Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 728 You don't need to face an enemy you can't defeat.

The same method was used: the Burning Bugs used their silk to tightly bind the three Pokémon Hunters, then they were thrown into the car and locked up to prevent them from dying of hypothermia.

But after doing all that, Luo Mu did not try to move towards the last car.

Instead, he chose to protect his bear apprentice and the burning insect behind him, squinting as he looked ahead into the snowstorm that almost completely obscured his view.

Three figures were walking calmly from inside.

The newcomers were none other than the three generals (self-proclaimed) of the "True Bird Matrix," a unit under the command of True Bird, dressed in the uniforms of elite Team Rocket members.

The leader spoke up.

"Oh? I thought he was just a reckless and impulsive hothead. I never expected he could detect our approach."

How should I describe that tone?

It's like being used to being "high and mighty," with a kind of inexplicable arrogance and conceit.

"After all, you didn't even consider a sneak attack, did you?"

Luo Mu's expression remained unchanged as he responded calmly.

Even without a system warning, he noticed the noises the three people made as they approached.

After all, they seem to have no interest in hiding it.

To be honest, this behavior doesn't seem like that of someone from a villainous organization.

Luo Mu's gaze fell on the three people's chests, where a bright red "R" letter was embroidered, which was quite eye-catching in this plain white world.

As expected, it's the Rockets.

Thinking about it that way, it's not surprising.

As one of the few evil organizations that can rival the League, Team Rocket may not be all-powerful in the Kanto and Johto regions, but they certainly act much more aggressively than other evil organizations.

The Rockets even have a publicly listed company, and Giovanni, as the leader, recently took on the position of Gym Leader of the Tokiwa Dojo.

After the Mewtwo reversal incident, Agatha Christie, one of the Elite Four, and later Blue Green served as acting Gym Leaders.

I just don't know how the "plot" unfolded in the Kanto and Johto regions of this world a few years ago. After all, considering that Red City exists, Team Rocket should have been disbanded by them under normal circumstances.

Another restructuring?

However, none of this matters, and it's not something Luo Mu should be thinking about right now.

If anyone should be troubled, it should be the Quartz League on the Quartz Plateau.

Luo Mu understood the source of the three men's "confidence" simply by looking at that bright red "R".

Come to think of it, I belong to a large, evil organization that spans two adjacent regions. I wouldn't say I can do whatever I want, but I certainly can.

Poaching groups, wealthy businessmen, and all sorts of people have to give them some face because of the behemoth Team Rocket standing behind them.

Besides the police and Pokémon investigators.

In this kind of environment, it would be strange if they weren't arrogant.

"Not bad, quite smart."

"Judging from your appearance, you seem to recognize the organization we belong to, which makes things easier."

It was the leader who spoke again. He raised his chin and commanded in an unyielding tone:

"When Team Rocket does business, the smart thing to do is to surrender obediently and hand over the Pokémon you have."

"In that case, maybe we'll take pity on you and let you leave alone."

Luo Mu: "."

That's incredibly arrogant, in every sense of the word.

Are they so sure they can get their hands on me?

"Enough with the nonsense. What will you do if I say no?"

Although it was only a few words, Luo Mu still lost the desire to communicate with them.

He ended the pointless exchange rather decisively.

"Hey, he's got a tough nut to crack." The elite member of Team Rocket on the left chuckled.

The one on the right is even simpler: "Get him."

"Since you refuse to listen to reason and are prepared to suffer the consequences, then you shall experience it for yourself."

The leader revealed a smile that could only be described as "ferocious," and threw the Team Rocket-style Poké Ball high into the air.

That's right, they chose to use Pokémon battles to defeat Luo Mu.

It's incredible, since even the Pokémon hunters captured by Luo Mu knew to draw their weapons, but this still happened.

"Indeed, he's a villain in every sense of the word."

Luo Mu's upturned lips twitched slightly as he looked at the Poké Balls the three people had thrown.

With a "bang," the Poké Ball activated.

On the left is the Dream Eater, whose title of "most lewd Pokémon" was stolen by the Typhlosion.

On the right is Houndoom, which looks like a hellhound.

In the center is Gengar, with bloodshot eyes and a wicked grin.

The three Pokémon correspond to the positions of the three people who just spoke.

To be fair, judging solely from the quality of the Pokémon, these three certainly have reason to be proud.

