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"Don't move! This is the Police!"
This time, it was Officer Jenny and her security team who charged out of the forest.
At the moment, Officer Jenny and the guards with her looked a bit battered, with dirt on their clothes and faces, like they had just been through a tough battle.
Most of them bore minor injuries. The small Jumpluff that had been resting on Officer Jenny's shoulder earlier was now nowhere to be seen. In its place floated a different Jumpluff beside her.
Behind her, a few of the guards were holding down four captured members of the Hunting squad. When they saw Nishiyama and his Skarmory pinned to the ground by a heavy layer of sand, all of them showed a trace of confusion in their eyes.
Officer Jenny didn't waste time. She and Jumpluff rushed forward quickly. She grabbed Nishiyama's arm just as he tried to lift it and swiftly snapped a pair of handcuffs onto his wrist.
"Jumpluff! Sleep Powder!"
As soon as he was cuffed, Nishiyama began to struggle more violently. Seeing this, Officer Jenny immediately gave a command to her Jumpluff.
"Jumm~"
Jumpluff fluttered over Nishiyama and Skarmory, shaking its body gently. A green, glowing powder drifted down from its body. As the two were coated in the sparkly dust, they gradually quieted down, eyes closing, and began to sleep soundly.
"Whew… Just like that, we caught him?"
Officer Jenny looked at the sleeping Nishiyama and suddenly felt like this was almost too easy.
From the four captured poachers they'd just passed on the way here, she had learned that this man—Nishiyama—held a fairly high position in the Hunting team and was known for his strength.
Just moments ago, it was his Aggron that had broken through the police perimeter and escaped. She had thought he had already gotten away for good. She never expected to recapture him so easily like this.
At that thought, Officer Jenny turned to look at Liam and Delia, who had just recalled Garchomp and the other four small Pokémon. Her eyes grew serious as she called out to her team:
"You guys, help dig these two out."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Four guards responded in unison, then ran over and began digging out Nishiyama and his Skarmory from the sand with all their strength.
Meanwhile, Officer Jenny approached Liam and Delia. She stood at attention and saluted them sharply.
"Thank you very much for your help! On behalf of the police, I sincerely thank you."
Delia, not used to such formal gratitude, immediately waved her hands nervously.
"No, no! We really didn't do anything! Sorry if we caused any trouble, Officer Jenny. Please don't mind us!"
Her reaction made Officer Jenny feel awkward in turn, unsure how to respond. The atmosphere grew slightly tense.
"Ahem, by the way, in that other sand pile over there, there are two fainted Forretress—they're also Nishiyama's Pokémon. Don't forget to collect them. Anyway, since there's nothing more for us to do, we'll be on our way. We're still traveling, so we'll take our leave now."
As expected, it was Liam who stepped in to defuse the awkwardness.
He pointed to another nearby sand pile and addressed Officer Jenny, then gently took Delia's hand. After a brief nod of farewell, he turned to leave.
But—
"Please wait!!"
"Huh…? Is something else the matter?"
Liam stopped mid-turn as Officer Jenny suddenly shouted. Puzzled, he looked back at her.
"Can you tell me how you knew they were poachers? And those four I arrested earlier told me that you seemed to recognize Nishiyama right away—you even called him by name the moment you saw him. Who exactly are you? What is your connection to the Hunting group? If you're willing, please tell me now… And if not, you're welcome to come with me to the station and explain there. I'm very democratic—you can choose freely."
Her eyes gleamed sharply. The Jumpluff floating above her hovered tensely, ready to release powder at a moment's notice, its eyes locked warily on Liam and Delia.
"..."
What now? Liam honestly didn't know what to do in that moment.
"Officer Jenny! We're not bad people! You have to believe us!"
Though Liam stayed silent, Delia stepped forward with a deeply aggrieved expression. Her large, innocent eyes shimmered as she looked pleadingly at Officer Jenny.
Caught off guard by her gaze, Officer Jenny was momentarily overwhelmed with guilt. But her duty as an officer quickly reasserted itself, and she shook her head hard to clear it, then straightened up and said sternly:
"My apologies! I believe you're good people—otherwise you'd both be fast asleep by now! But please understand, as long as you cooperate with the police, we absolutely won't give you a hard time!"
