"Combusken, use Fire Punch."
Combusken lunged forward, its speed like a flash of lightning. It quickly dodged the opponent's Water Gun and landed a punch on the Bibarel.
The Bibarel was sent skidding two meters across the ground, and it managed to endure the Fire Punch. But just as its trainer thought it had withstood the attack, the Bibarel collapsed and was unable to battle.
"Come back, Bibarel."
The young female trainer on the other side recalled her Bibarel, looking at Ace and his Combusken with a hint of helplessness. "You're really strong. Thank you for the battle."
"No problem."
Ace smiled faintly, then walked to the side with Combusken. He bought two drinks from a vending machine.
Ace tossed one to Combusken and gulped down the other after opening it. Combusken did the same, quickly finishing its drink to replenish the fluids it had lost.
It had been three days since they arrived in Sinnoh.
For three days, Ace had enjoyed a walking tour, deliberately slowing down his pace. He was waiting for what was about to happen. Ace was sure his opponents wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. He also tried his best to stay on main roads instead of secluded ones, encountering countless trainers and travelers along the way to expose his location as much as possible.
"This is so slow. It's been three days. Their pace is really dragging."
Ace flattened the can, threw it into a trash bin, and then, with Combusken, walked towards Veilstone City.
Perhaps the heavens heard Ace's complaints because as he was walking towards Veilstone City, he finally encountered a few people who had caught up, panting heavily, as he passed through a small town.
As Ace and Combusken were passing through the town and preparing to take a break, a crowd of people suddenly appeared and surrounded Ace. Then, Ace saw a slightly older middle-aged woman, crying and rushing towards him, muttering, "Oh, my poor child, where have you been all these years? We've been looking for you everywhere."
Ace dodged the woman's lunge, then frowned at the woman who had fallen to the ground. He said coldly, "Ma'am, please show some respect. What are you to me?"
"You little brat! I'm your biological mother! I'll beat you—"
Another middle-aged man with a dark face was filled with anger and raised his arm, ready to rush forward. But before Ace could say anything, Combusken blocked his way. Fierce flames ignited on its claws. If the man dared to make a move, Combusken wouldn't hesitate to pierce his heart.
With Combusken's intimidation, the middle-aged man retreated. He didn't dare to confront a Pokémon directly.
"Brother, how could you do this! They're your biological parents!"
A boy in his twenties stepped forward, pointing at Ace with his three younger siblings. "Don't think just because you're a trainer now that you're not a Mit. You can't change that, understand?!"
"Dare to point that finger at me again, and I won't hesitate to chop it off."
Ace looked at his so-called "brother" with cold indifference.
Being stared at by Ace like that, the boy withdrew his finger and took a step back involuntarily. He felt that the person he used to bully so easily had somehow become different.
Ace looked at his so-called relatives without a single ripple in his heart. He scanned them coldly and then said, "Who sent you? Tell me, and maybe there's still a chance to redeem yourselves."
"What are you talking about, you little brat? Do you know how hard we've been looking for you all these years—"
"That's enough. Your acting is terrible. You're all a bunch of useless fools."
Just as the middle-aged woman was about to say more, a young man in a suit with slicked-back hair emerged from a nearby house in the town, accompanied by five bodyguards. Seeing the young man come out, the group of people immediately backed away with humble smiles, blocking Ace's escape route.
Ace sighed inwardly, completely giving up on this group of so-called relatives.
"Are you the guy named Ace?"
The young man stopped three meters in front of Ace. The five bodyguards behind him also surrounded Ace to prevent him from escaping.
"Who are you?"
Ace said coldly, his Pokémon in their Poké Balls under his coat, ready. If Ace wanted to, he could take down this guy in a second!
"You're not worthy of knowing my name."
The young man's eyes were filled with anger. "It's because of you that we failed to capture that Milotic. Damn you, you don't deserve to live. If it weren't for you, I would have been engaged to Cynthia by now, not like this!"
Ace frowned slightly, recalling that before he escaped, the mission target was indeed a Milotic in that forest. This meant that the client at the time was this guy. No, it should be the family of this guy.
Ace thought to himself that this young man's family and Cynthia's family likely had a plan for a marriage alliance. However, something went wrong with the gift for the alliance, which embarrassed these prideful nobles.
Afterward, upon learning of Ace's existence, they sent a pursuer to get rid of Ace, who had caused them to lose face. But through a series of coincidences, Ace ended up with Cynthia, and the pursuer completely lost his trail and never saw Ace.
Now, with the League's strong crackdown on these nobles, their lives were becoming more difficult by the day. The young man in front of him had attributed all his resentment to Ace. In his mind, if Ace hadn't interfered, he would have been engaged to Cynthia, and the two noble families would have formed a powerful alliance, becoming more prosperous instead of gradually declining like they were now!
"A brainless rich kid."
Although Ace couldn't guess exactly what the young man was thinking, based on the information he knew and the current situation, he could guess with almost 100% accuracy.
After guessing the young man's motive, Ace also sighed inwardly, "Looks like I've been set up by the League this time."
If he wasn't mistaken, the League probably thought these nobles were declining too slowly, so they wanted to use Ace and the current situation to intensify their crackdown on the nobles. Ace had just happened to walk right into their trap and was unwillingly used by the League.
Thinking of this, Ace sighed and said helplessly, "Although it's a bit annoying, I might as well take this opportunity to settle things once and for all."
With that, Ace stretched his shoulders. He understood the League's intentions, but if they wanted to use him as a weapon, he wouldn't make things easy for the League either.
"You better clean up your own mess properly, if you can handle it!"
Ace sneered, and with a flick of his wrist, he threw out two Poké Balls...