"Boss, I'm sorry!"
Courtney grabbed Maxie's wrist and twisted his arm behind his back. At the same time, she snatched back the backpack containing the Red Orb.
In an instant, the surrounding Psychic energy flared brightly. After the space had been distorted repeatedly, it began to ripple in an eerie way. One after another, Team Magma members collapsed on the stone steps, while figures dressed in blue and white robes appeared around Courtney and the others.
With one hand restraining the boss and the other holding the orb, Courtney instinctively tried to retreat, but the Sootopolitans had already completely sealed off their escape route.
They had arrived far too quickly.
Courtney bit her lower lip. She had never expected the situation to become so difficult to handle in such a short time. Judging from what was happening now, the Sootopolitans had easily subdued Boss Maxie and the rest of Team Magma. They must have at least three Elite-level Psychic Pokémon…
Moreover, it seemed that every single Sootopolitan had a Psychic Pokémon in their hands.
Are the Sootopolitans a race that specializes in Psychic-types?
There was no way the few of them could fight against this.
Was Team Magma going to be wiped out here?
Courtney did not dare think about it.
Beside her, Blaise was equally tense. He quickly scanned their surroundings and found that there was absolutely nowhere they could break through. As the silent standoff continued, the Sootopolitans did not stop. One Psychic barrier after another spread around them, completely sealing off the area.
Then the stern-looking Sootopolitans suddenly stepped aside and opened a path.
An old, hunched man suddenly teleported into the middle of the group with an Indeedee by his side. He was the Lord of Sootopolitans, Aubert. He let out a quiet sigh and said, "Young lady, being too clever isn't always a good thing. Hand over the orb."
"How could I possibly do that?"
Courtney lowered her eyes as she answered in a quiet voice. There was not the slightest intention of giving in.
Their target was the Red Orb, and it was currently in her hands. Looking at the situation now, it seemed that the Sootopolitans did not dare to take it by force. Were they worried about damaging the orb?
"Hehehe, young lady, the orb may be older than the Hoenn region itself. After enduring the erosion of time for so many years, how could a little bit of battle's aftermath possibly damage it?"
Aubert slowly shook his head and spoke in the gentlest tone. "I'm only worried about hurting you. Young lady, I have never intended to destroy Team Magma. Hand over the orb now, and I can guarantee that none of you will be hurt. I can even let you take those unconscious members with you, and Maxie's Psychic restraints will be removed as well. However, if you refuse, I cannot guarantee that none of you will be injured."
Courtney swallowed hard as she hesitated and weighed her options. Before she could make a decision, Blaise suddenly shouted, "Old man, we'll give you the orb! Just let our boss leave!"
Courtney immediately glared at him.
With Boss Maxie unable to act, she was the leader of Team Magma. Yet this useless fool actually dared to betray them at a time like this?
"Courtney, the boss is the most important thing..." Blaise urged her against his true intentions. "We should protect the boss and Team Magma first."
Naturally, he only wanted to leave alive. He knew that with Courtney's loyalty to the boss, she would never refuse.
Right now, they were completely at the mercy of the enemy. If Aubert wanted to kill them, there was no need for him to waste time talking. Those high-level Psychic Pokémon alone were enough to wipe them out in a short time before taking the orb.
Courtney also nodded in agreement, but her voice was cold. "That's right, but that doesn't give you the right to make the decision for me!"
With that, she threw the backpack containing the orb toward them.
One of the Sootopolitans caught it steadily and immediately ran over to present it to Aubert.
"Very good..." Aubert waved his hand. "I won't go back on my word."
As soon as he finished speaking, several pf the Sootopolitans ordered their Pokémon to carry over the unconscious Team Magma members. Other than being unconscious, their clothes, Poké Balls and belongings were all still intact.
Courtney had the remaining members carry their comrades as they continued retreating toward the coast.
Wooooo!
The ship that had brought them there sounded its horn.
Aubert raised a hand and waved at them in farewell.
* * *
Once they boarded the ship, Maxie, who was also unconscious, suddenly shuddered after several members called out to him and opened his eyes again. After a brief moment of confusion, he suddenly sat up.
The entire deck around him was filled with Team Magma members.
"The Red Orb..." Maxie had just spoken before he grabbed his head.
Blaise wore a sorrowful expression as he explained first. "Boss, those guys took the orb."
Maxie slowly raised his head and looked at his subordinates without saying a word.
It was both unexpected and something he had already anticipated.
He had been wary of that old man for so long, yet he had still made a mistake.
There were no excuses, no lies and no tricks involved. It was simply a matter of strength.
The Sootopolitans had taken the Red Orb from him through sheer force.
What else could he say?
He simply wasn't strong enough.
Time passed little by little, and the ship eventually reached the shore again, arriving at the eastern coast of the mainland.
A ladder had been set up on a simple wooden pier by the shore. Team Magma members rushed off the ship one after another, all of them feeling a lingering sense of dread.
"The League has enforced its resource blockade against the Sootopolitans for so many years, yet it still managed to raise a pack of Mightyena."
As Maxie spoke, his disdain for the League grew even stronger.
There was no doubt that after the Sootopolitans had failed to stir up trouble in Hoenn back then, some people had still taken the risk of making money by secretly supplying them. Those Psychic Pokémon could not have been trained in a single day. Someone had transported a huge amount of resources to the Sootopolitans.
Especially that Indeedee...
A Champion-level Indeedee. How was that even possible?
That Indeedee was clearly not very old. It had probably only been trained for a few years at most, yet it had already reached the Champion-level?
Maxie remembered that the Sootopolitans had previously been a race specializing in Water types. Their young master, Wallace, had also used Water-type Pokémon.
How had the Sootopolitans changed their Pokémon? And where had they obtained the methods for training Psychic Pokémon?
Unfortunately, Maxie no longer had time to think about it.
The League was definitely searching for them like mad.
"Boss, what do we do next...?" Courtney, who also understood how dangerous their situation was, asked with a worried expression.
The Lord of Sootopolitans had allowed them to leave. Perhaps his main purpose was to use them to draw the League's attention and buy time for the Sootopolitans to revive Groudon.
"Go! We'll return to the base first!"
Maxie took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
He climbed into a modified vehicle and was the first to drive out of the forest. Several vehicles behind him quickly followed. Some members who had no room had no choice but to temporarily ride on Fire or Ground-type Pokémon.
Maxie remained deep in thought for a long time before picking up the communication device.
"Tabitha, how is the mission going...?"
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!