Midair, atop a Skarmory, a middle-aged man wearing beach shorts appeared before everyone.
"Who are you?!"
Hunter J frowned at the sudden arrival of the man.
The middle-aged man didn't answer her question. Instead, he waved his hand—
Dozens of Poké Balls rained down from the sky!
They burst open midair, and by the time they landed, dozens of ferocious Pokémon had completely surrounded Hunter J and her group.
And their strength was overwhelming.
Even the weakest among them were above level 30, while the strongest reached level 59—on par with Tyranitar in the past.
"Who am I?"
Standing on Skarmory, the man in beach shorts sneered.
"You've come to cause trouble at Songzao Gym and don't even know who I am?!"
"Looks like your boss is pretty forgetful."
"Listen carefully—my name is Red Pingfeng!"
Hunter J didn't recognize him—but someone present did.
"Old Gym Leader!" Xiaowen exclaimed, as if she had just seen a savior.
"Oh? The old man actually decided to come back?"
In contrast, Red looked surprised to see his unreliable father—but his words showed no mercy.
"Get lost, you brat! You've embarrassed us completely!"
"If I hadn't rushed back, you would've lost the Gym already! Handing it over to you was a mistake!"
Although Red Pingfeng spoke harshly—
When he saw Red's Pokémon, he couldn't help but nod in approval. Especially when he saw Mega Tyranitar, his eyes practically sparkled.
"My god! Is that really my Tyranitar?! That armor! That design! That strength!"
"As expected of my son! Your talent in raising Pokémon is just as great as mine!"
Even though the timing was completely inappropriate, Ash and Gary still respectfully nodded.
"Greetings, Grandmaster."
"Grandmaster?!"
Red Pingfeng froze for a moment, then looked at them in surprise.
"Wait… aren't you the kid from the Oak family?"
"Hahahaha!"
He crouched down laughing, tears nearly coming out.
"This is hilarious! The Oak family's kid actually became a disciple of Songzao Gym? Wonderful, wonderful! I'd love to see Oak's face right now!"
After laughing, Red Pingfeng slowly stood up. When he looked at Hunter J again, his gaze turned razor-sharp.
"You think relying on some ancient fossil beam and a Champion-level Salamence means you can run wild across the world?"
"I'm in a good mood today. If you surrender now, maybe you can spend the rest of your life peacefully in prison."
"You think you've already won?!"
Hunter J stared at the man who had instantly seized control of the situation. Though wary of his massive Pokémon force, she didn't believe she had lost.
"Men—attack!"
Her subordinates charged forward under pressure.
But the result was disastrous.
Without proper judgment or system assistance, they couldn't gauge the strength of these Pokémon at all—and were almost instantly wiped out.
At that moment, Hunter J seized the opportunity.
Using the chaos created by her subordinates, she leapt onto Salamence's back and shot into the sky.
Looking at the subordinates she had abandoned, her eyes were cold.
"A bunch of useless trash. Your only value was being bait."
"Ice Beam!"
Red immediately commanded Mega Tyranitar to follow up, trying to stop her.
But he clearly underestimated Hunter J's ruthlessness.
Without hesitation, she threw out a Mightyena—
Using it as a shield to block Tyranitar's attack.
Before it could even react, Mightyena was frozen solid, turning into an ice sculpture that crashed heavily onto the ground.
Meanwhile, Hunter J successfully escaped into her airship.
"What a cold-blooded woman."
Red shook his head as he looked at the fallen Mightyena.
"Is she really going to escape?" Ash and Gary said regretfully.
"Escape? After running into me?"
"Don't forget—for Songzao Gym, the sky is our home field!"
A Castform that had been completely unnoticeable among the Pokémon floated to Red Pingfeng's side.
Red's eyes widened.
"A Champion-level Castform?!"
He immediately pulled over his own Castform.
"Watch carefully. Learn how a master truly controls the weather."
Castform nodded, focusing with full concentration.
The next second—
The cloudy sky instantly shifted from heavy rain to roaring thunder, lightning dancing wildly.
Then—
A bolt of lightning as thick as a basin crashed directly into the airship's engine!
Once the target was immobilized, Castform unleashed its full power.
Countless bolts of lightning rained down, turning the airship into a sieve. Storm winds howled, thunder roared, and lightning filled the sky.
Even Red had to rely on his psychic power just to remain standing.
"This is basically a natural disaster…"
"So once Castform gets strong enough, it's not just support—its offensive power is this terrifying?!"
No one present could have imagined that a Pokémon no larger than a basketball could control such a devastating thunderstorm.
After enduring the storm, Hunter J's airship completely lost control and began crashing toward the ground.
Inside the cockpit, Hunter J watched calmly as the ship fell.
A trace of regret flashed in her eyes as she took out Salamence's Poké Ball.
"Sigh… what a pity. Looks like this is as far as we go."
Her expression was completely calm.
From the moment she chose this path, she had already accepted it was a road of no return.
And even if given another chance—
She would make the same choice again.
The massive airship, several buildings in size, finally crashed into a barren wasteland on the outskirts of Songzao City.
Upon impact—
A terrifying explosion erupted, forming a small mushroom cloud.
Citizens of Songzao City looked out their windows in confusion.
"…Did it just get brighter?"
Watching the mushroom cloud, Gary, Ash, and Xiaowen all let out sighs of relief.
"It's finally over…"
"Over?"
Red's unreliable father patted his shoulder.
◇ You can read 60+ chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/ElaraVance1
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter