The situation moved too fast, just like a sudden thunderstorm. It was so fast that there wasn't a single person out there that was not caught off guard.
At the research presentation, just when Professor Toren and Callahan were about to perform their double act again, the demo screen behind them actually showed a scene of the catching competition shot from Staryu's perspective.
The conversation between the two of them was clearly heard in the video recording, and the evidence that the two cheated in the game was very conclusive to say the least.
Just as Callahan was about to explain, the Poké Ball that he always carries fell out of his pocket, landed on the ground and opened automatically.
At that moment, he couldn't say anything, nothing came to his head, and all of his lies were revealed to the open world, but the first thing he looked at was his little niece standing next to her mother.
"Uncle, what is this?" Kellie's eyes sparkled with tears and she looked at him in disbelief, "Did you really lie to me?"
"I hate uncle the most!" For the young Kellie, this is worse than any nightmare, so she naturally shouted in anger and ran out crying.
Callahan quickly caught up with her though.
However, at this time, thick smoke suddenly appeared in the building, and one of the workers there ran out with a Pokémon, shouting, "There is a thief here! And they're escaping!"
Just then, Ash and his group got there. His eyes flashed with blue light, making it so no amount of smoke here could obstruct his sight, "I see. Stand by for battle, Growlithe!"
He immediately threw out his Growlithe's Poké Ball, and Ralts also rode on it. The two close friends joined forces and chased the thief in the direction he felt their Aura running off towards.
Ash always held Molly's hand just in case, protecting her every step of the way from some random dangers. And sure enough, in the thick smoke, people quickly got very panicked and they began to run out desperately.
"Ash, where are you!" Risa suddenly shouted for help in the smoke. It turned out that Eevee, who had been following her on their little sprint, was suddenly separated by the crowd.
A blue light flashed in Ash's eyes, and he used his Psychic Force to rescue Eevee. Thankfully, she was not injured.
Soon, Growlithe and Ralts came back. They shook their heads, indicating they failed to catch up with the thief. Ash couldn't help but get annoyed at the thiefs, they were unfortunately quite capable and even knew how to hide their scent.
Ash quickly returned Eevee to his new girlfriend and found Professor Toren,
"What did you bring today for the demonstration?"
"Most of the bottles of potions I prepared for today are missing!"
Although this is quite precious, there should definitely be more expensive things in the building, but the thief especially came for this, meaning they must have some bad idea for its usage.
Officer Jenny quickly intervened, and the group came to the Pokémon Center to discuss further details. Eevee needed to have a check-up, as she didn't after being caught. Kellie's health was not good from the beginning, and her condition only became worse due to the sudden change in her mood.
Callahan couldn't help but blame himself for all of this, "It's all my fault! Why did I lie! It was me who caused trouble for you, Professor Torito. I'm really sorry! I'll do whatever I can to rectify my mistakes!"
It was his idea in the first place to put on this act, and now that the plan fell into shambles, it was up to him to fix his screw up. Not only did his and Professor Toren's reputations suffer greatly, but Kellie was so disappointed in him as her uncle that her health became even worse.
"Anyway, since everyone is tired, it's best to go back and rest," Granny Harriet couldn't do anything about the Pokémon around her, so she finally accepted a few of the smaller ones to follow her.
Ash couldn't rest now, and neither could Molly, so they planned to find Zeraora again. Ash had a feeling that these thieves and mischievous saboteurs were all here for the mysterious Pokémon on the mountain near the city.
And now the most important thing is to properly heal Zeraora's injury.
Risa stayed with her Eevee in the Pokémon Center, stroking its soft fur, "Fortunately, Ash is here to help this time, if I can only run up and protect you…"
Callahan left his sister and Kellie. He believed that he no longer had the right to see his lovely niece after what he made her go through.
Margo knocked on the door of her fathers study and asked, "Father, what will happen to the Wind Festival tomorrow?"
"…After talking with other officials, we have just decided to reopen it. The security will be strengthened and the safety will be maintained to perfection. Don't worry, you have a good rest. We must successfully summon Lugia tomorrow!"
Tomorrow is the last day of the celebration. As usual, a ceremony to summon Lugia will be held to continue sending its Blessing of the Wind to their Fula City.
However, this night is destined not to be peaceful.
Early the next morning, people suddenly discovered that the windmills that could be seen everywhere in the city had stopped rotating out of the blue, and even worse is that the Blessing of the Wind that had been blowing in the city had also disappeared.