It's at least much better than the more common Rattata, Muk, Zubat, Arbok, and Weezing.

He should be considered an elite member of the Rockets.

"It's too late to beg for mercy now."

Thinking that Luo Mu was intimidated by the powerful aura of their Pokémon, the three chuckled and gave out their commands.

"Dream Eater, Illusion Ray!"

"Heiluga, spray flames!"

"Gengar, Shadow Ball!"

In an instant.

A dazzling array of colored lights, scorching flames, and energy spheres flashing with black and purple lightning pierced through the wind and snow, hurtling towards Luo Mu.

Judging from the momentum, they seemed to have no regard for whether the car next to Luo Mu would also be affected.

The three members of Team Rocket watched as if it were a show, arms crossed, completely unconvinced that Luo Mu had no ability to stop the full-force attack of their carefully trained Pokémon.

What use are a Delibird that isn't very strong and two Pokémon that are clearly not evolved yet?

Just like what they had just said to the bald leader of the poaching gang.

The battle will be over soon.

"Nine-tailed, Aurora Curtain."

Luo Mu remained calm and issued the instructions without changing his expression.

To the astonishment of the three, a light and agile figure appeared in front of Luo Mu in a few leaps amidst the wind and snow.

His posture and demeanor were like those of a divine being from the snow-capped mountains.

That was the real culprit that froze those vehicles—the Nine-Tailed Fox, which Luo Mu had arranged to hide in the snowstorm and wait for its chance, thanks to its racial talent.

Accompanied by the soft murmur of the Nine-Tailed Fox, a dreamlike and dazzling aurora transformed into a light curtain, blocking the path of the three attacks.

In this blizzard environment, there are no restrictions on the use of the Nine-Tailed Fox's "Aurora Curtain," so its range has become even wider.

Even the multi-terrain off-road vehicles on the side were within the protection range of the "Aurora Curtain".

The next second, the three simultaneous attacks struck the aurora screen.

The "Aurora Curtain," which should be quite fragile, was surprisingly sturdy under the release of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

It forcefully blocked the three attacks, weakening them by most of their power before clearing the way.

After passing through the aurora curtain, which was gradually repairing itself, the three attacks appeared to have shrunk considerably.

The messenger bird intercepted all of these attacks with a wide-range "Air Blade".

This outcome was completely different from what the three people who came to provide support had imagined.

Wait a minute, shouldn't you have been completely helpless and blown to your knees, lying on the ground in a sorry state?

And what about that nine-tailed fox?

Why is it using ice-type moves again? And the color is wrong too.
Having only carried out missions in the Kanto and Johto regions before, the three were dumbfounded as this was their first time undertaking a mission across different regions.

It can only be said that they still suffered from a lack of education.

Undeterred, they continued to command their Pokémon to attack, while Luo Mu said to Delibird and Ninetales, "With the right timing, location, and people, now is the time to put your cooperative tactical training to good use."

The battle lasted for less than three minutes.

With the leader's Gengar being hit squarely between the eyebrows by a Delibird's "Throw," all three Pokémon fell down.

The three people, their eyes vacant, were still somewhat bewildered.

Before we could even react, our Pokémon had already fallen.
They instinctively reached for Poké Balls or weapons, but this wasn't an official Pokémon League competition.

Luo Mu had no such burden. Under the cover of the fighting, he had already sent out his disciple Xiong, who easily knocked down the three people who were completely caught off guard with an elbow each.

As if he couldn't believe he had been defeated so easily, the leader, enduring the dizziness caused by the elbow to his nose, stared wide-eyed at Luo Mu as he strolled over.

"Why?"

"How did you do that—?"

He didn't understand why he had made such a blunder.

Looking at the three people who were probably used to being domineering and whose cunning was even inferior to his own, Luo Mu shrugged.

"Your command skills are terrible, and your Pokémon training is inferior to mine. What makes you think you can win?"

That Black Growlithe alone doesn't have the ability to change the current extreme snowstorm, and even the power of its flames will be weakened as a result.

Neither Baku nor Gengar were particularly adapted to this environment. On Luo Mu's side, however, were two Ice-type Pokémon that showed initial synergy and seemed to have divine assistance in the snowy conditions.

Even if there is no advantage in attributes, and even if there is a disadvantage in resistance.

