The training facilities in the base were not half bad. The Pokemon captured by members of Team Rocket were used here for battles, and sometimes other Agents would also challenge each other for battles. Naill had both of those. Against other Agents he fared not too poorly, his Charmander being the powerhouse of the team and pulling him forward in every battle. Against the stolen Pokemon, it was tougher. Unlike the Pokemon that Naill had stolen, these were more powerful. Defeating them was no easy task. Sometimes getting a hit in was difficult. But they served as good training 'partners', they helped Naill strengthen his team.
His Zubat had evolved into Golbat and Naill decided to keep it in reserve at HQ for now.
His Charmander had evolved into Charmeleon, making its already heavy hits even heavier and more powerful. Gastly evolved into Haunter, powering its Hypnosis even more. Now it could take control of even more people, even those with a strong mental fortitude. These were the two Pokemon that Naill decided to keep for now.
Naill's new uniform and relevant equipment arrived almost a week after arriving at the secret base. The only change his new uniform had was the raised collar and a slight variation on the logo. Apparently, there was some sort of hidden chip inside that would allow him access to bases around Kanto. The device that arrived was a replacement phone (a touch model now) and a portable transfer machine. Bill's kidnapping was the reason behind it, developing a person transfer machine for Team Rocket. Now Naill no longer needs to use any Pokemon Center machines or request for pick up.
And along with his uniform and equipment came his next mission order, a rather simple mission.
Just North of Vermillion City, Naill found himself in another hole. A gang of Squirtles peeked in with hearty laughs, only to fall over deep asleep. Haunted appeared beside Naill and opened its mouth wide. Energy drained out from the Squirtle and one by one they all fainted. Naill caught all five, before sending them to Rocket HQ with his new transfer device. The Squirtle were just as rare as Naill's Charmeleon, and Archer wanted him to capture it for Team Rocket. And it was quite easy with his evolved Haunter.
"You've become so strong" Naill grinned, Haunter mimicking the expression. With the Pokemon's help, he got out of the hole.
Naill's phone buzzed and he pulled it out to see another mission message. He read it before grinning.
When Naill arrived at the Lighthouse, he found that there already were people there, other Team Rocket members. He recognized one of the many faces there.
Miles approached him with a smirk.
"Guess I wasn't the only one that got promoted here," the man said before turning a little more serious. "Archer says you're the one that saw the beast with his own eyes?" the man asked.
"I did" Naill nodded. "It's larger than the Lighthouse easily."
"I know. I've seen the pictures and the estimates that our scientists have drawn from the data you provided" Miles pulled a Pokeball out and held it to Naill. It was an odd-looking ball, not like the Pokeball that Miles had seen or used. It was completely black with purple wave-like patterns all over it, and a small silver button.
"Our scientists developed this Pokeball to the image of a Dark Ball used by the Iron Masked Marauder" Miles explained.
Naill had no clue who that was, and it showed on his face.
Miles snorted.
"All you gotta know is that it will capture that gigantic beast easily. But first, we need to weaken it."
"Do we even have Pokemon who can manage that?" Naill asked.
"Nope. But Archer has a plan. Come."
Before Miles and Naill could go, there was a knock at the door.
"Is anyone in there?" a boy shouted from the outside.
"Tell the grunts to hide. I'll take care of him" Naill whispered before going to the door. He waited until Miles had the grunts clear out the floor before answering. A boy no older than ten stood on the other side of the door, a Pikachu on his shoulder. With him was a girl with orange hair and… Brock from Pewter City?!
"Yes?" Naill asked, hiding his discomfort. Brock wouldn't recognise him, he had a mask on. But still taking chances would be stupid.
"Are you Bill?" the boy asked.
"I am not. I'm not sure where he is. Said something about a wild rare Pokemon and rushed towards Vermillion City. Left me here to look after his things until he returns.
"Do you know when he'll return?"
"None at all."
The boy looked crestfallen.
"Who are you?" Brock asked, his squinted eyes looking a lot more squinty.
"I assist him with research from time to time" Naill smiled. "I think you might be able to catch up with him if you leave for Vermillion now."
The boy grinned before rushing off. The orange-haired girl rushed after shouting his name, Brock on the other hand lingered.
"Have we met?" the man asked.
"I challenged your Gym a long time ago. Lost badly to you."
Brock's gaze softened.
"Are you still trying for the badges?"
"Sadly not. It's not for me I realised."
Brock's gaze turned sad before he turned and left as well.
Naill closed the door and shut it properly before meeting the rest on the upper level of the lighthouse.
"Well?" Miles asked.
"They're gone. But for safety's sake, nobody answers the door but me. And if I can't answer the door then nobody answers the door at all" Naill stated.
Miles nods and relays the message to the Grunts. The Elite Agent leads Naill to a machine on a pedestal, large enough to be a crown on someone's head.
"The RnD team whipped this little beauty up not too long ago. Said it could boost the psychic powers of a Pokemon tenfold. Archer was adamant that only you are allowed to use it and nobody else."
Naill understood perfectly why Archer was adamant that only he use it. Had the man planned this the moment he learned about how Naill used Gastly to steal Pokemon from people? Was that why he suggested Naill train his Pokemon up?
Just how far had the man thought about in just one interaction?
"Any clues on how we'll draw the thing out?" Naill asked.
"The data you provided points to the creature living in the ocean ahead of the Lighthouse. It hardly if ever leaves."
"How can you be sure of that?"
"Ask the scientists" Miels shrugs. "Anyways, using an amplified call from the recording would get it here."
Naill nodded. That made sense to him.
"Set it all up then. I'll set up the machine on my Pokemon."
Miles nods and barks orders to his Grunts.
Naill calls out his Haunter and places the 'crown' on its head.
"How does it feel?" he asked.
Haunter made a small noise before every Grunt in the room and Miles stilled and began to dance.
Naill snorted.
"Alright, they have work to do" the boy laughed.
Haunter grinned and let them return to normal.
Everything was set up within the next hour or so as the sun began to set. Miles gave the signal and the call was made. It almost sounded sad, lonely and desperate to Naill. Like someone calling out to see if there was anyone else left in the world.
A moment passed after the call, then another. An hour went by but still, there was no response. They shot the call again and waited. On the third call, they heard something back but saw no movement.
Just as the clock hit midnight the water began to stir.
Mist settled in as a dark figure under the water slowly approached the lighthouse. With a huge explosion of water, the beast emerged within reach of the lighthouse observatory, letting out a call.
"Haunter, Hypnosis" Naill commanded.
The beast suddenly stopped making the noise, going eerily silent. Naill walked up to the beast and gently tapped it with the ball. The beast went in and just as Naill was about to hand it over to Miles, the ball cracked.
With a boom, the beast shot out of the ball and roared. Haunter's 'crown' sparked and sizzled before it too exploded.
The Pokemon took to the skies and with a mighty flap of its wings it flew away, cracking the lighthouse and making everyone panic.
Miles dragged Naill away from the observatory and everyone rushed out of the building and the attached house. They all watched it crumble to the ground. Except Naill. His eyes were on the skies trying to find the beast, his hand bleeding and burnt from the Pokeball explosion.