"I heard that the blessing is gone because the Eternal Flame disappeared!" Everyone in the city mentioned it, and Ash noticed that the tower in the distant mountain top where he could previously feel something was also gone.
"Sorry, babe, work calls. And remember to be safe! Molly, let's go! We have work to do!" Ash picked up Molly and ran.
"Hey, wait for me!" Risa wanted to keep up with her boyfriend, to help him, but she still couldn't move her legs as fast as she wanted, so she could only keep up quickly behind her.
"Alright, but be careful. I don't want you to get hurt." He said gently as he used his power to lift her up like he was doing to Molly.
When they came to the Eternal Flame Tower, Granny Harriet and Mayor Oliver were already here, "Mayor Oliver, I heard that the Eternal Flame disappeared, so the wind…"
"Lugia used the Eternal Flame as a beacon to send us its blessings, but now there is no beacon as a guide..." The Mayor didn't finish his words, but the meaning was clear. Without it, Lugia wouldn't know where to send its blessings.
"Before the end of the last day, that is, before dawn tomorrow, if there is no Eternal Flame, the city's power will soon run out!" This is a disaster for Fula City, the city that relies on the wind to move and live.
Ash understood, casually threw out his Growlithe's Poké Ball, and took Risa and Molly to the torch platform. Growlithe and Pikachu took a sniff on the ground and suddenly seemed to have discovered something.
"Okay, we found a lead! Let's go!"
Under the leadership of Growlithe, Ash found Professor Toren. It turned out that what Growlithe smelled was the smell of the medicine developed by the said Professor, which was Smeargle's ink.
With the help of Professor Toren, Ash finally found another clue.
At this moment, in the ruined hut where Zeraora was, Margo is sitting there blankly, with the shining Eternal Flame gone, has the celebration been canceled?
She looked at Zeraora behind her who had recovered from her injuries, "Don't worry, I will be the one to protect you this time!"
However, as soon as she finished speaking, Zeraora opened his eyes.
He suddenly felt something bad and hid quickly, only to see two buff looking men coming over.
"Who would have thought there is actually a place like this in Fula City. Hurry up and look for any strange and rare Pokémon. People are eyeing this area in droves!"
Callahan's unintentional remarks, coupled with the whereabouts of someone like Ash, the Champion of the Pokémon Catch Race competition and one of the strongest Pokémon Trainers in the world with Legendary Pokémon under him, it wasn't surprising that they weren't the only Pokémon Hunters on this mountain area now.
Margo calmed down and planned to lure the two away, so he jumped out and said cutely, "Hey, what's wrong, big brothers?"
"Little girl, are you from Fula City? Have you seen any rare Pokémon nearby?" The two tried their best to pretend to be kind, normal people.
"Rare Pokémon? I saw it!"
Margo opened her lips and tried her best to lie. She pointed in the direction and said, "I saw a Pokémon there that I never saw before!"
The two people who received her guidance were about to leave, but they managed to notice the peeping Ditto and Teddiursa behind a rock.
"No, you can't catch them!" Margo quickly protected the two behind when, "If you don't hurry up, the rare Pokémon will escape!"
However, these two people were quite greedy, "Huh? So what? We will gladly accept these little guys as well!"
"Come out, Houndoom!"
"Come out, Seasel!"
The two Pokémon Hunters yelled in sync.
These two were both Dark-type Pokémon, one being a Fire-type and the other being an Ice-type.
These two hunters didn't care about Margo possibly getting hurt and issued an attack order without any hesitation.
After being hit by Flamethrower and Icy Wind, could a simple little girl like her even survive?
Well, who cares. They'll just run away with the captured Pokémon.
At the critical moment, an electric arc flashed, and Zeraora stood in front of Margo, blocking the two attacks, but also exposing his existence to the two Pokémon Hunters!
"I've never seen this Pokémon before!" They immediately confirmed that this was exactly their goal.
"Fire Fang!"
"Slash!"
The two launched attacks decisively, but Zeraora, who had mostly recovered from her injuries, just dodged their attacks with a flash of her body, and then used two consecutive Power-Up Punch to knock out the two Dark-type Pokémon.
"It seems that your strength has recovered very well!" Ash finally reached Margo, and Pikachu stood beside Zeraora, ready to fight side by side.
Over the past few days, their relationship has become very good, with Ash coming over every day to check his injuries and giving him more energy.
"Alright, now's the best part. As an official Pokémon Investigator, I'll give you two choices on how you want to be arrested!"
"The easy way, or the hard way. Personally, I'd prefer if you two choose the hard way."
"That would give me more than enough reasons to teach you how to pick up soap in prison."