"We've been waiting for you for quite a while."
Bella's smile remained gentle as she answered calmly. "I assume Mesprit has already fallen asleep by now, right? If that's the case, then it probably won't wake up again anytime soon..."
Anna looked at her mother in confusion, but the Piplup A in her arms suddenly trembled violently.
Oh no!
Unown A's eyes widened completely.
Shiro furrowed his brow as his other hand slipped into his pocket, simultaneously gripping both the pink crystal and a Poké Ball.
Were these two hunters or descendants of the ancient clans?
Or perhaps enemies he still knew nothing about?
What confused him even more was...
"Your daughter is in my hands. Move aside," Shiro said expressionlessly.
"Pfft! Daughter?" Bella, who had previously spoken softly like a virtuous wife and loving mother, suddenly bent over laughing as her tone turned sharp and strange. "Hehe... are you sure about that?"
Shiro's face darkened as he lowered his head toward the bewildered Anna.
The little girl had clearly been frightened. She hugged Piplup A tightly and could not say a word. She could only feel the strange and oppressive atmosphere surrounding them, her face filled with panic.
"Jubilife City's Third Welfare Institute..." Bella said lightly. "As long as you donate over ten thousand Pokédollars, you can take a child away without any identity verification."
"I spent fifty thousand Pokédollars... hehe. Cheaper than Bug and Flying-types you can find anywhere."
"Enough nonsense!"
Alfred suddenly removed his glasses and casually threw them into the grass, his voice instantly changing.
"W! Hand over the two Unown in your possession!"
As soon as those words fell, Shiro instantly reached out and snatched Piplup A from Anna's arms while retreating and pressing his Poké Ball.
Corviknight's black wings appeared in an instant.
'Careful!'
Unown A cried out and immediately teleported above them, unleashing a surge of psychic power.
BOOM!
The collision between two psychic forces erupted into violent shockwaves. Nearby treetops bent sideways and the grass flattened to the ground.
Shiro barely managed to use his psychic power to see what was happening above.
Facing Unown A were two Pokémon with the same black bodies.
Or rather… two Unown.
[Name: Unown F
Type: Psychic
Level: 62 (Champion)
Moves: Light Screen, Reflect, Psycho Cut...
Held Item: None
Status: Out of Control]
* * *
[Name: Unown Y
Type: Psychic
Level: 61 (Champion)
Moves: Light Screen, Reflect, Psycho Cut…
Held Item: None
Status: Out of Control]
* * *
As the first of the Unown, Unown A possessed slightly higher strength and levels than ordinary Unown, allowing it to barely hold back the two opponents.
But both of these Unown shared the same status: out of control.
The Hunters Guild had been carrying out plans to capture Unown all along!
Shiro did not know how the enemy was controlling the two Unown, but the fact they had waited until Mesprit fell asleep proved they had prepared for this long ago. There was definitely more than just these two Unown in their possession.
The surrounding forest and sloped grasslands were already completely engulfed by colliding psychic waves. Even the light itself gradually turned into a bizarre pink hue.
Shiro's thoughts shifted rapidly as he summoned Drakloak and shouted, "G!"
Unown G floated out at once, preparing to help Unown A.
But just as Unown G was about to join the battle, another rushing psychic blast slammed into it and sent it flying over ten meters away. As the light dispersed, another pitch-black Unown was revealed.
[Name: Unown P
Type: Psychic
Level: 62 (Champion)
Moves: Light Screen, Reflect, Psycho Cut...
Held Item: None
Status: Out of Control]
A third Unown!
This Unown P slowly rotated its body and locked onto Shiro below.
In the next instant, a pale pink blade over three meters long slashed down from the sky.
Psycho Cut!
Shiro's nerves tightened. The moment he saw the attack, his body's instincts reacted before his thoughts could.
He rolled sideways and immediately leapt away.
Screeech!
The Psycho Cut carved a pitch-black gash across the grassy slope.
Corviknight also charged out at the perfect moment from behind him, its body transforming into streaking lightning as its steel-like wings gleamed brightly.
Yet Unown P neither dodged nor retreated. It forcefully endured the Steel Wing strike and continued focusing on Shiro while unleashing psychic power.
"Cooorvikniiiight!"
With a hoarse and deep cry, Corviknight's beak clamped onto Unown P. The immense bite force even began twisting the Unown's body.
Snap!
Space distorted.
Corviknight's beak closed on empty air.
Unown P teleported directly above Shiro and unleashed a Psychic attack downward.
Prepared in advance, Shiro quickly dodged the strike and began retreating while observing the enemy's movements.
Above him, Unown P began gathering another Psycho Cut.
'S-stop!'
Unown G teleported over and forcibly interrupted Unown P's attack.
The psychic powers of the two Unown immediately clashed together.
At this time, five Unown were fiercely battling overhead, the fight seemingly locked in complete stalemate.
Corviknight circled the skies while staring closely at the enemy, ready to provide support at any moment.
About thirty meters away, the couple still stood calmly in place without any signs of urgency.
Meanwhile, Drakloak transformed into a dark phantom and rapidly slid across the ground's shadows. Within seconds, the shadow arrived beside Alfred as over a dozen Shadow Balls suddenly burst forth.
BOOM!
Dust exploded into the air as a black energy wave burst through the smoke and shot straight into the sky.
"Zweeeil!"
The roar shook the earth itself, causing Shiro's expression to turn grave.
That was not Drakloak's voice!
It sounded more like...
BANG!
A massive figure burst into the air. Black fur covered its entire body while both heads appeared almost eyeless.
Zweilous!
[Name: Zweilous
Type: Dark/Dragon
Level: 60 (Elite)
Ability: Hustle
Moves: Tackle, Bite, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath, Double Hit, Roar, Assurance, Headbutt, Work Up, Slam, Crunch, Scary Face, Dragon Pulse, Body Slam...
Held Item: Wide Lens
Status: Irritated]
Buzz!
The smoke completely dispersed.
Drakloak immediately flew back out and slowly retreated toward Shiro's side.
Shiro frowned.
As expected, the sneak attack had failed. But he had not expected the opponent to release a Zweilous specifically to block it.
Dark-type. A direct counter to Psychic and Ghost.
This Zweilous had clearly received careful training. Even its level was slightly higher than Drakloak's.
This was bad.
Alfred burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Just as I thought... W! Aside from Mesprit and those two Unown, your strongest Pokémon should be this Drakloak, right?"
"You still have a chance now. Lock your Poké Balls and throw them over obediently. I'll spare your life."
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!