Drip… drip…
Not far from Red and the others—
The poacher boss leaned against a tree, clutching his bleeding arm, sweat pouring down his face.
"Damn it… that explosion was way too powerful…"
To save his own life at the critical moment, he had used all three of his Pokémon as shields—
Even so, he was still badly injured .
Behind a nearby tree—
Xiaowen watched him carefully and took out her phone.
"Gym Leader, I've found the poacher boss."
"Don't approach him. Wait for me."
At that moment—
Another signal flare shot into the sky.
Seeing it so close, the boss's expression changed. He forced himself to stand.
"Damn it! There are still people nearby… I have to get out of here now, or—"
Before he could move—
A voice he least wanted to hear sounded beside him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Red had appeared silently at his side.
"You don't actually think you can escape, do you?"
He stepped forward slowly.
"Talk. Where did you get the Dark Poké Balls? Who sent you?"
"I'll talk! I'll talk!"
"But… come closer. Some things aren't meant to be heard by too many people…"
Looking at the sinister expression on the man's face, Red scoffed.
"Still thinking about a sneak attack at a time like this? I don't know whether to call you delusional or just stubborn."
The boss's face stiffened.
"Enough. Save it for hell."
Red nodded slightly toward Tyranitar behind him.
Tyranitar understood instantly.
The next second—
The ground beneath the poacher boss turned into quicksand.
As he slowly sank, like a drowning man losing control of his body—
The sensation of life slipping away filled his face with terror.
"No! Don't kill me! I have money! There's hundreds of thousands in my account!"
"I'll tell you everything about the Dark Poké Balls—just don't kill me!"
Red shook his head.
"I don't care about your money."
"I just want you dead."
"And your two subordinates already told me everything. You're useless to me."
"I was just playing with you."
"You traitors! Damn you! Damn you all!"
In complete despair—
The poacher boss was swallowed by the quicksand.
The suffocating fear, combined with blood loss from his injuries—
Killed him before he was fully buried.
As for the other two poachers—
They "unfortunately" died during the capture.
As the Gym Leader of Songzao City—
Red expressed his "deep regret."
After dealing with the poachers, Red looked at the black Poké Balls in his hand.
"Dark Poké Balls… these things shouldn't exist in this world."
Without hesitation—
He destroyed them all.
Even the fragments were crushed into powder by Tyranitar.
According to the poachers—
They had bought these black Poké Balls from a tall man over two meters in height, wearing a cloak, in the black market.
"A cloaked man over two meters tall… black Poké Balls…"
Red frowned.
"Could that be… Mewtwo?"
He recalled the Pokémon movie Mewtwo Strikes Back—
Where black Poké Balls could even capture Pokémon already inside other Poké Balls.
"Are these Dark Poké Balls actually from Mewtwo?"
"And the ones used by that Team Rocket executive… also came from Mewtwo?"
Red rubbed his temples.
"Hopefully Mewtwo doesn't go berserk too soon…"
"And I'm just an ordinary Gym Leader—there's no way that invitation letter would come to me… right?"
High above, unseen—
A two-meter-tall humanoid figure flickered briefly through the sky.
Looking at the pile of Poké Balls seized from the poachers—
Red scanned through them.
He selected a few Pokémon with decent potential to keep temporarily—
To see if they were willing to stay at the Gym.
The rest—
He was released back into the wild.
Fortunately, none of them were injured .
Of course, Red didn't personally handle the releases—
He left that to Ash's group and Xiaowen.
As for Gary—
He sat to the side, resting with his injuries.
Finally, after everything had mostly settled—
Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy arrived.
"Gym Leader Red , are you alright?"
"I'm fine. My disciple is the one who got hurt."
Hearing this, both Jenny and Joy sighed in relief.
"That's good… as long as you're alright."
Red 's mouth twitched slightly, but he said nothing.
Just as Nurse Joy stepped forward to examine Gary—
Everyone suddenly felt the temperature drop.
A chilling sensation crept up their backs.
"What's going on?"
"Why does it feel so cold?"
Then—
An old, eerie voice spoke:
"So it's fine as long as your disciple is injured ?"
"Are other people's lives not lives?"
"Who's there?!"
Officer Jenny reacted instantly.
"Arcanine—use Scent Detection!"
Arcanine sniffed the ground—
Then barked toward a shadow beneath a tree and lunged forward.
But in the next instant—
A ghostly claw seized its throat midair.
From the shadows—
An elderly woman stepped out.
"Have the younger generation become so ignorant… that they don't even recognize me?"
Seeing her—
Both Jenny and Joy froze in shock.
"Agatha… Elite Four Agatha!"
Red 's expression also changed.
Especially when he glanced at injured Gary—
His headache doubled.
"Why did they have to show up now…?"
Just as the atmosphere became suffocating—
Another elderly voice, warm and cheerful, sounded:
"Agatha, after all these years, you still haven't changed your temper."
"They're not wrong. A disciple is indeed less important than a Gym Leader—even if it's my grandson."
"No need to make things difficult for them over a single sentence."
Agatha stood in the shadows, looking up.
Above—
Professor Oak stood atop Dragonite, bathed in sunlight.
"Hmph. You always play the good guy."
Still—
She released Arcanine.
"Grandson?!"
Jenny and Joy's eyes widened in shock.
Jenny quickly apologized to Gary and stepped aside obediently.
Joy lowered her head and hurriedly treated Gary—
Silently praying his injuries weren't too severe.
At the same time—
Both of them couldn't help but glance at Red .
They knew he had taken in a disciple—
But never imagined—
It was Professor Oak's grandson.
Red scratched his head.
You never asked…
But facing the two elders—
The pressure was immense.
Especially Agatha—
Even among the Elite Four, she was known for having the worst temper.
Red respectfully performed a League salute.
"Junior Red greets Elite Four Agatha… and Professor Oak."
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