"Squee! Squee!"
The Rattata in Aaron's hand immediately cried out when it saw its father arrive.
Tears streamed from its eyes, making it look unbearably pitiful. Anyone who didn't know what was going on would think Aaron was bullying a child.
And unfortunately, someone here really didn't know what was going on.
When Papa Raticate saw his son crying so miserably, fury instantly surged through him. A crimson glint flashed in his eyes, and his sharp front teeth shone with dazzling white light as he charged straight at Aaron, determined to gnaw his head off.
Aaron was completely speechless.
He clenched his hand into a fist and threw a punch.
It collided directly with Papa Raticate's glowing front teeth.
BAM!
A loud impact rang out.
"SQUEEEAK!"
Papa Raticate let out a pained scream as Aaron's punch sent him flying. He rolled several times across the ground, clutching his front teeth and howling in pain.
"Grenin..."
Greninja stood nearby with dead-fish eyes and gave Aaron a contemptuous glance before letting out a disdainful cry.
With Aaron's current physical strength, he could already fight Elite-class Pokémon, yet here he was bullying small fry.
Truly shameless.
"Little guy... you can go too."
"Remember, don't waste food."
Aaron released the pitiful little Rattata in his hand and said to it.
The little Rattata quickly nodded, then ran over to Papa Raticate.
Papa Raticate had also realized that this person was a monster. He was no match for him at all, so he hurriedly picked up the two unconscious Rattata and fled in a panic.
A bright smile appeared on Aaron's face as he said to Greninja, "Let's go, Frog Boss. Let's see which one of us is faster."
The moment Aaron finished speaking, his figure shot forward like an arrow, vanishing from where he stood.
"Grenin..."
A trace of mockery appeared in Greninja's dead-fish eyes.
He dared to compare speed with his Black Flash?
Wasn't that like challenging a fish to a swimming contest?
Greninja leisurely stretched.
Mm...
He would let Aaron run for a while first.
WHOOSH!
Flying Thunder God Technique!
Greninja's figure disappeared in an instant.
"Holy crap... you cheated, you little ninja frog!"
"You actually used the Flying Thunder God mark on me. Shameless!"
"Grenin!" You're just too slow!
"Damn it!"
...
Aaron and Frog Boss sped across the grasslands and raced through the fields, moving so fast that even some Flying Pokémon would feel ashamed.
Just like that, time slipped away without them noticing.
By the time evening arrived, the red sun was sinking in the west. Brilliant crimson clouds spread across the horizon, dyeing half the sky in beautiful shades of red.
It was stunning.
Aaron rode the mighty Charizard high through the sky. Looking at the beautiful view before him, a happy smile appeared on his face.
"As expected... you really do need to go out and see the world. This view is incredible!"
"ROOOAR!"
Joy also flashed through Charizard's eyes.
It had always stayed inside the secret zone. When had it ever seen scenery this beautiful?
Its heart was filled with anticipation and delight.
"Hahaha... Charizard, you like it too, right?"
Aaron laughed as he stroked Charizard's tough scales.
"ROAR! ROAR!"
Charizard quickly nodded to show that it liked it.
"Let's go, Charizard. Find us a place to camp for the night."
Aaron waved his hand and said to Charizard.
"Hm?"
Just then, from high in the sky, Aaron suddenly saw an aircraft sweeping past at low altitude.
There was a large letter L on the aircraft.
Aaron frowned.
He immediately thought of one organization.
The Pokémon Hunters.
Back in the Pokémon Reserve, he had run into them once before.
They had tried to capture Treecko, but he had stopped them.
After that, there had been no news about the Pokémon Hunters. He never expected to run into them again here.
A thought stirred in Aaron's mind, and he said to Charizard, "Charizard... let's go. Follow them."
Charizard nodded, flapped its powerful wings, and swiftly chased after the aircraft from high above.
...
Inside the aircraft, two people in black trench coats were talking. Each had a large capital L on their back.
One was a beautiful woman with blue hair and a cold expression.
She said, "The target location is just ahead."
Then she turned to look out the window.
Night had already fallen, and the moon was slowly rising into the sky.
"At midnight tonight... once the targets evolve together, we'll capture them all at once."
If Aaron were here, he would definitely recognize her.
This person was none other than the Pokémon Hunter who had escaped before, Ice Phoenix.
The other Pokémon Hunter was a burly, muscular man.
When he heard Ice Phoenix's words, the man nodded and said, "Roger that, Captain."
The aircraft arrived above the forest.
Because its lights had been turned off and its exterior had shifted to black, it was extremely difficult to spot in the night.
Below the aircraft was a basin, surrounded on all sides by mountains and enclosed by forest.
The basin was covered in grass and flowers. At its center stood a massive tree that gave off a faint fluorescent glow, sparkling under the moonlight.
At that moment...
Above the aircraft, there was another figure, one even the Pokémon Hunters had not noticed.
It was none other than Charizard and Aaron.
Aaron looked down at the scene below, curiosity appearing on his face as he muttered to himself, "I didn't expect there to be a place like this hidden in the forest. These organizations really are something. Their intelligence network must be terrifying if they could even find this place."
After that, he waited quietly on Charizard's back.
He was also very curious about what the Pokémon Hunters were targeting this time.
...
As time passed, midnight arrived.
The moon hung high in the sky.
The basin below finally began to stir.
"Saur..."
"Saur..."
One Pokémon cry after another slowly sounded from the forest, and one small Pokémon after another walked out from among the trees.
...