Raziel sent out Gastly, the Ghost floating in position on his side of the cave. They had set up camp in a larger cave, one with other six or seven trainers nearby. They weren't the only ones still training, so a battle between the two wasn't going to bother anyone. Orville had agreed to act as the referee, just in case they needed one.

Raziel studied Charmeleon, pondering how strong the Pokémon was compared to Gastly. He was confident his Ghost could take on the Pokémon one on one, but he did remember that the Fire-Type had won the Gym Battle at a disadvantage. "I might have to aim for the Hypnosis first." He thought.

While they were preparing, a group of other trainers moved closer, to take a look. A few of them went to talk with Orville. "Ehi, Orville. Have you heard? It happened again."

"Damn, really?" The blonde trainer said, surprised "I had heard yesterday some Clefairy tried to rob the Trainer House, so I figured that was the big heist. I guess I was wrong?"

Raziel was puzzled at that, not understanding what they were talking about "Is something the matter?"

Orville looked back at him, and suddenly at his bag. "Nothing really, just something going on with some thieves. Healing items disappear from the bags of various trainer lately. Some people get in serious trouble because of it."

Raziel nodded. Sometimes it happened, in areas with a lot of wild Pokémon, although he had not heard of Mount Moon having stuff like that happening. Due to the almost continuous stream of Trainers, the Pokémon in the area tended to be either well behaved or hide from humans.

"Yeah, I got robbed too." Said one of the people "Lost all my Potions and Antidotes, it's really something."

Draconix, who had been listening, moved closer as well "But why would they steal those? They are made to be used by humans on the Pokémon, and there are only a few Pokémon that can do it on each other without wasting most of it."

"No idea." Orville said "Maybe it's just something shiny they like, or maybe they drink it. It's not toxic or anything."

The other trainers nodded, then the blonde one clapped his hands "Anyway, we have a bet to settle. Gastly versus Charmeleon!"

A few of the people nearby cheered, and Raziel and Draconix placed themselves on the opposite sides of the cave, Gastly and Charmeleon in front of each other. Both Trainers and Pokémon looked at the public for a moment. The two humans had a bit of experience from the Academy in dealing with onlookers, so they could shut them off decently, but for the Pokémon it was a new experience. "Don't worry about it Gastly! Focus on Charmeleon!" Raziel shouted, and he could hear Draconix doing the same. Both Pokémon nodded and turned to their opponent.

"Go!" Shouted Orville. Both Trainers did not lose a second. Raziel called immediately for Hypnosis, and Gastly darted forward. In response, Charmeleon ducked with his eyes closed and fired an Ember upwards. The Ghost dodged most of it, but parts of his gas lit up and sparked off.

"Good, nothing major." Raziel thought. This was actually his first time fighting a Fire-type, and even dealing with a long ranged attack was somewhat new. As Gastly dodged a series of Embers by phasing, he chose his next move. "Jump in close and go for Night Shade." He shouted.

Gastly nodded and phased through the following Ember, looking straight in the eyes of the lizard. Charmeleon, startled, could not dodge the following shadow, and screeched. At Draconix' call, he took a few quick steps back and raised his guard, before unleashing more Embers.

"He wants to keep the distance. But why? Those Breaking Claws should be able to…" Then Raziel had a realization. "Gastly, keep pushing in."

Gastly nodded and moved forward, rolling to dodge a first Ember and a second one, before phasing through a third and hitting with Lick, though Charmeleon ducked and the attack only hit the horn. Then he quickly moved his neck to aim upwards, firing a stream of Embers before rolling back to gain a distance. The attack was successful and Gastly had to float at a distance again.

"He doesn't know if the Breaking Claws work on a Ghost, and taking the risk to try it out would leave him open if they don't." He realized in that moment. "Of course! This is his first time fighting a Ghost! We are evenly matched here." He nodded and ordered Gastly to jump forward and hit with one more Night Shade.

Charmeleon jumped back, keeping his eyes low on Gastly's main body. He ducked under the shadow, that narrowly missed him, and turned up unleashing a stream of Ember. Gastly took the blow and in response turned basically inside out, his face emerging from his body rather than him turning around.