However, the two trainers' command skills are on completely different levels.

Moreover, there's the difference in strength between Pokémon.

The messenger bird has changed a lot since its travels and adventures in three regions, and the nine-tailed fox has grown up under the careful care and nurturing of Luo Mu since it was a cub.

Before and after evolution, it had three "predecessors"—Regice, Snowbringer, and Calyrex—to teach it.

Although the name sounds a bit strange, it's still a case of having plenty of "resources".

Faced with them.

Is it hard to accept that three Pokémon, which attacked haphazardly without any strategy and were also weaker in strength, were quickly defeated?
After having the Burning Bugs tie up the three people whose Dao Hearts were shattered, they threw them into the second vehicle to keep the three Pokémon Hunters, Stackrohan, company.

Luo Mu did not stop, and walked straight toward the last SUV parked not far away.

As luck would have it, the bald gang leader, who had witnessed everything, was sneaking off the bus with his henchmen, seemingly planning to make a run for it.

The moment he saw Luo Mu approaching, the underling nervously reached behind him.

The bald leader shuddered, his legs buckled, and he knelt down.

His actions completely stunned his henchmen who had drawn their weapons and were ready to fight to the death.

My brother was ready to fight to the death, why did you surrender first, boss?!
The bald leader ignored his underlings' strange looks and cursed inwardly at the three Team Rocket members who had boasted to him.

What do you mean by "it will end soon"? It means you'll be dealt with very quickly!
Despite being a Kanto native, he instinctively performed the standard Carlos salute and shouted at Luo Mu, "Sir, I surrender! I want to atone for my crimes through meritorious service!"

Luo Mu: "."

What a joke! The bald boss knows his own limitations perfectly well.

At the very least, his Pokémon definitely couldn't beat those three Team Rocket members.

The ability to capture so many messenger birds was entirely due to smuggled high-tech weapons.

But they were so focused on sneaking away that it was too late to turn back and get their weapons from the trunk.

Rather than putting up a futile resistance and then being haphazardly tied up.

It's better to surrender first.

Of course, he wouldn't mind if Luo Mu became lax because of this.
Seeing the bald boss surrender so readily, Luo Mu raised an eyebrow.

To say I wasn't surprised would be a lie.

But it was just surprise.

Luo Mu gave the messenger bird and the nine-tailed fox a look, and the bald boss and his last henchman were instantly frozen in place.

With that, forget about taking out weapons and Poké Balls, even moving around is a luxury.

Luo Mu then had the Burning Worms do the same thing, using their silk to bind them up like mummies.

The bald leader initially thought that Luo Mu had used the burning insect to bind them as a precaution.

It's a pity that this kid is very vigilant, so I'm afraid I won't find an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

But he wasn't worried that he would end up like his underlings.

After all, he had a lot of leads on the buyers' side, so he should be useful to Luo Mu.

But when the worm silk was almost wrapped around his mouth, he realized something was wrong and began to struggle violently.

At the same time, he kept shouting, "Wait! Wait! Don't you want to know what those three people were all about?"

"They're just Team Rocket, I think their unit's name is something like 'True Bird Matrix'?"

Luo Mu stared at him with an air of entitlement, while instructing the Burning Insect to spin silk even faster.

The bald leader turned pale, completely unaware of where Luo Mu had obtained this information.

Luo Mu added, "I won't stop you from redeeming yourself through meritorious service, but you don't need to tell me."

"You should save those words for Officer Jenny and the others who are coming later."

The bald leader's expression changed drastically, and he quickly came up with a plan: "They still have quite a few people there. I can help you lure some more people over so we can wipe them all out in one fell swoop!"

Luo Mu, who had absolutely no desire to communicate with him, shook his head. "There's no need."

"You can't do this to me, mmm—"

The bald leader wanted to say something, but his mouth was already tightly bound by the silk, followed by his eyes. His vision was completely taken away.

It could be said that only the nose was left outside for breathing.

When tying them up, Luo Mu specifically asked the system one by one to rule out the possibility that any of them had rhinitis and suffocated as a result.

After doing all this, Luo Mu threw the two people into the car and looked up at the cliff that was faintly visible in the wind and snow in the distance.

To be honest, the bald boss's proposal was indeed tempting.

—But, to put it bluntly, it's basically hopeless.

