Suddenly, Sato's voice echoed directly inside Dr. Cozmo's mind. Startled, the doctor's heart skipped a beat. However, as someone with extensive knowledge and experience, he immediately realized that Sato was a Psychic. His tense nerves instantly relaxed, and much of the panic on his face disappeared.
"Be careful! That woman has sent her Pokémon after you!"
However, after putting his glasses back on and regaining his vision, panic once again flooded his face. He immediately warned Sato.
"These two Pokémon won't be easy to deal with. Come out, Blastoise, Swampert."
Sato didn't need Dr. Cozmo's warning. He had already noticed Courtney's movements.
He understood her intentions perfectly. She wanted to take Dr. Cozmo—a Pokémon Professor officially recognized by the League—as a hostage, forcing Mr. Moore to let her escape.
To her credit, Courtney's ability to adapt on the fly was remarkable. Under the circumstances, taking Dr. Cozmo hostage truly was her best chance of escaping.
As Hoenn's former Fire-type Elite Four member, Mr. Moore greatly valued rare talents such as Pokémon Professors. Coupled with his advanced age, which made pursuing fleeing enemies difficult, if Courtney succeeded in taking Dr. Cozmo hostage, there was a high probability that Mr. Moore would be forced to let her go.
Therefore, when Sato stepped in to ruin her plan—especially while wearing a Team Magma grunt uniform—Courtney immediately branded him a traitor. Murderous intent surged within her, and she instantly ordered Camerupt and Magmortar to eliminate him.
The moment Sato released his two Water-type Pokémon, Camerupt and Magmortar attacked.
Two massive pillars of fire shot toward him from opposite sides. It was obvious that Courtney intended to kill him outright, even if Dr. Cozmo ended up caught in the crossfire.
But Sato was hardly an ordinary Team Magma grunt.
Blastoise and Swampert effortlessly blocked both pillars of flame with Water-type attacks. Swampert's torrent of water even pushed all the way back, sending Magmortar flying.
Immediately afterward, Swampert used Earth Power to defeat both Pokémon one after another.
Meanwhile, Courtney herself had been driven into a hopeless situation.
Although several Team Magma elites were still protecting her, they were completely outmatched by Mr. Moore's overwhelming strength. Had Mr. Moore possessed any intention of killing, they would have long since been decapitated—or reduced to charred corpses.
"Surrender. Even all of you together are no match for me. Between Elite-Four level Trainers and everyone below them lies an insurmountable gulf."
After having Typhlosion and Blaziken knock out another Team Magma elite, Mr. Moore steadily advanced while using words to crush his opponents' morale.
The reason Mr. Moore hadn't delivered the killing blow was simple.
A short while earlier, Sato had used telepathy to tell him that Dr. Cozmo's entire family had been kidnapped by Team Magma.
If Courtney, one of Team Magma's most important executives, died here, Dr. Cozmo's family would likely be buried alongside her. To safely rescue them, Courtney represented an indispensable bargaining chip.
Of course, that wasn't Mr. Moore's only reason.
As one of Team Magma's senior executives, Courtney undoubtedly knew many of the organization's secrets. If she could be captured alive, the League would surely find a way to extract valuable intelligence from her.
That was why Mr. Moore had deliberately refrained from killing Courtney's group. His goal was to wear them down bit by bit before capturing them alive.
Courtney's expression grew increasingly ugly.
The escape route she had placed all her hopes on had been cut off by Sato, and despair steadily consumed her.
By now, she clearly understood Mr. Moore's intentions.
He wanted to capture her alive and use her against Team Magma.
But who was she?
She was Courtney.
There was no way she feared death.
She would never allow herself to be captured and forced into betraying the organization.
If necessary...
She would rather die.
"Hmph. Capture me alive? Keep dreaming."
After the last of her Pokémon was knocked out in a single punch by Mr. Moore's Speed Boost Blaziken, Courtney stood completely alone.
A bitter smile appeared on her face.
She reached into her spatial backpack and withdrew a crystal-clear crimson stone.
Staring viciously at Mr. Moore, she shouted. The next instant, she hurled the stone violently onto a nearby rock.
"Not good! She's trying to kill herself!"
The moment Sato saw the crystal-clear red stone, he immediately recognized it.
It was the same kind of unstable Fire-type Energy Stone that Houndoom had once tried to trick him with.
He instantly understood Courtney's intentions.
Moreover, the unstable Fire-type Energy Stone she had produced was several times larger than the one Houndoom had possessed.
Its explosive power would naturally be several times greater as well.
After using Swampert to defeat the Camerupt and Magmortar that Courtney had dispatched at the cost of weakening her own defenses, Sato had entrusted Dr. Cozmo to Flannery's protection while remaining on the edge of the battlefield between Mr. Moore and Courtney.
Originally, Sato had wanted to help Mr. Moore.
Unfortunately, the old man's pride was simply too great, and he had bluntly refused the offer.
Left with no choice, Sato stayed nearby, watching carefully in case anything unexpected happened.
To be honest, he had genuinely been worried that Mr. Moore might lose his temper and kill Courtney.
After all, he had just promised Dr. Cozmo that he would rescue his entire family.
And Courtney was the key to making that happen.
Now, her determination to die rather than surrender forced Sato to act.
The stone she had thrown instantly collided with the rock beneath it, producing a tiny spark.
The next moment, the crystal-clear crimson stone erupted with blinding light.
A devastating aura of destruction burst forth as dazzling rays shot out in every direction.
"What?! Typhlosion! Blaziken! Fall back immediately!"
Mr. Moore's experience immediately told him that whatever this stone was, it was incredibly dangerous.
Abandoning any thought of rescuing Courtney, he hurriedly ordered his Pokémon to retreat.
BOOM!!!
Typhlosion and Blaziken had only managed to run a short distance before the red stone exploded.
A deafening blast engulfed the battlefield.
When the smoke cleared, an enormous crater had been blasted into the ground.
After the explosion, scorching flames continued burning inside the crater, transforming it into a blazing sea of fire that raged for several minutes before finally beginning to weaken.
"Whew... that was way too close."
Sato wiped the cold sweat from his forehead before looking toward the still-burning crater.
Then he turned to Courtney, who was currently being held in Swampert's grip like a chick.
"So... how are you planning to thank me?"
"Mmmph! Mmmph!!"
A cloth had been stuffed into Courtney's mouth.
Far from appreciating Sato for saving her life, she glared at him with eyes overflowing with murderous intent.
Her beautiful face was twisted with hatred, looking as though she wanted nothing more than to cut him into pieces before devouring him alive.
The truth was that the instant Courtney threw the unstable Fire-type Energy Stone, Sato had immediately ordered Kadabra to use Ally Switch on her, instantly pulling her out of the explosion's radius.
Immediately afterward, Kadabra had used Teleport to escape.
Unfortunately, just as Teleport succeeded, the red stone exploded.
Even though Kadabra had only been caught by the very edge of the blast, half of its body had been scorched black, leaving it with severe burns.
That was merely from the aftershock.
Had Sato not intervened, Courtney wouldn't even have had ashes left behind.
Unfortunately, this fanatically loyal Team Magma executive had absolutely no intention of appreciating Sato's lifesaving act.
Instead, she now hated him even more.
The reason was simple.
While in his custody, even death had become impossible.
The moment she tried to bite off her own tongue to commit suicide, Sato had immediately stopped her using his telekinesis.