Along with the clattering sound, what appeared was also the entrance to a basement, right at the spot of the tent's entrance.
"Let's go in and take a look."
Rand glanced at May as he spoke.
May nodded, and together with Chatot, Rand, and Luxray, she walked down into the pitch-black entrance.
The two of them followed the stone steps of the entrance downward. After only taking a few steps, they suddenly heard the sound of someone speaking.
"Who are you? Why are you capturing me?"
"Don't come any closer!"
"Don't fail to appreciate what's good for you. This is something valuable, I spent a great price to get it. If you obediently drink this, then nothing bad will happen at all."
As soon as May and Rand heard these voices, they immediately rushed downward at full speed. When they arrived inside the basement, they saw an old man with graying hair forcing a strangely-colored potion into the mouth of a girl.
The girl was tied down onto a square platform. She struggled with all her might, but she could not break free of the restraints, and could only let the old man force the potion down her throat.
"Cough, cough, cough~"
Apparently she had choked on it, and the girl kept on coughing nonstop. By the time Rand and May had rushed over, the bottle of potion had already been completely emptied into her.
Seeing the sudden intrusion of May and Rand, the old man shouted angrily: "Who are you people? How did you get in here?"
The girl looked toward May and Rand, and in her eyes burst forth a look of delight and relief: "Save… save me…"
But just as soon as she had finished speaking these words, her face suddenly twisted, as though she was enduring some kind of immense pain.
Seeing this scene, the old man said excitedly: "The potion is taking effect, the potion is taking effect, I have succeeded!"
"Luxray, capture him!" At this moment Rand suddenly shouted.
"Luxray~"
Luxray let out a furious roar, then suddenly leapt forward, fiercely pouncing toward the old man.
Yet right at that very moment, an unexpected change occurred. Luxray was struck by something unknown, let out a miserable cry, and was sent flying backward, smashing heavily into the wall, its mouth constantly letting out sounds of painful whimpering.
The old man sneered coldly: "Did you think this was a place you could just come and go as you pleased? No matter why you came here today, none of you will be leaving!"
"What was that?"
Rand and May both tensed up, their nerves tightening involuntarily. They hadn't seen at all what it was that attacked Luxray.
Luxray struggled with difficulty to stand back up from the ground, its eyes once again projecting two golden beams of light, scanning continuously across the entire basement.
The old man quietly watched Rand and May, his face wearing a cold sneer. On the square platform the girl was still moaning, her body twisting without end, her skin even beginning to turn a bizarre shade of red.
Boom!
Luxray was struck flying once more. This time it was unable to stand back up again. The old man, as though toying with Rand and May, let out a triumphant burst of wild laughter.
Yet he had only been pleased with himself for a few seconds when Chatot suddenly opened its beak, and waves of circular sound waves shot out in one direction. May and Rand only heard a thud sound, as if something had fallen onto the ground.
Chatot did not stop its movements. It kept unleashing the move Echoed Voice over and over again, and at the same time, it used the move Taunt.
At last, the thud sound came again. May and Rand turned toward the spot where the sound had come from, and saw a Kecleon slowly revealing its figure, its body covered all over in wounds left by Chatot's repeated sound wave attacks.
"It's a Kecleon!"
"No wonder we couldn't see it!"
Kecleon's innate racial talent was exactly the ability to use its body's color-changing characteristic to become invisible, and combined with the fact that the light in this basement was not very bright, it was naturally difficult for May and Rand to track it.
But Chatot was different. This kind of Pokémon was naturally extremely sensitive to sound waves, and could also easily learn many different sound-based moves such as Hyper Voice, Whisper, Chatter, Sing, Echoed Voice, and Uproar. Although it could not receive ultrasonic waves the way Zubat or Woobat could, it nevertheless had its own complete method of controlling and receiving sound waves.
Because the basement space was narrow, the echoes of the sound waves would bounce back to Chatot very easily. If this had been in a wide-open empty place, Chatot really might not have been able to rely on sound waves to locate Kecleon.
The strength of this Kecleon that had been sneak-attacking from the shadows was not considered very strong, at least compared to Chatot, which was already at the high stages of the Elite level, it was far inferior. Therefore, it was not difficult for Chatot to find it.
"Kecleon!" When the old man saw Kecleon injured, he exclaimed loudly, rushed over, and held it in his arms, then turned his face full of fury toward May and Rand.
Rand immediately gave Chatot a thumbs-up. Chatot proudly said: "See? Bringing me along means you don't lose out!"
At some point unknown, a Claydol had silently appeared right beside the square platform. The old man had previously been immersed in his anger, so he had not noticed it.
