A sudden 'Flash' illuminated the underground parking garage, which had been plunged into pitch blackness after the power was cut. Harold's three Pokémon instantly joined the fray.
Rapidash charged ahead like an unstoppable spear, splitting the Hodgepodge Organization operatives' formation right down the middle.
One operative, clutching a briefcase containing the remote-controlled Egg Bombs, panicked and threw it toward a teammate. Rapidash immediately wheeled around and slammed into the recipient before he could even catch it.
Everyone watched the streak of fire disappear into the darkness, followed by a loud, echoing crash from the distance.
They all swallowed nervously. At that speed, the unfortunate operative was either dead... or crippled for life.
---
One of the remaining Hodgepodge members snatched the briefcase and shouted at Harold,
"If you don't recall your Pokémon, I'll detonate the explosives right now!"
Harold merely sneered.
"Is that supposed to be a threat? Use your brain for once. If you blow them now, do any of you honestly think you're getting out alive? As for me..." He shrugged. "I couldn't care less. I've spent my whole life playing dangerous games. Just recently, I was thinking about trying something even more exciting. If you set them off now, it'll be the perfect chance for me to find out whether my Pokémon can help me survive a near-death experience."
No one actually wanted to die. One after another, more Pokémon equipped with Type-3 Amplifiers appeared beside the operatives.
Harold only wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible; he had overheard that a suspicious food cart would soon be entering the fourth-floor conference hall. But just as he reached for his fourth Poké Ball, nothing happened. No matter how many times he pressed the button, it wouldn't activate.
The Hodgepodge members encountered the exact same problem.
---
"You've jammed the Poké Balls!" Harold's expression changed dramatically. "Banette! Grab that briefcase!
Rapidash, 'Flame Charge'!
Chandelure, 'Shadow Ball'!
Take down every one of those Pokémon!"
If Poké Balls had been disabled, then even if something happened in the main conference hall upstairs, no one would be able to deploy additional Pokémon in time. If Harold couldn't get the warning out immediately, the Sinnoh League was in grave danger.
---
Meanwhile, the fourth-floor conference hall remained lively. Glasses clinked as guests chatted and toasted one another. Lucian had eaten and drunk his fill.
Finding the atmosphere rather dull because Sister had yet to arrive, he sighed. "How boring."
He stepped outside the banquet hall, intending to retrieve his phone from one of the attendants. After walking along the corridor, he discovered that the staff member responsible for storing everyone's phones wasn't even on that floor. He started heading downstairs.
Halfway down, he suddenly stopped. Turning around, he looked toward the far end of the hallway.
Two serving carts, both covered with red cloth, were slowly being pushed toward the banquet hall. Normally, there was nothing unusual about that. Yet something felt wrong.
Lucian stood motionless. Having sampled nearly every dish served that evening, he knew the menu better than anyone. According to the schedule, the final two carts should have been carrying the large desserts and fresh fruit, the only two courses he hadn't eaten yet.
Did desserts and fruit need to be covered with heavy red cloth? None of the exquisitely prepared dishes earlier had received that treatment. A banquet of this level would never add or alter dishes at the last minute; any deviation from the planned menu was a serious red flag.
---
Lucian immediately removed the Poké Balls containing Espeon and Bronzong from his belt and released them.
Even that didn't feel like enough, so he reached for Girafarig's Poké Ball. But when he tried to activate it, nothing happened. He tried again. And again.
Cold sweat trickled down his back. Someone had activated equipment inside the hotel that interfered with Poké Balls. 'What are they planning...?'
Just as Lucian prepared to rush back to the conference hall with Espeon and Bronzong, a tremendous explosion erupted from inside the hall. The very next second, three more deafening blasts shook the entire building. The violent tremors nearly knocked Lucian off his feet.
Espeon and Bronzong immediately unleashed their 'Psychic' powers, sweeping aside the falling debris around him and shielding him from harm. Lucian could already see thick smoke rising from the third floor below. His entire body trembled uncontrollably.
One of those explosions had come directly from the conference hall. Inside were over half of the Sinnoh League's senior officials. Inside were Cynthia, Bertha, Aaron, Flint... the League's strongest trainers.
---
"Save them...! Someone save them!" Lucian roared desperately.
He slapped Bronzong hard on its metallic body, not even noticing the pain in his own hand.
