"These rats actually dared to march openly into Cloudspire Alliance territory. Once this mess is over, I'll find a way to teach them a lesson they won't forget."
Presley watched the dark figures scatter and flee, his voice bitter.
This seemed to be a quirk of the Pokémon world — even a powerful nation like the Cloudspire Alliance could only try to limit the damage caused by terrorists like these.
Any real payback would have to wait.
This was part of why Trainers held such high status. If a Trainer above Gym Leader level went all out, even a top-tier nation could suffer serious harm.
Alliances with strong official backing — Cloudspire Alliance, White Eagle, Europa, and Ross — were somewhat better off in this regard.
Even powerful Trainers there were still bound by certain rules and restrictions.
But in the smaller alliances of Africa, West and East Asia, and Central and South America, strong Trainers truly did whatever they pleased. Calling them Celestial Dragons wouldn't be much of an exaggeration.
A Trainer's status wasn't handed out by anyone. It was earned over years through the strength of the Pokémon at their side.
In a world beyond ordinary limits, raw power was what decided your place in it.
"Are we really just going to let them get away?"
David asked, clearly unhappy. These people had caused chaos right in their own alliance's territory, and letting them walk away safely felt wrong.
"Heh, don't worry. Getting in was easy for them — getting out won't be. We'll have plenty of time to play cat and mouse with them later."
"Right now, dealing with these experimental Pokémon matters more. We can't let them push into the city."
Presley's mouth curved into a cold smile. He clearly didn't believe these people could escape without paying a price.
He understood his nephew's frustration well enough — he felt the same way about letting the terrorists slip off. But right now, the priority was stopping these altered experimental Pokémon before they reached the coastline.
If even a few broke through the defense line, Magic City might be able to ignore isolated stragglers, but the nearby gathering points and any civilians who hadn't evacuated yet would be in real danger.
What's more, these cultists weren't only trying to escape into the wilds to meet their allies — they also had other obstacles in their path.
The Public Security Bureau, the Magic City Military Region's garrison, and Trainers from the Tianyuan Gym were all converging on the area. Even if some of the enemy escaped, they wouldn't get away unscathed.
Presley's reasoning made sense, so David said nothing more. The group turned their attention back to the monster ahead of them.
"First, let's bring this monster down— no, this is bad!"
Presley's words were cut off by what happened next.
The modified Pokémon released alongside the monster had started launching suicidal attacks, as if driven mad. Whenever they found an opening, they would even self-destruct, and within moments they had pushed the defense line back a considerable distance.
If it weren't for the fact that the Special Security Bureau agents present — though few — were all Superior-ranked, backed by several of Presley's Gym Leader and near-Elite subordinates, there would likely have been heavy losses.
But that wasn't even the biggest problem.
The giant, stitched-together monster — which had been pinned down on the beach under a barrage of attacks from every Pokémon present and had already begun to weaken — suddenly turned ferocious again.
When the experimental Pokémon self-destructed, they released a huge amount of unspent destructive energy along with the life force they had absorbed from their victims. These modified Pokémon existed because of that same kind of energy; in a sense, they shared the same origin.
The giant monster seized the chance to drink in this destructive energy and life force, not only healing the wounds it had just taken, but growing stronger as well. As it kept absorbing energy, its aura swelled further, and the power radiating from its body soon surpassed its earlier peak.
Worse, that power kept climbing, and it was growing increasingly unstable.
"Damn it!"
Presley understood exactly what that meant. The creature before them was now a massive bomb that could go off and take everyone with it at any moment.
"Catie, take everyone back and help evacuate the civilians nearby right away."
"Beckett, Woody, Gerrard — you three hold off the experimental Pokémon and buy us some time."
"Understood!"
The people Presley had just called on were the mid-to-senior officers of the Special Security Bureau, and the strongest Trainers present besides himself.
After sizing up the situation in an instant, Presley knew that if their combined strength wasn't enough, staying any longer would only mean more casualties.
Catie, the youngest and only recently promoted to Gym Leader rank, was the weakest of the group, so he sent her to organize the evacuation. The rest were seasoned Gym Leaders, one of them nearly Elite-level, so he kept them close as backup.
"David, you and Miles need to pull back too — right now."
"This isn't a place for you two anymore."
"But—"
Before David could finish.
"No buts. Go, now."
With that, Presley didn't wait for a response. He climbed onto the Charizard that had returned for him and prepared to leave.
"David, we—"
"Go. Get out of here. At our level, we'd only get in the way."
Realizing there was no time to argue, David clenched his jaw and turned to leave.
"Uncle! Catch this!"
Before he left, David pulled a Poké Ball from his belt and tossed it straight to Presley.
He and Miles were too weak to help here — but their Pokémon could still make a difference. If Dragapult stayed behind, it could actually be useful.
"Um... Uncle Presley, take mine too."
Miles followed his lead, quickly sending his Infernape's Poké Ball over as well.
Presley caught both Poké Balls and gave a wave without turning around.
Once they had handed the Poké Balls off, David and Miles fell back to a safer spot — though they didn't leave entirely. Instead, they kept watching from a distance.
That was when another figure caught up with them.
"Luke, what are you doing here? Where's Emma and everyone else? Is everyone okay?"
The bronze, metallic body gleamed almost blindingly under the sun. Luke rode up on his Metagross, and there was another figure riding alongside him.
[Name: Alakazam]
[Type: Psychic]
[Power Level: 71 (Elite)]
[Nature: Purple-Red]
It was a formidable Elite-level Pokémon — clearly Luke's ace.
That was one advantage second-generation Trainers like David and his friends had. When heading out on a journey, they always carried one of their elders' Pokémon as a last resort.
"Everyone's fine. The class monitor and Emma are helping evacuate the civilians nearby."
Within the Cloudspire Alliance, Trainers were granted special status, but that came with real responsibilities. In a crisis like this, any Trainer present — official or not — was expected to help however their strength allowed, as long as they met a certain level.
Even student Trainers like them were expected to pitch in where they could. The Alliance didn't invest heavily in its Trainer community and offer them special treatment for nothing.
That went double for people like David and the others, who came from Gyms and were direct descendants of Alliance families.
Hearing Luke's report, David finally felt a weight lift from his chest. He'd only come out to relax — running into trouble was one thing, but if anything had happened to his classmates, that would have been far worse.
After a few more words, their eyes drifted back toward the battle unfolding ahead, and their expressions turned grim.
Things down there were not looking good.