At the very instant Houndoom collapsed, Weezing's Poison Gas had already spread over an area under the cover of Icy Wind.
"Get away from that Poison Gas!"
Yamamoto gave the order.
However, Tetsuya was already controlling the Poison Gas with his psychic power, ensuring that some Pokémon remained trapped within it.
Fire Blast followed by Flamethrower…
Two consecutive explosions erupted, and the seven or eight Pokémon at the center of the blasts immediately lost their combat ability.
As time passed, the power granted by Mamoswine's Curse gradually began to fade. Among Tetsuya's remaining four Pokémon, Weezing had the poorest stamina. After repeatedly unleashing powerful moves, it was already beginning to struggle to continue fighting.
"Launch the second wave!"
Seizing the perfect opportunity, Yamamoto ordered the second wave of attacks just as Tetsuya's Pokémon were beginning to glimpse the hope of victory.
Another fifty or sixty Pokémon joined the battle!
The morale of Tetsuya's remaining four Pokémon immediately plummeted, and Weezing was struck by several charging Pokémon and lost its combat ability.
"Ditto, Mamoswine, Golurk… only the three of you are left. You've been with me the longest and you're my three strongest Pokémon. No matter how many opponents remain… today we will defeat them!"
Tetsuya's words were naturally meant to raise their morale. Including Gengar, only four Pokémon were still capable of fighting. Facing so many opponents, all they could do was delay for as long as possible. Matsuba and Pryce were too far away to arrive in time to save him. His only remaining hope lay with those who shared the same interests.
Mamoswine had now returned to its normal state, and Blizzard roared forth once again.
Meanwhile, Ditto transformed into Mamoswine to support the battle, its own Blizzard merging into Mamoswine's Blizzard.
Golurk fought alone in the sky against more than a dozen Pokémon. Every time it knocked one down, another immediately took its place. From the moment it had begun fighting Yamamoto until now, Golurk had finally reached the limit of its stamina.
Tetsuya noticed that the seventh layer of energy within Golurk's body was beginning to flicker. The seventh layer, which had remained unchanged for so long, now seemed to be awakening, eager to break through…
At this point, the stamina of all three Pokémon could truly be considered exceptional, yet they had still been worn down completely by the relentless waves of Shadows.
Although the energy in Golurk's chest had expanded somewhat, it was still so exhausted that it descended to the ground. Ditto was also forced to revert to its original form. All three Pokémon panted heavily without stopping.
"Capture him…!"
Yamamoto spoke those words in a gloomy voice. Tetsuya's ability to resist had become extremely limited. The time had finally come to seize him in one decisive move.
Although unwilling to accept it, any resistance had become pitifully powerless.
'In the end, it looks like I'll have to use it…'
Just as all hope seemed lost, every Flying-type Pokémon in Shadow Team's skies suddenly fell from the air…?
"What… what's going on?" Yamamoto asked in alarm.
Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…
A deafening chorus of buzzing filled the air. Under the moonlight, countless Beedrill descended from the darkness, charging into the mass of Pokémon. Close behind them came a wave of Golbat swooping forward.
Suddenly, the ground trembled as dozens of Arbok burst from beneath the earth, coiling tightly around the Shadow Team members.
More than a hundred Team Rocket members rushed in from every direction, commanding Arbok, Golbat, and Beedrill to attack!
The sudden collapse of the battle situation caught Yamamoto completely off guard. Every Shadow was subdued, and all of the Pokémon they had sent out lost their combat ability.
Yamamoto had already fallen into despair!
He stood where he was, seemingly waiting to be judged.
A helicopter descended from the sky and landed on the ground. A burly man stepped out of the aircraft. It was none other than Team Rocket's leader… Giovanni!
The Beedrill that had been leading the attack flew back to Giovanni's side.
"You've worked hard. You've accomplished another great feat," Giovanni said before walking over to Yamamoto.
"Heh~ What incredible 'methods'. To subdue more than fifty of us in a single instant…" Yamamoto said as he looked at the man before him.
'So… that's Giovanni's Beedrill?' Tetsuya was also shaken. Such might inspired nothing but awe.
"Yamamoto, one of Shadow Team's ten elite executives… What a disappointment," Giovanni said. With a motion, several Rockets stepped forward and captured Yamamoto.
Immediately afterward, Team Rocket's transport trucks arrived. They confiscated every Poké Ball from the Shadow Team members before locking them inside the trucks to be transported to the nearest Team Rocket base.
Only after the Shadow Team members had been taken away did Giovanni walk over to Tetsuya.
"…So you were that certain I'd come to save you, Tetsuya? If I hadn't arrived in time just now, Shadow Team would probably have captured you."
"Because Shadow Team is our common enemy," Tetsuya replied. Although he had sent the distress signal to Pryce, Matsuba, and Giovanni, Pryce and Matsuba were far away in Johto and simply couldn't have reached him in time. Giovanni had been his only hope, and capturing Shadow Team here was also the perfect opportunity for Giovanni.
"Good. You certainly chose the right person. I was just wondering how I could enter the Johto Region under the banner of the Indigo League. Yet these 'Shadows' have delivered themselves right to my doorstep, huh." Giovanni let out a cold laugh.
"Mm… please take care of those five bodies."
Tetsuya pointed toward the five dried corpses lying on the ground.
"How did dried corpses end up here!?" Even Giovanni could not help showing surprise as he looked at the withered remains.
"…A Pokémon absorbed their vitality." Tetsuya's tone made Giovanni decide not to ask any further questions. He casually sent out a Fire-type Pokémon, reducing the five dried corpses to ashes.
Afterward, Giovanni led his people in rescuing all of the Airport staff.
Tetsuya also immediately contacted Matsuba and Pryce to let them know he was safe so they would not worry.
As a result, the flight was delayed by two hours. At around six o'clock, Tetsuya successfully boarded the plane bound for Ecruteak City. This was no time to keep interacting with Giovanni; it was better to leave things unresolved, giving him time to grow stronger…
---◓---
Watching Tetsuya's departing figure, Giovanni found himself filled with countless thoughts.
'Such a young man... yet even I can't quite see through him.'
Under the name of the Viridian Gym Leader, Giovanni had earned another great achievement. Upon returning, he could now begin planning his campaign against Shadow Team.
With Shadow Team openly carrying out major "operations" in the Kanto Region, Giovanni could fully capitalize on the situation. Using the Indigo League as justification, he could enter the Johto Region under the pretext of eliminating Shadow Team.
The Johto League Council would have no grounds to stop him. Shadow Team had already "initiated attacks" within the Kanto Region, even sending fifty or sixty people to assault an Airport.
Such actions were an open challenge against the League, giving Kanto every right to eradicate Shadow Team completely!
---◓---
After a three-hour flight, Tetsuya safely arrived at Ecruteak City's Airport.
The moment he stepped off the plane, his head felt slightly dizzy. Waiting for him were Matsuba, Pryce, Sheila, Morty, several newly accepted pupils and trainees from Ecruteak Gym, and Officer Jenny leading a group of police officers.
After Shadow Team's frenzied attack on Gringey City's Airport in Kanto, there was every reason to believe they might also come to Ecruteak City's Airport to capture Tetsuya. Naturally, Matsuba and Pryce had made every possible preparation to ensure his safety.