At the edge of Twinleaf Town.
Looker covered his communication device while rushing toward the grassy slope where the battle had taken place.
"Hello, Elite Lance? A massive battle has broken out north of Twinleaf Town. The intensity is at least Elite-level… It's suspected to be a fight between Hunter Guild Chief Hunter A and Galar Champion Shiro. Please send support immediately..."
"Hello... Headquarters secretary? Please inform Chairman Goodshow. Something serious is happening here in Twinleaf Town. I've already notified Elite Lance. Please send reinforcements as soon as possible."
The call ended.
Looker casually stuffed the device back into his pocket. Looking at the dense forest around him, he threw out a Poké Ball and commanded, "Croagunk, go check over there. If you find anything, notify me immediately!"
"Croak!"
The dark blue Croagunk was only as tall as Looker's knees. After crying out once, it quickly hopped away to scout the path.
"Seriously, that Drakloak only took Jan with it and left me behind..." Looker complained bitterly, grinding his teeth in frustration. "They're seriously looking down on me!"
Running all the way from Twinleaf Town had already left his legs numb. Worse, he had somehow gotten lost.
Originally, the nonstop shockwaves from the battle had served as a guide. But now that the fighting had suddenly stopped, something had obviously happened.
Looker instinctively followed his gut feeling and accidentally circled back the wrong way.
Thankfully, he still had Croagunk.
"Croak!"
Croagunk quickly returned and pointed one webbed hand toward a direction like a human giving directions.
"Good! Thanks, Croagunk..."
Looker hurried over.
After pushing through a cluster of bushes, his vision suddenly opened up.
The sky ahead was strangely covered in water-like crimson mist that cast bloody red shadows over the entire area. Torn grass and churned-up soil were everywhere. The ground was filled with craters, clearly showing signs of intense attacks.
And not far away, Shiro was crouching beside an unconscious girl, studying something carefully.
"Hey!"
Looker quickly waved and ran over.
The moment he heard the voice, Shiro immediately gripped the knife hidden in his pocket. Only after recognizing Looker did he slowly stand up and brush the grass off himself.
"What happened? Anna... what's wrong with her? And just now, were you…?"
Panting heavily, Looker fired off a series of questions.
Shiro raised a hand to stop him and briefly explained what had happened.
"She passed out. I found the severed finger just now and was checking if it could be reattached. Can Pokémon Centers reconnect severed fingers these days?"
"A severed finger..." Looker stroked his chin thoughtfully and lifted Anna's hand for another look. "Although I've never heard of a Pokémon Center reattaching a human finger before, it should probably be possible. After all, they can reattach Pokémon claws. A human finger shouldn't be a problem."
"Then I'll leave her to you. Take her to the Pokémon Center," Shiro said.
Looker nodded seriously without hesitation.
The situation was still unclear. Although Jan had gone after Hunter A, the hunter still hadn't been captured. Another battle could break out here at any moment.
Compared to everyone else, Looker's strength was relatively weak. Escaping with the child was the better choice for him.
Just as Looker picked Anna up, he looked into the sky and saw an Archeops and an Aerodactyl flying toward them.
"That's... old Champion Jan?"
The moment he muttered that, a loud shout came from the sky.
"Run! All of you, now!"
Before Looker could even react, Shiro had already grabbed him and started sprinting.
* * *
In the air.
Jan glanced back at the Ditto that had completely fallen into madness. His brows tightened and his scalp tingled.
The Aerodactyl transformed from Ditto now had most of its body wrapped in strange black threads. Meanwhile, the upper half of its head continuously shifted between black sludge and the face of a woman as if it had completely lost control.
"What the hell did that Ditto use?" Jan muttered through gritted teeth.
As a former League Champion, he considered himself well-informed. He had seen numerous forbidden drugs and ancient technologies before.
But something that could still boost a Pokémon's power by nearly six or seven times while it was already at its limit, with the only side effect being insanity, whether it was technology, an item, or a forbidden drug, was terrifying beyond belief.
If certain evil organizations got their hands on it, they could easily create an army of Gym-level Pokémon.
Against the crazed Ditto behind him, even Jan could only barely hold it off.
No matter what medicine or method it used, the power consumed was still the Pokémon's own life force and strength. Once the drug's effects wore off, the Pokémon would naturally be ruined.
A thunderous roar exploded behind him.
"All of you can die!"
Ditto released an incredibly hoarse scream, and then a massive black pillar of energy that seemed capable of piercing through heaven itself erupted forward.
Hyper Beam!
"Fly upward and dodge it!"
Jan hurriedly commanded the Archeops beneath him. At the same time, he recalled the fleeing Aerodactyl into its Poké Ball.
Boom!
The Hyper Beam swept diagonally downward, narrowly missing the Archeops by less than a feather's width.
However...
* * *
Below, Shiro, who was desperately dragging Looker into the forest, suddenly felt alarm bells explode in his mind. He instinctively turned around.
A blinding black flash filled his vision.
'Too fast...'
His thoughts hesitated for only an instant between using a Poké Ball or the Psychic Crystal before the Hyper Beam slammed toward them.
There was no time to react.
Boom!
The mountain shook violently. Trees trembled from the impact. Fierce winds surged skyward while smoke and dirt briefly covered the area before quickly dispersing.
Looker's legs were shaking uncontrollably. His voice trembled as he spoke in disbelief after surviving.
"W-we're still alive..."
"Growlithe! Take them and run!"
Shiro immediately pulled out a Poké Ball.
"Growl!"
Growlithe barked softly, bit onto Looker, who had collapsed weakly onto the ground, and sprinted toward Twinleaf Town.
Looker still held Anna in his arms as the two humans and one Pokémon quickly disappeared into the distance.
After watching them leave, Shiro slowly opened his hand with a grave expression.
The once brilliantly glowing Psychic Crystal had already turned dull. The psychic power inside had completely disappeared.
The situation had been too urgent. Even crushing the crystal wouldn't have saved all three of them.
The only option was to guide the psychic power left behind by Mesprit out of the crystal and turn it into a protective barrier.
And he had gambled correctly.
The barrier created from Mesprit's psychic power had completely blocked the attack, but the price was that the crystal had lost its power.
It no longer possessed the ability to teleport or awaken Mesprit. Now, it was nothing more than an ordinary stone that retained only the faintest connection to Mesprit.
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