The young trainers in the corner gasped, their shock at the violence morphing into star-struck awe.
Elias paused, his hand halfway to the door. He turned his head slightly, just enough to look at Nurse Joy over the rim of his glasses. There was no pride in his expression, no acknowledgment of the title. It was just a fact, as relevant to him at that moment as the color of the floor tiles.
"That is correct. Please, add the repair costs to my account."
He turned and walked out, Anne casting one last, complicated glance at the stunned room before following him.
Outside, the cool air felt like a physical relief after the tension of the Center.
"That was… not subtle." Anne finally said, her voice a tight whisper. "Archer's going to know exactly who to look for now. So much for gathering quiet intel."
"Isn't this what you want?" Elias asked, but there's no accusation in his tone. "This way we can report to commander that Team Rocket have engaged us. We can finally take this matter into our hands."
Anne stopped short, grabbing Elias's arm to pull him into the deeper shadow of a welded sculpture.
"Wait. What are you saying?"
Elias looked at her, the distant dock lights painting his glasses with faint orange squares.
"My action at the Center creates a direct conflict. We can report to commander that they've engaged us first and we used self-defense to protect ourselves. Commander Sarah cannot ignore a direct threat from Team Rocket, especially one targeting civilian infrastructure we were using."
Anne stared at him, her mind reeling. He was right. He'd taken her impulsive, emotional desire to do something and had turned it into a plan. He hadn't just defended the Center, he'd laid a trap for their own command structure, forcing Sarah's hand. He was using Team Rocket's predictable brutality, and Sarah's own rigid logic, to bend their mission parameters.
"Elias... what is going on in that head of yours?" Anne asked in her thoughts.
Elias raised his left wrist, tapping the sleek, obsidian interface of his comm watch. A holographic display projected a soft blue light into the darkness between them, the "X" insignia spinning for a brief second before stabilizing into a frequency.
"This is Senior Grunt 124, Elias." He spoke into the device. "Connect me to Commander Sarah."
The holographic display flickered, and Sarah's sharp, clinical features appeared.
"Elias." Sarah commanded. "Has anything happen?"
"Commander... the situation in Scrapyard City has deteriorated. Team Rocket has attempted to seize the local Pokemon Center."
"And?" Sarah's eyes narrowed behind the blue glow of the transmission.
"My team was inside for restoration. A Rocket operative attempted to take them by force. I'm forced to engage in self-defense to prevent my team for getting taken away. The Rocket operative have retreated, but they are now aware of my presence and are likely mobilizing a response team."
There was a long, heavy silence on the other end. Then, Sarah asked:
"Did you reveal your affiliation?"
"No. They only know that I'm Elias, the Novice Clash Champion." Elias answered with straight face. He didn't know if Team Rocket knew him, but they've for sure heard about the Novice Clash and will soon find out that he's the champion.
Sarah's holographic image remained perfectly still for a moment longer. Then, a faint, almost imperceptible sigh escaped her lips—a rare crack in her composed armor.
"Understood." She said, her voice regaining its steely composure. She leaned slightly closer to her own pickup, her gaze piercing through the hologram. "Listen carefully. You are now authorized to engage Team Rocket operatives in Scrapyard City. Your stated objective is to protect civilian infrastructure and trainers from their predation. This will help with your public identity and provides plausible justification for your actions."
Sarah's gaze shifted slightly, as if looking at something beyond Elias.
"Anne is with you. Ensure she understands the new rules of engagement." The transmission began to flicker. "I will monitor the situation remotely. Do not contact me again unless it is critical. Operate with extreme prejudice towards Rocket, and extreme caution towards exposure."
The hologram winked out of existence, leaving them in the dim alley with only the distant sounds of the mobilizing Rocket force.
Elias lowered his wrist, the watch's interface dimming. He turned to face the streets, where the Rocket vans were now fanning out into the city streets, their headlights cutting through the gloom.
"They sure do act fast when their egos are hurt." Anne said, letting out a low whistle.
"They will be combing the city center and the main routes first. They expect us to hide or flee into the urban maze." Elias turned to Anne, his glasses catching the sunlight. "We will do neither."
He unclipped three pokeballs from his belt.
Staravia materialized with a soft flutter. Krokorok landed with a heavier thud. Alpha Scraggy appeared, its hulking form a shadow of contained violence.
"Let's go to the east, towards the rust flats." Elias stated. "It's an open ground. We will wait for them there."
A fierce grin spread across Anne's face. She unclipped two pokeballs of her own. In twin flashes of light, her partners appeared.
Decidueye landed silently on a nearby crate, its feathery cloak blending with the shadows. Amaura emerged with a soft, chiming cry. The frigid air around it grew several degrees colder, causing Anne's breath to mist.
"Decidueye and I will handle the long-range game." Anne said, her voice now all business.
Elias gave a nod of approval.
"Let's go."
***
The transition from the urban sprawl to the outskirts of Scrapyard City was marked by the thinning of buildings and the rise of the Rust Flats—a desolate graveyard of colossal machinery.
Elias stepped into the center of the main access road, the bright sunlight reflecting off the clear lenses of his glasses. Behind him, the Alpha Scraggy cracked its knuckles, its bloodshot eyes fixed on the approaching glare of headlights.
A black van, emblazoned with the crimson 'R', screeched to a halt fifty yards away. Three more followed, flanking it in a semi-circle. A dozen Rocket grunts spilled out, forming a barrier of black to prevent him from escaping.
"You're late." Elias said. "I expected more of you."
