped down from Charizard, scratching his head awkwardly.
He'd flown over from Petalburg City, and weirdly, even though he'd followed the navigation, he'd still ended up off course.
If he hadn't happened to run into an Officer Jenny just outside Rustboro City, he probably still wouldn't have made it.
"Where's Team Rocket?"
Leon looked around, taking in the battered Pokémon around Steven and the others.
His embarrassment got even worse.
Don't tell him the whole fight was already over?
Steven: "…"
Steven's facial muscles twitched. He forced out an awkward yet polite smile.
So this was Galar Region's undefeated Champion?
That was… enlightening.
"Team Rocket's already fled."
Still, the guy had come to help. Steven let out a quiet sigh and answered.
Even if Leon had arrived earlier, Steven honestly felt it probably wouldn't have changed the outcome.
Unless Leon had a main roster as absurdly strong as Gym Leader Giovanni's Beedrill—
Because in front of Armored Mewtwo, sheer numbers really didn't make much of a difference.
~~~
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