On the sea north of Hulbury.
An old man slowly rowed a small white fishing boat as he looked at the black-cloaked young man gradually coming into view ahead. That young man was Shiro.
After recalling Wailord into its Poké Ball, Shiro finally let out a breath of relief and stood up from the boat.
He had planned to keep hiding near the shore, but after noticing fishing boats nearby, he changed his plan at the last second and hid on one instead.
Fortunately, with the help of two Unown and Mesprit concealing him, the Bronzong that had passed through the area failed to notice anything. As for the Galarian Articuno, it never searched this area carefully. Its attention had been completely drawn to the S.S. Anne.
"Sir, are you leaving now?" the thin old man asked.
Shiro nodded slightly. He took out a thick stack of high-denomination Pokédollars, about two hundred thousand, and placed them inside the cabin.
"This is the fare. Just help me keep it quiet for a while," he said calmly.
The moment his words ended, he vanished from the small fishing boat.
* * *
On the deck of the S.S. Anne, which was slowly sailing away from Galar.
Shiro appeared in an instant and walked to the corner of the deck. The laptop, the communicator, and the League Card there had not been touched at all. He picked them up.
"They probably just scanned with psychic power once. They didn't even bother to move anything."
He chuckled softly, flipped through his League Card, rubbed his name with his thumb a few times, then put it back into his pocket.
Either his luck was good, or that blue-clothed Macro Cosmos member was truly stupid. He did not let Articuno continue searching the nearby sea. After receiving some message, he left immediately.
With Articuno's power, escape should have been impossible under normal circumstances.
He looked around. There was no one on the deck, and no seabirds either.
The dark brown deck was slightly damp. The sea breeze carried a salty smell and felt gentle. The sea was calm, and the ship moved steadily toward the distance.
The shoreline grew farther away. The green forest at the coast had blended into a single stretch of color, rising and falling along the hills.
"Whew..."
Shiro leaned against the railing. A sense of relief washed over him, mixed with a trace of exhaustion.
After thinking quietly for a moment, he took out both communicators, made calls, and sent messages.
* * *
Galar Region, at the northern edge of the Northern Wild Area.
Stony Wilderness.
Galarian Articuno's psychic power surged forward like a tide. Wherever it passed, all wild Pokémon trembled and froze in place, overwhelmed by the pressure of a legendary Pokémon.
Sordward stood on Articuno's back. Not far ahead, he could see a black-cloaked figure riding a Corviknight, fleeing in a miserable state.
"It's the presence of Unown..." he muttered, then shouted urgently, "Articuno! grab him!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, psychic power formed into a visible giant hand. It seized the Corviknight mid-flight and dragged it over, along with the trainer on its back.
"I've finally caught you, you little rat."
Sordward impatiently tore open the man's black cloak. Underneath was a face he had never seen before, pale with fear.
He froze for a moment, then demanded sharply, "Who are you?! Where is Shiro?"
The black-cloaked man's teeth chattered. He trembled so badly that he could not speak.
Growing impatient, Sordward ordered Articuno to hypnotize the man. Only then did he get an answer.
"I... I heard it from someone in the Dragon Tamer family. He gave me Pokédollars and told me to ride my Corviknight toward Hammerlocke at this time..."
After the broken explanation ended, Sordward kicked the man off from midair without hesitation, throwing him down together with the captured Corviknight.
"Damn Rose..." he cursed as he pulled out his communicator and started pressing buttons. Then he suddenly felt that something was wrong.
The Dragon Tamer family arranged this decoy, yet this man was discovered by Macro Cosmos?
Where had Rose's people gone?
Since arriving in this area, he had not seen a single Macro Cosmos member.
With doubt growing, he scanned the surroundings again. Below was a vast forest. To the southeast lay the gray expanse of Stony Wilderness.
Where was everyone?
As he made a call, a vague sense of unease rose in his chest. It felt like someone was watching him, or like danger was closing in.
It was a psychic's danger sense.
Before the call connected, he shouted, "Articuno! move! Now!"
Articuno let out a soft cry. Psychic power surged again, but it suddenly collapsed midair and spilled uncontrollably into the forest below.
Teleport failed.
Something was wrong with this place.
Sordward hurriedly reached for his Poké Balls. Yet they seemed to be sealed by some interfering force. None of them responded.
Even someone stupid would realize the situation was bad. This was an ambush.
"Articuno, fly! Get out of here!"
The moment he shouted, Articuno flew into a rage. As if it had seen its mortal enemy, it unleashed numerous psychic blades toward the forest below.
"Articuno? Articuno?" Sordward called anxiously, but it showed no sign of stopping.
"Moooool!"
Just then, a sharp cry that did not belong to Articuno rang out from below.
A surge of black flames streaked with crimson erupted from the forest. A bird Pokémon with pitch-black feathers and blood-red beak and claws rose into the air, letting out another short screech at Articuno.
Galarian Moltres.
"Mool!"
Most of the psychic blades struck Moltres directly, yet caused no damage at all.
Galarian Moltres was Dark-type, perfectly countering and nullifying Galarian Articuno's psychic attacks.
"How could it be Moltres..."
Articuno's violent movements threw Sordward around. He clung tightly to its neck, forced to lower his body.
Then he shouted in fury, "Shielbert! What are you trying to do?! Shielbert!"
That Moltres belonged to Shielbert. This meant the ambush was set by him.
That useless trash.
Clinging to Articuno's neck, hatred burned in Sordward's eyes, sharp enough to tear flesh.
"Moltres, use Sucker Punch!"
Rose's calm voice rose from the forest.
Sordward's eyes split wide as he watched Moltres turn into a mass of black flames and vanish.
Rose appeared next, standing atop a Bronzong. His hands were clasped behind his back, his expression relaxed and unhurried. On the forest floor below, six familiar cone-shaped psychic devices were operating at full power. Their functions had been slightly altered compared to when Shiro encountered them.
Macro Cosmos staff surrounded the devices, constantly adjusting and maintaining their stability.
"Rose!" Sordward's throat burned as he shouted, yet he received no response.
Articuno suddenly spun upside down. Black flames threaded with red ignited across its abdomen. Galarian Moltres showed no mercy, striking again and again with its beak and wings, smashing Articuno down from the sky.
In that instant, pink light flared around Sordward, and he vanished from Articuno's back.
Boom!
The ground shook. A long trench of broken trees and churned earth tore through the forest. Articuno lay at the end of it, its body twitching as it struggled to rise.
"Moooltreees!"
Galarian Moltres cried out in midair. Its gaze locked onto the lone figure fleeing through the trees below.
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