Lt. Surge was not August’s match.

  Over the past ten minutes, he had thrown out four Voltorb, two Magneton, and a Raichu.

  But now—

  The only ones still standing in the arena were him and Electivire.

  "Huff… huff…"

  Leaning against his battered Electivire, Lt. Surge gasped for breath.

  A deep cw mark ran down his arm—a wound from Shelgon’s [Dragon Cw].

  Electivire was in even worse shape.

  Its once-pristine bck-and-yellow-striped fur was now covered in cuts and burns. Its body swayed unsteadily, as if it could colpse at any moment.

  He had tried to run—

  But every time he attempted to escape, that infuriatingly strong Eevee would cut him off, forcing him back into the battle.

  Then Gardevoir would teleport in, pinning him between two attackers.

  That was how he had lost both of his Magneton.

  Now, looking at the floating Gardevoir in the air, Lt. Surge knew—

  There was no running anymore.

  Desperate, he shouted at August,

  "If you’re really International Police… don’t you want to know where your missing agents are?"

  "Let me go, and I’ll tell you!"

  "Otherwise, you’ll never find them."

  Lt. Surge was not going to prison.

  If it meant keeping his freedom, he would even use the captured International Police officers as a bargaining chip.

  For August, rescuing his former colleagues and boss would be a massive achievement—one that could earn him multiple promotions.

  But…

  August waved his hand.

  Gardevoir unleashed [Psychic]—crushing Electivire with overwhelming force.

  The Thunderbolt Pokémon let out a final, strangled cry before colpsing.

  Lt. Surge’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  "Making deals with Team Rocket? No thanks." August scoffed.

  "If I want something, I’ll take it myself."

  Then he had Gardevoir cast [Hypnosis].

  The moment he confirmed Lt. Surge had completely lost consciousness, August stepped forward and snapped a pair of handcuffs onto his wrists.

  Click.

  At that exact moment—

  A system prompt rang in August’s mind.

  [You have successfully arrested Team Rocket Executive Lt. Surge. Title earned: ‘Rocket Bane.’]

  [Select your reward:]

  [1. The Zap Pte][2. Regieleki’s Restraints][3. The Electric Z-Crystal Set]

  August wasn’t surprised that capturing Lt. Surge had earned him a title.

  After all, Surge was a high-ranking Team Rocket officer.

  But looking at the three reward options—

  I want all of them!

  The [Zap Pte]—Gardevoir’s [Mind Pte] had already proven how powerful these were.

  Even though he didn’t have an Electric-type Pokémon right now, keeping it for the future wasn’t a bad idea.

  Then there was [Regieleki’s Restraints]—likely the golden bands that made up its body. If they were anything like the [Dragon Crystal] he had gotten before, they had to be insanely valuable.

  And the [Electric Z-Crystal Set]?

  That was essential for performing [Z-Moves]. Enough said.

  August hesitated.

  He really couldn’t decide.

  After a long pause, he sighed.

  I’ll deal with this ter.

  System rewards didn’t expire, so there was no rush to choose. He could come back to it when he had more time.

  For now—

  He pulled out his communicator and snapped a photo of the unconscious Lt. Surge.

  His pn was to send it to Lance, letting him know the mission was complete—

  But he noticed Lance wasn’t online.

  The Cedon operation isn’t finished yet? Did something go wrong…?

  August frowned.

  Lance had messaged him earlier, saying the League had begun their move on Team Rocket’s Cedon base. That was why August had chosen now to strike at Vermilion.

  But now that he was done, Lance still wasn’t responding.

  No way… something happened?

  Then again—

  With both Lance and Bruno there, things should be fine.

  Maybe the Cedon base was just way bigger than expected.

  "Yeah… that’s probably it." August reassured himself.

  If even two Elite Four members couldn’t take down a Team Rocket base, Kanto might as well rename itself ‘Rocket Region’ at this point.

  While waiting for Blue to finish gathering evidence, August idly scrolled through his phone.

  Suddenly—

  A notification popped up.

  [Your subscribed streamer, Iono★, is now live!]

  Without thinking, he tapped in.

  A bright, cheerful face filled the screen.

  A second ter, the camera zoomed out, revealing—

  A pair of blue-and-pink twin tails, a giant oversized jacket, and a tiny floating Magnemite accessory perched on her head.

  "Zzzt—! Catching your attention with my [Electro Web]! Who’s that streamer? It’s me, Iono! Welcome to Iono★Channel! Good morning, afternoon, and evening, everyone~! Ha~ Ciao~!"

  Iono waved her massive sleeves excitedly, while the Magnemite on her head mimicked her enthusiasm.

  The chat exploded.

  "Good morning, afternoon, and evening~ Ha~ Ciao~!""Iono!! It’s been forever since your st stream!""KAWAII!"

  August had been following Iono for a while.

  Back when he was still a Ranger, he had stumbled across her channel out of boredom.

  But because of the time difference between Kanto and Paldea, he hadn’t watched many of her streams.

  On-screen, Iono was introducing her Pokémon and giving tips to new Trainers about Gym challenges.

  Then—

  A viewer asked, "Who’s the strongest Electric-type Gym Leader?"

  It was an obvious bait question.

  But Iono handled it smoothly, smiling as she answered,

  "Hmmm~ Well, Hoenn’s Wattson, Sinnoh’s Volkner, Unova’s Elesa, Kalos’s Clemont, and Kanto’s very own Lt. Surge—"

  "—they’re all really strong!"

  A very high-Charisma answer.

  But August—being the troll that he was—immediately sent a Super Chat (SC).

  A moment ter—

  On-screen, Iono’s Magnemite started sparking.

  Far away in Paldea, Iono gnced at her notifications, spotting August’s message.

  "Ooo~ Iono got an SC~!"

  "Let’s see… this one’s from ‘Another Day of Scking at Work’—"

  "And he says… ‘Just casually beat Kanto’s Electric Gym Leader, Lt. Surge. Not that impressive, tbh.’"

  A mischievous glint fshed in Iono’s eyes.

  "Ooh~ So Iono has a fan from Kanto? That makes me sooo happy~!"

  "Lt. Surge is a really tough opponent, though~"

  "Maybe this viewer is just too strong! Tee-hee~"

  Then—

  She winked at the camera.

  Immediately, the chat exploded.

  "TOO CUTE!!""I’M HAVING A HEART ATTACK""SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE"

  ---

  T/N: WHY IS HE SO ME???? OMGGGG YES hehee sending SC's hehehe plz give me more money so i can send more superchats ur money is going to a good cause ALSO the ptes...will now have accurate names sorry i didnt reealize