Old Man Fuji, so Team Rockets is waiting near Route 8, west of Lavender Town, right?
After Charmander completed the goal of defeating Munchlax and finished breakfast, Jiang Fan and Old Man Fuji conversed outside the Pokémon House.
“That’s right, they said I would know when I got there, and the time requirement is before 3 PM.”
Old Man Fuji’s expression was a bit worried. Although Charmander had easily defeated Munchlax just now, he was still somewhat pessimistic about facing Team Rockets.
“Jiang Fan, are you really capable?”
“Don’t worry, Old Man Fuji, with me and Charmander, there won won’t be any accidents.” Jiang Fan confidently patted his chest.
“Rua~” Charmander imitated him, patting its chest with its short little arms.
Watching the confident demeanor of this person and Pokémon, Old Man Fuji’s worries eased slightly.
However, what he didn't know was that Jiang Fan was actually very nervous inside.
After all, he didn't know the strength or number of Team Rockets members who kidnapped Li Nai. It was purely because Charmander's Poké Ball was on Li Nai, and if he didn't get it back, all his efforts these days would be in vain.
No matter how well he trained it, the system would not recognize Charmander as his Pokémon.
“I wonder if there’s a device that can turn registered Pokémon back into ownerless ones.”
Jiang Fan mumbled to himself, then thought about how Team Rockets had a business of stealing other people's Pokémon and selling them on the black market, which clearly meant some black technology existed.
“If this doesn’t succeed, should I just join Team Rockets?”
Jiang Fan suddenly had a bizarre thought, then quickly shook his head, dispelling the crazy idea.
He hadn't even started yet, and he was already thinking about an escape route if he failed.
“No, to be safe, I’d better gather some people to wait nearby. If anything unexpected happens, I’ll have my brothers help.” Jiang Fan took out his phone and sent a help message to all the Trainers he had added in Lavender Town.
He told them to rush to Route 8 and either hide or pretend to be Trainers catching wild Pokémon.
If he encountered an unsolvable crisis, he would find a way to have Charmander unleash a Dragon Breath towards the sky.
......
An hour and a half later, Jiang Fan and Old Man Fuji, along with Charmander, arrived at Route 8, west of Lavender Town.
Jiang Fan looked left and right, seeing the empty Route 8 stretch out before him, and frowned slightly.
“Didn’t they say I’d know when I got here? How come I don’t know?”
But as soon as he spoke, a Zuntou Nan wearing a black uniform with an 'R' logo on his chest, and a short-haired girl in the same uniform, emerged from the eastern woods.
A Houndoom and an Arbok followed at their feet, respectively.
“Hello, Doctor Fuji, we are here to welcome you. My name is Guizhi.” The Zuntou Nan spoke first.
“My name is Heihua.” The short-haired girl introduced herself immediately after.
“Where is Li Nai? Where is she? You didn’t hurt her, did you?” Old Man Fuji asked urgently.
“Don’t worry, Doctor Fuji, Miss Li Nai is very safe now. As long as you give us what we want, we will immediately let your granddaughter return safely.”
The short-haired girl named Heihua smiled and extended her left hand, inviting Old Man Fuji to enter the woods.
Old Man Fuji frowned and followed.
Jiang Fan followed closely with Charmander, simultaneously looking at the Houndoom and Arbok.
The next second, detailed information about these two Pokémon appeared.
Pokémon: Houndoom
Level: 24
Aptitude: Normal
Ability: Flash Fire
Gender: Male
Skills: Glare (24%), Ember (26%), Bite (18%), Incinerate (15%)
....
Pokémon: Arbok
Level: 22
Aptitude: Normal
Ability: Shed Skin
Gender: Female
Skills: Wrap (23%), Poison Sting (18%), Glare (17%), Acid (15%)
Looking at the information of these two Pokémon, Jiang Fan breathed a sigh of relief. Except for their higher levels than Charmander, their aptitudes and skill proficiencies were not as good as Charmander's. The battle later should not be a big problem.