"Ok, when did you learn how to do that?" He asked, startled, as the Ghost's tongue darted to his face. He felt his left eye close, and realized the eyelid was paralized. 'Shit.' He thought, turning to expose his right flank to Gastly rather than risking his now blind left.

"It's easy when all your organs are made of gas." Gastly replied, and looked in his eye. Charmeleon closed it, and then a Night Shade slammed into his flank, throwing him back.

Draconix pondered his options. There was no point in using Scratch, and Night Shade was not affected by Growl if he remembered right. Lick was, but that move was meant to paralyze more than cause damage. His intentions had been to use a barrage of Ember to keep out of the area of effect of Night Shade and the reach of Lick, but that wasn't an option anymore.

"Breaking Claws!" He shouted. Charmeleon darted forward, his claws cutting through the gas. The effect was similar to other attacks he had seen. Laceration came to mind, though not as powerful. Still, it meant one important thing. "We can do this."

Charmeleon seemed to have the same realization and roared viciously, jumping forward and unleashing an Ember. Gastly fumbled back, still startled, and the Ember impacted against his gaseous body, sparks flying off and the smell of burning gas growing. The Pokémon responded preparing for a Night Shade by locking his eyes on the opponent's, as Raziel gave a command, but it was too slow. With a last impact, the Breaking Claws sliced through the Gastly's body.

The Pokémon stood still for a second, then both fell loudly to the ground.

The crowd remained silent for a second. "What happened?" Asked someone.

Orville moved closer, and Raziel shook his head. "I lost."

Draconix looked at him for a second. "What…"

Orville in response pointed to Gastly, clearly out, and then to Charmeleon, snoring. "The last attack from Gastly was Hypnosis, not Night Shade. Seems it took effect just an instant too late. That Ember Charmeleon used before burned Gastly and that knocked him out just after the last attack. Congratulations."

Raziel moved forward, his hand extended "Damn, I guess that's one to zero for you. I'll have to get back at you for that." He said with a smile.

Draconix smiled back, shaking his hand "Well, I guess so. So, what are you going to catch?"

Raziel shook his head while opening his bag to heal Gastly "I don't know yet. Hopefully, I can run into some Ghost before the League. Otherwise… Eh, I'll think about it when the time comes."

"Come on now, don't be that gloomy!" Orville said, smacking him on the back. Raziel gasped and Draconix, Orville and a few others chuckled "I'm sure you'll find some other Pokémon."

Raziel nodded, and continued to look in the bag. "That's weird, I could swear I had still a few Potions and that Revitalizer I found…"

"Wait, I have one too, let me just take it out." Draconix said, opening his own bag. The two searched for a while, then they had the same realization.

All their healing items had disappeared.

And then they heard the footsteps.

Domino nodded as her men swarmed the Trainer House, knowing the same scene was happening at the Pokémon Center. She could see a few Trainers still holding their own, the most noticeable an Onix smacking away various Rattata with an hit from his tail. Still, the fight was five to one. They had picked the perfect day, right after the time of year when most Trainers moved between Pewter and Celadon. That meant right now only strugglers were left in Mount Moon, isolated groups that could easily be swarmed.

Of course, she had also made use of Athena's groundwork. He looked at Mondo, the Trainer counting a series of Meowth as they left numerous items on the ground. "I'd say we stole a pretty good amount." He said, "The markers worked well, they knew exactly what to take." He pointed at the Revitalizers, a noticeable pile "Look, they even prioritized those." He picked up the closest Meowth and started to scratch the ears "You did right? Yes you did, yes you did… Who's a good thief? Yes you are…"

"If you are done, we have to go." She said, struggling to keep herself from laughing. Mondo blushed and put down the feline, that scoffed before running to his companions. Mondo and a few other Grunts called the Pokémon back, and quickly picked up the various items, before nodding. "All done, Lieutenant Domino."

"I said Black Tulip. Try to be professional Mondo."

"Yes, Lieutenant Black Tulip."

