"Regi...!"
The "lights" on the front of Regigigas's body flashed rapidly, like an alarm. Its massive size created a crushing sense of pressure.
"Salamence, let's go."
Hunter J called out to the Salamence beneath her. She did not plan to waste time with Regigigas here.
After all, there was no point. Against a body this large, her petrification gun would never work.
Furthermore, with Regigigas's power, this land was not enough for it to toss around. Nearby Snowpoint City would likely suffer.
However, Hunter J did not care about that.
Hearing her voice, Salamence turned its head and prepared to leave.
"Boss, we've lost contact with Unit Seven and the others. How is it on your end?" a subordinate's voice suddenly came through the communicator.
"The plan has changed. Everyone, retreat. The target is out of control," Hunter J replied indifferently.
As for the subordinate saying they had lost contact with Unit Seven, Hunter J did not take it to heart.
To her, subordinates were replaceable tools. She never lacked them. Because of Hunter J's reputation, there were far too many hunters who wanted to work under her.
But at that moment, a strong feeling of dread suddenly hit her. It was the threat of death.
That cold sensation, which even gave her goosebumps, was something she had experienced several times when she first started as a Pokémon Hunter.
Hunter J immediately turned her head. She saw a massive yellow beam of light flying through the air at high speed. The target was her and Salamence!
It was Regigigas's Hyper Beam!
"Salamence!"
Hunter J's scream was extremely sharp.
Salamence also noticed the danger. It immediately tried to dodge, but it was too late. There was no time to even use Protect.
BOOM!
The Hyper Beam hit Salamence heavily. The sound of the explosion was deafening. A powerful blast of air and a shockwave spread outward.
Salamence, hit by Regigigas, fell toward the ground like a kite with a broken string. It slammed hard into the earth. Its breathing was extremely weak.
Hunter J fell off Salamence at the same time it hit the ground. Blood leaked from the corners of her mouth. She lay on her back on the ground, her breathing extremely faint.
Although Salamence had blocked most of the damage from the Hyper Beam, she was still very badly injured.
Hunter J's pupils were beginning to lose focus. Perhaps she was about to die.
"Look what I've found. How pathetic. This is an exaggerated amount of blood."
A voice, sounding either mocking or playful, suddenly reached the ears of the dazed Hunter J.
But her entire body was unable to move. Even the action of turning her head had become extremely difficult.
"Damian, it's not appropriate to make those kinds of jokes right now."
Cynthia's eyebrows drew together. She spoke to Damian with a helpless tone.
While speaking, Cynthia walked quickly to Hunter J's side and knelt. She checked Hunter J's injuries.
The place where they stood was still covered in a layer of snow. However, the white snow beneath Hunter J was slowly being dyed red.
This was why Damian said the amount of blood was exaggerated.
Cynthia noticed that the left side of Hunter J's abdomen was mangled and bloody. Clearly, she had been hit by the blast of the move.
Cynthia immediately took out a bottle of high-grade wound spray. Although wound medicine was not as effective on humans as it was on Pokémon, it could still be used in an emergency to soothe a wound.
"Cynthia, you really are a kind person. This woman is Hunter J. You're actually planning to save her?"
Damian walked slowly behind Cynthia and clicked his tongue in wonder.
"The crimes she has committed are probably enough to lock her up for a lifetime, right?"
"That is a separate matter, Damian. She is also a human being."
Cynthia's face was very calm. She answered clearly in her steady voice.
"No matter how many bad things she has done, I will not stand by and watch her die if it is within my power to help."
The crimes Hunter J committed were one thing, but her being near death was another.
Saving her was a matter of Cynthia's conscience. However, how to handle her after she was saved was a different story. Cynthia understood this very well.
"That's why people like you..." Damian couldn't help but laugh lightly upon hearing this.
This was also why he admired Champions like Cynthia and Steven. They truly were full of kindness toward this world.
If Damian were in Cynthia's position, he probably wouldn't do such a thing. A criminal as evil as Hunter J should just die and be reincarnated sooner.
Hunter J's focused pupils had dimmed a lot. However, she also heard the conversation between Cynthia and Damian. It was impossible to tell what expression was on her pale face.
"You can't save her, Cynthia. Her injuries are too severe," Caitlin said suddenly.
"That Hyper Beam just now must have crushed her internal organs. High-grade medicine can only treat her external wounds."
Caitlin was a psychic. She could sense the general condition of Hunter J's body right now.
Unless she was sent to a top hospital for emergency surgery right now, there might be a chance to save her. But even then, the probability was very small.
Cynthia remained silent.
"However, Damian's Small Sacred Ash should be able to save her," Caitlin added.
The Small Sacred Ash was the most effective healing medicine Caitlin had ever seen. Most importantly, the Small Sacred Ash worked excellently on humans.
Perhaps it was because the main ingredient of the Small Sacred Ash was a Ho-Oh feather?
"Don't look at me. I have no obligation to save her."
Damian raised his eyebrows and replied with a smile to Cynthia, who was looking at him.
"And look carefully, Cynthia. You see that Pokémon going wild in the distance, right?"
Damian pointed to the "giant" as big as a mountain in the distance. That was the Legendary Pokémon Regigigas.
Although it had shot down Hunter J and Salamence, Regigigas was still in a rage. Its arms waved constantly. Huge Hyper Beams were attacking the surroundings wildly. There was no such thing as the "recharge" pause after using Hyper Beam.
This was exactly like the situation in the anime. Clearly, Regigigas was still so angry it had lost its mind.
The explosions from the Hyper Beams went off one after another. Smoke and dust filled the air. The area around Regigigas was already a mess.
The mountain peaks, the ground, and the temple were all being destroyed.