“A different-colored Charmander! That’s worth a lot of money.” At this moment, Jiang Fan heard the Zuntou Nan’s surprised voice.
Jiang Fan looked over and saw that the guy was openly displaying greed.
Facing Jiang Fan's gaze, the Zuntou Nan's expression immediately switched from greed to provocation.
Jiang Fan ignored him and followed Old Man Fuji with Charmander.
About fifteen minutes later, led by these two Team Rockets members, Jiang Fan and Old Man Fuji arrived at a small hill.
There, Jiang Fan saw Li Nai, and behind her, a bald, burly man, plus a Pokémon that made Jiang Fan's heart sink.
Pokémon: Golbat
Level: 30
Aptitude: Superior
Ability: Inner Focus
Gender: Male
Skills: Supersonic (34%), Astonish (25%), Bite (28%), Wing Attack (25%), Confuse Ray (25%), Air Cutter (22%)
“This is a bit troublesome. For now, I can only use my wits to retrieve Charmander’s Poké Ball and see if the first unlocked reward can give Charmander the ability to defeat it.” Jiang Fan bit his lip, muttering to himself.
Level 30 and Superior aptitude, plus not-low skill proficiency, Charmander fighting it, judging from the data, would be difficult to win.
After all, Charmander was only Level 15, a full 15 levels lower.
“Doctor Fuji, long time no see. I wonder if you still remember me.” At this moment, the bald, burly man stood beside Li Nai and greeted Old Man Fuji warmly.
Old Man Fuji looked at the other party, and after a moment, shook his head: “I’m old now, and I’ve forgotten many people and things.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. After all, I was just a nobody in that experiment back then, so it’s understandable that you don’t remember, as long as you remember me from now on.”
The bald, burly man stroked his bald head and said proudly, “My name is Temu, and I am now a mid-level cadre of Team Rockets. I am honored to receive a task personally assigned by Boss Sakaki to collect that item from you.”
Old Man Fuji looked at Jiang Fan upon hearing this.
Because Jiang Fan had said before that the transaction would be entirely up to him.
It was also at this moment that Old Man Fuji's eyelids twitched; Jiang Fan, standing beside him, seemed to have slipped something into his hand.
He lowered his gaze slightly and discovered it was a small purple box.
Just as he was about to ask what it was, his hand was lifted by Jiang Fan.
Jiang Fan said loudly: “Brother Temu, the item is with us. If you want it, I hope we can exchange person for goods.”
The bald man, Temu, on the opposite side, his eyes lit up, looking excitedly at the small box in Old Man Fuji’s hand.
Although he didn't know what was inside, being able to complete Boss Sakaki's assigned task so smoothly was a great joy.
Perhaps if Boss Sakaki was happy, he would be promoted directly from a mid-level cadre to a high-level cadre.
“Alright, person for goods.”
Temu laughed and helped Li Nai, who was sitting at his feet, to her feet.
He walked towards Jiang Fan's side.
Jiang Fan, in turn, took the small box from Old Man Fuji’s hand and walked towards the other side.
Their exchange went very smoothly. Jiang Fan took Li Nai, and Temu also received the small box from Jiang Fan.
“Good kid, I like people like you who are decisive in their words and actions.” After receiving the box, Temu immediately gave Jiang Fan a thumbs-up.
Jiang Fan smiled without replying, and quickly led Li Nai towards Old Man Fuji.
At the same time, he urged in a low voice: “Is Charmander’s Poké Ball on you? Give it to me quickly.”
“No, it’s not on me. That bastard threw it away.”
“What? Threw it away?”
“That bastard saw a Poké Ball on my waist, thought it had a Pokémon, and tried to snatch it. When he found it was empty, he threw it on the ground.”
Li Nai’s words made Jiang Fan’s face stiffen.
He turned his head towards where Li Nai had been sitting, and a gleaming Poké Ball was resting there.
At the same time, Temu’s angry voice came from beside him.
“You brat, how dare you trick me with an Oran Berry!”