Domino nodded "Good. Now, remember, we did a decent job, but stealing is a side work. Our main job is the recovery of the objective. I want everyone to move in fast. Do not forget what we are here for. If anyone attacks us, prioritize escape and leave it to the other grunts. You all have a Pokémon with Dig with you. If at any point you need to, leave the cave by opening a side exit. Remember you are the only ones briefed on the mission's true intent, besides a few commanders. If any of you is captured, you are to shut your damn mouth. We have lawyers to get you all out of jail, so don't even think that making a deal with the police is a good idea. Am I clear?"

The ten Grunts, six females and four males, nodded. Mondo did the same.

"Good. Let's go!" She shouted, and she lead her group inside Mount Moon.

"Anyone has an Awakening?!" Draconix shouted, holding the sleeping Charmeleon "Spearow, dodge and go for the Zubat! Leave the Golbats alone!"

Spearow was doing his best to focus on the smaller enemies, but ignoring the giant bats and their mouths big enough to devour him whole was proving harder than expected.

The bird looked around the room. Draconix, Raziel and other trainers had moved to the back of the cave pulling out all their Pokémon in hopes to hold on the attack. There were about fifty Pokémon on their side, which would have usually been good, if it wasn't for the fact that most were weakened and they were outnumbered. Without healing items, they could only do so much to hold up. He was one of the better ones. The Ghost was out cold and Charmeleon, even if he woke up, could barely hold up after his fight. "Of course, Flametail had to go and drop all on me, why not."

Spearow dodged a Bite by a feather – literally, as he saw a feather from his head stuck in the Golbat's mouth – and hit a Zubat with Peck, pushing it right in the line of fire of a Growlithe's Ember. He nodded at the Pokémon and flew off.

He heard a sound from behind, and turned to see a Golbat's fang come down on his body. Spearow yelped, to slow to change direction… and then the Pokémon seemed to block, and fell to the ground, paralyzed. Now in front of him was a barely conscious Gastly. "You… Ok?"

"Y-Yeah. How are you even up?" He asked. Gastly smiled.

Raziel looked up to see Spearow fight against various Zubat and Golbat. Next to him, a Pidgeotto fell to the ground, disappearing inside his Poké Ball as his trainer recalled him. He felt useless, trembling. If only he could help. If only Gastly could get up…

"Ehi!" A voice shouted nearby. Raziel turned to see a red-haired trainer of his same age with an Oran Berry and what looked like a candy, dressed in old fashioned clothes.

"What is it?" He asked.

"My best Pokémon are out, and have been for a while." The redhead explained "And I honestly think you are better than me. Your fight was pretty good. Here, take it."

Raziel looked at the blue packaging of the candy. "A… Rare Candy?"

"It's a special medicine. It will wake up Gastly, then give him the Oran Berry!"

Raziel looked at the candy again, closely "Are you sure you don't want to help?"

"Listen man I have a Magikarp and a Kakuna, neither capable to evolve… yet. You think I CAN help in this situation?!" He asked, pointing to the swarm of Rattata, Raticate, Zubat, Golbat, and the occasional Ekans and Drowzee fighting in the room.

Raziel nodded and opened the Ball. Gastly came out and he immediately shoved the Candy in his mouth. The sweet disappeared in his mouth. A second later, Gastly's eyes opened and the Pokémon darted back up, like someone had turned on a switch.

"Now the Berry!" The other one said. Raziel shoved the Oran Berry in Gastly's body directly, and the Pokémon seemed to recover a bit more. With a nod, it flew off to fight.

Raziel turned "Thank you for… That…" And as Raziel thanked him, he saw there was no one there. He looked around, to no avail. Whoever that guy had been, he had left immediately to another area of the battlefield.

Gastly was pretty angry. His first serious fight since the Gym had ended in his defeat, because of a burn at that. He dodged a Wing Attack and responded with a Night Shade, watching in satisfaction as the Golbat fell to the ground. Near him, a Spearow – not the one he knew, pointed to the next one and Gastly nodded. The Flying-type flew in, dodged the Wing Attack, and Gastly paralized that same wing. The giant bat plummeted to the ground, to find itself in the line of fire of a Bellsprout's Wrap. The vines surrounded it completely, making it a sitting target for a Meowth's Fury Swipes.

