Chapter 141: Koga, You've Been Exposed!
"That Crobat just now seemed a little off," Green turned to Asahi and said.
Asahi chuckled, "Of course it was—it's Koga's Pokémon, sent to keep an eye on us."
Hearing this, Green immediately looked around warily.
"Don't worry. He's probably just trying to confirm our movements," Asahi reassured her.
Since he knew Koga was a poison-type specialist, he had been using his Aura to stay alert for any disturbances as they approached Fuchsia Gym.
So far, the only spy he had detected was Crobat.
Green let out a sigh of relief, though she still seemed concerned.
Seeing her expression, Asahi raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? You don't trust my strength?"
Against Sabrina, he wouldn't claim to have absolute confidence in taking her down. But when it came to Koga, a poison-type specialist, it would be a walk in the park. Even if Koga tried to escape, he'd have to get past Asahi's Gardevoir first.
But this time, Asahi guessed wrong.
"I was just thinking… if we take down Koga, wouldn't Team Rocket immediately figure out our identities?" Green voiced her concern.
They had just arrived at Fuchsia Gym for an evaluation, and then Koga suddenly got captured. Any organization with half a brain would suspect them.
Once their International Police identities were exposed, they'd have to deal with Team Rocket's retaliation.
"That is indeed a problem…" Asahi admitted seriously.
"So, do we have a solution?"
Green looked at Asahi expectantly. When it came to situations like this, he always had plenty of ideas.
But Asahi's response was completely unexpected.
"Lie if we can. If we can't, then so be it. If we get exposed, we get exposed." Asahi shrugged.
"But Team Rocket—"
Asahi waved a hand dismissively. "Team Rocket has the Masked Army to deal with right now."
"Green, you don't understand how organizations like Team Rocket think. Sure, we, the League, are their enemies, but among organizations like theirs, rivalries are even more intense."
"Until Team Rocket and the Masked Army determine a winner, they won't have the time or energy to come after us."
Green was somewhat reassured by Asahi's confidence, her worries easing slightly.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Asahi said, "Oh, right. There's one more thing…"
"Green, you mentioned before that there was someone else who escaped from the Masked Army with you. Can you still contact him?"
Green was momentarily stunned. "You mean… Silver?"
"Exactly. Our Kanto branch could use someone like him."
"But I didn't get his contact information when we separated…"
When they escaped from the Masked Army, they had nothing except their Pokémon, let alone a communicator.
"…No problem. I'll ask Lance for help."
It had been a while since he last contacted "Lance-a-Doraemon." He wondered if Lance had found that Togepi Egg he had asked for.
With that in mind, Asahi sent a message to Lance.
He also casually mentioned his suspicions about Koga and his plan to take action against him.
After putting his communicator away, Asahi turned his gaze to the wooden bridge ahead and the Fuchsia Gym beyond it.
"Fuchsia Gym, we've finally arrived!"
---
Fuchsia Gym
Instead of barging in and fighting his way through, Asahi used his credentials as an evaluation officer to have a ninja apprentice guide him inside.
He observed the carefully designed layout of the gym.
If Cerulean Gym was an aquarium and Celadon Gym was a botanical garden, then Asahi would describe Fuchsia Gym as a mechanical trap exhibition hall.
As he was led through the gym, his Aura detected a total of 27 different traps and 41 hidden presences scattered throughout the facility.
[Good thing I didn't just storm in. With this many traps, even with my Aura, it would have been a hassle.]
He felt quite pleased with his decision.
If he had recklessly charged in, Koga might have found an opportunity to escape.
However, despite wandering through the gym for so long, Koga had yet to show himself. Asahi was growing impatient.
Turning to the ninja apprentice leading him, he asked, "I heard that in ancient times, ninjas specialized in assassination. I haven't seen a single challenger on the way here… Don't tell me Fuchsia Gym is secretly assassinating them all?"
