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Wallace's figure appeared here in a hurry, and he spotted Ariel in the field at a glance.
"Ariel! How are you? What about that guy, did you catch him?"
Wallace stepped forward quickly, his eyes eagerly scanning the surroundings, trying to find that audacious criminal.
Hearing the voice, Ariel, with his back to Wallace, gave an imperceptible wink to Greninja and Weavile hiding in the shadows.
In the next second, an Oscar-level performance officially began.
Greninja staggered and revealed its form; its long tongue scarf hung limply, and its steps were unsteady as if it would collapse at any moment.
Weavile was even more exaggerated; one of its sharp claws supported it on the ground, its body trembling incessantly as it let out a faint, mournful cry, as if it had almost exhausted the strength even to stand.
These two Pokémon had indeed suffered some injuries while fighting Zoroark, but at this moment, they acted out those three parts of injury as ten parts of tragic misery.
Seeing this scene, Wallace's heart tightened. When he looked at Ariel again, he saw Ariel's body also sway, followed by a violent cough. His face was pale, and his palm was pressed tightly against his chest, looking like he had suffered a severe internal injury.
"Cough, cough... That guy... escaped."
Ariel's voice was hoarse, and his breathing was unstable,
"His strength is very high, and his methods are bizarre. My Pokémon... did their best."
A hint of unwillingness and fatigue appropriately surfaced in his eyes.
Looking at the "miserable state" of Greninja and Weavile, and then seeing Ariel like this, the suspicion in Wallace's heart had long since vanished, replaced by full-blown worry and anger.
"Dammit! Just who was it?"
Ariel did not answer directly but instead skillfully steered the conversation in another direction:
"When I was fighting him, he mentioned some kind of plan... and deep under his clothes, he seemed to be wearing a Blue Uniform with an 'A' logo on the chest... I suspect..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the words "Team Aqua" were already implied.
Hearing this, Wallace's handsome face was instantly covered in frost.
What he hated most was these evil organizations reaching their claws toward innocent civilians.
"Team Aqua! It's them again!"
Wallace bit his teeth, his fists involuntarily clenching,
"They are becoming more and more rampant! I will never let this matter go; I will definitely tell my master!"
His anger was easily ignited by Ariel.
"Are you okay? Is the injury serious?"
Wallace regained his composure and looked at Ariel with concern.
"I'm fine, just some internal injuries."
Ariel waved his hand and forced himself to stand straight, his tone carrying a weathered indifference,
"For a Trainer like me who fights evil forces all year round, I'm used to this kind of injury."
This sentence made Wallace's admiration for Ariel grow even more.
He said no more and took the initiative to step forward, carefully supporting Ariel's arm:
"Come, I'll take you back to the Sootopolis Gym. My master is not only a Water-type master but also has great research into healing."
Ariel leaned on Wallace half-heartedly, calculating his next plan in his heart. At an angle no one noticed, the corner of his mouth curled into an imperceptible arc.
...
As night fell, moonlight poured like mercury over the vast and calm sea surrounding Sootopolis City.
However, beneath this calm, a monstrous rage was brewing.
In a remote sea area far from the port, this was one of the routes where Team Aqua ships frequently appeared.
A huge water pillar shot up from the sea without warning, smashing into a sneaky small Team Aqua submarine with the force of ten thousand tons!
"Boom—!"
The steel hull instantly twisted and shattered under the terrifying pressure, and the entire submarine, along with the members inside, was swept into the dark and cold seabed.
On the surface of the sea, an elegant yet terrifyingly oppressive Milotic slowly emerged. The moonlight shone on its beautiful scales, reflecting a cold luster.
Standing on the back of the Milotic was a man with a cold expression.
It was the Gym Leader of Sootopolis Gym, Juan.
This Milotic was his famous ace, a genuine Elite Four Level Pokémon!
After learning from Wallace that "Team Aqua has already reached its claws toward the innocent civilians of Sootopolis City," Juan's anger was completely ignited.
Taking action against civilians on his turf was the most blatant Taunt to the Sootopolis Gym!
Juan's gaze scanned the sea like a hawk, not letting any suspicious trace go.
His patience had long been exhausted. Tonight, he wanted Team Aqua to know that Sootopolis City was not a place where they could run wild!
"Roar!"
Milotic let out a low roar and once again performed a Lock-On on another Team Aqua Speedboat attempting to flee nearby.
It was another Hydro Pump.
Precise and deadly.
Under the impact of the massive water flow, the Speedboat was like it was made of paper, instantly disintegrating. The wreckage and personnel disappeared into the waves together.
Just as Juan was commanding Milotic to continue purging this sea area, the sea ahead suddenly surged, and a Shark-shaped Submarine several times larger than the previous small boats broke through the water.
Standing on the submarine were a man and a woman, specifically the two Executives of Team Aqua, Matt and Shelly.
They had just finished a secret mission and were returning, only to see their underlings being picked off one by one like targets. Naturally, their expressions were not good.
But when they saw clearly that the newcomer was Juan, their hearts skipped a beat.
Juan's gaze instantly performed a Lock-On on the two of them; he recognized these core figures of Team Aqua.
His monstrous anger finally found an outlet.
"So it's you two?"
Juan's voice was not loud, yet it was colder and more piercing than the midnight sea breeze, clearly reaching the ears of Matt and Shelly.
"You must be the Executives of Team Aqua? How bold of you to dare reach your hands toward civilians!"
Milotic felt its Trainer's anger. Its massive body glided through the water, stirring up waves, and in its beautiful eyes, killing intent was fully revealed.
Juan took a step forward, looking down at the two on the submarine, and declared word by word.
"You people of Team Aqua shall all die today!"
Matt: ???
Shelly: ???
The two looked at each other, their heads full of question marks.
Civilians?
When did we ever lay a hand on civilians? And in a place like Sootopolis City? Has this old man taken the wrong medicine?