Although the current situation marked him as an enemy, the muscular man's unrestrained laughter and blunt demeanor—even with his aggressive, slightly mocking tone—made it hard to truly dislike him. He simply came across as brutally honest.
However, upon seeing the man before him, Ryuuske quickly flipped through his mental archives before sighing in resignation.
"...Lt. Surge, the Vermilion City Gym Leader. I never expected you to be part of Team Rocket too."
Perhaps due to preconceived notions, Ryuuske's earliest memory of Team Rocket was their comedic antics in the anime. But in this reality, he had come to realize that Team Rocket lived up to their reputation as a terrorist organization. Beyond their inhumane experiments, their members alone were enough to send chills down one's spine.
From the looks of it, at least half of the Kanto region had already fallen under Team Rocket's covert control.
"HAHAHAHA! Kid, since you know I'm the Vermilion Gym Leader, you should also know what I specialize in. I'm extremely sensitive to 'electricity'—so you'd better drop whatever little tricks you're planning."
Lt. Surge stood behind his Electabuzz, both it and his Raichu crackling with dazzling electricity. The faint buzz of current made the air itself feel scorching. These two Pokémon were clearly not the kind of team a Gym Leader used to test Trainers—they were Surge's absolute aces.
Electabuzz stood just over two meters tall, shorter than Gabite, but a Pokémon's appearance had little to do with its true strength. In this world, it wasn't uncommon for a well-trained Rattata to take down a Rhydon with a single Tackle.
By all accounts, Gabite was no match for this Electabuzz. After all, this Electabuzz had been with the Vermilion Gym Leader for who knew how long, trained to terrifying levels of power.
Ryuuske scoffed and plucked a miniature camera from his collar—a precaution he had taken in case he ran into another high-profile figure like Sabrina. Slandering a Gym Leader wasn't easy, but with video evidence, he could at least force the League to take notice.
With proof, other Gym Leaders would have an excuse to investigate. Even if Team Rocket had moles within the League, this would draw their attention. Hell, even the rogue Elite Four members might jump in for their own reasons.
"I never expected your sensitivity to electricity to be this sharp, Lt. Surge. You even detected such a faint current."
The camera had already been fried by the electromagnetic waves in the air. Ryuuske tossed it aside—useless now.
"Electricity is my pride and joy! No matter how faint the current, I'll sense it. That's the ability I've honed after living with my babies for so long!"
The towering muscleman spread his arms, his bulging muscles evident even through his clothes. His "babies"—both Raichu and Electabuzz—grinned savagely.
Regardless of his allegiance, Lt. Surge was undeniably an exceptional Trainer.
"Wait a second!! Lt. Surge is a Gym Leader?! How is he suddenly on Team Rocket?!"
Ash was utterly bewildered, his voice cracking in disbelief.
"What you see is what you get. Lt. Surge here is the perfect example—a Gym Leader doubling as a Team Rocket executive. Hard to believe, but it's the truth. For all we know, every Gym Leader in Kanto could be a part of Team Rocket."
Ryuuske's words dripped with malice.
The first Gym Leader he had met—Blaine of Cinnabar Island—had once been Team Rocket's chief scientist before defecting. Then there was Sabrina of Saffron City, Lt. Surge of Vermilion, and Giovanni of Viridian City. The scope of Team Rocket's influence was terrifying. These Gym Leaders held real authority, equivalent to regional powerholders.
It was impossible not to admire Giovanni for transforming Team Rocket from a subsidiary of Silph Co. into an anti-government force controlling half of Kanto.
Caitlin's face cycled between pale and flushed, torn between lingering fear and shame. If not for Ryuuske's intervention, she would have been taken out in one move—fatally so.
Only now did she truly understand what real battles were like. Unlike the controlled sparring matches in her castle, this was no-holds-barred combat. There were no rules, no restrictions—just Trainers and Pokémon fighting for survival.
Real battles were about the perfect synergy between Trainer and Pokémon.
She had been a sheltered child in an ivory tower, oblivious to the world's harsh realities.
Whether it was Ryuuske, Ash, or even Cynthia from Sinnoh—they had all honed their strength through countless life-and-death battles.
When Lt. Surge had ambushed them, Ryuuske and Ash had reacted instantly. Caitlin? She hadn't sensed a thing.
The noble-born young lady's chest heaved violently—whether from fury at Surge's underhanded tactics or frustration at her own naivety, she didn't know. Gripping a Poké Ball tightly, she prepared to release her Pokémon.
But a large hand suddenly clamped around her slender wrist, squeezing until her fair skin turned red. Caitlin gasped, looking at Ryuuske in confusion.
"Don't recklessly send out your Pokémon against a Gym Leader fighting to kill. Like I said—everyone has things they can and can't do. Right now, this is something you can't handle!"
"...Learn to assess the situation, Caitlin! Sending out your Pokémon now won't help. More likely, you'll just get them killed."
Ryuuske's stern tone made Caitlin blanche. Even when he had rejected her before, he had never spoken to her this harshly.
"But... but..."
Caitlin desperately wanted to argue—if she didn't even send out her Pokémon, wasn't she completely useless in this fight?
Yet she quickly fell silent under Ryuuske's gaze. The truth in his eyes was undeniable—right now, she was nothing but dead weight.
Humiliation. Resentment. Not toward Ryuuske, but herself.
What kind of Trainer from a prestigious Sinnoh family am I if I can't even participate in a real battle?
The desire to grow stronger—to stand beside Ryuuske as an equal—burned hotter than ever before.
At that moment, Caitlin felt something within her truly transform—like an ugly caterpillar struggling to become a butterfly.
The price of strength was giving something up.
Ryuuske paid her no further attention, exchanging a glance with Ash. A single look was all they needed to settle on a plan.
"Retreat! This terrain is bad for us!"
Scooping Caitlin into his arms, Ryuuske leaped onto Gabite's back, gripping its body as it bolted. Ash, lacking such a "vehicle," proved just how much time he'd spent running in the wild—he and Pikachu were shockingly fast.
"Damn brats! The encirclement was almost complete! After them!"
Lt. Surge roared in frustration as dozens of Magnemite emerged from the steel corridors. Had Ryuuske and Ash been even a second slower, escape would've been impossible.
To be continued…
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