----
Silver had clearly studied both the layout of Professor Elm's lab and its security beforehand.
From a distance, as Kai and Looker watched carefully, Silver glanced left and right, ensuring that no one was around.
Then, with precise and practised movements, he quickly approached the building, pried open a window, and slipped inside.
His execution was flawless so smooth and efficient that even Kai couldn't help but admire it.
"Not bad."
Kai exchanged a look with Looker, and the two of them crept toward the window, peeking inside.
They saw Silver standing in a research room filled with high-tech equipment.
From a machine lined with three Poké Balls, he grabbed one, stuffed it into his belt pouch, and retraced his steps back to the window.
Without wasting any time, he climbed back out, leaving the window wide open as if he didn't care about covering his tracks.
Then, without a moment's hesitation...
He left the lab.
Kai turned to Looker.
"So? Should I stop him?"
Looker didn't respond immediately.
He was deep in thought, his brows furrowed in disappointment.
This was it?
This was the big operation he had been anticipating?!
Looker had assumed that, as Giovanni's son, Silver would be leading some major Team Rocket heist a coordinated attack on the entire lab.
At the very least, he expected a full-scale raid, with Pokémon and classified research being stolen in bulk.
But after all this effort tracking Silver...
He had only stolen a single Poké Ball?!
"When did Team Rocket become so unambitious?! This is embarrassing! You're Giovanni's son where's your dignity?! Where's your pride?! This is just petty theft!"
Looker clenched his fists in frustration.
Finally, after a long pause, he sighed.
"Let's wait a bit longer."
He refused to believe it was this simple.
"Something doesn't add up. We should keep following him to see where he's headed next."
Kai nodded, signaling Gengar to continue tailing Silver, while he and Looker regrouped with Sabrina outside the research lab.
...
Silver left New Bark Town, heading toward Cherrygrove City.
They followed for quite some time, the moon now high in the sky, stars twinkling above them.
Eventually, they reached the forest clearing where Kai had earlier encountered the baseball bat girl.
At this point, Looker finally had enough.
"This is pointless. We can't let him go any further."
Looker sighed heavily.
"It looks like I was wrong. He's not here for Team Rocket he really just stole a Pokémon from Elm's lab."
Kai raised an eyebrow.
"So what's the plan?"
Looker thought for a moment.
"We have two choices. One, we let him go and continue tracking him, hoping he eventually leads us to a Team Rocket hideout. But that could take forever, and he might not even be involved with them at all."
Kai nodded.
"Yeah, that's too much of a long shot."
Looker continued.
"Then we go with option two we arrest him now and interrogate him."
Kai smirked.
"Alright. I have no problem taking down a Rocket grunt when I see one."
The two of them whispered a quick plan, and then Kai sprinted ahead, cutting Silver off a lakeside clearing.
Silver stopped in his tracks, narrowing his eyes at Kai.
"Who are you?"
Before Kai could respond, footsteps echoed behind Silver.
He turned around, only to see Looker and Sabrina stepping out from the trees, surrounding him on three sides.
Now, he realized—
These people were after him.
Looker flashed his Interpol badge and spoke firmly.
"Silver. I'm with Interpol. You're under arrest. I suggest you come quietly resisting will only make things worse for you."
But Silver didn't look afraid.
In fact, he scoffed.
"Arrested? For what?"
Looker crossed his arms.
"You know exactly why. We've been watching you this whole time. We know you broke into Professor Elm's lab we know you stole a Pokémon. If you think you can just walk away, think again."
Silver's eyes darkened.
"Damn it… when did they start following me?!"
Realizing that they had been tracking him for a while, he clenched his fists. If he wanted to escape, he'd have to fight his way out. With a flick of his wrist, he spun the stolen Poké Ball on his finger.
"Fine. The Poké Ball is right here. If you want me to hand it over, let's see if you've got the strength to take it!"
But before Silver could even throw it...
The Poké Ball suddenly lifted off his finger, floating midair.
And then, as if guided by an invisible force, it flew straight into Sabrina's waiting hand.
Silver's eyes widened in shock.
"What the—?!"
His gaze snapped to Sabrina, realization dawning on him.
"It's YOU! The psychic woman!"
His face paled slightly, and then he turned to Kai.
"And that means… you must be Kai!"
Silver gritted his teeth.
"I've heard about you two. Team Rocket has been talking about you non-stop saying a man and woman are hunting them down! I never thought I'd run into you here!"
If it had just been Interpol agents, he wouldn't have cared.
But this duo?
Kai and Sabrina had already single-handedly crushed Rocket's elite forces in Kanto.
Even Rocket's executives had suffered humiliating defeats against them. Hearing their names alone was enough to make lesser grunts shudder.
Silver knew better than to underestimate them. With gritted teeth, he grabbed several Poké Balls from his belt.
With a flick of his wrist—
Three Pokémon materialized in front of him:
Sneasel
Golbat
Gastly
Kai raised an eyebrow, amused.
"You already have strong Pokémon. Why did you need to steal a starter?"
Silver smirked, gripping his Poké Ball tightly.
"That's none of your damn business. But if you're so curious, let's see if you can beat me and find out!"
Kai grinned.
"Now we're talking."
----
Don't forget to drop some PowerStones!💎💎💎
For early access to advanced chapters on p@treon.
P@treon/iamxeno
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!