Looking at the figures that had suddenly appeared before her, Officer Jenny Yoko couldn't help widening her eyes slightly, momentarily stunned.
Countless questions flashed through her mind in an instant.
Who were they?
What exactly was going on?
Why had these people appeared at such a critical moment?
Everything felt so abrupt that the capture operation she had carefully prepared now seemed overshadowed by uncertainty.
"Chief, what do we do?"
The male investigator who had just been relaying orders hurried over, equally confused and nervous as he lowered his voice and asked quietly.
Officer Jenny Yoko frowned tightly, quickly weighing the pros and cons in her mind before gritting her teeth and decisively saying:
"The operation begins immediately. Ignore them!"
At a crucial moment like this, opportunities were rare.
They couldn't let a few mysterious strangers disrupt the entire arrest plan.
Since those people had already appeared here, there was no point worrying about their intentions now.
The priority was still the same—
Capture Hunter J.
With that, Officer Jenny Yoko immediately took out a Poké Ball and released it without hesitation.
A flash of light burst forth.
An imposing Arcanine appeared before everyone.
Its body was sleek and powerful, its fur gleaming under the night sky, while its eyes radiated fearless fighting spirit.
With agile movements, Officer Jenny Yoko leapt directly onto Arcanine's back.
After firmly steadying herself, she grabbed onto its fur with one hand and pointed toward the abandoned hotel with the other as she shouted:
"Arcanine, charge in!!"
"ROOOAR!!"
Receiving the order, Arcanine threw its head back and let out a loud howl.
Its four limbs exploded with force as it rushed toward the abandoned hotel like a blazing streak of fire, carrying Officer Jenny Yoko at full speed.
Seeing this, the other investigators and Officer Jennys stopped hiding as well.
They quickly followed her lead, taking out Poké Balls one after another and releasing their Pokémon.
In an instant, the previously silent atmosphere outside the abandoned hotel was completely shattered.
The roars of Pokémon and the shouts of trainers intertwined chaotically through the night.
Above the abandoned hotel, the group floating in midair under Jirachi's psychic power looked down at the scene with utterly dumbfounded expressions.
"Old Chen, what the heck is going on?"
"Why do I feel like we're the ones being surrounded?"
Steven scratched his head blankly.
Chen Shi's mouth twitched.
The hell do you mean we're surrounded?
From the looks of it, these were obviously Alliance investigators and Officer Jennys.
They were clearly here to capture Hunter J too.
Their timing was simply ridiculously unfortunate—
They had arrived literally one second before the operation started.
"So what do we do now?"
Even Cynthia looked rather speechless as she asked.
Chen Shi shrugged.
"What else can we do?"
"Let's just watch first."
...…
"Hmph, it's you Alliance hyenas again."
"You people really never give up."
A voice full of disdain and irritation suddenly rang out from inside the hotel.
Immediately afterward came a sharp shout.
"Salamence, Hyper Beam!!"
BOOOOM—!!
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted, making the ground tremble slightly.
The already crumbling wall of the abandoned hotel was violently blasted apart as bricks and rubble flew everywhere.
A massive, ferocious Salamence carrying a silver-haired woman burst out from inside like a streak of lightning.
The moment it emerged, Salamence opened its enormous jaws.
A beam carrying terrifying destructive force erupted from its mouth.
In an instant, three unprepared Pokémon were directly struck by the attack.
They cried out painfully before collapsing to the ground amid clouds of dust.
After her, more and more Pokémon Hunters rushed out from the hotel and immediately clashed with the Alliance forces.
Officer Jenny Yoko's gaze sharpened as she shouted:
"Arcanine, Flamethrower!"
"ROOOAR!!"
Scorching flames burst from Arcanine's mouth.
The roaring fire rapidly heated the surrounding air, causing visible waves of distortion.
Hunter J sneered.
"Salamence, dodge!"
Because Salamence could fly—and because the battlefield was wide and open—it effortlessly evaded Arcanine's Flamethrower.
"Forget about her."
"Use Dragon Pulse on those weaklings and sweep through them!"
"ROOOAR!!"
Following Hunter J's orders, Salamence completely ignored Arcanine and unleashed Dragon Pulse with full power.
Five Pokémon were instantly knocked down by the overwhelming attack, losing the ability to battle.
And after defeating those five Pokémon, Salamence let out a furious roar.
Its aura began rising rapidly.
"That's Moxie."
Watching Salamence's performance from above, Chen Shi muttered quietly.
Moxie was an incredibly powerful ability in chaotic battlefield situations.
Its effect was simple—
Every time it defeated a Pokémon, its Attack stat increased by one stage.
Earlier, Chen Shi had already scanned the situation with the system.
Officer Jenny Yoko's Arcanine was at mid–Champion level.
Hunter J's Salamence was at the exact same level.
Originally, if the two fought head-on, the outcome would have been hard to predict.
But now—
Salamence's Moxie was practically fully stacked.
At this point, Arcanine absolutely stood no chance against it.
Cynthia nodded slightly.
"That's right. It's Moxie."
"If this continues, that Officer Jenny is in danger."
Down below—
Officer Jenny Yoko's expression had become incredibly ugly.
Clearly, she fully understood Salamence's situation.
The reason she had rushed forward so quickly at the start of the operation was precisely to pin down Hunter J before Salamence could stack Moxie.
She never expected Hunter J to react so fast.
At this point, eight Pokémon had already fallen beneath Salamence's attacks.
Its Attack stat had definitely reached the limit.
Facing a pseudo-legendary Dragon-type with fully stacked Attack—
Her Arcanine's chances of victory were slim to none.
Officer Jenny Yoko gritted her teeth tightly and clenched her fists as she shouted angrily:
"Hunter J, is relying on cheap tricks all you know how to do?!"
Hunter J crossed her arms, her tone dripping with disdain.
"You think this is some kind of children's game?"
"Cheap tricks?"
"As far as I'm concerned, any tactic that works is a good tactic."
"Salamence, another Dragon Pulse!"
Salamence roared loudly.
A vast dragon-shaped wave of energy rapidly condensed inside its mouth before erupting outward like a destructive torrent toward Officer Jenny Yoko and Arcanine below.
Officer Jenny Yoko's pupils shrank sharply.
"Arcanine, Extreme Speed! Dodge it!"
Knowing the danger, Arcanine didn't hesitate in the slightest.
It instantly activated Extreme Speed and carried Officer Jenny Yoko away from the area.
The Dragon Pulse slammed directly into the spot where they had been standing moments earlier.
BOOOOM!!
The ground exploded violently, leaving behind a massive crater.
Dust and shattered stone scattered everywhere.
The surrounding earth trembled violently from the impact, almost like a small earthquake.
"Salamence, again! Use Hyper Beam!"
"Wait a second!"
Just as Hunter J prepared to finish Officer Jenny Yoko in one decisive strike, an abrupt voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone froze momentarily before turning toward the source of the sound.
Above the abandoned hotel, several young men and women floated in midair.
Hunter J sneered.
"And here I thought it was someone important."
"So it's just a bunch of brats who haven't even grown up yet."
"Salamence, ignore them and use Hyper Be—"
Before she could finish saying the word "Beam," the final syllable became lodged in her throat.
The confident arrogance from moments ago vanished completely.
Her eyes filled with terror and panic.
Because—
A vast psychic pressure descended upon both her and Salamence like the wrath of heaven itself.
It carried an overwhelming oppression that simply could not be resisted.
"I already told you to wait."
"So why won't you listen?"
"You're making me, Chen, lose face here!!"
...…
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