"Mew?"

  August was taken aback when Mew suddenly inserted itself into his telepathic link with Gardevoir.

  From what he understood, telepathy was supposed to be a secure channel—initiated by one party and received by another. He had never seen anyone break into it uninvited.

  Yet, Mew had done just that…

  Was this the power of a Mythical Pokémon?

  While August was surprised, Gardevoir, on the other hand, was clearly displeased.

  Mew's abrupt intrusion into their telepathic bond felt like an unwelcome guest barging into a private conversation—into a space that had belonged to just her and August.

  It felt like something that had once been hers alone was now being shared with someone else.

  She was not happy.

  Gardevoir locked her gaze onto Mew, and as her emotions fluctuated, the bck dress of her Mega Evolution rippled with the waves of her psychic energy.

  Mew, noticing Gardevoir's sudden shift in mood, tilted its head in confusion.

  "Mew…?"

  It could sense that Gardevoir was upset, but it had no idea why.

  Just moments ago, everything had been fine.

  Seeing this, August could only sigh.

  Mew might have high intelligence, but it clearly cked experience in interacting with others. Its emotional intelligence… was a bit cking.

  "Don't be mad. Kids don't know any better—they just want to py around," August reassured Gardevoir.

  "And Mew… next time, don't just jump into someone's telepathic link without warning. At least say something first."

  Under August's comforting words, Gardevoir finally calmed down. She deactivated her Mega Evolution and returned to her normal form.

  However, judging by her expression, she wasn't pnning on paying any attention to Mew anytime soon.

  Just as August was about to say more, a deep tremor rumbled through the distant rock wall, followed by a loud, rolling sound from within.

  Gardevoir immediately put Mew's matter aside, raising a psychic shield in front of August.

  Meanwhile, Mew vanished into thin air in an instant—but August could feel a subtle weight on his head, telling him that it hadn't actually left.

  The rumbling grew louder, shaking the very ground beneath their feet.

  "They're here," August murmured, feeling a surge of anticipation.

  Finally, with a thunderous crash, the rock wall burst apart, and a massive Onix emerged from within.

  Its gray, boulder-like head loomed nearly as high as a building, and its body, composed of enormous stone segments, exuded a powerful sense of oppression.

  The Onix didn't stop at just breaking through the wall—it continued moving forward until its entire body was squeezed into the tunnel, occupying nearly half of the space.

  Faced with such a colossal Pokémon in the retively narrow passage, August couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

  If this Onix suddenly went berserk and caused the tunnel to colpse, he would have no choice but to make a run for it.

  Still, he wasn't too worried.

  Because if his guess was correct… this Onix should be on his side.

  "Onix, are we there yet?"

  A voice called out from behind the Onix.

  A figure stepped out from the newly carved tunnel.

  Spiky hair, a strong, determined face, and those signature squinted eyes—it was Pewter Gym's Gym Leader, Brock.

  Behind him, a group of League trainers, led by Officer Jenny, followed closely behind.

  As soon as they entered the tunnel, they spotted August and his Gardevoir.

  They hesitated for a moment before Officer Jenny stepped forward. "Excuse me, are you the one who made the report?"

  "That's me. If you guys had taken any longer, I was about to come find you myself," August said.

  This backup took their sweet time.

  He had sent his location to Lance long before Tsuji even found him.

  Since then, he had single-handedly taken down Team Rocket, collected his system rewards, and even chatted with Mew for a while—only now did Officer Jenny show up.

  "My apologies. We received orders to assist, but we ran into another group of Rocket members along the way, which deyed us. After a tough battle, we managed to apprehend them all. Could you point us in the direction of the Rocket members here—"

  "Point you in their direction?" August shook his head. "No need."

  Jenny and Brock exchanged puzzled looks. Had they arrived too te? Had the Rocket members already escaped?

  Seeing their confused expressions, August simply raised a hand and pointed toward a nearby corner.

  "There. All the Rocket members you're looking for are right over there."

  Following August's gesture, the League trainers turned their heads.

  And then… they saw it.

  A pile of unconscious Rocket grunts sprawled out haphazardly, lying alongside their incapacitated Pokémon.

  "!!!"

  The entire squad was left in stunned silence.

  Did… did he just take down an entire Team Rocket elite squad by himself?

  This was the strength of a mere informant?

  Their reaction was understandable.

  On their way here, they had fought another Rocket team.

  Even with Brock, a Gym Leader, on their side, it had taken an intense battle to subdue them.

  According to the captured Rocket grunts, the team August had encountered was identical in strength to the one they had faced.

  So before arriving, they had fully prepared themselves for a difficult fight.

  Yet now…

  Looking at the battlefield before them…

  How to put it?

  They felt a little… lost.

  Before they could recover from their shock, August suddenly remembered something and added,

  "There are a few more scattered throughout the tunnels. I've marked their locations, so you just need to follow the signs to find them."

  "…"

  ...

  Under Officer Jenny's command, the League trainers spread out to arrest the unconscious Rocket members strewn throughout the tunnels.

  August handed his backpack to Jenny. "All of their Pokémon are in here."

  "Thank you for your contribution to the League!" Officer Jenny said sincerely.

  Although they still hadn't figured out Team Rocket's true objective, whatever it was, it couldn't have been anything good.

  However, as she reached out to take the bag, the sheer weight nearly made her drop it.

  Gardevoir used her psychic power to help lift it, and August chuckled.

  "It's nothing. I used to be a ranger, after all—this is just what I do."

  "A ranger…?"

  That word seemed to trigger something in Officer Jenny's memory.

  She carefully studied August before hesitantly asking,

  "Could you be… August Lane from the Safari Zone?"

  "Hm? You know me?" August asked, curious.

  He hadn't mentioned his name at all.

  While he did have a bit of a reputation among rangers and poachers, it was surprising that someone all the way in Pewter City—several towns away from the Safari Zone—would recognize him.