Want to read ahead. You know where
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Alliance Search Unit, Canalave City
The atmosphere in the search department was tense.
Officer Jenny was already in motion the moment she received Joy's alert.
The situation was urgent— Prof Samuel was on the scene, and support was needed immediately.
But just as she turned to organize the deployment, a sharp whistle cut through the air.
BOOM!!
A powerful gust followed as a massive Garchomp landed directly outside the department building.
Dust swirled around its feet as it crouched low, steam rising faintly from the street where its claws had struck.
From its back, a woman in a black coat and striking yellow hair leapt down.
Cynthia. Sinnoh's Champion.
And she did not look pleased.
Her expression was grim, eyes focused and sharp.
Officer Jenny didn't hesitate. She hurried over at once.
"Champion Cynthia!" she saluted.
"We weren't expecting you so soon!"
"I came as fast as I could," Cynthia said flatly.
"I got the alert. The Gold Poaching Group—are they operating near Canalave again? Something about Lapras?"
Jenny nodded, brisk and to the point.
"Yes, ma'am. Based on intel we've been tracking, they're targeting a Lapras pod this time."
Her voice tightened. "And from what we can tell… It's likely led by J."
Cynthia's eyes narrowed.
J.
Of course, it would be her.
The infamous black-market poacher—cold, ruthless, and always one step ahead.
If J herself was involved, this wasn't just another illegal hunting trip.
It was a major operation.
"All our units are mobilized," Jenny continued.
"We believe this is our best shot at taking down the entire poaching ring in one sweep."
Cynthia didn't respond right away. For a moment, her expression shifted—just slightly.
A flicker of something like hope.
The Gold Poaching Group had been a persistent thorn in the side of the Sinnoh Alliance for years.
They weren't as large as Team Galactic, no.
But unlike the elusive Galactic agents, these poachers made no effort to hide their cruelty.
Their blatant, public mistreatment of rare and endangered Pokémon stirred outrage across the region.
The Alliance's failure to stop them had drawn heavy criticism.
If they could take them down now—publicly and decisively—it would change everything.
For the League.
For the people.
And for her, too.
Cynthia had only recently assumed the Champion's title.
Her strength wasn't in question, but public trust was still a delicate thing.
If she could help deliver this blow to the poachers, her standing would be cemented.
That's why she hadn't hesitated.
The moment she got the report, she flew here straight from Lily of the Valley Island.
"Do we have a confirmed location?" she asked, her voice low but urgent.
Jenny held up her communicator, eyes glinting.
"We do now. Just got a call a few minutes ago."
"From who?"
Jenny smiled slightly. "Professor Samuel."
Cynthia froze. "Sam?"
The name left her lips before she could stop it. Her eyes widened briefly, surprised.
"He's involved in this?"
"Very much so," Jenny replied.
"Without him, we wouldn't even know where to start. He's the one who tracked their coordinates and sent them to us. Real-time feed, pinpoint accuracy."
Cynthia blinked, then gave a quiet exhale.
Of course he did.
She knew Sam was in Canalave—he had told her they'd meet in two days.
Some quiet time, just the two of them. It wasn't exactly a date, but it also… wasn't not a date.
And now here he was, one step ahead again.
Always throwing himself into danger.
A rush of worry hit her.
If Sam was the one tracking the poachers, that meant he was too close, close enough.
She didn't waste another second.
With a sharp whistle, she swung herself back onto Garchomp's back.
"Let's move!" she commanded.
The Dragon-type launched upward with a guttural roar, its wings slicing through the air.
Jenny followed suit, already summoning her own flying Pokémon.
One by one, the rest of the search unit took to the skies, engines roaring and wings beating the air.
And just like that—
They were on their way.
Racing through the sky.
Toward Sam.
And whatever danger awaited him.
While Cynthia and the Alliance rushed through the sky, Sam was already in the thick of it.
He had successfully landed on the island, one of the remote, craggy outcroppings not far from Canalave City, where the poachers had been working quietly in the shadows.
But not quietly enough.
From his position near the beach, Sam commanded the battlefield with a sharp, practiced clarity.
He stood tall, calm with knowledge beyond this world.
