"Pursuing that wanted criminal, huh..."
Jan pointed a thumb at himself and flashed a bright grin. "Leave it to me! That guy isn't escaping today!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he threw a Poké Ball into the sky.
"Archeops!"
A large bird with brilliantly colored feathers flew high into the air. Its head and tail were smooth and covered in tough scales.
Shiro glanced at it and checked its status.
[Name: Archeops
Type: Rock/Flying
Level: 58 (Elite)
Ability: Defeatist
Held Item: Life Orb
Moves: Quick Attack, Leer, Rock Throw, Wing Attack, Dragon Breath, Ancient Power…]
Archeops was a Rock and Flying-type Pokémon.
This old man was probably an Elite-level trainer specializing in Rock types… The only question was whether he had any Champion-level Pokémon.
Before Shiro could ask, Jan jumped onto Archeops' back and soared into the air.
"Let's go!"
Although Archeops was not as fast as Drakloak, it was more than fast enough for pursuit.
Shiro wiped away his sweat, placed Anna gently onto the grass, and took out some healing spray.
Cold sweat had plastered the girl's short black hair tightly against her forehead. Her eyes remained closed, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly. But her left hand was covered in blood. Her little finger had been severed completely at the base, leaving only a partially dried wound behind.
Shiro carefully examined the injury before applying several doses of healing spray onto it. Only after the wound had fully scabbed over did he finally relax.
The injury itself was no longer a problem, but the girl's little finger was probably impossible to reattach now.
The nearest Pokémon Center was in Jubilife City, which was quite far away. Besides, by now, it would be extremely difficult to even find the severed finger.
Shiro then raised his head and looked toward the sky.
In truth, the most important battle had always been the five Unown fighting overhead. As long as the Unown battle ended, the entire situation would immediately change.
But the sky now displayed a strange frozen pink-red color.
"A! A!"
Shiro called out repeatedly, but received no response. He could only carefully extend his psychic power upward to investigate.
An enormous sea of psychic energy had formed in the air from the excessive amount of psychic power gathered there. But now, that sea seemed to have turned into a frozen glacier.
Psychic energy, which was normally fluid and constantly shifting, had completely solidified without the slightest movement.
What happened?
Not long ago, Unown A had clearly said it could quickly defeat the other two Unown and come help.
Filled with alarm, Shiro searched for Unown A within the frozen psychic sea.
He quickly found it.
"Found you..."
At the very center of the entire "ocean," Unown A floated at the very top with its eyes closed. It looked as though it had fallen asleep, or perhaps become frozen solid.
Around Unown A floated three differently shaped Unown.
Unown F leaned sideways with its head bent awkwardly. Unown Y appeared stretched apart, as if it were about to split in half. Unown P was curled up like a shrimp and completely motionless.
"Where's G?"
Shiro continued searching the surrounding area and finally discovered Unown G in a distant corner.
Its black body flickered dimly. Though it had clearly suffered serious injuries, it did not appear frozen like the others and still retained the ability to move.
'S-Shiro…' Unown G said weakly. 'I was ambushed by that Ditto... the Bronzong... and defeated by Unown P... Originally, A could've beaten F and Y, but another enemy suddenly appeared, so it could only…'
Shiro immediately asked, "Can they recover?"
'This is only temporary solidification to stall for time. After a few hours, the psychic power will thaw, and they'll all regain normal movement abilities,' Unown G explained.
"Good..."
Shiro thought back carefully, yet he still could not figure out when that Bronzong had gone to assist.
When exactly had it ambushed Unown G?
* * *
"Luckily, I listened to you before leaving, Alfred. I helped Unown P and heavily injured that Unown G… Otherwise, once Unown A and G finished their battle, we would've been in real danger."
Ditto's appearance twisted continuously. Its gray-white muddy head flickered indistinctly while its Bronzong body gradually turned emerald green.
Waves of green light flashed outward as enormous amounts of life energy rose from the surrounding ground.
Hunter A, Alfred, lay on the ground with broken limbs. His expression remained cold as he stayed silent.
The healing effects of Grassy Terrain quickly stopped the bleeding from his arms and legs while restoring large amounts of energy to his body.
But Alfred's thoughts remained fixed on the Haunter that had emerged from Shiro's bag earlier…
An Elite-level Haunter that had actually mastered fusion moves!
How was that even possible?
Changes in intelligence were normal. Sudden increases in level were understandable too. But fusion moves were techniques only possessed by truly important figures. They involved inheritance and secret teachings.
Who exactly was teaching him?
Maybe low-level move fusion or simpler combinations could be figured out through talent and experimentation. But there was absolutely no way someone could independently research high-powered ultimate fusion techniques.
Could that Galarian's mother really be some noble young lady from Kanto?
A deep, indescribable jealousy rose inside Alfred. His teeth ground together with loud creaks.
Damn it! Why him?
"Alfred, relax... One more Life Dew and your leg should barely be able to move again."
As Ditto spoke, its muddy gray-white body shifted again before transforming into a deep blue color.
A glowing drop of water condensed from its body and dripped onto the connection point of Alfred's severed leg.
A tingling sensation spread upward. Alfred's body twitched violently as his flushed face reddened before quickly calming down again.
His left leg, which had previously felt nothing but pain, regained sensation. His body, weakened by blood loss, recovered much of its strength, and even his complexion became noticeably healthier.
"Alfred, they're catching up!"
Ditto's once gentle voice suddenly turned urgent as it anxiously rushed toward Alfred.
High in the air, Archeops raised its head and screeched while rapidly forming stones around its body.
"Rock Tomb!" Jan shouted.
The spinning rocks rained down like a meteor shower.
Boom! Boom!
The forest shook violently as trees collapsed and massive clouds of dust rose into the air.
"Archeops, dodge!" Jan shouted urgently from experience alone.
What answered him was a high-pressure stream of water bursting through the smoke.
Fortunately, Archeops reacted instantly and barely avoided it in time.
"A Champion-level Ditto... That's incredibly rare."
Jan's expression turned serious as he pulled out another Poké Ball.
"Aerodactyl!"
ROAR!
The savage dark-gray pterosaur let out a furious roar. Without even waiting for a command, it shot toward the target in the forest like an arrow released from a bow.
**
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