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"Eddie, do you know who did this?"
Ash, who was usually impulsive, looked calm and composed at this moment, but Eddie knew that hidden beneath this calm question was deep, burning anger.
"Don't you understand, Ash? This was obviously done by Team Rocket!!"
Gary exploded instantly and roared with unusual intensity.
"If you two hadn't been meddling in their business, acting like messengers of justice and provoking Team Rocket at every turn, they wouldn't have come to Pallet Town at all!"
Gary's face looked quite fierce at this moment, and he started yelling at both Ash and Eddie.
Eddie looked at the calm Ash and the furious Gary, and couldn't help but wonder if these two had somehow swapped personalities.
"Calm down, Gary. I admit that both Ash and I actively caused trouble for Team Rocket, but it seems you're no exception. I don't believe you didn't attack Team Rocket whenever you encountered them."
Although Gary appeared extremely cold on the surface, he was actually a kind-hearted person—or rather, someone with a strong sense of justice.
But unlike Ash, who displayed all his emotions openly, Gary always hid this part of his personality beneath a cool exterior.
However, as the saying goes, the calmer a person appears normally, the more explosive their emotions become when they finally erupt.
That was why Gary was acting like this at this moment. Ash, on the other hand, was extremely angry but had forced himself to calm down. At least he looked calm on the surface, though the fire of rage in his eyes seemed no less intense than Gary's.
After hearing this, Gary couldn't continue yelling, but his expression became even worse, as if he was regretting that his actions had caused suffering to his family.
"Pika!!"
At that moment, a group of Pikachu appeared. They ran out from the nearby woods in groups and headed straight toward Eddie.
"Hmm? There's such a large group of Pikachu near Pallet Town? I've never seen them before."
Seeing his partner's fellow Pokémon appear, Ash couldn't help but relax his expression slightly. He and Gary were both wondering why there were Pikachu here—he had lived here since childhood and had never seen these little ones.
"I captured them. Their original home was targeted by Team Rocket, so I brought them back to Pallet Town. It seems these little ones escaped disaster by living in the woods."
Eddie explained casually and then released his own Pikachu.
The situation had been urgent before, so he hadn't released either Eevee or Pikachu. Now he would release Pikachu first to communicate with its family.
"Pika Pika! Pika Pika~~~"
As soon as Pikachu emerged, it started communicating with its family members. After a lengthy conversation, Pikachu took a small device from one of the wild Pikachu, then returned to Eddie and handed it to him.
"This is... my family's tracking device?!"
Gary had originally been watching the group of Pikachu chattering away and was becoming increasingly impatient, but when he saw the small device, he immediately rushed over to Eddie to identify it.
"A tracking device? Pikachu says that Daisy gave it to the Pikachu before she was captured. It seems she left us something useful before being taken away."
Eddie raised his eyebrows when he heard this, surprised that Daisy would think to leave this behind.
However, this also saved him the effort of searching for the residents of Pallet Town. After all, he hadn't been sure exactly where they were being held.
"Ding! You have received a hidden mission: Rescue the citizens of Pallet Town and Daisy!"
Eddie looked at this sudden quest and calmly accepted it.
Anyway, he was already planning to defeat Team Rocket and save the townspeople of Pallet Town, so receiving a mission now was simply getting rewarded for something he intended to do.
"Give it to me! I'm going to save my sister and the people of Pallet Town!"
Gary suddenly reached out and tried to snatch the tracking device from Eddie's hand, but Eddie now possessed both Psychic powers and Aura abilities, and his physical fitness and perception were both excellent.
So even though Gary's move was sudden, Eddie still dodged it easily.
"Since Daisy chose to give it to me, then I should be the one to handle this."
Eddie would never give this device to Gary. After all, he had already received the quest the moment he obtained it.
Gary saw that his attempt had failed and impulsively moved to attack again, but his fist was directly caught by Ash.
"Ash! Let me—"
Gary turned around, about to yell at Ash, but he saw that Ash's eyes were filled with anger no less intense than his own, and he couldn't help but calm down slightly.
"Wait! Eddie, Ash, listen to me!"
"Do you know why our hometown is called Pallet Town?"
Gary lowered his raised fist, straightened his clothes, and then spoke to them.
"Well, I actually know this, but I'll let you explain it now."
Eddie couldn't help but think to himself when he heard this, but he decided it would be better to give Gary the opportunity to speak.
"Because this is one of the least polluted places in the world. The name 'Pallet' refers to a pure, clean palette—meaning completely pure white with no pollution at all."
"This is my grandfather's life's work, and the hometown that I'm proud of! Therefore, I will never forgive Team Rocket for defiling this place!"
"Eddie, give me the tracking device! I'm going to rescue the townspeople of Pallet Town, and then I'm going to destroy Team Rocket!"
Gary had completely calmed down by now—or rather, like Ash, he now knew exactly where to direct his anger.
"Ring ring ring!!"
At that moment, in this solemn atmosphere, Eddie's Pokédex rang again.
Eddie glanced at Gary and Ash. They both signaled for Eddie to answer the call quickly and that they could continue talking afterward. Seeing that they seemed to have calmed down, Eddie then opened his Pokédex.
"Eddie! I already know what happened in Pallet Town. I'm in the Kalos Region right now, so I can't return immediately, but I'm coming back as fast as possible."
"Now I need a favor from you. Contact Ash and Gary. If the three of you work together, you can definitely rescue the residents of Pallet Town and Daisy. Leave immediately after you're done, and don't confront Team Rocket head-on! We'll deal with these criminals together when I return to Kanto!"
As soon as the call connected, Professor Oak's voice boomed from the Pokédex, loud enough that even Ash and Gary beside Eddie could hear it clearly.
Hmm? So you didn't hide it this time? You're really not in the Kanto Region?
Eddie thought to himself, but he realized the situation was somewhat different from what he'd imagined. He had assumed Professor Oak had also been captured, but it turned out he wasn't even here.
And judging from the situation, if he had been present, he probably would have directly attacked Team Rocket himself.
No, it seemed he was planning to do exactly that now. The angry tone couldn't be faked, especially that last sentence, which carried a distinctly deadly edge.
"Yes, I understand. Ash and Gary are both with me right now. We'll go rescue everyone next. Don't worry, we certainly won't choose to fight head-on, but the situation might not be that simple."
"After you rescue the townspeople, just retreat as far as possible. If things get out of hand, prioritize protecting your own lives. Wait for me to return and I'll deal with this!"
After listening to Professor Oak's instructions, Eddie hung up the call.
"Ding!!! World Announcement! Large-scale story-driven missions are now available in all regions!!"