"Bi~"
In the center of the forest, completely destroyed by explosives, a cute emerald-green figure appeared in mid-air.
Seemingly frightened by the devastated scene before her, Celebi flew back and forth under the heavy snow, finally waving her slender hand anxiously.
A pale green light burst from her body, rippling outwards like water waves.
In an instant, towering trees burnt until their bark fell off were restored to their original majestic and tall appearance; delicate, dripping flowers reassembled their destroyed petals, emitting a nose-assailing fragrance; and bushes dotting the forest paths stood tall again, creating a vibrant scene once more.
Next, she just needed to rest for a while before going to other parts of the forest to restore the vegetation.
"Bi~"
"Salamence, Dragon Pulse."
Just as Celebi prepared to drift down to the ground to rest, a cold female voice rang out abruptly.
The sky, obscured by the woods, suddenly turned bright white. A surging blue-purple light wave, kicking up sand and dust like a dragon, blasted toward Celebi.
"Bi~"
Already in a weakened state from reviving and restoring a large area of the forest, and now hit directly by a sneak attack, the scarred Voice of the Forest fell heavily to the ground, letting out a cry of sorrow.
As a Mythical Pokémon not adept at combat, suffering such a high-power attack now meant she would soon fall unconscious.
"Bi~"
Celebi tried her best to prop herself up from the ground, but her exhausted body couldn't provide any strength at all.
"The plan was very successful~"
Watching the struggling Voice of the Forest, Hunter J first nodded with satisfaction, then raised the high-tech device in her hand.
Just one laser hit, and the Celebi before her would turn into a gold statue. Then she could fulfill the transaction—exchanging it for a high bounty of thirty billion League Coins.
"It seems we arrived just in time."
A calm voice descended from the sky.
In the next moment, a motorcycle trailing like a meteor streak cut through the flying fine snow. Wrapped in a biting gale sharp as wind blades, it leaped and rushed forward with unstoppable momentum.
"What?!"
Hunter J, preparing to press the device as usual, sensed a terrifying killing intent. She looked up, and her body instinctively rolled to dodge.
Because of the roll, her originally exquisite, fair face was stained with pale yellow mud, making her look extremely wretched.
Drifting to a stop, Hakuya flipped off the motorcycle that had carved a snowy trail, landing gracefully and casually patting off the fine snow on his body.
"Before capturing Celebi, you have to get past us first."
"That's right... N-No, I can't stand steady~"
"Be careful."
Seeing the energetic blue-haired girl tear up before she could be cool for three seconds, Hakuya had to hold her delicate, tender hands first, keeping her firmly by his side.
Even though Officer Jenny on the road just now was scared enough to merge with him, she couldn't withstand Dawn's urging shouts of "Big Brother Hakuya, faster," so he simply twisted the throttle to the max.
The result... now off the bike, this girl went limp instead.
"I am Officer Jenny. You are surrounded; surrender now!"
At this moment, the tall, sexy police officer also showed her badge.
"Officer Jenny?!"
Seeing the familiar blue uniform and iconic look, the lackeys behind J became flustered, bursts of panic erupting among them.
"What's going on? Didn't I tell..."
"You mean the people you left to patrol the perimeter in batches, right? We've already dealt with them."
Facing the silver-haired woman with a dark expression, Hakuya shrugged calmly.
With a soft hum from Miss Gardevoir, unconscious Hunter organization members were tossed over in twos and threes.
It had to be said, Hunter J had a somewhat cautious personality, actually having subordinates patrol the perimeter in batches. Once anything wrong was discovered, they would report in time to plan an evacuation in advance.
However, during the wild ride over just now, Miss Gardevoir, under his command, knocked out all these Hunter members guarding the perimeter with psychic powers without leaking a single sound.
"J, League investigators are coming soon. You'd better surrender early."
Officer Jenny looked serious, scrutinizing the silver-haired woman whose expression was fluctuating.
Ignoring Officer Jenny's advice to surrender, Hunter J sneered mockingly.
"Stop joking; your League can't catch me."
According to Hunter J's original plan, she would use explosions to cause a forest fire to lure out Celebi—for the Voice of the Forest, facing such severe destruction to the forest it protected, it would inevitably appear to use its power to restore it.
Although a sudden blizzard later extinguished the raging forest fire, the plan succeeded. The appearing Celebi was ambushed and defeated by her Salamence after a long wait.
And just when she was about to capture it successfully and complete that thirty-billion League Coin order...
The dusty-faced silver-haired woman gritted her teeth secretly, casting a cold gaze at Hakuya, who had already rescued Celebi.
Directly interrupting my carefully laid plan and effortlessly dealing with the personnel I arranged on the perimeter... what a young and promising Trainer!
"Salamence, Air Cutter!"
Without any warning, Hunter J, with a face like cold frost, directly ordered her Pokémon to attack.
Hakuya looked up, his face still calm—he was just comforting and checking Celebi's injuries, but he hadn't relaxed his vigilance against this female hunter with a heart like a scorpion.
"Sa~"
In the instant of mental communication, the green-and-white figure flashed forward. Gathering a Shadow Ball at her chest, she collided violently with the dozens of biting wind blades that had rushed to the Trainer.
"J, you can't escape today. Growlithe, prepare for battle!"
Watching Hakuya successfully block the sudden Air Cutter attack, Officer Jenny, whose heart had been in her throat, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But Hunter J's behavior of completely disregarding basic battle rules thoroughly angered the righteous female police officer.
"Bark-bark!"
Accompanied by the white light of a Poké Ball, an orange-yellow dog Pokémon let out a majestic howl.
"Teach them a lesson, Ariados."
"Prepare for battle, Weezing."
"Come out, Mightyena."
Behind Hunter J, the lackeys also released their Pokémon in unison.
In the next second, dozens of Pokémon with ferocious expressions appeared in the clearing, their bloodthirsty eyes staring fixedly at the three people disturbing their plan.
Instantly, the atmosphere became tense, swords drawn and bows bent.
"Piplup~" "Phew—"
Although mentally prepared, facing a poaching gang head-on for the first time, the fledgling Dawn and Piplup were obviously a bit nervous.
"Relax, this rabble isn't as strong as you imagine." Hakuya gently squeezed the energetic blue-haired girl's slender hand, laughing softly.
"Fighting alongside your Pokémon is also part of a Trainer's training."
"Yes, I understand~"
Hearing the encouragement from the person she adored, the initially nervous Dawn took a deep breath, re-affirming her heart, and faced the fierce glares of the poaching group with Piplup beside her.
"Piplup-piplup~"
Absolutely, absolutely cannot let these guys who steal other people's Pokémon go!
"Celebi, just rest well on the side for a while."
"Bi~"
The weak Voice of the Forest opened her eyes tremulously, seeing the Trainer who saved her reaching out to pat her head.
"Leave the rest to me."