Luther finally broke free from Cynthia, Aaron, and the others' enthusiastic "welcome."
"Save it until we're outside," he said. "The fire's already spreading. Their bombing may not have been professional, but there's a good chance the building's load-bearing structure is compromised."
As if to prove his point, the hole in the middle of the conference hall widened once again. Flames from the burning third floor suddenly burst upward into the fourth.
---
Cynthia and the Elite Four had already discovered that their Poké Balls were malfunctioning.
At the moment, the only Pokémon still capable of acting were the Tropius Luther had ridden here, Darkrai guarding them from the shadows, and Lucian's Espeon and Bronzong.
Luther called out to Tropius, which immediately stopped clearing away the smoke and hurried over.
"Hand me every flying Pokémon you've got. Now."
Cynthia immediately gave him the Poké Balls containing Altaria and Garchomp. Bertha handed over Flygon, Gliscor, and Claydol. Lucian contributed Skarmory, while Aaron added Vespiquen and Pidgeot. Even Flint produced a Charizard.
Yet even then, it wasn't nearly enough. There were simply too many people trapped inside, and flying back and forth one group at a time would waste precious minutes.
---
Luther turned toward the senior League officials gathered on the stage and shouted, "And you people! Are you just going to stand there waiting to die? Hand over every Pokémon you have that can fly or levitate!"
Taken out of context, it almost sounded like Luther had burst in to rob everyone.
The League executives, who were usually the ones giving orders, stood frozen for a second before hurriedly stuffing every Poké Ball containing a flying or floating Pokémon into Luther's backpack.
Carrying the heavy pack, Luther climbed back onto Tropius.
"I don't know how large the jamming field is... Let's hope this works."
Leaving Darkrai behind to protect everyone still inside the hotel, Luther guided Tropius as it shot through the massive hole in the outer wall.
---
As they flew, Luther repeatedly pressed the activation buttons on the Poké Balls.
'Two hundred meters...'
Nothing.
'Five hundred meters...'
Still nothing.
'One kilometer...'
No response.
Luther gritted his teeth. "They really planned to wipe everyone out..."
The jamming equipment definitely wasn't limited to the hotel itself.
To prevent the Pokémon League from detecting anything beforehand, the attackers must have installed multiple jammers in every direction, activating them simultaneously after the explosions. The goal was obvious: prevent any Pokémon-based rescue operation.
---
Tropius accelerated sharply. In the blink of an eye, they had flown much farther.
Suddenly, one of the Poké Balls in Luther's hand burst open in a flash of light. Garchomp emerged, glanced at Luther once, and immediately turned to fly back toward the hotel.
Ever since earlier, Garchomp had felt deeply uneasy. The moment she materialized and saw only Luther, she instantly realized something terrible had happened.
Luther quickly activated every remaining Poké Ball. Soon, the skies over Sun Heart City were filled with flying and levitating Pokémon.
Countless citizens looked up in astonishment. Who on earth was openly violating the city's no-fly regulations on such a massive scale?
Even the police officers patrolling the streets were stunned. Blowing their whistles, they shouted warnings toward Luther while hurriedly reporting that someone was leading a large group of Pokémon through the city's restricted airspace.
---
Luther gave the newly released Pokémon a brief explanation of the situation. Before he had even finished speaking, the Elite Four's Pokémon had already taken the lead and raced back toward the hotel.
---
By the time Luther returned, he discovered that nearly the entire outer wall of the hotel's fourth floor had been torn away.
Garchomp was apparently still unsatisfied; seeing an uneven section of the remaining wall, she casually smashed it apart with one swipe of her claws. Flygon, Gliscor, and the other flying Pokémon had already begun ferrying trapped people to safety.
---
On the ground, Officer Jenny and the police, assisted by Harold, had successfully surrounded the Hodgepodge Organization members who had tried to flee after the explosions.
The remaining combat-capable Pokémon had formed a defensive perimeter around the landing zone.
While the flying Pokémon waited outside the shattered windows to pick up their Trainers, a column of fire suddenly erupted from the third floor.
'BOOM!'
Another deafening explosion shook the building, sending flames and a violent shockwave surging toward everyone from behind.
"Darkrai!"
"Espeon!"
"Bronzong!"
"Block it!"
Luther and Lucian shouted almost simultaneously.
An overwhelming wave of 'Psychic' power formed into an airtight barrier, completely blocking the aftereffects of the explosion on the opposite side. On one side, flames raged uncontrollably. On the other, everything remained calm.
---
After that terrifying close call, everyone who had narrowly escaped death hurried to evacuate even faster.
Several minutes later, Darkrai, Espeon, and Bronzong, utterly exhausted, finally sensed that the last person behind them had escaped. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief, allowing Tropius and Skarmory to quickly carry them away from the burning building.
---
Watching the hotel get engulfed in flames, the surviving senior officials of the Sinnoh League were furious. This was nothing less than an open act of contempt toward the Pokémon League, a blatant provocation.
Luther couldn't be bothered listening to them interrogate the security personnel about how they had failed to detect the attack. Instead, he found Nurse Joy, who had arrived with her medical team to treat the injured.
---
Luther gently stroked Tropius's battered body. During the rescue, neither of them had noticed the pain because of the adrenaline and urgency. Now that everything had settled down, Tropius's entire body burned with pain.
When it had shielded Luther, Cynthia, and the others from the initial explosion, countless tiny shards of glass had embedded themselves across its skin.
"I've gotten you hurt this badly..." Luther rested his forehead against Tropius's. "When Gardenia sees this, she's probably going to point at my nose and give me the scolding of my life."
Tropius merely smiled, sticking out its tongue to give Luther an affectionate lick across the face. Nearby, Chansey and Nurse Joy carefully removed the glass splinters one by one, almost as though they were picking thorns from its skin. Luther sighed and sat down heavily on the grass.
---
Harold sat beside him. After defeating the remaining Hodgepodge Organization members in the underground garage, the massive explosions had nearly buried him alive beneath collapsing concrete.
Fortunately, Banette had rescued him just in time. The explosives had already been handed over to Officer Jenny and the bomb disposal team.
Harold calmly smoked a cigarette.
---
Luther's eyes widened. He watched Harold casually hand cigarettes to Banette and Rapidash as well. Banette even struck its cigarette against Rapidash's blazing mane to light it. Soon, both Pokémon were calmly puffing away beside Harold.
"Want one?" Harold noticed Luther staring and assumed he was looking to bum a smoke.
Luther immediately waved both hands. "No, thanks!"
Harold nodded knowingly. "Banette's actually more addicted than I am. Didn't expect that, did you?"
Banette looked at Luther with an expression that clearly said: 'What's so surprising about that?'
Luther really hadn't expected it. He had to admit, Harold's Pokémon certainly had personality.
Banette looked like a street thug, while Chandelure lazily swayed in midair like a pendulum. Rapidash calmly smoked while scraping the ground with one hoof. A group of complete oddballs.
After surviving such a catastrophe, all three Pokémon looked astonishingly relaxed. They even cheerfully pointed at the burning hotel, chatting among themselves as though watching a fireworks display.
Then again, it made sense. Any Pokémon capable of following someone like Harold, who treated life-threatening thrills as an everyday hobby, would naturally have nerves of steel and be unlike ordinary Pokémon.
---
"Thanks for tonight, Luther." Harold's face was hidden behind drifting cigarette smoke, making it impossible to read his expression.
Luther shook his head. "No need. I'm part of Sinnoh too. And don't forget... I'm the champion of this year's Lily of the Valley Conference."
'(End of Chapter)'
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395