Delia pouted and retreated behind Liam again, puffing out her cheeks in frustration.
Seeing the situation, Liam sighed in mild exasperation. Left with no other choice, he slowly reached into his coat.
"What are you doing!? Take your hand out right now! Or I won't be so polite!"
Seeing him move, Officer Jenny instinctively jumped back and swiftly drew her sidearm, aiming it squarely at him with a tense expression.
The nearby guards noticed the situation and rushed over, batons drawn, forming a tight circle around Liam and Delia.
"Uh… I just wanted to show you something. No need to get so worked up."
Liam sighed again, clearly fed up with the overreaction. He slowly pulled his hand out. Between his fingers, he held a small golden badge.
"Here. You should recognize this, right?"
He held the golden badge in front of him, a faint smile playing on his lips as he looked at Officer Jenny.
"Hm? It's just a gold badge. What's the big deal? I've got enough gold service medals to make a row. You ever see me showing them off?"
Officer Jenny glanced at the badge, unimpressed.
Crack!
Behind Liam, Delia suddenly heard what sounded like glass shattering. She blinked in confusion and looked around—there didn't seem to be anything made of glass nearby. How strange.
Meanwhile, Liam's fingers, still holding the badge, began to tremble violently.
A sense of shattered pride and broken ego flooded his chest.
"You don't even recognize this?! Are you really even a police officer!? This is a Champion's Badge! Proof of a Regional League Champion! Having this means my identity is actually that of a Regional Champion!! And now you've completely ruined my dramatic reveal!! Dammit, I'm so pissed!"
Liam barked, barely holding back the urge to spit blood in frustration, his voice growing slightly hysterical.
"AH!" ×6
"…Delia, why are you gasping too!!?"
"Ehehe~"
Delia stuck out her tongue playfully, trying to lighten the mood as Liam collapsed inwardly, completely defeated.
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Guys, I messed up. I seemed to have missed Chapter 235 and mistakenly labeled chapter 236 as 235. I'm posting Chapter 235 here so it doesn't mess with the Chapter flow and save me a minor headache.
Chapter 235: Chapter 235: Deal With Your Enemies Like a Torrential Storm!
"The Hunting Squad!"
The moment the figures in black uniforms appeared, Liam instantly recognized their outfits and knew exactly who they were.
"Hey, you in front! Get out of the way, dammit! Go, Golbat! Ram them!"
"You guys too—Zubat, go!" ×3
The fleeing poachers spotted Liam and Delia blocking the path ahead. The leader shouted at them, hoping they'd step aside. But Liam stood firm, unmoving.
Seeing that, the poacher leader gritted his teeth and hurled a PokeBall, releasing a Golbat into the air. The three others behind him did the same, each releasing a Zubat. Without slowing down, they charged straight toward Liam and Delia, with the Golbat and Zubat flying at them, wings buzzing furiously and mouths open wide, aiming to bite.
"Hmph, you brought this on yourselves…"
Seeing that the poachers dared to attack first, Liam let out a cold snort and reached back to grab a PokeBall. But just then—
"Golbat and Zubat again?! Ugh! I've had it with them! Time for revenge! Everyone, get out here and teach them a lesson!"
Delia, still holding a grudge from the Golbat and Zubat ambush yesterday, exploded with anger. Puffing up, she shouted furiously and threw all her PokeBalls at once.
Thud!! ×4
Driven by hatred for Golbat and Zubat, Delia sent out all her Pokémon without hesitation. Four bursts of light flashed as her team appeared before her.
"Everyone! Knock them all down!"
At her command, Delia's Pokémon rushed into action… or, well… sort of.
"Draa~"
The first to act was Dratini. The small white pearl on its forehead suddenly emitted a faint electromagnetic pulse that struck the flying Golbat and Zubat midair. The enemies were paralyzed instantly, letting out groans as they plummeted face-first toward the ground.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
"Cynda! Cynda!"
But they didn't make a safe landing. Squirtle and the newly added Cyndaquil, launched a joint assault.
