The shield that had protected Robbin came from a second Qwilfish she had kept hidden, which had been using Minimize the entire time.
With both Qwilfish shrunk down as small as they could go, each was roughly the size of an orange. Tucking them away had been easy enough, and for a girl as thin as Robbin, they had even served as a bit of extra padding. It was precisely why Jenny had missed them during the body search. No one would have thought to check there.
One Qwilfish had used Self-Destruct to trigger the explosion. The other had used Protect to keep Robbin safe.
Now that she had her utility belt back in her hands, the more than twenty Poké Balls clipped to it were all the confidence she needed.
"Let's go, Magnezone!"
The moment the green glow of Protect faded, Robbin threw a Poké Ball and released the Pokémon she depended on most.
The officers from the two vehicles behind scrambled out quickly, sending out their partner Pokémon and forming a loose perimeter around her.
Robbin, however, had no intention of fighting them head-on. Her battling ability was nothing to boast about, and she knew it. The only Pokémon she had that could hold its own in a real fight was Magnezone. The rest of her Poké Balls held Voltorbs, which she used not as battle partners but as living explosives, thrown and discarded once their purpose was served.
Robbin was not a Trainer in any conventional sense. If she had to be given a title, it would be demolitions expert.
She climbed up and sat herself on top of Magnezone's head. The two of them had worked together long enough that no instructions were needed. Magnezone immediately whipped up a Sandstorm, filling the air with grit and wind that forced the officers to shield their eyes. Then, in the same motion, it used Magnet Rise, lifting both itself and Robbin off the ground and into the air before the officers could react.
From above, Robbin became considerably bolder. Like a pilot dropping payloads, she began pulling Voltorbs from their Poké Balls and hurling them down at the officers below while Magnezone weaved through their counterattacks.
Two massive explosions followed in quick succession.
Then the ground went quiet.
Robbin had no illusions about having finished off a dozen Security Officers with two blasts. Whether they were unconscious or worse, she had no desire to go back down and find out. Pressing an advantage after winning was a fine quality in someone with the strength to back it up. Robbin had no such strength. Going back down in her condition would more likely end with her getting flattened by the first officer to wake up.
Self-aware enough to know her limits, she did not even take the time to retrieve her spent Voltorbs. She ordered Magnezone to fly and put as much distance between them and the site as possible. If she could make it out of the Tamar Desert and reach any city within the Norlandia Alliance, she would be safe.
As Magnezone carried her away, the Sandstorm it had summoned slowly began to settle behind them, and the scene on the ground came into view.
It was grim.
Most of the officers had been knocked out by the force of the blasts. Their partner Pokémon were fainted, their vehicles destroyed, and their injuries ranged from serious to far worse. A few showed no signs of movement at all. With no vehicles and no able-bodied Pokémon, their only option was to call for outside help.
Officer Jenny was riding her Arcanine at full speed toward Purple Gold City when the distress call came through. She pulled the communicator from her belt and listened, and for a moment she could not find words.
"How did this happen?" she said, her voice taut. "A prisoner with no weapons, no Pokémon, and you let her turn the situation around?"
As the full report came in, including the news that Leon had been killed and that Pat's condition was unknown, Jenny no longer had any intention of continuing toward Purple Gold City. She had Arcanine turn around immediately. At the same time, she put in calls to the Sand River City Public Security Bureau and to Nova, who had already returned to Sand River City, requesting backup.
But Jenny's decision to turn back had a consequence she had not fully considered.
Had she arrived at Purple Gold City in time to report directly to the Director General, laying out the evidence and her concerns about the officers who had drawn up the Lune Town operation, the command center staff would likely have been placed under tighter restrictions. What came next might have been prevented entirely.
Instead, with Jenny absent, the internal investigation at headquarters would proceed on its own slow, disorganized schedule. And that gave Pris, Chief of the Confidentiality Bureau and secret Executive of Team Origin's Norlandia branch operating under the alias Kingston, exactly the room he needed to act.
Back in Sand River City, Nova had just finished settling things with Purrloin.
He had been straightforward with it: he would not be taking it along on what was coming next. What he needed from it was to stay and look after the home. Purrloin had listened without complaint. It understood that following Nova now would only slow down the rest of his team, and that doing what it actually could was more useful than clinging to Nova simply because he doted on it.
Purrloin seemed, in truth, quite content with the quiet life. Like a stray cat that had finally found a warm place to stay, it had no wish for more than that.
Nova had just stood up to start on dinner when his phone rang.
It was Jenny.
After hearing what had happened, Nova did not waste time. He sent a quick message to Aresdra, who was still in class, telling her something urgent had come up and he would not be back for dinner. Then he went to Corviknight's Poké Ball, released it, and climbed on.
They took off and flew west.
Nova was not heading out to rescue the downed officers. That was not something one person could do, and it was not his area. Jenny had already contacted the Harmony City Public Security Bureau, and a rescue team with assault vehicles was being dispatched into the desert.
The reason Jenny had called Nova specifically was simpler. Right now, there was almost no one she trusted who also had the ability to reliably handle a Team Origin Executive.
Robbin was not known as a combat-focused member of the organization, but that had not stopped her from putting Pat and Leon both on the ground. To bring her in again, Jenny needed someone capable of creating results where none seemed possible.
Nova would have to do.