"There's no need to even think about it. This woman must have caused Regigigas to go wild. Now she is just suffering the consequences. She deserves it."
Damian's voice was very mocking.
"Of course, if you beg me, I can give the Small Sacred Ash to you to save her life."
Damian's lips curled up with a hint of malice.
"But Cynthia, you should think carefully. Do you really want to save such an evil person? Will you beg me for her sake?"
Caitlin's eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she still did not say anything.
She roughly guessed Damian's thoughts. He was simply using this to test Cynthia's mindset.
If Cynthia gave up on saving Hunter J because of Damian's words...
Once a crack forms in someone's humanity, it is very difficult to close it again.
"...Damian, I beg you. Save her."
However, Cynthia did not hesitate for long. She lowered herself and made the request to Damian.
She still held to her beliefs. She could not watch a human life slip away before her eyes.
"You really are a piece of work..."
Damian couldn't help but smile when he saw this. He could only say it was expected. But that's what made it interesting. That was the real Cynthia.
Damian took a bottle of Small Sacred Ash medicine from his backpack and walked to Hunter J.
"Today is your lucky day. But from now on, your life belongs to Team Rocket."
Damian knelt down and looked at the pale Hunter J.
First, he sprinkled half a bottle of Small Sacred Ash onto Hunter J's wound. Then, he poured the other half into a bottle of water, mixed it well, and fed it to Hunter J.
Damian was not polite at all. He was not like Cynthia. Since he saved Hunter J, she should get ready to contribute her talents to the growth of Team Rocket.
As for handing Hunter J over to Cynthia? That wasn't going to happen.
Hearing Damian's words, Cynthia's expression changed slightly. But in the end, she hesitated to speak and sighed in her heart.
What could she say?
Without a doubt, the effect of the Small Sacred Ash was immediate. The wounds on Hunter J's body healed significantly almost at once. Her face also looked a bit better.
"This medicine?"
Witnessing this scene with her own eyes, even Cynthia was shocked by the healing power of the Small Sacred Ash.
"If it were the real Sacred Ash, it could practically bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh on bones. The Small Sacred Ash isn't that exaggerated, but saving a dying person is still possible."
Damian stood up. He figured that within half an hour, most of Hunter J's injuries would be healed. At the very least, she was definitely out of danger.
"Where did this come from?"
"My own company developed it. Don't even think about it. The reason this Small Sacred Ash works so well is its main ingredient. That stuff isn't easy to get."
Damian knew exactly what Cynthia was thinking without even trying. Such exaggerated healing power—and most importantly, it worked so well on humans.
It was extremely effective, almost too good to be true.
But the raw material for Small Sacred Ash was a Ho-Oh feather. That meant it was impossible to mass-produce.
Otherwise, he couldn't just pluck Ho-Oh bald, could he? If he did that, even Ho-Oh would get angry.
Well, though Damian felt that with Ho-Oh's self-healing ability, growing a new set of feathers shouldn't take long.
"..." Cynthia was indeed curious about what the raw material for the Small Sacred Ash was.
But she also received a piece of information. Were the scientific achievements of Damian's company really this exaggerated?
"So, next is that big guy."
Damian looked toward Regigigas in the distance. The big fellow was still destroying everything around it.
"It's really big~"
Damian couldn't help but praise it. From his perspective, Regigigas looked as large as a mountain.
It was at least twenty to thirty meters tall. This was not at all like the anime. However, it seemed it should be this way.
Actually, according to Pokédex data, Regigigas is only about 3.7 meters tall. In the anime, it was also roughly that size.
But Damian was certain there was something wrong with those numbers. Take Groudon for example. The Pokédex says a normal Groudon is 3.5 meters, and Primal Groudon is 5 meters.
But actually, looking at the anime, Primal Groudon should be at least a dozen meters tall at minimum.
Since Damian had actually seen Primal Groudon, he was sure that Primal Groudon was over fifteen meters tall.
This was because Primal Kyogre was already nearly twenty meters long.
"If this continues, it will probably reach Snowpoint City soon."
Cynthia looked at the gradually moving Regigigas. She bit her lip and spoke with worry.
Because the Snowpoint Temple was not very far from Snowpoint City. With Regigigas's destructive power, Snowpoint City definitely couldn't withstand its rampage.
"Definitely. Why are you looking at me?" Damian looked at Cynthia with interest.
"Damian, please stop it." Cynthia once again asked the leader of Team Rocket for help.
"Ha~ Cynthia, what do you take me for?"
Although he came here specifically for Regigigas, Damian certainly wouldn't say that now.
"There's no benefit in this for me."
"But you can catch Regigigas, right?"
"Setting aside what use I have for something with Slow Start, Cynthia, a Legendary Pokémon at this level won't just follow you because you want to catch it."
Damian mocked her. He was indeed interested in Regigigas, but whether Regigigas was willing to follow him was a different matter.
Cynthia took a steady breath. Her eyes gradually became determined.
She knew that she could not stop Regigigas on her own. She didn't have that power.
But Damian could. Damian could do it, as long as he was willing to act.
"As long as you can stop Regigigas from destroying Snowpoint City, Damian, I can promise you one request that does not cross my moral lines."
"Are you sure?"
Damian looked at Cynthia with great interest.
"Join Team Rocket? Or have a child with me?"
Cynthia's breathing became rapid. Good grief, the choices were either joining Team Rocket or having a child? Who gives options like that?
Most importantly...
Cynthia already felt a sharp gaze coming from a certain blonde friend.
Cynthia started to sweat a little
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Want to read ahead?
The story is already available up to Chapter 405.
And in just a few days, it'll be updated to Chapter 450.
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