Gym Leader Winona's gaze scrutinized Ariel once again, as if she were evaluating his strength and motives.
She looked around; the fire had indeed been brought under control, and the most critical moment had passed.
At present, the focus had shifted to rescuing injured civilians and handling follow-up matters.
However, just as she was thinking, a thought flashed through her mind like lightning—the Weather Institute!
"That's right!"
Gym Leader Winona's expression changed abruptly, her original exhaustion replaced by a sudden surge of anxiety.
"The researchers at the Weather Institute! They're still in the hands of the Magma Team!"
Her voice carried a hint of urgency, and her brow was tightly furrowed.
She knew well that the Magma Team was a group of extreme and dangerous fanatics; the safety of those researchers weighed heavily on her heart.
But the aftermath work in Fortree City left her spread too thin, and more importantly, she couldn't be sure if there were still remnants of the Team Rockets lurking in the city; she couldn't leave easily.
Gym Leader Winona turned her gaze back to Ariel, her eyes filled with a solemn yet helpless plea.
She deliberated for a moment and finally made up her mind.
She assigned the mission of rescuing the researchers to Ariel, while emphasizing:
"You don't need a direct confrontation with those desperate criminals from the Magma Team. Your primary task is to head near the Weather Institute, observe the Magma Team's movements, and figure out their approximate manpower."
Her tone was serious; she clearly understood the danger the Magma Team posed and didn't want Ariel to take unnecessary risks.
When Ariel heard Gym Leader Winona mention the Weather Institute, the images of those imprisoned researchers also surfaced in his mind.
He only knew that the Team Rockets and Magma Team had a fierce conflict inside the institute earlier, but he didn't know if those researchers had survived the crossfire.
To him, this was another opportunity he could exploit.
"Understood, Gym Leader Winona."
Ariel agreed without hesitation, his tone firm.
He then bid farewell to Gym Leader Winona and turned to speed toward the Weather Institute.
Leaving Fortree City, Ariel soon arrived at the outskirts of the Weather Institute.
At this moment, the Weather Institute was in ruins following the battle between the Team Rockets and the Magma Team.
Ariel moved carefully through the debris, every step taken with caution.
He avoided the conspicuously damaged areas; the walls of the entire Weather Institute were in a precarious, crumbling state.
He didn't know when this wall or that ceiling might suddenly collapse.
The interior of the institute was even more of a mess.
Laboratory equipment was smashed, and documents were scattered everywhere, as if a hurricane had swept through.
Amidst such chaos, he arrived in front of a relatively secluded storage room.
That iron door looked particularly out of place against the surrounding wreckage.
Although it was covered in dust, it was perfectly intact, without a single trace of damage.
An inexplicable emotion rose in Ariel's heart.
He thought somewhat amusedly that these researchers' luck was simply god-tier.
Setting aside the battle between the rank-and-file members of the Magma Team and Team Rockets,
if Tabitha's Magmortar had fired just one Fire Blast toward this position,
the collapsing ceiling would have wiped out all these researchers!
Ariel walked to the iron door and knocked lightly.
The sound of metal clashing echoed through the empty corridor, sounding exceptionally clear.
"Is anyone inside?"
He asked tentatively.
There was no direct response, only a series of faint "muffled" sounds coming from behind the door, as if mouths were gagged or as if they were desperately suppressing sobs.
Though the sound was subtle, it clearly indicated that people were indeed inside, and their condition was not good.
Ariel no longer hesitated and immediately summoned Frogadier.
"Frogadier, Slash!" he commanded briefly.
Frogadier emerged at the call, its movements agile.
Its blue claws shimmered with a cold light, and with the force of breaking wind, it slashed fiercely at the heavy iron door.
With a "crack," the hard iron door was torn apart like paper.
A huge rift extended from the center of the door panel, and the iron door was instantly severed, making a piercing grinding sound as it tilted inward.
The moment the iron door collapsed, the scene before him caused Ariel's pupils to contract slightly.
In a cramped storage room, dozens of researchers were tied up tightly with ropes, their mouths sealed with duct tape, squeezed together like sardines.
Their clothes were disheveled, and their faces bore obvious signs of exhaustion and terror.
When their gazes passed through the darkness and saw Frogadier and Ariel standing behind it, the last spark of hope instantly ignited in their eyes.
It was a gaze that was almost burning.
Ariel waved for Frogadier to step back, while he himself walked into the foul-smelling storage room.
His expression unchanged, he drew a tactical knife from his waist and efficiently sliced through the ropes on the wrists of the researcher closest to him.
It was an elderly man about fifty years old, with white hair and glasses hanging crookedly on the bridge of his nose.
The moment the ropes loosened, he nearly slumped to the ground, deep purple bruises visible on his wrists from the binding.
He wanted to say something, but the tape on his mouth only allowed him to make indistinct muffled sounds.
Ariel ignored him and continued to the next person. His movements were not sluggish at all, as if he were executing a simple procedure.
With a flash of the blade, another rope was severed.
"Those who can move, tear off the tape on your mouths yourselves, then help the person next to you."
Ariel's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly, carrying an unquestionable tone of command.
His words were like a shot of adrenaline, bringing the terrified researchers back to their senses.
The first few people to be freed hurriedly tore off the tape on their mouths, ignoring the streaks of blood from their lips being pulled, and took large gulps of the stale air before immediately lunging toward their companions.
For a time, the storage room was filled with the "rip" of tape being torn and the sound of long-suppressed, violent coughing.
"Thank you... thank you..."
A young female researcher was in tears, sobbing toward Ariel's back as she helped unbind a colleague.
Ariel didn't look back; his knife drew cold arcs in the dim light, precisely cutting through every restraint.
He was like an efficient machine, with no extra movements and no extra words.
He turned a deaf ear to their thanks.
Saving them was merely part of the plan, a show put on for Fortree City and the League.
The gratitude of these people was meaningless to him, even somewhat noisy.
Finally, the last person regained their freedom.
Everyone in the storage room looked at Ariel with complex expressions—gratitude, awe, and a hint of fear stemming from the cold aura he exuded.
"Can you walk?"
Ariel put away his knife and turned to ask.
The old professor who was the first to be rescued was clearly the leader of the group; he adjusted his glasses, forced himself to stand straight, and said solemnly to Ariel:
"Yes, we..."
"Then let's go."
Ariel directly interrupted his subsequent pleasantries and led the way out of the storage room.
Everyone looked at each other, but eventually, under the old professor's lead, they supported one another and followed stumblingly.
The road back to Fortree City felt exceptionally long in the night.
The wind in the forest carried the burnt smell from the fire, blowing against these people who had just escaped danger, making them unable to stop shivering.
Ariel walked at the very front, his pace neither fast nor slow, but always maintaining a fixed distance from the crowd behind him, like a lone wolf leading a flock of sheep.
Ariel's Pokémon escorted them from the sides.
Krokorok, Malamar, Weavile, and Frogadier followed the group like this; any wild Pokémon that saw them and tried to approach knew to stay away.
He didn't look back once, nor did he say a word, but his presence itself provided an intangible sense of security.
When the silhouette of Fortree City finally appeared in their vision, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.