noveltune Chapter 729 I dare not open my eyes, hoping it's an illusion
Chapter 729 I dare not open my eyes, hoping it's an illusion
"Damn it!" Musashi gritted his teeth. "Since that's how it is, I'll do it too!"
Musashi clenched his fist and charged towards Lucario.
Li Meining's eyes lit up, and she went to meet them.
"Watch me!"
Their fists collided in mid-air.
boom!
A dull thud sounded, and Li Meining's arm jerked, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
Musashi's punch was actually a bit heavier than hers?
Musashi grinned: "Didn't expect that, did you? I've trained!"
The two instantly engaged in battle, exchanging punches and kicks, each strike accompanied by a whooshing sound.
The two fought fiercely, neither gaining the upper hand.
On the other side, Meow Meow also showed its claws.
"Meowth can fight too!" He charged towards Ash.
Xiao Zhi gritted his teeth: "Don't underestimate me!"
The person and the cat instantly started fighting.
Ash threw a punch, but Meowth nimbly dodged it and scratched Ash's arm with its claw.
Ash winced in pain, but another punch was already thrown, hitting Meowth squarely in the shoulder.
Meow Meow was shoved back two steps, but immediately pounced again, its claws leaving afterimages in the air.
"Take this!"
"Look at my paw!"
The two fought until they were bruised and swollen, but neither was willing to back down.
Kojiro stood behind, hesitating whether to rush forward as well.
But after looking at his own thin arms and legs, and then at Xiaogang and Xiaoxia, and seeing Shinji already flanking them, he made a decisive judgment.
"Musashi! Meow! Someone's coming!"
Musashi glanced around and, sure enough, saw Shinji, Brock, and Misty rapidly approaching.
She forced Li Meining back with a punch and shouted, "That's enough for today! You little brat, you little girl, next time we meet, we'll be even stronger!"
Xiaogang and Xiaoxia had strange expressions.
What did they see?
Is Musashi fighting Li Meining?
Is Ash fighting Meowth on the ground?
I dared not open my eyes, hoping it was an illusion.
Kojiro immediately threw out a smoke bomb, and thick smoke instantly enveloped the battlefield.
"Don't even think about running!" Xiao Zhi rushed into the smoke, but it was already empty.
As the smoke cleared, Team Rocket, along with their six Pokémon, had vanished without a trace.
Only familiar lines remain, lingering in the air.
"Since you've asked so sincerely..."
"Then we will mercifully tell you."
"To prevent the world from being destroyed."
"To safeguard world peace."
"Embracing love and true evil."
"A cute and charming villain."
"Musashi!"
"Kojiro!"
"We are Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"
"White Hole, a white tomorrow awaits us!"
"That's it, meow!"
The sound gradually faded away and finally disappeared in the wind.
Shinji stood at the edge of the battlefield, his hands in his pockets, looking in the direction Team Rocket had disappeared, his brows slightly furrowed.
"I didn't expect those idiots to have learned tactics."
Li Meining put away her fighting stance and looked at the back of her slightly reddened hand.
Musashi's strength was indeed unexpected; if it were purely a contest of strength, he might not be a match for her.
"Thank goodness we caught up." Ash breathed a sigh of relief, then clenched his fist again. "But how did Team Rocket become so strong?"
Xiaoxia walked over and said, "Yeah, before they only used those machines that could explode, but this time they actually won against you guys by battling with Pokémon."
Xiao Gang thought to himself, "It seems they have indeed been training seriously during this period."
"No matter where they train," Li Meining raised her head, her eyes resolute, "we cannot fall behind. Today's defeat is a lesson for us."
Xiao Zhi looked at her and nodded vigorously: "That's right! Let's go back and continue training."
Shinji glanced at Lucario, but ultimately said nothing.
Behind a clump of bushes not far away, the Rockets trio huddled together, barely daring to breathe.
Only after confirming that the pursuers had left did Musashi breathe a sigh of relief: "Phew—that was close."
Kojiro clutched his chest: "That scared me to death! I thought I was going to get arrested this time."
Meow Meow rubbed her swollen face: "That little brat, his fists were pretty hard, meow..."
The trio was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter at the same time.
"But we still made a profit today!" Musashi slapped his thigh. "We caught Pikachu, even though it was snatched back, it still proved our strength!"
Kojiro nodded: "And we fought those kids head-on, and although we lost in the end, we're much stronger than before."
Meow Meow stroked her chin: "What should we do next, meow? Go back to Master Shuwen's place to study, or find another place?"
"Of course we'll keep learning!" Musashi said without hesitation. "Our disguise hasn't been exposed yet. Master Shuwen doesn't know we're Team Rocket—well, he probably doesn't, right?"
The three exchanged a glance, all feeling somewhat guilty.
"Whether he knows or not," Musashi clenched his fist, making a cracking sound, "since he hasn't exposed us, we'll continue learning."
"We'll retreat decisively once we're exposed. Every day before we're exposed is pure profit!"
Kojiro and Meowth both swallowed hard as they looked at Musashi's clenched fist, which was cracking loudly.
"You're right, meow..."
"Then... shall we go back to our studies?"
Musashi nodded in satisfaction: "Let's go! Back to camp!"
Zhenxin Town, Li Shuwen's camp.
Xiao Zhi and Li Meining stood side by side in front of Li Shuwen, their heads bowed, their faces filled with undisguised dejection.
"Brother Shuwen, we lost," Xiaozhi whispered.
Li Shuwen was preparing food for several Pokémon when he heard this. He looked up at the two of them and smiled slightly: "Who did you lose to?"
"Team Rocket." Li Meining bit her lip. "We were too careless and let them sneak up on us. Although we caught up in the end, we almost..."
She couldn't continue.
Li Shuwen put down what he was doing and walked up to the two men: "Tell me, how did you lose?"
Xiao Zhi recounted the whole story in detail.
He recounted everything in detail, from being ambushed by the bouncy net to the six Pokémon surrounding Pikachu and Lucario, and then to Team Rocket's performance in the second battle.
Li Shuwen nodded after listening: "So, where do you think the problem lies?"
Xiao Zhi thought for a moment and said, "We were too careless and didn't pay attention to our surroundings."
"and then?"
"And then..." Xiao Zhi stammered.
Li Meining continued, "Team Rocket is much stronger than before. Their Pokémon have great teamwork, and their tactics are clear."
"Especially that Musashi, he's even stronger than me."
"And that Meowth," Ash added, "it actually managed to battle me for so long."
Li Shuwen looked at them, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Your mistake was not just carelessness."
The two looked up.
"First, you rely too much on individual strength. Pikachu and Lucario are indeed strong, but even the strongest can only fight one-on-one."
"Team Rocket uses a team of six Pokémon, but you're letting two Pokémon fight alone."
Xiao Zhi was stunned.
"Secondly, you've overlooked the growth of your opponents. In your minds, the Rockets are still that comedic villain team that only knows how to use machines and run away."
"But they've been training incredibly hard lately, what about you?"
Li Meining lowered her head.
"Third, your mindset is wrong." Li Shuwen's gaze turned serious. "You think that with me here, you're safe, that the Rockets won't dare to come, and that even if they do, you can easily deal with them."
"This kind of mentality will eventually lead you to suffer even greater losses."
The two remained silent.
Not only Xiaozhi and Li Meining, but also Xiaogang and Xiaoxia felt that the two of them had been too lax lately.
Li Shuwen looked at them, his tone softening: "However, this loss isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least it showed you your shortcomings."
"If the Rockets can improve, why can't you?"