"Fuck, what a hassle!"
The Team Dark members muttered curses under their breath as they hauled the alloy cage onto the truck and raised the rear compartment barrier.
"Captain, we can head back now, right?"
The members wiped away sweat and spoke to the one-eyed man.
"Let's go. Get back to the base, now."
The one-eyed man nodded. After letting his gaze sweep over Ralts once, he looked away again.
He finally let out a breath of relief.
At last, they'd recovered this Ralts.
Team Dark's research experts had poured a billion into experiments and research on it.
They'd finally produced results.
Now they were counting on this Ralts to awaken some legendary existence and make a huge score.
If it had been lost and they hadn't found it again…
he wouldn't have been able to keep his life.
"Hoothoot, return!"
The one-eyed man pulled out a Poké Ball.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
A Hoothoot—standing on one foot with two huge round eyes—flew out from the wintergreen tree where Shiko and the others were hiding.
Right before it flew off,
its eyes met Shiko and the others in a direct, soul-piercing stare!
Shit!
In an instant, Shiko, Himeko, and Lopunny—hidden behind the tree—turned grim.
They'd been spotted.
With a Hoothoot stationed here,
it was probably responsible for guard duty and surveillance.
Which meant…
"Hoothoot!! Hoothoot!!"
Hoothoot hovered above the one-eyed man's head, wings beating rapidly as it let out a string of urgent calls.
"Someone's nearby?"
The one-eyed man understood what Hoothoot meant.
His gaze snapped toward where Shiko and the others were concealed.
"Get the hell out here!"
he shouted, face icy.
Himeko's brows knotted tight.
Damn it.
There was no avoiding it.
"Lopunny! The moment we move, attack them immediately—no mercy. Don't let them release their Pokémon!"
Behind the tree, Himeko made her battle plan on the spot.
There were seven Team Dark members in front of them.
Each one had three Poké Balls at their waist.
That meant if they were allowed to release their Pokémon,
they'd be facing a swarm of twenty-one Pokémon at once.
Even if all of them were Starter Pokémon,
that was still a terrifying amount of fighting power.
A Lopunny that had just evolved would have an extremely hard time dealing with that.
And that was Himeko's most optimistic estimate.
The reality in front of them
was never going to be that optimistic.
It would only be harsher—and bloodier.
So they had to take them down before they could release their Pokémon,
cutting the pressure as much as possible.
Only then would they have a chance to win!
"As for you, Shiko—you'll—"
"Shiko? Shiko!? Where are you?!"
Himeko was just about to assign Shiko a role when she turned her head—
and there was no sign of him at all.
She looked again.
Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.
Shiko had already charged straight at the Team Dark members!
What the hell?!
Himeko couldn't stop the curse from exploding in her head.
In a situation like this,
she didn't have time to say anything else.
She immediately rushed out without hesitation together with Buneary.
"Charmander!?"
Shiko suddenly bursting out from behind the tree completely caught the Team Dark members off guard.
Instinctively, they assumed Shiko was a wild Pokémon in the forest launching an attack.
But then—
as Himeko and Lopunny emerged,
they realized something was wrong.
A Trainer!
"Kill them."
The one-eyed man's expression turned sinister, his tone freezing.
What happened this time
could not have any witnesses.
Anyone who dared oppose Team Dark
had only one ending.
Death.
His subordinates all yanked at the Poké Balls on their belts,
preparing to release their Pokémon to fight.
At that moment,
Lopunny had already closed in with Extreme Speed.
After evolving,
his speed had clearly increased by leaps and bounds!
In a single instant—
before the Team Dark members could release their Pokémon—
three of them were sent flying and collapsed, unconscious, their fates unknown.
However,
the remaining four succeeded in tearing free their Poké Balls and releasing their Pokémon!
Beams of red light flashed one after another.
In the previously open clearing,
more than a dozen Pokémon silhouettes abruptly appeared.
(End of Chapter)
If I see that this fanfic has support, I will upload 20+ chapters to Patreon!!
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
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