"Don't do this to me... If someone with my luck ends up becoming Sinnoh Champion, Sinnoh's really doomed..."
He kept muttering incoherent nonsense to himself, desperately trying to calm the panic rising inside him. The moment Lucian pushed open the doors to the conference hall, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest, and then he froze.
The hall was in complete chaos. That much he had expected. Tables were overturned, food was scattered and trampled into a mess, and shattered porcelain and glass littered the ground alongside chunks of masonry.
And yet, there were 'no signs of an explosion inside the hall'.
---
The senior officials of the Sinnoh League, though visibly shaken, had gathered safely on the stage.
They stared at a massive crack in the floor caused by the explosions on the third floor below. Many clutched their chests, overwhelmed by the relief of having narrowly escaped death. Others had collapsed to their knees, their legs completely giving out.
At the center of the hall, a 'Tropius' was repeatedly using 'Gust' to blow the billowing thick smoke out through the shattered windows. Then Lucian saw a familiar face: Luther.
Cynthia was holding him tightly in an embrace, while Aaron and Flint were vigorously rubbing his head, messing up his hair until it looked like a bird's nest.
---
Tropius had performed beyond all expectations. After learning from Evergreen where tonight's gathering would take place, Luther had asked for directions.
Without a second thought, he ignored Sun Heart City's no-fly regulations and raced toward the hotel at full speed. Even Luther had been astonished by how fast Tropius flew under the circumstances.
The hotel guests had already noticed the enormous Tropius approaching and hurried away from the windows. Luther didn't hesitate in the slightest. He ordered a 'Hyper Beam'.
The destructive blast smashed through the outer wall of the hotel's fourth floor, blasting open a huge hole.
Riding Tropius, Luther charged straight into the conference hall. Even if he had been wrong, and even if he had to pay for all the damages out of pocket, he refused to hesitate and risk making an irreversible mistake.
---
The instant Luther landed, he ignored Cynthia's look of utter shock at seeing him alive, as well as the astonished gasps of the senior officials. His eyes swept across the room, searching for anyone suspicious.
The Hodgepodge Organization operative disguised as a waiter, whose job was to wheel the explosive-laden serving cart into the hall, had never imagined this turn of events. 'A Tropius dropping from the sky? Who could possibly predict something like that?'
Panicking, the man shoved the serving cart toward the crowd while turning to flee through the doorway. Amid everyone's stunned silence, he was the only person making such a frantic, guilty move. That alone told Luther everything he needed to know.
---
Tropius exceeded even Luther's expectations. The moment Luther pointed toward the serving cart, Tropius instantly swooped forward and seized it.
"Throw it out the window!" Luther shouted urgently.
Tropius immediately spun around, lunged toward the shattered opening in the wall, and hurled the cart high into the air. Luther threw himself forward, wrapped both arms around Tropius's neck, and dragged the massive Pokémon down to the floor.
A deafening explosion erupted high above the Dandelion Hotel. The shockwave shattered every remaining window in the building, sending countless shards of glass raining into the conference hall.
Tropius struggled to raise its body, shielding Luther from much of the flying debris. Glass sliced across its skin, leaving it covered in wounds.
Even so, the sturdy Pokémon merely shook itself, gently nudged Luther back to his feet with its head, and immediately returned to the center of the hall to clear the smoke with Gust.
---
Suddenly, Lucian's Bronzong slammed into the disguised Hodgepodge operative with a spinning 'Gyro Ball', knocking him back into the middle of the hall before he could escape the room.
Lucian's face was as cold as ice, his fists clenched tightly. He had always been regarded as a refined gentleman who preferred to fan the flames from the sidelines, rarely resorting to physical violence.
But at that moment, he finally understood why Luther had wanted to punch Alon when they first met.
Not everyone could remain calm forever. Sometimes, violence was the most persuasive language for dealing with scum.
Right in front of the Sinnoh League's senior officials, Lucian walked over to the Hodgepodge operative and drove a powerful punch straight into his face. Nearby, Tropius was still fanning away the smoke.
Seeing Lucian beating the terrorist so enthusiastically, the Grass-type let out a cheerful, approving cry.
To Lucian's surprise, he somehow understood exactly what Tropius meant. "Don't worry," he muttered, adjusting his glasses. "I'll have Bronzong make him pay for your injuries too."
(End of Chapter)
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