Green, hearing this, immediately knew Asahi was stirring up trouble.
The ninja apprentice, who had just led them into the reception hall, was completely dumbfounded.
What kind of nonsense was this?
Sure, they were ninjas, and they did take on some shady missions, but this was the modern era! How could they possibly be assassinating challengers?
"We…"
Just as the apprentice was about to explain, a sudden poof came from the courtyard. A smoke bomb exploded, and a voice emerged from the smoke.
"Asahi, I can't just pretend I didn't hear that…"
As the smoke cleared, Koga stepped out.
Dressed in a purple ninja outfit with a red scarf, he oddly reminded Asahi of a Galaxy Team investigator from the Hisui region.
[So, talking about the gym's reputation finally got him to show up, huh?]
"Master Koga!" The ninja apprentice immediately knelt on one knee.
"Stand down."
At Koga's command, the apprentice threw a smoke bomb, vanishing into the mist.
Once his subordinate had left, Koga turned to Asahi. "Please refrain from making such jokes, Asahi."
Even though he was part of Team Rocket and had done many questionable things, he had no interest in being falsely accused of assassinating challengers.
"Oh, my bad, my bad." Asahi gave a half-hearted apology. "I was just curious why I hadn't seen any challengers in the gym…"
"But that aside… Master Koga, do all ninjas travel by poofing around like that?"
As he spoke, Asahi even made a gesture mimicking an explosion.
Koga had just been about to explain the lack of challengers when Asahi's follow-up question made his face momentarily freeze.
[Is Asahi always this unpredictable? Why wasn't this in the reports?]
Still, Koga quickly regained his composure. "That was a ninja escape technique."
"Escape technique? But I clearly saw that guy slip into a hidden mechanism in the wall. Isn't that just sleight of hand?" Asahi pointed out.
Koga: "?"
You saw it clearly, so why ask me?!
He suddenly felt like Asahi was deliberately messing with him.
But since Asahi was an evaluation officer, Koga forced himself to endure.
If only he could use Crobat to get rid of these two right now…
Koga took a deep breath, suppressing his irritation. "A ninja's escape technique is about using tools to distract the enemy and deceive them."
"If Asahi is interested, I can teach you some basic ninjutsu."
Koga was willing to endure this in order to avoid offending Asahi, the evaluation officer.
"But what's the point of learning sleight of hand?" Green asked, puzzled.
Koga: "..."
Are these two testing my patience on purpose?
Thankfully, years of ninja training kept him from pulling out Crobat and attacking them on the spot.
Koga silently repeated the word patience in his mind.
"Let's not waste time on trivial matters, Asahi. You came for the gym evaluation, didn't you?"
He still had to head to Indigo Plateau to capture Moltres.
Asahi, seeing that Koga hadn't lost his temper, felt a little disappointed.
As expected of a ninja—his patience is impressive.
"Since Master Koga is so eager, I have no problem with that." Asahi scribbled something in his notebook before agreeing.
He deliberately let Koga see what he had written: Gym is too remote, recommend relocation.
At that, Koga's patience finally snapped.
He had been holding back all this time, yet Asahi was still nitpicking!
How did the League even choose this guy as an evaluation officer?
Was there any hope left for this organization?!
---
Fuchsia Gym Battle Arena
With an irritated expression, Koga stood at one end of the battlefield, staring at Asahi.
Originally, his plan was to start with his ace, Weezing, to secure one win, then use two weaker Pokémon to lose intentionally. That way, he could maintain Asahi's dignity as an evaluation officer, pass the test, and avoid revealing his true strength.
But now, he had changed his mind—he was going to win!
Not for any other reason, but simply to teach this guy a lesson.
"Asahi, be careful," Koga said coldly.
Asahi, however, seemed completely unaware of Koga's mood. He was still smiling. "As per standard rules, this will be a 3v3 battle. I assume you have no objections, Gym Leader Koga?"
