Chapter 52: True Bird Matrix

Chapter 52: The Bird Matrix

"You are the Bird Matrix!?"

As Xia You spoke, he glanced back at the handsome man. Seeing him nod slightly, Xia You knew things had become even more complicated.

"Using rockets... you guys really have no sense of sportsmanship."

"We are the bad guys, after all. Completing the mission is our primary objective." Goz crossed his arms and smiled at the handsome man. "But I really didn't expect you to be hiding here. Originally, we just wanted to track those two idiots to see what they were up to so sneakily, but we didn't expect such a pleasant surprise!"

"Hey! You! Who are you calling an idiot!?" Behind them, Kojiro and Musashi, accompanied by Meowth and their Pokémon, scrambled out of the warehouse, having just overheard the remark.

At this moment, the two were in a wretched state; not only were they soaking wet, but even their hair was badly singed.

Following closely behind them were Kirlia, Charmander, and Squirtle, who were also rushing out of the warehouse in a hurry.

Musashi pointed at Goz and shouted, "Ah! I remember you! Aren't you that subordinate of the Watermelon-Skin Glasses woman? Dammit, how dare you follow us!"

"Watermelon-Skin Glasses!?" Goz's expression darkened. "You've got quite a lot of nerve calling Miss Bird that!"

"Cut the nonsense!" Musashi yelled. "This person is our target. You can't interfere!"

"Oh? Your target?" Goz's gaze lingered on Xia You's mask for a long time before he realized. "I see. So he is Xia You. This is perfect. Since both of them are gathered together, it saves us the time of searching. We can take them all down at once!"

"What did you say?" Kojiro said in disbelief. "You dare defy the Boss's orders and steal our prey!?"

"Idiot." Goz pulled out a Poké Ball and threw it to the ground. "As long as the job gets done, the Boss won't care who completes it! Go, Aggron!"

With a flash of blue light, a large Pokémon with three sharp horns on its head, a steel-like massive tail, and a body encased in hard armor appeared on the field.

As soon as Aggron appeared, it roared toward the sky with a deafening sound!

The remaining four members of the Bird Matrix also released their Pokémon one by one.

"Come forth, Toxicroak!"

"Don't be a Meowth! Appear!"

"It's your turn, Skuntank!"

"Crush them, Rhyperior!"

With all five Pokémon on the field, they advanced step by step, surrounding Xia You and the handsome man.

To flee or to fight?

After a moment of thought, Xia You made his decision instantly. Without holding back, he released all of his Pokémon in one breath.

Blue lights flashed one after another. When Zapdos and Gyarados appeared simultaneously, their presence was not inferior in the slightest compared to the Bird Matrix members!

Gyarados let out a long roar toward the sky, its red eyes staring fixedly at the Aggron in front of it!

"Zapdos!?" the handsome man shouted in surprise. It wasn't just him; even Musashi and Kojiro jumped in fright.

Although they had been ordered to eliminate Xia You, that wretched woman, Bird, had never told them that Xia You possessed such a legendary Pokémon!

"That damn Watermelon-Skin Glasses! This is too infuriating!"

Musashi cursed. In truth, many within Team Rocket knew that she and Bird were at odds; they had been looking at each other with disdain for a long time.

Seeing this, Kojiro whispered, "What should we do now?"

"We absolutely cannot let those guys succeed!" Musashi said through gritted teeth. "If we let them complete the mission, we'll lose all our usefulness in front of the Boss, and we'll never be able to hold our heads up in front of that woman again!"

"Eh? You want to stop them? Isn't that a bit bad?" Kojiro hesitated. "After all, they are in the same Team Rocket as us. If the Boss finds out, he definitely won't let us off easy."

"Idiot, who said we're going against them?" Meowth said slyly. "We're just following orders. We just happened to accidentally catch them in the crossfire while dealing with that kid!"

Musashi and Kojiro's eyes lit up. "As expected of you, Meowth! You really are the worst!"

After deciding on a plan, the trio vanished from sight.

By this time, many of the Pokémon on the scene were already locked in combat. Seeing their masters under siege, Kirlia, Charmander, and Squirtle could no longer worry about the Team Rocket trio and leaped into the fray.

Gyarados lunged directly at Aggron; Toxicroak proactively engaged Bulbasaur; Meowth used its speed advantage to constantly harass Charmander; Skuntank attacked Raichu; and as for Rhyperior, it was fighting two at once, taking on both Squirtle and Kirlia!

As for Zapdos, it was being pinned down by the five opponents using their weapons and artillery, unable to break free for the moment.

In the shadows, Haunter was providing backup, so Xia You felt no panic at all. He commanded calmly and composedly: "Kirlia, go deal with Toxicroak! Bulbasaur, you and Squirtle take on Rhyperior together! Raichu, stop tangling with Skuntank and go find Meowth immediately! As for Charmander, please hold Skuntank back for a moment!"

This tactical repositioning gradually brought order to the chaotic situation. In terms of Pokémon types, even if they didn't have a type advantage against the enemies, they were at least not being countered.

Taking a moment, Xia You glanced at Gyarados and Aggron. Biting and roaring, both Pokémon had gone into a frenzy. Without anyone to command them, they only thought about tearing their opponents to shreds!

However, Gyarados had only just evolved and lacked experience, appearing somewhat green. It was clearly at a disadvantage; without outside intervention, defeat was only a matter of time.

It seemed now that there was a reason why the handsome man had ended up in such a state; the Pokémon of the Bird Matrix were indeed not something he could handle.

Just then, accompanied by the whistling of a train, a freight train approached from the distance, billowing smoke.

Knowing this was the chance, Xia You said softly, "Haunter, I'll leave the handsome gentleman to you!"

"I understand." Haunter gave a sinister chuckle, emerged from Xia You's shadow, and flew into the handsome man's shadow. Suddenly, the handsome man floated up, flew toward the train carriage, and landed steadily upon it.

Over there, Goz had been monitoring the situation. Seeing the handsome man board the train, he felt a surge of anxiety.

"Oh no! He's escaping!"

The members of the Bird Matrix were alarmed. Just as they were about to abandon Zapdos to rush toward the train, their vision suddenly went dark. Then, a massive Meowth-shaped robot jumped down in front of them!

(End of Chapter)