By the time he discovered it, Claydol had already untied the ropes binding the girl, and holding the girl in its arms, used Teleport to come to May's side.
This Claydol was also the one that Yuga had once helped May capture in the Mirage Tower.
Seeing that the girl had been rescued, the old man became even more enraged, shouting loudly: "Quickly put her down, that is not something you people can touch!"
At this moment the girl was still suffering in pain from the potion she had drunk earlier. May said to Claydol: "Claydol, first take this big sister away."
Claydol was just about to use Teleport to leave, when suddenly the old man, his face full of ruthless fierceness, said: "Want to leave? No way!"
In his hand there had suddenly appeared a Poké Ball, though no one knew when. A flash of red light burst forth, and a Pokémon appeared in front of May and Rand.
It was an Umbreon!
The golden ring on Umbreon's forehead suddenly shot out a beam of light, shining upon Claydol. The Claydol, which had just been about to use Teleport, suddenly discovered that its Teleport could no longer be used.
At the very moment he saw Umbreon, Rand immediately recognized it as his mission target, the Pokémon that had entered the human area from the wildlands and had connections with the circus!
After blocking the Claydol that was about to leave, Umbreon, with a speed faster than the blink of an eye, swept out a wave of Dark Pulse toward May and Rand.
Fortunately, Chatot's reaction speed was quick enough, and it countered by sending out a Boomburst to meet it head-on.
Boom!
The two attacks collided, causing an enormous tremor within the basement. Chatot squawked strangely: "Waaah… this fellow is really strong!"
Compared to the Kecleon from before, this Umbreon was indeed countless times stronger.
"Now you know fear? It's already too late!" the old man said viciously.
Chatot seemed to be amused by this fellow, cackling in a strange squawking laugh: "Afraid? You little old man, what kind of joke are you making! Now let grandpa here show you what real strength is!"
Chatot rapidly flapped its wings, and waves of scorching heat rolled out, causing the temperature inside the basement to rise by a large margin. May and Rand could not help but retreat several steps.
The crimson waves of heat engulfed Umbreon in the blink of an eye, even the old man standing behind Umbreon was scorched by the high heat and jumped about while screaming.
At that moment, a sudden burst of blue radiance exploded out from within the waves of heat, scattering all the crimson heat waves apart. Umbreon, looking somewhat battered, walked out from the flames at high speed and immediately shot out another Dark Pulse directly toward Chatot.
Chatot flashed aside to dodge, and the black ring of energy struck the ceiling of the basement, smashing a massive crack into it, with rubble pattering down in a steady stream.
If this fight continued like this, this basement would probably collapse before long.
"Help Chatot together, otherwise it will attract the attention of the other people in the circus!" Rand said, while at the same time holding a Poké Ball in his hand.
May nodded her head, also taking out a Poké Ball.
After two flashes of red light, two new Pokémon appeared in front of them.
"Raichu, please!"
"Swampert, please!"
The newly appeared Raichu and Swampert were not Rand's and May's own Pokémon, but borrowed ones.
Raichu was a Pokémon belonging to the Ranger Union, with strength at the Elite level.
The Ranger Union knew that this mission was not simple, so the Rangers who accepted this mission could all borrow a Pokémon from headquarters.
The Swampert that May released was one lent to her by the People of the Water to protect her, its strength also at the Elite level. Since the People of the Water had entrusted the mission to May, they naturally could not allow May's safety to be unprotected.
The People of the Water had already long since completely declined, so being able to provide May with an Elite level Pokémon for self-defense was already very difficult for them.
Umbreon's strength was about the same as Chatot's, but now that Raichu and Swampert, who were also both at the Elite level, had joined in, it naturally could not compete. Very soon, it was beaten all over with injuries.
The old man, seeing that the situation was turning against him, turned around intending to run away, but Rand had already released Magnezone to block his retreat.
Very quickly, Umbreon could not withstand the fight any longer, and was struck down to the ground by Chatot, Swampert, and Raichu. May searched the old man's body and took out its Poké Ball, returning Umbreon into it.
"Let's get out quickly!" May said.
Rand nodded, then the two of them quickly left the basement.
After coming out, the two restored everything inside the tent to its original state, then took the old man, the girl, and Umbreon away.
After exiting the tent, May said to Lunatone, who was waiting outside: "Lunatone, we can go now."
Lunatone revealed itself, releasing the guards from its control. The two guards came to their senses, knocking their dazed heads in confusion.
What happened here?
