Electrode was like a precisely guided bomb.
It shot straight toward Dayu.
So fast it was like a streak of light—
all anyone could see was a cluster of brilliant sparks slicing through the air.
Seeing this, Dayu's heart plunged into absolute terror.
He had no mind left to worry about why GeoGreymon had such monstrous strength—
strong enough to swat a hundred-plus-pound Electrode
so it came screaming in like it was flying at light speed.
Feeling that dreadful aura of energy surging up behind him,
Dayu threw everything he had into running, fleeing like mad to get away.
But the problem was—
how could he possibly outrun an Electrode that Shiko had whipped at full force with a tail strike?
A distance of over a hundred meters vanished in the blink of an eye.
Dayu glanced back—
and saw, just dozens of meters away,
Electrode's body swelling, glowing with light.
On that spherical body,
its grinning face had been magnified several times over.
BOOM!!
In the next second,
a violent explosion thundered through the forest.
Terrifying firelight swept across the sky.
The shockwave raised by that massive surge of energy
even sent City Defense Forces soldiers more than a hundred meters away reeling from the aftereffects.
As for Dayu, who was only a few dozen meters from the blast's center—
his situation was even more miserable.
Even though he was only at the very edge of the explosion radius,
an Elite Four-level Electrode's Self-Destruct—
even at the outer fringe—
was still something Dayu could never withstand.
The scorching heat and the impact of the energy
blew his entire body up into the air more than ten meters,
like a kite with its string snapped.
Then, immediately after,
he dropped straight down at high speed.
Crack, crack!!
He smashed through who knew how many branches in a row.
Then—boom—
he slammed heavily into the ground.
"Move! Put out the fire first!" Kazu shouted.
Because of the energy from Electrode's Self-Destruct, many trees within the blast radius had ignited.
If they didn't extinguish it quickly,
this forest fire would probably turn the entire Wintergreen Forest into scorched earth.
Under normal circumstances,
if a fire like this broke out in the forest,
the Pokémon living here would usually put it out on their own.
But today,
the violent clashes and battle that had erupted here
had long since frightened the wild Pokémon away.
So Kazu immediately ordered his men to put out the fire.
As his words fell,
one water-type Pokémon after another that could still fight—
and Pokémon capable of using water-type moves—
began spraying columns of water onto the burning trees.
In an instant, the spreading flames were brought under control.
Right after that,
Kazu hurriedly led people over to check on Dayu.
Judging by what had just happened,
this guy should have completely lost the ability to move—
and there was a very good chance he'd died on the spot.
But no matter what,
for a vicious criminal like this,
the League's orders were always the same:
alive or dead, he had to be taken into custody.
They pushed through the dust thrown up by the explosion,
crossed over the huge crater blasted out by the shockwave,
and reached the edge of the pit.
Everyone saw Dayu's figure.
Unexpectedly—
he hadn't passed out, and he hadn't even lost the ability to move.
Though he was covered in wounds, his body densely marred with horrifying burn scars,
his consciousness was still clear.
At this moment, he was struggling to keep crawling away, trying to escape again.
"What a freak…" Kazu sucked in a breath, muttering under his breath.
Either this guy's luck was unbelievable,
or his physique training was so extreme—
even with injuries like that, he still had the strength to run.
But unfortunately,
his struggle ended here.
With no Pokémon left that he could use in combat,
he was nothing more than an ordinary person.
"Cuff him!" Kazu snapped, waving a hand.
A pair of gleaming restraints snapped onto Dayu's wrists.
Before they could even take him away,
Himeko stepped in front of Dayu first.
"Where's the base around here?"
Dayu's expression froze slightly.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Coughing up a mouthful of blood,
Dayu lowered his head and fell into silence, not saying another word.
Himeko didn't continue pressing him.
It was obvious—
Dayu's mouth was sealed tight.
Even in this situation, he wouldn't reveal so much as a shred of information.
However,
from his answer—and the fleeting change on his face—
Himeko still confirmed that her and Shiko's guess had been correct.
In this forest, or somewhere nearby,
there was a very high probability
that a secret Team Dark base really was hidden here!
So what came next
was to find that base.
Kazu took his people and escorted Dayu away, returning first to Wintergreen City.
That would serve as Dayu's temporary holding point.
A figure like him
would definitely be transferred to the Military afterward.
The wounded were also taken away in an orderly manner for treatment.
As for those City Defense Forces soldiers and Pokémon who still had mobility and weren't seriously injured,
they stayed behind with Himeko and Shiko,
searching through this forest for the underground base's location.
As for the base's general area,
Shiko already had a rough guess.
Basically, it should be in the direction Dayu had tried to flee.
Secret bases like this were usually designed professionally—
especially for an evil organization like Team Dark.
They would absolutely set up safe, concealed escape routes.
So Dayu's final way out
was very likely there as well.
They dispatched all available manpower.
Shiko and Himeko didn't idle, either—
they began searching through the great forest themselves.
Himeko rode Pidgeot, monitoring from above the treetops.
Now that the battle here was over,
logically,
the Team Dark members inside the secret base should already have received news that Dayu had been defeated and captured.
So, for safety's sake,
they should be preparing to evacuate this base.
After a carpet-search operation that continued for more than ten minutes,
they finally made a discovery.
Everyone gathered in front of a thick Wintergreen tree.
From the outside, this tree didn't look like it had any problems.
But beneath a flipped-up patch of bark,
the white "trunk" beneath
actually gleamed with a metallic sheen.
They knocked on it with their hands.
Clang, clang, clang!
The crisp sound was completely different from real wood.
It was obvious—
this was made of metal!
Realizing that,
everyone immediately understood that something was wrong with this "tree."
Very likely, what it connected to
was Team Dark's hidden underground base!
However,
the white alloy used in the "trunk" section was extremely sturdy.
The City Defense Forces soldiers tried many methods,
but none of them could break through the alloy's defense.
It was unbreakable—like a shield.
"Roar!"
GeoGreymon's bellow sounded from behind.
Everyone crowding around the tree
immediately stopped and made way for Shiko.
Shiko strode forward.
Silver-gray, razor-sharp steel-type energy coiled around his claws.
Then he suddenly exerted force!
Rip!!
Under the impact of tremendous strength and steel-type energy,
several deep gashes were carved into the white alloy's surface!
Next,
those gashes continued to deepen—
until they pierced straight through the entire slab of alloy!
The white metal material was penetrated.
Shiko exerted strength once more,
forcibly tearing the entire "trunk" apart, ripping open a huge breach!
From the thick darkness inside that breach,
Shiko's keen senses caught
a heavy, pungent stench of gunpowder smoke.
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]