The battle raged on in the swirling chaos of the beach, but just as Attila and Hun predicted, even with Misty, Erika, and Ritchie's ambush, nothing had truly changed.
For every Team Rocket Pokémon defeated, two more surged in to replace it. Even the new reinforcements were quickly surrounded and dragged into the melee.
Back aboard the submarine, however, a different kind of tension was mounting.
The radar operator turned to the captain, panic in his voice. "Sir! We've detected multiple helicopters approaching from the south—fast!"
"Helicopters? Out here?" The captain frowned. "Are you sure they're coming toward us?"
The grunt nodded firmly. "Trajectory's locked. They're heading straight for this island!"
"How long until they arrive?"
"Ten minutes at most!"
The captain cursed under his breath. He picked up the comms and patched into the field.
"Attila, Hun—status update. External interference inbound. You've got eight minutes to wrap this up!"
Attila's eyes widened. "Outside interference?"
Hun clenched his jaw. "This place is supposed to be off-grid. How did they find us?"
Almost in sync, both turned to glare at Kai.
In Team Rocket circles, Kai was a walking red flag. From the top brass down to grunts, everyone knew to steer clear unless specifically ordered. Even the Rocket Commanders were rumored to say: "If you see him in the wild, unless the mission is critical—run."
And now, with that sudden aerial response and a perfectly timed ambush? It was clear—this had all been planned.
Attila's bravado cracked just a little.
"We have to capture Lugia. Now."
Hun nodded grimly. "Before the net closes."
On the beach, Kai's eyes narrowed. He could feel the energy shift. Rocket Pokémon were fighting with increasing desperation, aggression too much for a simple skirmish.
Something had changed.
He turned to Ash. Backups are on the way. It's the International Police. Time to go all in."
Ash's eyes lit up. "Yes, sir!"
Now fully committed, both trainers commanded their teams with renewed ferocity. The beach became a warzone. Sand scorched black. Rocks shattered. Even the shoreline trembled under the onslaught of energy beams, fire, lightning, and poisoned smog.
Silver's position became the epicenter of the clash. Dozens of Rocket Pokémon swarmed it repeatedly, only to be driven back again and again. One moment, they surged forward; the next, they were blasted apart.
A particularly nasty Golbat formation had just merged into a shrieking vortex—trying to dive-bomb Silver from above—only to be intercepted midair by coordinated attacks from Pikachu, Scyther, and Jolteon.
The dragon's den was holding for now.
Inside her headset, Attila heard the captain again:
> "Status report. Have you secured Lugia?!"
She gritted her teeth. "Not yet. We need more time!"
Looking around, she knew they were in trouble. Six minutes had already passed—and they weren't even close to breaking through.
Hun appeared beside her, his expression serious. "We may need to cut our losses. If we stay any longer—"
"What? Are you kidding? We've fought this long—we can't leave without it!"
"I'm being practical, Attila!" Hun snapped. "Look around you—our forces are falling apart. Their strongest Pokémon are still in play, and now the International Police are closing in. If we don't withdraw, we won't get another chance—we'll be caught!"
Attila clenched her fists in frustration. "But we're so close…"
Hun pointed toward the battlefield. "Close? Look again. Our Pokémon are dropping like flies. And Kai's team? Barely scratched. Charizard and Gardevoir are tearing through us."
She turned and saw it too.
Dozens of Rocket Pokémon, either collapsed or already recalled.
Meanwhile, Kai's key battlers Charizard, Gardevoir, Scyther, and Dragonair still stood tall, backs to their trainer, holding the line like war-forged sentinels.
Attila's breath caught in her throat. Her pride told her to keep fighting.
But her instinct told her: They were trapped.
The helicopter response?
This wasn't just a counterattack.
She looked toward Kai and suddenly it clicked. They hadn't just been fighting him.
They'd been baited by him.
"We're surrounded…" she whispered. "He boxed us in…"
Hun's eyes narrowed. "So… what do we do?"
Attila's jaw locked. Every second they stayed, the walls closed in tighter.
But as they turned to signal a fallback, they froze.
It wasn't that simple.
With Misty, Erika, and Ritchie's Pokémon pressing from three flanks, the Rocket lines had collapsed into a tangled mess.
Their grunts were locked in close combat, trapped in thick terrain. Their Pokémon couldn't regroup. Even escape routes were jammed.
They had walked right into it.
Attila's breath caught.
"This… This is what he wanted all along."
Two fronts. Choke them in.
Hold the line just long enough… for the net to fall.
She clenched her fists in fury.
Don't forget to drop some PowerStones!💎💎💎
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