From the middle van, the sliding door hissed open with a hydraulic wheeze.
A man stepped out, his presence immediately heavy and suffocating. He wore a high-collared white uniform that stood out sharply against the grime of the Rust Flats, his teal hair slicked back with severe precision.
Archer, the executive head of the regional Team Rocket operations, adjusted his black glove, his gaze landing on Elias.
"I've spent the better part of my afternoon listening to reports of a 'polite child' harassing my officer." Archer began, his voice smooth.
He took a deliberate step forward, his polished boots crunching on the oxidized gravel.
"You are the Novice Clash Champion. A title for children." Archer's lip curled into a thin smile. "Tell me... what kind of devil made you think you could get away with threatening Team Rocket?"
Elias didn't shift his stance. Behind him, the Alpha Scraggy let out a low, guttural hiss, its body tensing. Krokorok's tail thrashed once, sending a spray of rust into the air.
"I didn't threatened anyone. Your grunt simply hurt his own ego." Elias replied, his voice flat and devoid of the tremor Archer likely expected. "But tell me something... what is Team Rocket doing in this region?"
Archer let out a sharp, barking laugh that echoed off of the surrounding machinery. He adjusted the high collar of his white uniform, looking at Elias with a mixture of amusement and genuine pity.
"Why should I tell something so significant to a child who hasn't even begun to understand how the world truly turns?" Archer asked, his voice silky. "You think winning a tournament in Metrolink City makes you a player in this game?"
He paced a small line in the gravel, his eyes flickering towards the massive Alpha Scraggy looming behind Elias.
"But... perhaps a little enlightenment is in order before I dismantle you. It's always more delicious when the victim understands exactly why they are being crushed. Consider it a reward for your... courage."
Archer swept his arm out, gesturing toward the horizon of the Adele region.
"This region is a graveyard of forgotten myths and dreams. We, Team Rocket, knows the truth hidden beneath the ground."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low, reverent hiss.
"We are here for the ultimate acquisition, brat! We are here to seize the Legendary Pokemon, Faradity. The architect of absolute control."
Elias's grip tightened almost imperceptibly on the strap of his bag. The name—the same one Sarah had mentioned before. Archer spoke it with greed, unaware that another shadow was already chasing the same ghost.
"Faradity." Elias repeated, his voice a steady mask.
"Yes! Faradity doesn't just 'bring peace.' It can rewrite the primal instincts of every living creature. Imagine it, boy. No more rebellion. No more resistance. A world where every pokemon and every human moves exactly as we dictate. Total efficiency. Total obedience."
Archer snapped his fingers. Behind him, a grunt stepped forward, handing him ultra balls.
"But before that... let me show you what happens when you mess with Team Rocket!"
Archer's fingers closed around the ultra ball, his sneer sharpening. But before he could release his pokemon, a voice cut through the tense air from above:
"Elia! Time to step back!"
Anne stood atop a rusted crane arm high above the road, the wind tugging at her hair. Decidueye was beside her, an arrow already nocked and drawn. Amaura stood a few feet behind her, its crystalline body shimmering with gathering cold.
Archer's head snapped up, his composure fracturing for a split second.
"A second one? How—"
Elias didn't give him time to finish the question. He had what he needed—the confirmation of Rocket's target. Now it was time to execute the second phase.
"Now!" Elias commanded, his voice slicing through Archer's bluster.
From the shadows of the massive, half-buried machinery flanking the road, Krokorok erupted. It didn't emerge from the ground—it used a rusted conveyor belt as a springboard, launching itself directly at the lead van's front tires. Its jaws, glowing with dark energy, clamped down with a sickening crunch, shredding rubber and severing brake lines in a single motion. The van lurched and sank.
At the same moment, Staravia dove from a sun-blind position, shooting past the Rocket grunts in a whirlwind of wings and sharp talons. Its target was their communication gear—antennae were sheared off, handheld radios were snatched and dashed against the ground. In three seconds, their external comms were silenced.
Archer, recovering fast, hurled his ultra ball.
"Weavile, shatter that bird out of the sky!"
Weavile materialized, claws gleaming with ice. But before it could even orient itself, a ghostly arrow whispered through the air from Anne's perch. It struck the ground at its feet, erupting into a swirling vortex of spectral energy that snared the pokemon's legs.
"Amaura, now! Blizzard!" Anne's voice rang out.
Amaura reared its head back and unleashed a localized, howling gale of snow and ice. It was aimed directly at the cluster of disoriented grunts and their scrambling pokemon. The temperature plummeted. Grunts cried out, their movements slowing to a crawl as frost coated their uniforms and their pokemon shivered, attacks dying in their throats.
In the center of the chaos, Elias hadn't moved. Alpha Scraggy had taken one step forward, placing itself squarely between Elias and Archer. It stared at the Rocket executive, its expression one of pure hate.
Archer's face was a mask of fury. His perfect ambush had been inverted in seconds. His forces were neutralized, his communications cut, his prized Weavile pinned. There was nothing left to help him, except for the one ultra ball in his hand.
"You… you planned this." He spat, his eyes darting between Elias's impassive face and Anne's smirking form on the crane.
"You talked too much." Elias stated simply. He raised a hand, and Krokorok, having disabled the vehicles, melted back into the shadows of the scrap. Staravia circled once more before landing on a spar of metal above Elias, watching.
"No... no...! I won't accept this!" Archer raised his hand, throwing the other ultra ball in his hand. "You're just a kid... I can't be outsmarted by you!!"