The poachers had no idea what they were up against.
"Luka!"
Lucario responded instantly, moving with lightning speed.
A blur of blue and steel shot across the sand.
Before the first poacher could even reach for a Poké Ball, Lucario was on him.
A single, focused punch to the gut sent the man sprawling backward, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Lucario didn't stop—his paws struck the ground hard, redirecting momentum as he leapt toward the next target.
Crack.
Another hit. Another one down.
Meanwhile, shadows rippled unnaturally across the beach.
Darkrai moved like a whisper on the wind—here one second, gone the next.
A sudden whoosh of energy, and behind one of the poachers, a ghostly black hand emerged.
Formed from Darkrai's swirling aura, it gripped the man by the neck and slammed him into the ground before vanishing like smoke.
None of them stood a chance.
One by one, the poachers dropped, too slow, too clumsy to react to the kind of power Sam brought with him.
A few, in a last-ditch panic, pulled out firearms—actual weapons, not Poké Balls.
They aimed for Sam, desperate to take him out of the fight.
But the bullets never reached him.
A sudden whirl of air coiled around Sam's body—a spiral of condensed energy.
The Aura he wielded, invisible to most, flared to life in a focused cyclone.
Bullets clattered harmlessly to the ground, deflected as if they had hit a solid wall.
The poachers didn't understand what they were seeing.
And now, it was too late.
Lapras lay nearby, injured but breathing.
Though weak, it seemed to recognize that help had come at last.
The poachers who had tried to cage it now turned their backs on it entirely, focused only on survival.
But they were running out of options.
The beach was turning into a battlefield—and not in their favor.
Further back, watching it all unravel, Pokémon Hunter J's expression darkened.
The operation was collapsing. Fast.
What should have been a clean sweep—another easy capture—had been derailed by one man.
She had underestimated him.
That wouldn't happen again.
Without a word, J reached for her belt and yanked a Poké Ball free.
Click.
With a flash of crimson light, Salamence exploded onto the field, wings flaring as it landed with a thunderous crash.
BOOM!!
The sand blasted outward. The ground trembled.
The remaining poachers didn't wait—they scrambled behind Salamence for cover, shaken and desperate.
J narrowed her eyes. Still silent.
She reached for a second ball.
Another sharp flick of her wrist.
Click.
A second Pokémon emerged—Drapion, towering and monstrous, its segmented claws twitching with venomous tension.
The creature hissed low in its throat, eyes locking on Lucario and Darkrai.
A flick of J's visor. She scanned the field, mentally calculating her odds.
Two Champion-level Pokémon at once.
She wasn't playing around anymore.
[Pokémon: Drapion]
[Gender: Male]
[Type: Poison / Dark]
[Ability: Battle Armor – Protected by a rock-hard exoskeleton; cannot be critically hit]
[Level: 62 – Low Champion Tier]
[Potential: Champion]
[Known Moves: Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Poison Fang, Fell Stinger, Toxic Spikes, Venoshock, Pin Missile]
[Egg Move: Slash]
[Condition: Excellent]
[Notes: Drapion's entire body is reinforced by a brutal, armor-like carapace. Its head can rotate 180 degrees, granting nearly perfect field awareness. A true juggernaut—whether poisoned or not, its brute force alone can overwhelm many opponents.]
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[Pokémon: Salamence]
[Gender: Male]
[Type: Dragon / Flying]
[Ability: Moxie – After defeating an opponent, Salamence's confidence surges, boosting its Attack]
[Level: 62 – Low Champion Tier]
[Potential: Champion]
[Known Moves: Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail, Crunch, Flamethrower, Hyper Beam, Iron Tail, Flame Burst, Headbutt]
[Egg Moves: Fire Fang, Dragon Rush]
[Condition: Excellent]
[Notes: A powerhouse among dragons. Excels in both physical and special attacks. A Salamence like this doesn't just dominate a battlefield—it defines it.]
As both Pokémon stood ready, the beach went silent for a moment.
Tension rippled through the air.
J's eyes never left Sam.
This wasn't about Lapras anymore.
This was personal.
And the real battle was about to begin.