Pokémon: I just became a Gym Leader, and Cynthia proposed to me.

Chapter 728 Champagne at Halftime

Jessie pointed at Pikachu and Lucario, "Rylai's, Arbok, Lickitung, take on Pikachu! Weezing, Victreebel, Golduck, take on Lucario!"

The battle erupted instantly.

Pikachu finally managed to break free from the bouncy net, only to be met head-on by Tyrannosaurus Rex's charge.

He nimbly leaped away, but Arbok's tail had already swept over.

Pikachu somersaulted in the air to dodge, but before it could land, a round figure crashed into it.

It's a rolling attack by the big tongue!

boom!

Pikachu was knocked away and rolled several times on the ground.

He struggled to his feet, his body crackling with electricity, but the Ironclad Tyrannosaurus Rex charged forward again.

On the other hand, Lucario's situation wasn't much better.

Just as I broke free of the elastic net, I was met with a barrage of flying leaves.

He tried to block with a bone club, but the smoke from the double-explosive gas had already enveloped the surroundings.

The moment the view was obstructed, a water cannon shot out from the smoke.

It was Golduck's precise strike.

Lucario was hit by the water cannon, staggered backward, and suddenly felt a tightness under his feet.

The vines of the carnivorous plant had already wrapped around his ankles.

"Pikachu!" Ash struggled desperately in the net.

Pikachu was covered in wounds and lay on the grass, unable to get up.

Lucario knelt on one knee, panting heavily, but his eyes remained stubborn; he simply had no strength left to fight.

"We won!" Musashi jumped up excitedly. "We won!"

Kojiro and Meow Meow excitedly hugged each other.

Xiaoxia stared in disbelief at the scene: "How is this possible... Team Rocket actually defeated Pikachu and Lucario?"

"Enough talk, take Pikachu and Lucario and let's go!" Musashi waved his hand.

Kojiro had already prepared the hot air balloon.

The trio skillfully placed the unconscious Pikachu and Lucario into a specially made cage, and then boarded the hot air balloon.

The hot air balloon slowly rose, carrying their triumphant laughter into the distance.

"Damn it!" Ash struggled desperately in the net, but the elastic band was too tight. "Pikachu—!"

Just then, a dark shadow swept across the sky.

It's the leader of crows.

hovering above the hot air balloon, its sharp eyes fixed on the trio below, before turning and flying towards the nearby woods.

At the edge of the woods, a boy with dark blue hair leaned against a tree trunk, his hands in his pockets.

"Those idiots," Shinji said coldly, looking in the direction the hot air balloon had disappeared, "we still got away with it from Team Rocket."

He stood up and said to the leader of the crows, "Go after them and keep an eye on them, keep your distance, and don't get spotted."

The crow let out a low caw, spread its wings, and flew away.

Shinji turned and walked towards the grass, quickly arriving in front of the four bound men.

He looked at Ash and the others who were struggling, a disdainful smile playing on his lips.

"Can't even beat the Rockets, and you still dare to call yourself a trainer?"

Xiao Zhi's face flushed red: "What did you say?!"

Shinji, not wanting to waste any more words, pulled out a Poké Ball: "Scizor, use Slash to break the web."

The flying mantis stepped forward, and the elastic band snapped. The four people finally broke free.

"Thank you, Shinji." Li Meining stood up and rubbed her wrist, which was sore from being strangled.

Shinji snorted, "Don't thank me. I just can't stand how smug those idiots are."

The four quickly packed up and ran in the direction the hot air balloon had disappeared.

Inside the hot air balloon, the Rockets trio were basking in the joy of victory.

"Hahaha! I finally caught Pikachu!" Musashi hugged the cage, his eyes shining as he looked at the unconscious Pikachu inside.

Kojiro was also quite excited: "I didn't expect our tactics to actually work! Six against two, it really is the way to go!"

Meow Meow, perched on the edge of the hot air balloon, suddenly remembered something: "Hey Meow, how about we have a celebration party?"

Musashi's eyes lit up: "A victory celebration! Great idea!"

"But Meowth," Meowth pulled a ledger from its pocket and opened it, "after deducting the Pokémon food expenses for this week from the money we earned working in Pallet Town, what's left..."

He looked up: "We can only have a simple celebration banquet. It can't be too extravagant."

Kojiro nodded: "Master Shuwen is right, we can't skimp on Pokémon food. Let's just have something simple to eat; the important thing is to celebrate!"

The trio began making plans while still in the hot air balloon.

"Buy some tree fruits and grill some meat skewers."

"Another drink, meow!"

"And the steamed buns from that shop last time were especially delicious!"

The hot air balloon landed in an open area.

The trio skillfully started a campfire, took out the ingredients they had prepared in advance, and began to prepare a victory celebration feast.

The meat skewers sizzled over the fire, the tree fruits were cut into small pieces, and the drinks were poured into cups.

The trio sat around the campfire, their faces beaming with contentment.

"Cheers!" Musashi raised his glass.

"Cheers!" Kojiro and Nyanko-sensei responded in unison.

After taking a sip of her drink, Meow Meow remarked, "Speaking of which, it's all thanks to Master Shuwen's advice, Meow. This time we didn't spend a fortune on those fancy robots, saving us a lot of money, Meow."

Kojiro nodded: "Yeah, we always tried to catch Pikachu with machines, but they always exploded. This time, we used tactics and succeeded."

"So, we were going in the wrong direction before!" Musashi took a big bite of a meat skewer.

The trio looked at each other and laughed, continuing to enjoy their victory celebration.

Unbeknownst to them, in the nearby bushes, the leader of the crows was quietly perched on a branch, his sharp eyes fixed on their every move.

Further along the edge of the forest, Ash and his friends were rapidly approaching.

"It should be just ahead," Li Meining said in a low voice.

Ash clenched his fist: "Pikachu, wait for me!"

The Rockets' trio's victory celebration is drawing to a close.

Musashi leaned contentedly against the tree trunk, Kojiro was clearing away the dishes, and Meow Meow was burping with its round belly full.

A figure suddenly darted out of the bushes.

Li Meining pounced like lightning on the cage containing Pikachu and Lucario.

Li Meining delivered a powerful kick to the specially made cage, shattering the iron bars.

"What?!" Musashi jumped up suddenly.

Lucario and Pikachu immediately rushed out and returned to their trainer's side.

As it turns out, opening champagne at halftime is definitely a bad idea.

Jessie gritted her teeth: "I finally caught them! Pokémon, come out!"

Six Poké Balls were thrown again, but this time, the opponent was no longer caught off guard.

"Lucario, can you still fight?" Li Meining asked.

Lucario nodded firmly.

"Pikachu, you too!" Ash clenched his fist.

Pikachu's cheeks crackled with electricity.

Musashi waved his hand, "Go!"

The second battle erupted instantly.

But this time, the situation is completely different.

Just as the Ironhide Raptor charged toward Lucario, it was hit head-on by a wave of missiles.

His massive body staggered backward, followed by another missile that blasted him to the ground.

"Ironclad Tyrannosaurus!" Musashi exclaimed.

Arbok swam toward Pikachu, but Pikachu was too fast.

With a flash of lightning, Pikachu bypassed Arbok and unleashed a Thunderbolt attack on Lickitung.

The giant tongue was crackling with electricity, let out a scream, and its round body convulsed as it collapsed.

"Like a lisp!"

From behind, Golduck launched a water cannon at Lucario.

But Lucario was prepared this time, nimbly dodging the attack while simultaneously hurling a bone club at Golduck.

Within three to five minutes, all six of Team Rocket's Pokémon were already at a disadvantage.