Cyndaquil's round back burst into a tall flame, and its pointed snout opened wide, unleashing a spray of sparks. At the same time, Squirtle fired a Water Gun. The two attacks spiraled together in a helix and struck the falling Golbat and Zubat dead-on, blasting their bodies backward—right into the oncoming poachers.
"AAAH!" ×4
The four charging poachers were hit head-on by their own Pokémon and knocked flat, screaming as they collapsed. Golbat and the Zubat that had slammed into them now had swirls in their eyes, completely knocked out.
The last to act, Cleffa—watched the enemies already down for the count. Realizing it didn't need to do anything, it happily bounced in place.
"Pi~ Pi~!"
"Yay! We won! I beat those bad guys! Look, Liam! Didn't I tell you I was strong~? Pokémon battles aren't that hard after all~!"
Delia froze for a moment in disbelief at the swift victory, then jumped with joy, her cheeks flushed red. She turned back to Liam, beaming with excitement.
Liam smiled softly at her enthusiasm, just about to say something—when out of the corner of his eye, he saw the lead poacher beneath the fallen Golbat reach into his coat, fumbling for something.
His eyes narrowed, and his expression instantly turned icy.
"Garchomp!!"
At Liam's sharp call, a white beam shot from the PokéBall on his waist. Simultaneously, the poacher had pulled his hand out—just as Liam suspected, it was a sleek black handgun.
His face twisted with malice as he raised the gun, aiming at Liam and Delia. His eyes gleamed with bloodlust, already picturing their bodies lying in a pool of blood.
But in the blink of an eye, a streak of white lightning flashed past the poacher. Before he could react, the handgun in his hand was sliced cleanly in half, both pieces clattering to the ground.
Then, a gleaming fin pressed coldly against the poacher's throat from behind. Garchomp's huge, razor-toothed mouth loomed over his other shoulder, emitting a deep, guttural growl.
"AAAHH!! Urk…"
The poacher reflexively turned his head—and was greeted by a maw big enough to bite off his entire head. He screamed in terror and instantly fainted on the spot.
Garchomp: "…Gar? (Am I really that scary?)"
Looking down at the foam-mouthed, unconscious poacher, Garchomp stood up with a scowl and strode back toward Liam.
"Was… was that a gun?! That's not fair! This is supposed to be a Pokémon battle! How could they bring something like that?!"
Delia stared in shock at the shattered handgun on the ground, then turned to Liam, fuming with indignation.
"Heh… silly girl, these people aren't good guys. They'll do anything to get what they want. If you ever see someone dressed like that again, you'd better be extra careful, okay?"
Liam gently ruffled her hair beneath her sunhat, a smile on his face.
"Ehehe, got it! If you're not with me next time, I'll totally avoid them~"
Delia giggled, eyes closed in comfort, having already forgotten her earlier anger as she nodded rapidly.
"Uh… well, I guess that's that. The fight's over—let's get moving."
Liam tilted his head, still feeling like something was off but couldn't quite place it. Shaking the thought away, he took Delia's hand, Garchomp and the four little ones trailing behind as they turned to leave.
"Aggron! Hyper Beam!"
"GRAAH!!"
But just as they turned, a deafening roar echoed from the forest ahead. A blinding golden beam tore through the trees and shot straight toward Liam and Delia.
"Garchomp! Flamethrower!"
"Roar!!"
Reacting immediately, Garchomp twisted its neck, opened its mouth wide, and unleashed a blazing jet of fire. The flames collided with the incoming Hyper Beam in midair, causing a massive explosion. A powerful shockwave erupted, tearing outward in all directions.
The four poachers and their unconscious Golbat and Zubat were caught in the blast, shrieking as they were launched into the air.
Behind Garchomp, Liam had pulled Delia close, shielding her. The other four Pokémon clung to their clothes tightly, anchoring themselves to avoid being swept away by the gale.
"Heh heh heh… To think you could block my Aggron's Hyper Beam! Looks like you're the real deal, kid! Finally—someone worth fighting! I can't wait to crush every bone in your body!"
As the dust settled, a figure stepped out of the forest, Aggron towering behind him. His face twisted in a savage grin, eyes filled with mad excitement as he locked onto Liam.