May and Rand quietly slipped away from the circus, taking the girl with them to the Pokémon Center.
At the same time, Gothorita and its companions took Sakurako into Verdanturf City's police station.
Although Sakurako could not understand the words of Gothorita and its group, Gothorita and its companions learned from Sakurako that Sakurako's friend had disappeared, and the communicator they had picked up belonged to that missing big sister.
Thus, Sakurako was forcefully pulled by Gothorita and its companions to the police station.
When you encounter trouble, of course you should look for the police uncles!
Meanwhile, in the Pokémon Center, Joyka quickly examined the body of Asuka, who was suffering in pain.
The missing Asuka had indeed been captured by the circus, and the one who had captured her was that clown man from earlier. At the same time, the clown man was also the ringmaster of the circus.
As for why the people of the circus wanted to capture Asuka, and why they wanted to give Asuka that kind of unknown potion, Rand and May had not yet had time to interrogate.
Very soon, the results of Asuka's examination came out. Joyka administered a sedative to the suffering Asuka, and at last allowed Asuka to quiet down.
Seeing Joyka come out of the medical room, Rand and May hurriedly stepped forward and asked: "How is that big sister?"
Joyka looked at Rand and May and asked: "What did you two encounter? That girl's body was injected with a drug that forcibly stimulates the awakening of special abilities. If she had not been brought in promptly, I'm afraid her life would have already been in danger!"
"A drug to forcibly stimulate special abilities?" Rand and May could not help but exclaim in shock.
Joyka nodded and said: "That's right. That girl's ancestors must have possessed special abilities, so within her bloodline that kind of ability lies hidden as well.
However, under normal circumstances, this girl would almost never have awakened it, but now, having been forcibly stimulated, her body has suffered irreversible damage."
Hearing this, Rand and May could not help but gnash their teeth in hatred toward that old man who had given Asuka the potion, while at the same time feeling puzzled about why the circus people would want to do such a thing.
"Nurse Joy, please take care of that big sister for us. We still have matters to handle, and we ask you to also help us investigate that big sister's identity."
Joyka recognized Rand, and she knew that at this moment he must be on an official mission, so she nodded and said: "Rest assured, leave it to me."
After entrusting Asuka to Joyka, Rand and May then brought the old man to the Verdanturf City police station. If the circus truly had a major problem, then they had to request the assistance of the Verdanturf City police.
Chatot also followed along, and when they arrived at the Verdanturf City police station, they just so happened to see Gothorita and its companions, along with Sakurako, being led out of the police station doors by Officer Saskia.
Chatot flew over in surprise and asked: "Didn't I tell you all to go home? Why did you run here instead?"
So Gothorita and its companions all began talking over each other, telling Chatot about the disappearance of Sakurako's friend.
"There's a big sister who went missing?" Chatot exclaimed after hearing it, then immediately looked toward May and Rand.
Could it really be such a coincidence?
The two of them also heard Chatot's words, so they said to Sakurako: "Go to the Pokémon Center and ask Nurse Joy. Maybe the big sister you're looking for is there!"
"Really?" Sakurako asked in delight, her little face filled with anticipation.
"We don't know whether the big sister you're looking for and the one we encountered are the same person, but if you go and take a look, you will know." May said.
Sakurako gratefully thanked Rand and May: "Thank you, big brother and big sister."
Rand shook his head: "No need to thank us, just hurry and go take a look." If the person Sakurako was looking for was the same one they had rescued, then finding out that big sister's identity would be much easier.
After bidding farewell to Rand and May, Sakurako went to the Pokémon Center, with Gothorita and its companions following her, while Chatot stayed behind, because it had to help interrogate that Umbreon.
Very soon, May and Rand met with Verdanturf City's police chief, Masato Shirai. When the two explained their purpose, Masato Shirai immediately agreed to help interrogate the old man and Umbreon.
Umbreon was a tough bone to chew. No matter how the police interrogated it, it absolutely refused to reveal a single scrap of intelligence about the circus, nor did it say anything about its purpose for leaving the wild area and entering the human world.
Moreover, even hypnosis moves had no effect on Umbreon, so everyone was truly helpless against it.
But the other one… the old man was not nearly so tough. After a round of intimidation and threats, he confessed every single thing he knew, cleanly and completely, without even needing hypnosis.
Umbreon and the circus both had the same master, and strictly speaking, Umbreon was even the superior of the circus, being an envoy sent by their master.
The ones who destroyed the ruins of the ancestral land of the People of the Water were indeed them, and their act of capturing Asuka this time, forcibly awakening Asuka's special ability, was also related to this matter.