Chapter 142: Asahi – "How Unsightly"
"Koga, you've been exposed."
Hearing Asahi's words, Koga's heart sank.
Had his identity been discovered?
But he hadn't left any traces!
Ever since Lt. Surge had been captured, he had barely left the gym.
His mind raced, but outwardly, he simply frowned and said, "Asahi, there's a limit to your jokes."
"Fuchsia Gym is the pillar of Fuchsia City's security."
"Since you arrived, you've been targeting us. I'm beginning to suspect you have ulterior motives—perhaps even framing Fuchsia Gym."
Koga flipped the accusation back onto Asahi.
The moment he finished speaking, countless ninjas emerged from the shadows of the battle arena, surrounding Asahi and exerting immense pressure on him.
It was clear that at the slightest provocation, they were ready to strike.
But Asahi showed no fear. Instead, he looked around at the ninjas with amusement.
No wonder Koga would later become an Elite Four member in Johto.
His ability to twist the truth was truly admirable.
If it were anyone else in his position, they might have panicked by now.
But unfortunately for Koga…
Asahi's smile faded, his expression turning cold. "Do you really think I'd make such an accusation without evidence, Koga?"
"I used to be a forest ranger near Fuchsia Gym. We were practically neighbors."
"If you surrender now, I guarantee you'll find a way out. But if you insist on resisting… I promise you'll drown in your own mistakes."
Green, standing beside him with a Poké Ball in hand, knew Asahi was bluffing again.
They had no evidence.
Well, aside from Sabrina as a witness. But she was still undercover in Team Rocket and couldn't testify.
Yet Koga believed him.
Not because Koga was stupid, but because he was meticulous.
In his mind, if Asahi didn't have solid evidence, accusing him—an experienced Gym Leader—would be tantamount to making an enemy of him.
And someone personally chosen by Lance to conduct Kanto's gym evaluations wouldn't be that reckless.
So, there was only one logical conclusion—
Koga's expression turned ice-cold. "If you really know this secret… then I can't let you leave here."
Capturing Asahi was the only way to keep the truth buried.
As for what would happen if an evaluation officer went missing in Fuchsia City?
No matter what, that was still better than having his identity exposed.
Koga moved swiftly, throwing three Poké Balls into the air.
With three flashes of white light—
Crobat and Arbok lunged at Asahi and Gardevoir from both sides, while Muk wrapped its body protectively around Koga.
Seeing their Gym Leader take action, the ninja apprentices also abandoned their disguises and joined the attack.
Not only were they targeting Asahi, but Green as well.
Yet as the overwhelming wave of attacks closed in—
Asahi smiled.
"So you've finally made your move…"
As soon as the words left his mouth, his figure blurred—
And in the next moment, he and Gardevoir appeared beside Green.
A Light Screen rose, blocking the incoming attacks.
As poison dripped down the shimmering barrier, Asahi turned to Green. "Did you record everything?"
"Yep. We have Koga's confession that he's with Team Rocket," Green said, holding up a small camera.
Asahi had instructed her to bring it before entering the gym.
"Perfect." Asahi checked the footage, then turned to Koga with a regretful smile.
"Sorry for lying earlier. I actually didn't have evidence."
"But it's fine… because now I do."
Koga: "???"
His mind went blank.
No evidence?
Then what was all that talk about giving him a chance to repent?!
A wave of fury surged in Koga's chest.
He almost spat blood.
But there was no turning back now. If he wanted to keep his secret safe, the only option was to capture Asahi.
With rage boiling inside him, Koga commanded, "Take him down!"
A barrage of Poison Stings and venomous attacks shot toward Asahi.
Yet Asahi didn't dodge.
Because he didn't need to—Gardevoir would handle it.
Calmly watching as Gardevoir blocked the attacks, Asahi shook his head. "Attacking the Trainer directly again? Team Rocket's methods really are barbaric. Unlike me—I always convince people with reason."
As he spoke, a powerful pressure suddenly radiated from his body.
The oppressive aura surged outward, its sheer intensity making Koga's breath hitch.
This… is how you convince people with reason?!
As one of Team Rocket's three Executives, Koga had witnessed many intense battles. He quickly shook off the oppressive force weighing on him.
But… his subordinates weren't as fortunate.
Under Asahi's Pressure, the ninja apprentices dressed as Gym trainers felt as if a mountain had been placed on their backs.
Their breathing became labored, their hearts pounded, their pupils dilated, and their faces twisted in agony.
Asahi had always been kindhearted—he couldn't bear to see others suffer. So, out of the goodness of his heart, he decided to have Eevee help relieve them of their pain.
He patted Eevee on the head.
"Vee~!"
Understanding Asahi's intent, Eevee leaped out of his arms.
Its fluffy tail swayed as it hopped and dashed nimbly, dodging Arbok's Acid, Golbat's Poison Fang, and Weezing's Self-Destruct while weaving effortlessly through the chaos.
These so-called ninjas clearly hadn't trained enough—they had no way to deal with such a quick and agile Eevee.
One by one, Eevee's soft-padded paws landed on the heads of Koga's subordinates, sending them into a deep and sweet slumber.
"I really am too kind…"
Asahi sighed as he watched Eevee's work.
Green, hearing this, didn't even know how to respond.
She simply had Clefable and Wigglytuff join in to help relieve some of Eevee's workload.
Koga, catching all of this from the corner of his eye, remained cold and indifferent.
By now, he had regained his composure and would no longer let Asahi's words provoke him.
Compared to his subordinates, the real deciding battle was between him and Asahi.
"Crobat, Cross Poison!"
"Arbok, Glare!"
He planned to use Arbok's Glare to paralyze the opponent, then follow up with Crobat's Cross Poison for a finishing blow.
This was a tried-and-true strategy that had never failed him.
Even if Asahi's Gardevoir seemed powerful, his Crobat was on an entirely different level than his Weezing.
As long as he found an opening—if Cross Poison landed—Koga was confident that the special toxins he had formulated would be enough to take Gardevoir down.
It was a solid plan.
But reality had no intention of catering to his wishes.
As Arbok's menacing glare locked onto its target—
Gardevoir simply closed its eyes.
Not out of surrender, but because, through telepathy, it saw whatever Asahi saw.
Crobat didn't understand this. Seeing Gardevoir close its eyes, it mistakenly thought it had intimidated its target.
A cruel gleam flashed in Crobat's eyes as its four wings glowed deep purple, slashing downward at full force.
Asahi seized the moment—
"Gardevoir, Psychic!"
Vwoom!
The stone tablet in Gardevoir's arms trembled.
Gardevoir raised a hand.
A terrifying wave of Psychic energy instantly solidified and shot directly at Crobat.
Crobat never expected Gardevoir to pinpoint its location so precisely with its eyes closed.
It frantically flapped its wings, trying to dodge.
But at such close range, no matter how fast it flew, it could never outpace the speed of thought.
Boom!
Crobat barely managed to avoid half the attack—
But the other half struck it dead-on.
"Screech—!"
With a pained cry, Crobat spiraled out of control, plummeting from the air like a broken kite.
It all happened in an instant. By the time Koga realized what had happened, Crobat had already been struck.
Though not completely knocked out, its wings were badly damaged, rendering it nearly useless in battle.
"...That's it?"
Asahi looked disappointed.
Ignoring Asahi's taunt, Koga swiftly activated a hidden mechanism.
Clank—
With a series of mechanical sounds, the walls on both sides of the battlefield slid open.
A swarm of Weezing floated out, releasing thick Smokescreen in all directions.
A dense black fog quickly engulfed the battlefield.
At the same time, the roof opened up. Koga immediately recalled his Pokémon and released a Golbat, which grabbed him by the shoulders—
He was escaping!
Gardevoir's strength was beyond his expectations.
His ace Crobat had been crippled in a single exchange—he saw no path to victory.
A ninja's creed was freedom.
Rather than staying and throwing away his life, it was better to retreat and report this to Giovanni.
It was a sound plan.
But the moment Golbat lifted him into the air, something went wrong.
A powerful gust disrupted the airflow—Golbat wobbled unsteadily.
"What's going on?"
Koga instinctively looked down.
At the center of the battlefield, where Asahi had been standing, a vortex had suddenly appeared.
If that were all, Koga might not have been too concerned.
But up in the sky, as if mirroring the vortex below, an enormous, cloud-sized cyclone had formed.
"What is this?!"
A terrible feeling crept over Koga.
Sensing danger, he urged Golbat to fly away as quickly as possible.
But before it could act—
The vortex trembled.
In Koga's shocked gaze, a tornado suddenly formed, connecting the ground vortex to the one in the clouds.
"No! Dodge it!"
Koga commanded Golbat to evade.
But Golbat wasn't particularly fast to begin with—and now, carrying Koga's weight, even its hardest efforts barely kept it from being sucked in.
Unfortunately for Koga…
Asahi was watching.
"Gardevoir, give them a little help," Asahi said.
Gardevoir nodded.
A blue glow flickered in its eyes.
In the next second—
Golbat and Koga, who had been barely resisting the pull, were instantly yanked into the tornado—joining the remaining ninja apprentices who were also caught in the storm.
The tornado, controlled by Asahi, lasted only a few minutes.
But that was more than enough.
By the time it dissipated, all the ninja apprentices had lost consciousness—many suffered broken bones.
Koga, thanks to his quick thinking, had shielded himself with Muk and remained barely conscious.
But his eyes were locked on Asahi and the Pokémon beside him—
"Lugia...!"
Koga finally understood why such a phenomenon had occurred.
If it was a Legendary Pokémon, then this level of power made sense…
Or not!
Nowhere in Team Rocket's data did it mention Asahi having a Lugia!
Not just that—there was no mention of an Elite-level Eevee, a Mega-Evolved Gardevoir… nothing!
What had their intelligence department been doing?!
Inside, Koga cursed Team Rocket's intelligence division.
Meanwhile, Asahi, standing beside the small Lugia, fed it a special Pokéblock as a reward.
He looked down at Koga, who was kneeling and gasping for breath.
"I told you to turn back while you still could. Now look at this mess… so undignified."
He shook his head, looking genuinely disappointed.
Gardevoir, without difficulty, restrained Koga. He had no strength left to resist.
"Team Rocket won't let you off for this," Koga warned.
"You guys really need to come up with a new line," Asahi sighed.
"When I captured Lt. Surge, he said almost the exact same thing. Yet here I am—completely fine."
"…You caught Surge too?"
Koga was stunned.
"Yep. And in case you're wondering how I knew your identity, no need to guess—he's the one who told me."
"…Hah."
Despite his shock, Koga didn't buy Asahi's claim.
If Surge really had leaked information, then why was Sabrina still fine, while he was the one getting captured?
Seeing Koga's expression, Asahi sighed. Smart people really are harder to fool.
Just as he was about to say something else—
His communicator beeped.
He answered.
Lance's face appeared on the screen.
"Asahi, I just saw your message. You suspect Koga?"