After withdrawing the Tyranitar group from the cave tunnel, Shiro suddenly had an idea. He had Unown A move the Solrocks that had been buried and sleeping on the platform deeper inside the cave to a location closer to the entrance.
'It's done!'
Unown A emerged with a hint of excitement and flew around the entrance several times. After making sure everything was in order, it returned to Shiro and landed on his shoulder.
Solrock was an extremely dangerous Pokémon. If angered or deliberately provoked, it could very well use Explosion…
So, what if they set up a Psychic trigger at the entrance? As soon as someone entered, it would immediately stimulate the sleeping Solrocks. The resulting Explosion would then occur right at the entrance and engulf anyone who stepped inside.
'Those Sootopolitans definitely won't expect this...'
Unown A was already eager to see what would happen.
Shiro, however, asked again, "Are you sure there's no problem inside?"
He didn't want someone to enter only for the Psychic trigger and Solrocks to do nothing. Even worse, the Solrocks might fail to become enraged enough to use Explosion. If they couldn't get the explosions to go off, all the time they had spent preparing this trap would have been wasted.
Unown A immediately assured him, 'No problem! Absolutely no problem!'
It used its slanted leg to reach its chest and proudly patted itself.
In the past, when it was only a single Unown A, using Psychic power like this would indeed have been somewhat unreliable. But now, the combined Psychic power of eight Unown was on an entirely different level.
Besides, Unown A had also transformed into Mesprit and added some powers that could influence emotions to the Psychic energy placed inside the cave. It was more than enough to make the awakened Solrocks furious.
Seeing how confident it was, Shiro nodded. "Then restore the entrance."
With that, Unown A once again controlled its Psychic power, gathering the broken rocks nearby and pushing them back into the cave entrance. Before long, it looked almost the same as it had when they first arrived.
By now, evening was approaching.
Mt. Chimney was already covered by a thick layer of volcanic ash clouds. Once the sun went down, there was not even a trace of starlight or moonlight. The place became like a dead land. Only when flying high above could one see the glow of lava shining from the volcano's crater.
Shiro happened to be deep in a valley, squeezed between Mt. Chimney and another mountain. He could barely see any sunlight at all, leaving only Unown A's Psychic power to light the way.
"It's already dark, but Team Magma or the Sootopolitans still haven't shown up..."
Shiro took out his communication device and checked the time. It was already past five in the afternoon. In another place, he would probably still be able to see the colors of dusk.
"Gengar."
After Shiro called out, Gengar, which was far away near Mt. Chimney, immediately sensed the faint voice. It quickly transformed into a shadow and floated back.
"Gengaaar!"
In the dim surroundings, Gengar's bright red eyes looked especially eerie. In such a deserted place, it really did look like a ghost. However, the moment it grinned, its cheeky expression completely ruined the atmosphere.
"Gengen, gengar!" (I haven't seen anyone at all!)
Gengar scratched its head.
"Then forget it..." Shiro was already considering leaving.
This trip had not only allowed him to capture the Tyranitar group. He had also discovered a secret tunnel that seemed to be related to the Sootopolitans' contact with Groudon and had even planted a trap. That was already enough.
It was impossible for him to stay in this godforsaken place forever just to catch someone. From now on, he could only leave the matter to the League and have them monitor the area closely.
But if the Sootopolitans really intended to awaken Groudon and they failed to stop them… perhaps he could take some time to find Team Aqua and learn more about Kyogre.
As Shiro pondered this, his communication device suddenly received a message.
"Hm... The arrest mission in Lavaridge Town has failed. Team Magma has scattered and fled. A mission has been issued for all League trainers to participate in the arrests..."
Lavaridge Town?
Shiro thought for a moment and realized that it seemed to be near Mt. Chimney.
This League mission had been sent to every League trainer. For the initial arrest operation in Lavaridge Town, however, the League had only notified the personnel directly involved. That was why no information about Team Magma's movements had been sent to him.
There was nothing strange about that. After all, he was not a local Hoenn trainer. Perhaps they also thought he might not have the time or energy after dealing with the Pokémon rampage in Lilycove City.
Still, he could have asked about it himself. There was no reason for the Hoenn League to hide such information from him.
Realizing that he had actually forgotten to ask the League, Shiro rubbed his temples before looking at the new mission that had supposedly been sent to every League trainer.
"Team Magma... Lavaridge Town mission failed... They're on the run..."
After thinking for a few seconds, he still released Corviknight and flew in the direction of Lavaridge Town, following the route over Mt. Chimney.
"It's nearby anyway. I might as well take a look. Maybe I can catch one of Team Magma's executives."
* * *
"Executive! We can't let the boss get captured by the League!"
Outside the forest on the northern outskirts of Lavaridge Town, a devoted Team Magma member desperately shouted at the figure ahead.
The executive supported their boss, Maxie, and rushed into the forest without looking back.
A few moments later, an icy blue flash swept across the Team Magma member who was fleeing in another direction, instantly turning him into an ice statue.
In midair, Glalie revealed a cruel smile as it continued searching for the fleeing Team Magma members.
"Glacia! You froze another one to death! How are we supposed to interrogate them now?"
Sidney had just arrived on his Mightyena when he saw the lifelike ice sculpture. He couldn't help complaining.
If Glacia didn't always freeze people like this, they would have already found out where Team Magma's base was!
If Glacia wasn't stronger than him and one of the Hoenn Elite Four, Sidney would seriously suspect that she was a Team Magma mole. Even Drake had turned out to be the mastermind behind Team Magma, so having another Team Magma mole among them wouldn't exactly be surprising.
"Shut up! You useless Sidney. Isn't the dog you raised supposed to be used for finding people?"
Glacia did not hold back as she scolded him from midair. "I'm the one chasing them. Your job is to find them!"
"And you still have the nerve to blame me? If we can't find them, that's your problem!"
Sidney was left speechless by her words, but he couldn't come up with a better excuse either.
After all, the two Team Magma executives in Lavaridge Town had both been driven back by Glacia. Without her, Sidney would have been defeated again and earned the most humiliating Elite Four achievement yet.
So, saying that his job was to find people wasn't exactly wrong.
With no choice, Sidney reluctantly dismounted and led Mightyena over to the ice sculpture. Looking rather unhappy, he said, "Alright, alright. I get it..."
Mightyena sniffed around and immediately picked up the lingering scents in the area. It then charged straight into the forest.
Glacia followed without hesitation. The League trainers and investigators who had only just arrived hesitated for a moment before slowly entering the forest as well.
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