David walked through the long corridor, passing ancient palaces and towering stone structures along the way. He recalled his other Pokémon into their Poké Balls and, hidden beneath Zorua's illusion, kept close behind the group of criminals making their way toward the Ice Temple.
As expected of one of the largest Sea Temples — it really is something else.
David kept a careful distance, quietly observing the layout around him.
By this point, he had already pieced together what he knew about this Sea Temple. The Sea Temple in Belon City was an ancient site, passed down from the early days of the Cloudspire Empire, built in reverence to Lugia. It had a long history, covered a vast stretch of land, and there were many recorded accounts of Lugia descending here throughout the ages.
That was why the Supreme Organization was so confident that traces of Lugia's power still lingered within these walls.
As for why he only had some information — for reasons he couldn't quite explain, the temple had suddenly vanished from all historical records nearly two hundred years ago. Lugia never descended here again after that, and the Alliance's database held no explanation for it either.
David hadn't thought much of it when he first came across that detail, but now it seemed far more significant. Something had clearly gone wrong here in the past.
Perhaps Lugia itself sealed this place away.
He thought of the barrier outside that had held unbroken for two hundred years, and of the ancient pendants the Supreme Organization had used to breach it. Looking back now, the worn patterns carved into them had clearly depicted Lugia and the three Legendary birds.
He kept these thoughts to himself as he continued trailing the group.
The man his allies had taken to calling "Fatty," along with his companions, was in too much of a hurry to notice they were being followed. And even if they had been more careful, it likely wouldn't have mattered — after all, their leader and his Elite-level Ursaring hadn't sensed David earlier, so there was little chance these underlings would.
Before long, they reached the entrance to the Ice Temple. Fatty, who had carried himself with a certain composure until now, seemed to lose it the moment the destination was in sight. He pushed the doors open eagerly and peered inside.
When his eyes landed on the ice-blue glowing feather still resting on the shrine before the throne statue, he let out a long breath of relief.
"The Ice Feather is still here. No one's touched it. Grab it quickly — once we have what we came for, we regroup with the others immediately."
He stepped forward and reached out toward the feather.
"Now! Attack!"
The shout came from just outside the doorway. Fatty spun around.
"Who's there?!"
No answer came — only two attacks already streaking toward him.
A burst of dark, purple-black flames and a swift Shadow Sneak came in fast.
Fatty was no ordinary grunt, however. As someone trusted enough to take part in a Sea Temple operation at an Elite level, he had the reflexes to match. He sidestepped the dark flames and shifted his weight just in time to avoid the Shadow Sneak.
The attacks hadn't really been aimed squarely at him to begin with. He managed to dodge the brunt of them — but his two Pokémon beside him were not so fortunate.
One took the full force of Zorua's Foul Play and crumpled immediately, overwhelmed in both body and spirit. The other was sent flying by Kirlia's Shadow Sneak and collapsed without a sound. Just to be certain, Kirlia drew on a touch of her dark power as well.
Fatty himself had not fared much better. The wide, desperate evasion had sent a Poké Ball rolling from his hand, and with both his Pokémon knocked out in an instant, he had nothing left to fight back with. His two subordinates had already been caught by the attack's reach and were lying still on the temple floor.
Realizing the situation, Fatty scrambled into a corner and called out.
"Hey, let's be reasonable here! You want the feather — take it. It's yours. Just let us go."
He was honestly confused. Aren't I supposed to be the one with the criminal organization?
Attacking a Trainer's party head-on with no warning — who does that?!
"Don't try that with me." David's voice was flat, and a cold look crossed his face. "Even if I wanted to let you go, do you think I'm that naive? The moment you were free, you'd have your people surrounding this place."
He wasn't wrong, and he knew it. Once things had gone this far, there was no talking it down. If he'd had the strength to spare, David would have preferred to take out the entire group before they could regroup — not let a single one of them walk free to cause more trouble. And since he had already made his move, there was no point going halfway.
David touched the Poké Ball at his side. Dragapult was already concealed somewhere within the room, waiting quietly. For now, while the advantage was his, he would keep Dragapult in reserve. If the situation changed, it would be ready.
"Zorua, use Night Daze — don't hold back. Flush him out. Lucario, gather those fainted Pokémon and their Trainers. Kirlia, retrieve the Ice Feather."
The plan to stall had failed. Fatty could see that David meant every word — and that his own survival wasn't weighing heavily on David's mind at all. That was enough. He scrambled to his feet and raised both hands.
"Wait — stop! I give up. I surrender!"
David gave Zorua a small nod. The swirling dark energy of Night Daze faded before it could be released.
Keeping him alive might still be useful. There were things David wanted to know.
Fatty exhaled slowly.
There had been no real choice. That Zorua was brutal. Surrendering at least left him a chance — keep resisting, and he was fairly sure this kid would have had it bury him under the temple floor without a second thought.
Still… a little too careless.
Fatty watched carefully as David approached without any apparent guard. His face stayed neutral, but something flickered behind his eyes.
This was the opening he had been waiting for.
The moment David stepped close enough — seemingly about to ask him something —
"You—"
Before the word was fully out, Fatty lunged. His mouth pulled into a sharp grin as two concealed blades slid from his sleeves.
"You're still too green, kid."
His thinking was straightforward enough. Even if this boy had strong Pokémon, getting hold of the Trainer himself would make those Pokémon hesitate. And if he could buy just a little more time before his leader and the others arrived, the tables would turn in his favor.
Mid-lunge, with triumph already rising in his chest, Fatty glanced at David's face—
And stopped.
There was no panic in those eyes. No alarm. Just a faint, quiet curve at the corner of his lips.
A cold feeling settled deep in Fatty's gut.