Gastly had already moved on to the next enemy, aiming at a Drowzee with the same Spearow and a Pidgey. The Psychic-type aimed at the ghost a Confusion, but Gastly stopped at the last second and the two Flying-types went down with a Peck and a Tackle. As they did, a Raticate jumped and used Hyper Fang, throwing the Drowzee out of the fight.

He moved on, returning to where the Trainers were forming their group. As he did, Spearow flew closer. This one was Draconix'. "You ok?" He asked, panting heavily.

"One hit and I'm out, what do you think?" Gastly said.

In that moment, they both heard a familiar Growl. They looked down to see Charmeleon jump in the field, finally awake, either because someone had finally found an Awakening or a berry to heal it, or because the Hypnosis had worn off.

His tail was shining brightly and his Ember completely defeated an Ekans with a single blow. Same destiny for the Rattata that tried to jump him.

"That's Blaze, right?" Gastly asked.

"Probably, right now Flametail is going all out. You gave him a good match, he is very close to fall."

Gastly sighed "Any brilliant idea?"

The Pokémon shook his head "Just knock them all out."

Gastly laughed "Of course." And the two moved closer to Charmeleon and their trainer, launching themselves against more enemies.

Then, with a rumble, a charge of wild Pokémon broke into the room.

"What?!" Raziel shouted, as more and more wild Pokémon broke into the room. The vast majority were Paras and Parasect, the dead eyes of the giant bugs staring blindly at the Rocket members as they released spores.

"It's the wild Pokémon! They are rallying against the Rockets?" A trainer shouted, before noticing his Pidgeotto flying straight in a cloud of spores and begin to fall, asleep.

"They don't make a distinction, I fear!" Another replied, "We probably disturbed them with all the ruckus! Move away from that side of the room!"

The Parasect charged forward with the Paras supporting them by crawling on walls and , and now the Rockets were at a disadvantage, their Pokémon dropping asleep, falling to poison or being paralyzed.

"Ahah, take that!" A voice shouted. Raziel recognized the redhead trainer's voice, but he could not see him in the crowd, or hear him anymore over the cheers and shouts. Most Pokémon had retreated back to their trainers, either getting healed with the few items remaining or just recalled in the Poké Ball to rest.

Raziel looked in amazement as the Rockets spread off, disappearing into the cave. He felt a furious anger as they left behind a good number of their Pokémon, either to slow the Parasect's pursuit or because they were out. The other trainers cheered, as the wild Pokémon disappeared off into the caves, either retreating or pursuing the Rockets.

As he looked at them, Raziel recognized Orville and a few others running as well, behind the Team Rocket. "Are they pursuing them?!"

"Wait, Orville!" Draconix shouted "Damn! He is going after them."

"Why?!" Raziel asked "It's suicidal."

"No, he still had a few healing items, and his Pidgeot is pretty strong, I saw it fight on the other side of the Cave with a lot of Golbat, and has taken with him other trainers that were doing better. But still…" Draconix clenched his fist "I'm going after him. We need to help him."

Raziel looked at him with his mouth open wide "Are you crazy? This is suicidal! We barely made it out of that raid!"

"And if we don't, what will you do if he gets beaten?!" Draconix shouted angrily, his eyes flaming "He was kind to us. He helped Spearow, gave me tips about training him once he is a Fearow! Should we just abandon someone like that?"

"And what good is that going to do? We run after them with our Pokémon almost down, our Pokémon are taken out, and we become a problem!"

Draconix tried to fine a reply, then shook his head "Please Raziel. If something goes wrong we run away. Please. I don't want to abandon someone. Please."

Raziel thought for a second of what to say. 'Coward…' A voice said in his head, that man's voice… "Fine, I'm coming too. This is a stupid idea but at least not as stupid if we both go." Raziel sighed, looking at Gastly, who was looking at him puzzled "Don't give me that look, I know it's wrong. If things get bad, we run for our lives." Gastly sighed, but after a moment nodded.

Draconix smiled, putting his arm around his shoulder "You really are the best, man."

"Don't try to flatter me and let's go. With any luck, we get to Orville after Team Rocket is gone." The Ghost trainer replied. With a nod, they both left the cheers behind and followed the steps of the retreating Rockets and their pursuers.