It had to be said that the journey to the Team Galactic base had gone very smoothly—so smoothly, in fact, that it was almost a bit much.
Counting the time spent traveling and searching, they had encountered almost no obstacles. Even the extremely harsh weather hadn't affected Ash and the others' progress; after all, with Mewtwo present, how could weather of that level possibly affect them?
With Mewtwo's help, they successfully slipped into the entrance of the Team Galactic submarine. Generally, diving equipment would be required to reach this place, provided the outside waters were calm. If the waves were churning, even Team Galactic members wouldn't be able to return to the base.
Unless they had the assistance of a Gym Leader Level or higher psychic-type or Water-type Pokémon. Thus, with Mewtwo's help, Ash and the others reached the Team Galactic submarine without any real resistance.
Using Mars's facial recognition, they successfully infiltrated the Team Galactic base.
The interior of the submarine was a highly sophisticated, extremely compact world of metal cylinders, like a "steel labyrinth" compressed to the limit.
Ash and the others had already seen how massive the submarine was from the outside, but once they entered, they couldn't help but marvel at the size of the internal space. Living in a place like this, one probably wouldn't feel too oppressed even deep under the sea.
"Where should we go next?" Lorelei's beautiful eyes shifted slightly toward Ash, letting him make the decision.
In a place like this, Ash's Aura had a natural advantage. Ash should know exactly which way to go.
Hearing this, Ash closed his eyes. A moment later, he snapped them open and pointed to the right, saying, "This way. My Aura was blocked over there. If I'm not mistaken, that should be where Miss Cynthia is being held."
Since it could block his Aura, there was no other possibility besides a God Domain Level power. Thus, Ash determined the direction instantly.
Ten minutes later, under Ash's lead, the group twisted and turned. Whenever they encountered a door that needed opening, they had Mars perform facial recognition. As someone with the highest clearance on the Team Galactic submarine, Mars could pass through every gated iron door that required verification.
They also encountered many Team Galactic members along the way, but under the cover of Mewtwo's Psychic powers, they were as good as invisible. It was impossible to see through their tracks with the naked eye.
The group moved through the Team Galactic submarine as if it were uninhabited. The bound Mars had to cooperate with them obediently whether she wanted to or not. The longer she stayed by Ash and the others, the deeper the shock in Mars's heart grew.
Why hadn't any of the cameras captured them entering the base? Why did those Team Galactic members act as if they hadn't seen them at all, even when they saw her—the top commander—tied up?
Countless doubts formed in Mars's mind. She knew all of this definitely had to do with Ash, but as for how Ash managed to do it, she didn't have the slightest clue.
Seeing Ash get closer and closer to where Cynthia was imprisoned, Mars grew anxious. However, she knew that no matter how anxious she was, it was useless. Even if she deliberately made a sound, it wouldn't carry outside at all; she had already tried it inadvertently just now.
Now she could only pray that Charon had some kind of black technology that could Detect Ash and the others' arrival. Otherwise, Team Galactic was really going to take a massive loss this time. Not only did they fail to get their targets, Lugia and Little Lugia, but they would also lose the sinnoh champion they had finally imprisoned to use as a bargaining chip—and they might even lose two of their own executives.
It was simply a case of losing the bait along with the fish!
If only she had known not to look for Ash and had settled the matter with Lugia first. By the time they controlled God Domain Level power, wouldn't dealing with a kid like Ash have been easy?
To put it bluntly, they had underestimated Ash. They thought he was just a kid, so they had charged straight for his location without a second thought, resulting in a total defeat.
But who could have imagined that between the two Trainers, Lorelei and Ash, the latter would actually be the harder one to deal with? Isn't that just absurd?!
No matter who looked at it, they wouldn't think Ash was the tougher opponent, right? One was a Champion with the title of Elite, while the other—though he had won a League Championship—was actually just a rookie Trainer who hadn't even been active for a year. Compared to a Champion-level Trainer, they should be worlds apart.
