The attacker was, needless to say, Vicious.
After both mechanical arms were knocked away, Vicious steered the giant spider robot out from behind the trees. The Team Rocket trio followed closely beside him.
It seemed yesterday's failure hadn't convinced Vicious to abandon them; he had kept these three by his side.
"Did you think you could escape?" Vicious said with a savage smile. "After a night's rest, it's time for round two!"
"Hand over Celebi now!" Jessie shouted at Natsui's group.
Meowth called out from the side, "And Pikachu too!"
Although the Team Rocket trio looked menacing, it was clearly bluster. After all, their confident attack yesterday still ended in failure, making them realize that even while hugging Vicious's leg, some things couldn't be taken for granted.
They only continued following Vicious today because they were unwilling to give up and wanted to try one more time.
But if the outcome was the same as yesterday, then sorry, they would ditch Vicious in a heartbeat and be the first to flee.
"You really never learn!"
Sammy frowned but had no choice but to release his Charmeleon again. Ash and the others also quickly sent out their own Pokémon to protect the group.
"I advise you to stop this useless resistance," Vicious said, showing no fear. He once again released his Dark Tyranitar.
"ROAR!"
As soon as Dark Tyranitar appeared, it fired off a Hyper Beam, just like before. No one could withstand such power, and Natsui's group could only scatter and dodge.
But in doing so, their formation was broken again.
The Team Rocket trio also released their Pokémon and attacked. In an instant, the forest was thrown into chaos once more.
However, Vicious's attack this time was different. He didn't bother engaging with these hindrances. Instead, he took out a Dark Ball and threw it directly at Celebi.
"Look out!"
Ash had been watching Vicious intently. Seeing him throw the Dark Ball, he quickly threw his backpack into the air, knocking the Dark Ball aside.
But he could only protect Celebi once, not twice.
Vicious calmly took out a second Dark Ball. As he threw it again, with Ash unable to interfere, a black beam shot out and enveloped the flying Celebi.
It was unknown what power the Dark Ball held, but once caught in the black light, Celebi was powerless to struggle. In just an instant, it was sucked into the ball.
"Celebi!"
Sammy yelled in shock, but it all happened too fast. His Charmeleon was busy dodging Dark Tyranitar's attacks, and even if he wanted to stop it, he was helpless.
"Hahaha!" Vicious said with a loud laugh, his elation impossible to suppress. "The prey never escapes the hunter! Celebi, captured!"
"Stop!"
Ash shouted, rushing forward recklessly. With strength from nowhere, like a real Mankey, he climbed up the mechanical spider's leg and leaped at Vicious!
Vicious was caught up in the ecstasy of capturing Celebi, and Ash's lunge actually managed to reach him.
The two grappled, but Vicious was an adult. With a single kick, he sent Ash falling. But when he looked at his hand, it was empty. He suddenly realized the kid had taken the Dark Ball!
"Damn kid!"
He cursed under his breath, quickly jumping down from the cockpit. On the ground, as Ash was still down from the fall, Vicious snatched the Dark Ball back and kicked Ash away.
"You annoying brats are such a headache. Since you like Celebi so much, I'll use it to deal with you!"
With that, he tossed the Dark Ball and shouted, "Come out, Dark Celebi! Show these people your true power!"
As the black light flashed, Celebi reappeared.
But it was different now. Its eyes were black, and its body radiated a terrifying dark aura.
"Celebi, get rid of these guys!"
At Vicious's command, Celebi waved its arm. A powerful shockwave instantly erupted from it, not only blowing Ash away but also buffeting Natsui and the others, forcing them to shield their eyes.
Seeing Ash flying high into the air, Natsui shielded his eyes and said in a low voice, "Gengar, save him!"
Gengar immediately flew out of his shadow, caught Ash, and brought him safely to the ground.
"Celebi! Snap out of it!" Sammy shouted from the side. "Don't be controlled by that power!"
However, his words had no effect on Celebi, who continued to stare at them with cold indifference.
"It's useless," Vicious said proudly. "The Celebi you knew is gone. What stands before you is its brand-new form! Now, Celebi, show me more of your power!"
In the next second, a black barrier formed around Celebi. Simultaneously, a counter-clockwise hurricane erupted from its center. The hurricane was immensely powerful, pulling in nearby leaves, dirt, and plants. In just a short time, the debris gathered, forming a giant sphere around Celebi!
Natsui and the others were caught in the strong wind and had to grab onto nearby trees to avoid being swept away. Their Pokémon were in trouble too; the larger ones could stand their ground, but smaller ones like Pikachu were in danger of being pulled into the hurricane's center.
Forget stopping it; they were struggling just to protect themselves.
When the wind subsided slightly, they looked and saw a scene of utter devastation. Trees were toppled everywhere, as if a real hurricane had torn through.
And the giant sphere in the center had grown even larger, reaching over a hundred meters in diameter!
Under Celebi's power, Vicious levitated and flew to the top of the sphere.
Perhaps tired of playing with them, the sphere began to move towards the edge of the forest, carrying Vicious. Seeing him leave, the Team Rocket trio didn't dare stay, scrambling up the hanging vines and climbing onto the sphere as well.
The sphere moved north, destroying everything in its path, leaving a long, ugly scar upon the land.
"What do we do now?" Misty asked, watching Vicious disappear into the distance.
Everything had been fine just half an hour ago; she couldn't believe things had changed so drastically.
"What else? We chase them," Natsui said, standing up and helping Erika to her feet. "Since it was stolen by him, we just have to take it back."