Even if Luo Mu agreed, he wouldn't be able to lie and keep delivering.

He noticed it just now when he was tying up those three Team Rocket members.

All three of them wore something similar to a "law enforcement recorder" on their chests, which probably transmitted images to a terminal in real time.

Just as he walked over to deal with the bald boss and his henchmen, the last two Pokémon hunters, the system prompted him.

The target is preparing to evacuate.

After so much time, Luo Mu has come to trust the accuracy of the prompting system.

Since it's giving this warning, it means they really are abandoning the "goods" and preparing to run away.

Under such circumstances, it would be strange if the bald boss's fishing proposal succeeded.

"Tsk, they're quite vigilant."

After sighing, Luo Mu did not choose to immediately set off to chase after them and stop them from leaving. Instead, he turned his gaze to a high point that was relatively close to the cliff.

There, a pair of bright, burning golden eyes pierced through the wind and snow, projecting onto the airship that was preparing for an emergency evacuation on the cliff.

Luo Mu murmured, "Although it's highly unlikely we can keep them here, sending them a small gift is still no problem."

Because he had anticipated this situation, he only allowed his bear apprentice, the burning bug, the messenger bird, and the nine-tailed fox to take action throughout the entire operation.

On the cliff, the elite "True Bird Matrix" soldiers, who had been scattered to keep watch, surged into the airship like a tide.

As he watched his men quickly retreat, Masato's face was incredibly grim.

"Damn it."

Mako cursed under her breath and looked at Götz, who had been hesitant to speak ever since she gave the evacuation order.

"What do you want to say?" Masahiro asked irritably.

When asked by the real bird, Gez immediately spoke the words that had been on his mind for a long time.

"Master True Bird, if it's just two Ice-type Pokémon, my Aggron can easily handle them—"

Before Geez could finish speaking, Shin-chan interrupted, "You mean to say that your Aggron can easily defeat those two Pokémon, right?"

“Yes.” Goz nodded emphatically, his neck stiff.

Having watched the entire live video feed, he had to admit that the person's command skills were indeed superb.

But he is also confident that he can easily defeat his opponent using his own Pokémon, or even unorthodox tactics!
"You idiot!"

Knowing what Götz was thinking, the true bird unleashed its full power and roared in anger.

"Do you even know who he is? You just think you can beat him."

Goz's expression froze, his eyes still filled with confusion.

Seeing his stupidity, I was really angry.

"You really think that's all the man's strength?"

"Let me tell you, even Boss Giovanni has to be careful with that man's strength. If there's a chance to invite him to join Team Rocket, Boss Giovanni will not hesitate to give him a position second only to Boss Giovanni!"

The sound of the real bird rang in Goz's ears like thunder.

He suddenly started stammering, "How...how is this possible?"

"Why is it impossible?"

The real bird sneered.

She never imagined that it would be such an ordinary task: to capture a group of messenger birds of "clean" origin and then set up a "messenger bird network" in the Kanto and Johto regions where messenger birds are very common.

I never expected to run into that man.

If she hadn't been Giovanni's personal secretary and hadn't been so knowledgeable, she might not have recognized Luo Mu, who was commanding the Pokémon in the video.

In that case, given her personality, she would most likely stubbornly continue to send more troops, determined to take down Luo Mu.

At that time, if she is not careful, "True Bird Matrix" or even herself could be trapped in this Padiya region.

Giovanni, whose ultimate goal is to spread Team Rocket around the world and even control the world, will naturally pay attention to intelligence from other regions.

The person in charge of gathering intelligence was Makoto, Sakaki's personal secretary.

The great battle between the three legendary birds of the Orange Islands and the sea god. And the incredible feat of defeating the two dragons and repelling the creators of the sea and land in the Hoenn region.

After reviewing the information, Boss Sakaki gave a very brief but incredibly heavy-hearted assessment.

"—He's probably already close to that kid, or rather, to the realm of fighting legends."

The "kid" that Sakaki mentioned was someone that Masahiro, who had only joined the Rockets in recent years, had only heard of.

All she knew was that the other person was probably one of the most powerful trainers in the world.

Once Luo Mu gets close to the other party, can he be a person you can easily get along with?

Masahiro looked coldly at Götz and said, "In short, just give up on this idea."

"Neither I nor you need to face an invincible enemy."

(End of this chapter)