She had picked a time when Lorelei wasn't around to strike, only to find that the opponent himself possessed strength comparable to a Champion-level Pokémon—wasn't this a total setup?
Under Mars's despairing gaze, Ash and the others arrived before a massive iron door. This was their destination: a spatial cage infused with Palkia's spatial power!
"Alright, this is the last door. Mars, you know what to do, right?" Lorelei exchanged a look with Ash. After receiving confirmation from Ash's eyes, she tugged on the rope in her hand, pulling the tightly bound Mars to the front.
"This door doesn't just need a face; it needs fingerprints plus a password. I can't open the door in this state." Mars curled her lip and then reluctantly explained the method to open the door.
"Then we'll untie you. Don't even think about playing any tricks." As Lorelei spoke, she nodded to Ash. With a wave of Ash's hand, the thick rope binding Mars was instantly torn apart.
They weren't actually afraid of Mars playing tricks. After all, her Pokémon had already been taken away. Although she was one of the four executives of Team Galactic, without her Pokémon, she was just a woman with a bit of presence.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, they doubted she could pull any stunts.
Mars massaged her somewhat stiff wrists and then walked to the door. Her hands blurred through a series of operations, entering a dense string of numbers that made one wonder if she was just pressing buttons randomly. Would a normal person set a password longer than twenty digits?
However, after Mars's flurry of inputs, the tightly closed door actually began to open slowly.
Seeing this, Ash, Lorelei, and the others showed looks of joy. As long as they could rescue Cynthia, they would add another powerful force to their ranks.
However, when the iron door was halfway open, the white light that had been glowing around them suddenly turned red. Immediately after, a rapid sound began to blare frantically in everyone's ears!
"Is this an alarm? What's going on?"
"It's that girl's doing! She really wasn't being honest!" Misty's teeth were clenched as she looked at Mars with an extremely unfriendly gaze. One didn't even need to think to know that this sudden alarm was definitely related to Mars.
The password she had seemingly entered at random must have been used to trigger the base's alarm. Now, the iron door that was halfway open began to slowly slide shut again.
Ash's expression turned serious. He placed both hands in front of him, and an azure Energy Ball formed in the blink of an eye.
"Aura Sphere!" At Ash's cold shout, the azure Energy Ball in his hand traced a brilliant arc through the air, striking directly at the closing door.
"It's useless. This door can't be pierced even by a Champion-level attack. You'll just have to wait to be—"
Boom!! Before Mars could finish her sentence, the Aura Sphere landed squarely on the door she claimed was indestructible!
A visible shockwave spread out. The iron door that even a Champion-level couldn't pierce was instantly reduced to countless fragments that flew outward. Debris from the iron door grazed Mars's cheek, leaving a clearly visible scratch, but Mars didn't care at all. Her eyes were currently blank, her face filled with an expression of disbelief.
"How... is it possible... That was a door that even a Champion Peak might not be able to open, yet it was destroyed in a single hit!! How is it possible!!" Panic-stricken voices echoed through the corridor. Mars truly couldn't believe that a high-tech iron door, which combined Team Galactic's top technology and was infused with the power of a god, had been blown open by a human just like that!
Moreover, it wasn't just blown open; the entire door had been shattered. Was that guy named Ash really human? Could he be some Mythical Pokémon with God Domain Level strength that had transformed into a human to experience life in the mortal world!?
"I knew you would come, Ash." A cool, clear voice drifted out from behind the shattered door.
Tap! Tap! Tap! The sound of high heels treading on the floor rang out. The mist gradually dissipated, revealing the shadow of the person behind the door: a long black coat, long golden hair, a tall and curvaceous figure, and a face like a goddess. This person was none other than the long-missing sinnoh champion, Cynthia!
Surrounding Cynthia were Garchomp and her other Pokémon. Without a doubt, while she was inside, Cynthia had released all the Pokémon on her person. This was partly to be ready for any Team Galactic sneak attacks and partly because she needed Garchomp and the others to find a way to break through the spatial barrier.
