Dong! Dong! Dong…
The rhythmic pounding grew louder in his ears. When Sato arrived at the factory, he saw a group of workers operating special machinery to crush the "red orbs" from Tentacool one by one.
These "red orbs" weren't real gems, but the energy-storing organs inside Tentacool's body.
When the workers crushed them with the machines, a thick red liquid would ooze from the cracks and then be collected and poured into a large boiler for refining.
On the other side of the boiler, batches of counterfeit Evolution Stones would occasionally be produced.
Crystal-clear and speckled with bubble-like droplets, even though the lighting in the factory wasn't great, each of these "Water Stones" still sparkled like crafted glasswork.
Sato secretly sighed. No wonder even Trainers from powerful families had been fooled. Aside from their own carelessness, the craftsmanship was genuinely top-notch.
However, the moment Aida chose Tentacool's "red orbs" as his base material, he had already committed a grave sin!
Under the cover of Gengar's Spatial Barrier, Sato boldly walked through the factory in plain sight, carefully inspecting every corner. He discovered that nearly half of the machines had stopped operating.
Sato suspected it was due to Furuta Renji's capture, which had cut off their supply of raw materials, making full production impossible.
Soon, Sato arrived at the relatively quiet residential section of the factory. Before he could even step into the room, an old man with a gloomy face and anxious expression came walking out.
Aida Saki!
In an instant, Sato recognized the man before him. No need to search any further.
"Drapion…"
A flash of red light!
Drapion's massive form suddenly appeared in front of Aida Saki, startling him so badly he nearly fell over!
But that was all…
Aida's response was frighteningly practiced: step back, draw a Poké Ball, throw it, step back again!
Just as Drapion finished roaring in excitement, three opponents had already appeared across from it.
Primeape, Golem, Victreebel!
"Brick Break, Stone Edge, Vine Whip!"
Compared to Renji, Aida was clearly a [Ruthless-type Trainer] who didn't waste words. Releasing three Pokémon at once showed just how cautious he was!
Faced with the three-on-one assault, Drapion didn't flinch. Its dual claws and tail claw suddenly shot forward, one strike per target, pinning all three enemy Pokémon to the ground, unable to move!
"Toxic!"
A voice suddenly rang out from above, issuing the command. Aida's expression instantly changed in alarm, and he swiftly sent out two more Pokémon.
Rapidash and Noctowl!
"Noctowl, Foresight!"
As he called Noctowl to search for Sato's location, Aida leapt onto Rapidash's back; clearly already prepared to flee.
"Pika~chu!"
A yellow blur suddenly shot out from the corner, and in the blink of an eye, appeared right behind Noctowl!
Pikachu's eyes were wide and round. That normally cute face now radiated an aura of awe and dominance, 'woaah!'.
Thunderbolt… ACTIVATED!
The intense flash of electricity made Aida instinctively shut his eyes.
After witnessing Pikachu's power, Aida didn't hesitate for even a second, he turned and fled on Rapidash's back!
Decisive and clean.
He didn't even glance at the incapacitated Noctowl!
His instinct to escape was so firm that even Sato was slightly surprised.
What Sato didn't know was that ever since learning of Renji's arrest, Aida had been plagued by a constant sense of looming disaster.
However, the current batch of "Water Stones" he was producing had already been pre-ordered by a certain underground organization. Greedy as ever, Aida had ultimately chosen to remain in Vermilion City for just half a month longer.
Once the deal was done, he swore he would leave Vermilion City forever! Wash his hands of everything, and try to become a good person.
And then… Sato arrived.
Rapidash had barely taken two steps before a pinkish-purple energy blade suddenly slashed across its path at a sharp angle, forcing a brutal choice: break a leg, or come to an emergency stop.
"RAPID~!"
Rapidash chose the latter. The abrupt stop nearly sent Aida flying, but thankfully, Rapidash instinctively leaned back to protect him.
Only then did Absol slowly emerge from the direction Rapidash had been heading, its cold expression causing the startled Rapidash to take a few steps back.
At this point, Sato had already sent out all three of his Pokémon, completely surrounding Aida and his team.
Only now did the factory workers finally realize something was wrong. A crowd quickly swarmed over from the factory side, trying to see what was going on!
"Pikachu, Iron Tail, Work with Drapion. Absol, keep an eye on Rapidash, don't let our fish get away!"
At last, Sato stepped out from the Spatial Barrier. To Aida, it looked as though Sato had appeared from thin air!
Mysterious and powerful.
Now dressed in his jet-black Combat Uniform, Sato's outfit immediately told this petty underworld boss exactly who he was up against…
League Investigator!
'RUUUN!'
If he didn't run, he was dead!
Aida completely ignored the reinforcements rushing to his aid. He simply ordered Rapidash to use Agility, veering off in another direction to break through the encirclement.
"SOL!"
Seeing his opponent try to ignore him, Absol's eyes flashed with irritation. Without hesitation, it launched Pursuit.
Pursuit: its power doubles when the opponent tries to flee. Even more important, it interrupts the opponent's escape attempt perfectly.
In a blink, Absol transformed into a blur of white light wrapped in dark energy, instantly catching up to Rapidash and ramming it violently to the side!
Meanwhile, with Pikachu's help, Drapion's twin claws first grabbed Primeape in midair and then smashed it repeatedly into the ground!
Primeape thrashed about in a frenzy at first, but after being slammed into the earth again and again, it quickly became unrecognizable from the damage…
In the end, it was tossed aside like a ragdoll by Drapion without a shred of mercy.
Both Pokémon were Elite level, but the difference between them was simply staggering. But when it came to training regimen, daily nutrition, and the Pokémon's natural potential… Sato outclassed the enemy in every category!
So how could such a disparity be surprising?
Just as Drapion and Pikachu were about to finish off Victreebel and Golem before going to assist Absol, Aida's reinforcements arrived, sending out a flood of Pokémon that instantly surrounded Sato's team.
A savage grin flickered across Aida's face. Now, all he had to deal with was that Absol in front of him, and his chances of escape were back on the rise.
League Investigator…?
So what!?
★
★
(っ°□°)╮=͟͟͞͞
=͟͟͞͞
=͟͟͞͞
=͟͟͞͞
=͟͟͞͞
=͟͟͞͞◓⃙ 40+ 🅿️🅰️✝️🆁 🅴🅾️🅽 / 🅁🄾🄼🄴🄻🄾🄵🄵