Koga didn't reply; he just tightened his grip on the Poké Ball in his hand.
Asahi didn't mind the silence. Koga had already stepped into the game—his attitude wouldn't change the outcome.
He signaled to the referee that the battle could begin.
As the referee's flag dropped—
Bang!
A flash of white light, and Koga's Weezing appeared on the battlefield.
Its purple body, lifeless eyes, and the wisps of poisonous smoke drifting from its pores carried a sickly sweet stench.
As a poison-type specialist, Koga had deep expertise in training poison Pokémon. Even the color of Weezing's toxic fumes hinted at its potency.
Koga had great confidence in his Weezing.
In fact, his Weezing could defeat most Kanto Gym Trainers—aside from Sabrina.
But today… he had chosen the wrong opponent!
Across from him, Asahi snapped his fingers.
A Poké Ball at Asahi's waist popped open automatically. With a flash of white light, the graceful Gardevoir landed elegantly on the battlefield.
Koga didn't panic. He had already read the intelligence Sabrina provided about Asahi—it clearly stated that Asahi had an Elite Four-level Gardevoir.
While Gardevoir's Psychic typing countered Poison, its Fairy typing was weak to Poison in return.
From a type matchup perspective, he wasn't at a disadvantage.
As long as he found the right opportunity…
Just as Koga was considering his strategy, the battlefield suddenly changed.
Asahi placed his hand on a multicolored stone embedded in his wrist. It resonated with the floating stone in front of Gardevoir, wrapping the blue Pokémon in a dazzling rainbow light.
Koga: "?"
When the light faded, Gardevoir's black gown rippled ominously with a surge of terrifying psychic energy.
"This is… Mega Evolution?"
Though he spent most of his time secluded in his gym, Koga kept up with the outside world.
He had heard of the Mega Evolution recently discovered in the Kalos region.
"Correct! But no prizes for guessing right," Asahi smiled.
Seeing that smile, Koga's expression changed.
An Elite Four-level Gardevoir… and now it had Mega Evolved?
"Weezing—"
The moment he called out its name, Gardevoir's eyes gleamed blue, and the stone tablet it held trembled violently.
A Psychic attack, amplified by both the Stone Tablet and Mega Evolution, slammed into Weezing—a Pokémon that took double damage from Psychic moves.
It was like being hit by a supersonic freight train.
Weezing didn't even have time to react before a shockwave erupted around its body, and then—
Boom!
Its body flickered and vanished from sight.
A deafening crash echoed through the gym.
"What… just happened?"
Ignoring the sting of wind whipping against his face, Koga instinctively turned his head to look behind him.
Where there should have been a solid wall, there was now a gaping hole.
Through the hole, he could see his Weezing embedded in the far wall, its body covered in cracks. It was completely unconscious.
The referee on the sidelines was so stunned that he forgot to announce the battle result.
So Asahi turned to Green, who was holding a notebook. "Write that down—the referee is unprofessional."
A long silence followed.
When Koga finally snapped back to reality, he turned to Asahi.
He was no longer concerned about Asahi's nitpicking. What worried him now was something else entirely.
Sabrina's report hadn't mentioned anything about Asahi's Gardevoir being capable of Mega Evolution.
To Koga, there was only one explanation.
Asahi had deliberately hidden this ability when battling Sabrina!
Yet now, the power that had been concealed from Sabrina was being displayed before his very eyes. And not just displayed—it had been used immediately to one-shot his Weezing.
Koga's eyes flickered as he processed this information.
From Asahi's taunting from the moment he entered the gym… to his overwhelming show of force…
Had this League evaluation officer discovered something?
As Koga was lost in thought, Asahi's voice rang in his ears.
"Gym Leader Koga, are you wondering why I'm using my full strength right from the start?"
Koga's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively looked up at Asahi, who was still smiling.
Asahi continued, speaking slowly:
"The reason is simple…"
"Koga… you've been exposed."
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