However, before Cynthia could find a way out, Ash and the others had already arrived. Cynthia also firmly believed that even if she couldn't find a way out, Ash would definitely be able to find her whereabouts.
Indeed, in Cynthia's heart, the possibility of Ash arriving was even higher than the possibility of the League finding her. And that was indeed the truth.
"Miss Cynthia, are you alright!" Seeing the safe and sound Cynthia, Ash ran excitedly to her, asking with a mix of worry and excitement on his face.
"I'm fine. I really couldn't get out of that place, nor could I send any messages out, but they couldn't really do anything to me either. Aside from not being able to take a bath, living inside was actually quite comfortable. I just treated it as a rare, relaxing vacation~" Cynthia raised a slender finger and blinked playfully at Ash.
She had actually been trapped inside for nearly a month. If it were anyone else—a month with no one to talk to and no news from the outside world—they probably would have collapsed mentally long ago. But Cynthia was different. She possessed a mental fortitude far beyond that of ordinary people, and she never entertained thoughts of despair.
That seemingly indestructible spatial barrier had actually begun to slowly weaken under the passage of time and the attacks from Garchomp and her other Pokémon. Even if Ash hadn't come, Cynthia would have eventually found an opportunity to get out.
However, by the time Cynthia got out, Team Galactic's conspiracy might have already succeeded, and by then, irreparable things might have occurred.
Therefore, Ash's arrival was still very crucial.
"Cynthia, you really are optimistic. Being trapped inside for nearly a month, yet your spirit doesn't seem to have any issues at all. You truly are the sinnoh champion." Lorelei also felt heartfelt admiration for Cynthia.
To be honest, if it were her, being in that kind of enclosed environment for a month—even with enough food—would likely cause irreversible mental damage.
Having no way to perceive the passage of time and no way to make any contact with the outside world... it would be a miracle if one's mind didn't have problems after a long time.
"Since I couldn't change the facts, I had to be a bit optimistic. Speaking of which... are we surrounded now?" Cynthia scanned the surroundings with a smile. Unknowingly, they had already been blocked in by layers of Team Galactic members.
Ash's Aura Sphere had not only shattered the door but had also blasted the corridor into a mess. Consequently, Team Galactic members had closed in from the surroundings. They all wore high-tech eye visors on their faces, with faint lights flashing within the visors, as if they were performing analysis or communicating.
After her initial shock at the door's destruction, Mars had also seized the opportunity to rush into the ranks of the approaching Team Galactic members. At this moment, she was behind Ash and the others, standing in front of a large group of Team Galactic members with a fierce expression on her face.
"So what if you rescued Cynthia? Today, not a single one of you is leaving!"
"Mars, you really are getting worse as you get older. To think you'd lead the enemy to a place like this and even let the sinnoh champion escape. If that adult finds out, your position as an executive might just be revoked." Following Mars's threat, a dark, somber voice also rang out.
Ash and the others turned their gazes toward the source of the voice. They saw an old man in a white lab coat, somewhat balding with grayish-white hair, slowly walking through the Team Galactic members.
Everywhere he walked, all the members would instinctively step aside to make room for him. It was clear that this was a high-ranking individual within Team Galactic.
"Heh, isn't this your fault? Who told you to send me over without thoroughly investigating that guy's background? If the adult blames us, neither you nor I will escape the charges, Charon." Mars gave a cold laugh, not caring in the least about the balding man's threat.
This somewhat balding researcher was the true number one in this base—Charon!
Upon learning the other's name, Ash's gaze toward Charon also became unfriendly. "You're Charon? You're the one who turned Lugia into that state, aren't you!"
Facing Ash's questioning, Charon shrugged and said nonchalantly, "So what if I am? Although I don't know how you managed to fully integrate that power, since you've walked into the trap to return the experimental subject to me, I'll accept it without hesitation."
Ash:!!!
Experimental subject? This guy had no respect for Pokémon at all; he merely used Pokémon as lifeless tools! These words undoubtedly made Ash's anger boil over!