"That's right!" Ash nodded firmly. "We can't let Celebi fall into the hands of a bad guy like that!"
Having reached an agreement, the group hurried in the direction the sphere had gone. They hadn't gone far when they heard someone calling their names from the sky.
"Mr. Natsui! Ash!"
Surprised, they looked up and saw a small airship flying rapidly towards them. Three people were on board, and two of them—an old woman and a young woman—were Towa and Miku from Arborville!
Huh? Why are they here?
As the airship landed in front of them, Miku asked urgently, "We saw that tornado from the village. What on earth happened?"
Sammy quickly said, "That wasn't a tornado, it was caused by Celebi's power! You're just in time! Celebi was captured by a Pokémon hunter! We have to chase them down!"
The group boarded the airship, and Sammy quickly explained everything that had happened to Miku and Towa.
"Those despicable Pokémon hunters!" Before Towa or Miku could say anything, the third person, the man piloting the airship, slammed his fist against the wall. "How dare they treat Celebi like that! Unforgivable!"
Seeing Natsui's group looking at him, Miku quickly said, "This is White, also from our village. This airship is his. When we saw the tornado, we asked him to fly us here."
White was a mature man in his late twenties, with slightly tanned skin, wearing loose-fitting casual clothes. Natsui immediately noticed that he also wore a necklace made of three gold coins.
This meant his status in Arborville was likely the same as Miku's.
"Hello," White nodded kindly at the group. "My name is White. I'm the village procurement officer, and also Miku's childhood friend."
"Ch-childhood friend!?"
A tragic cry came from behind them. Natsui and the others didn't need to turn around to know it was the sound of Brock's heart breaking.
It seemed his fragile, fall-for-everyone heart had shattered once again.
The airship flew in the direction Vicious had gone. With White's help, they no longer had to worry about falling behind. In just a few minutes, they were flying above the giant sphere.
By now, the sphere carrying Vicious had changed.
As if evolving, its shape had transformed. It had sprouted arms, legs, and a head, with wings on its back. It had become a terrifying humanoid creature made of branches and weeds, neither human nor Pokémon!
"Celebi!" Sammy shouted, leaning out and yelling at the creature below. "We're here to save you!"
Honestly, Natsui strongly disapproved of Sammy's actions. Shouting like that wouldn't save Celebi; it would only attract Vicious's attention.
Sure enough, seeing these flies buzzing around again, Vicious frowned and ordered, "Celebi, destroy them!"
The wooden monster looked up, opened its mouth, and a terrifying energy beam shot out towards the airship!
"Look out!"
White frantically steered the airship, managing to change its angle just as the beam arrived.
Even so, the energy beam struck one of the airship's ballast tanks. The ship instantly tilted and began to plummet towards a lake below!
"Aah!"
Misty let out a terrified scream. The others scrambled to grab onto something. Fortunately, White was an excellent pilot. Gritting his teeth, he managed to control the ship as it spiraled down, landing heavily on the lake's surface.
Only then did Natsui and the others realize this airship was amphibious; it could float safely on the water.
"Thank goodness, a safe landing," White said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He looked at the group, unable to hide his pride. "Pretty amazing ship, right?"
"Stop showing off," Miku said, patting his shoulder. She looked at the group. "Are you all okay?"
Before they could answer, the wooden monster on the shore opened its mouth again, firing another energy beam at them.
Although it looked menacing, the monster itself had no power. The one truly attacking was Celebi, from within.
The beam arrived in an instant.
BOOM!
White's prized ship was hit directly and exploded. Natsui and the others were thrown from the blast, tumbling into the water.
Splash...
The cold lake water submerged Natsui, his body sinking.
However, for a man blessed by the god of the sea, the sudden plunge, apart from the initial shock, didn't impede his movements.
He opened his eyes underwater, scanned his surroundings, and immediately spotted Erika nearby. Without hesitation, he swam to her and pulled her to the surface.
Splash...
As the two broke the surface, they saw the burning wreckage of the airship. Nearby, Ash, Misty, and the others were surfacing one by one.
The group swam to shore. Ignoring their soaked clothes, they did a quick headcount and realized Towa, Miku, and White were missing!
They were about to dive back in when they heard splashing. White and Miku emerged from the water, supporting Towa.
Sitting on a rock, White looked back at his destroyed ship and shook his head with a wry smile.
Sigh, so proud of it one minute, gone the next...
Nearby, Natsui looked around and realized the lake was extremely familiar. It was the same place they had camped last night!
He could even see traces of their camp nearby.
This is...
After all that running around, they ended up right back where they started.
-------------------------------
Unlock 400+ chapters across 7+ different novels on Patreon!
This Pokémon novel alone already has up to chapter 670 available right now on Patreon, so if you want to support the project and enjoy even more exclusive content, I'll be waiting for you on Patreon!
We're currently in one of the most intense and ambitious stages of the Pokémon project — every region, every legendary, every team and every character is finally colliding in one massive storyline.
These days we're aiming to push all the way to chapter 800, so it's the perfect moment to catch up and enjoy the adventure while it grows 👀
And of course — many more projects are already in progress!
There's always something new to read.
If you ever spot a mistake or inconsistency, feel free to drop a comment — your feedback helps me improve the story and polish every chapter!
📌 Also, if you write a review or show support for the novel, it helps me a lot — and I'll keep uploading more chapters for those who do. Your support in any form truly motivates me to continue!