"Then I'll be taking my leave first."
Just as everyone was still discussing countermeasures at the police station, Cyrus suddenly stood up and calmly announced his departure.
No one tried to stop him.
Everyone present merely watched as he turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing faintly in the corridor.
Gary's gaze followed Cyrus's back until he disappeared from sight.
He knew very well that Cyrus was returning to Team Galactic.
And Gary had no intention of stopping him.
Only by letting events develop along their original trajectory would Gary have a chance to act at the critical moment—especially when it came to the three Lake Guardians: Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf.
Gary didn't have much interest in Dialga or Palkia. Those two Pokémon were far beyond what he could control at his current level. But the Lake Guardians were different.
They were powerful, mysterious, and—most importantly—still within the realm of possibility.
Given that Team Galactic had openly seized the Lustrous Orb, the Pokémon League and the Sinnoh police would now be fully focused on them. Under such pressure, Team Galactic wouldn't dare to act too openly for a while.
Instead, they would likely turn to an external force.
A Pokémon hunter.
Hunter J.
Gary narrowed his eyes slightly.
He had crossed paths with Hunter J before. Her strength was no joke. Among her Pokémon, Salamence was terrifyingly powerful. The other two Pokémon she used were more for auxiliary purposes, but even those were dangerous in their own way.
What truly made Gary wary, however, was her petrification gun.
So far, Gary had not found a reliable way to counter it.
Dodging was possible—but no one could guarantee that they wouldn't be hit by a sneak attack.
After giving it some thought, Gary planned to consult Professor Oak later and see if there was any way to deal with that weapon.
For now, he turned his attention back to Cynthia.
"Miss Cynthia," Gary said, "let's postpone our battle for now. I'll be leaving first."
Cynthia nodded calmly. "Alright. We'll fight another time."
She understood perfectly. Team Galactic was now the top priority, and there was no room for personal battles.
After leaving the police station, Gary returned to the Pokémon Center with Ash and the others to rest. Everyone then went their separate ways for the time being.
The next day.
Early in the morning, Gary left Celestic Town riding on Cyclizar, his destination set firmly on Canalave City.
The morning breeze rushed past him as Cyclizar galloped along the road, its movements smooth and full of vitality.
"Cyy—!"
Cyclizar clearly enjoyed running. It loved the feeling of speed, the vibration of the ground beneath its body, and the freedom of open roads.
Before long, they arrived near Route 211.
Just as Cyclizar was accelerating—
The ground beneath it suddenly gave way.
"What—?!"
Gary felt his vision drop sharply as the road collapsed. Cyclizar's entire body plunged downward along with the broken earth.
The first thought that flashed through Gary's mind was simple.
Team Rocket.
Had they set a trap here?
"Cyclizar, Dragon Claw!" Gary shouted instantly.
Cyclizar reacted without hesitation. Its claws glowed with draconic energy as it slammed them into the rocky wall of the pit.
Crack!
The Dragon Claw pierced deep into the stone. Using the embedded claws as anchors, Cyclizar stopped its fall and clung to the wall.
"Good. Let's climb up."
Cyclizar tensed its muscles and ran straight up the wall, hauling both itself and Gary back to the surface.
Gary scanned the surroundings carefully.
No one was in sight.
"…Huh?"
Cyclizar also tilted its head, clearly confused.
The pit didn't look like it had been dug with tools. The edges were uneven, rough—more like the result of Pokémon-assisted digging.
Digging a hole in the middle of a public road was illegal. The only ones who would do something like this were criminals.
Team Rocket.
Or bandits.
But if this were an ambush, the attacker should have appeared by now.
Instead, it seemed as though whoever dug the pit hadn't even noticed that Gary had fallen into it.
Almost as if… this wasn't meant for him.
"Boke!"
Suddenly, a small figure emerged from the grass beside the road.
A Togepi.
It stood there, staring straight at Gary with a crooked, unsettling smile—its eyes filled with unmistakable malice.
"Togepi?" Gary froze.
He was shocked—and deeply confused.
This Togepi didn't display any level or status information above its head.
That was impossible.
Even Legendary Pokémon showed basic data when Gary looked at them. There was no way a Togepi wouldn't.
"Boke!"
Togepi let out a strange cry.
Cyclizar blinked.
"Cyy…?"
Gary didn't know what Togepi had said, but Cyclizar suddenly stiffened.
"Cyy—!!"
Energy surged violently inside Cyclizar's mouth.
Without any command from Gary, Cyclizar unleashed a combined blast—Dragon Pulse mixed with stored energy.
Boom!!
The attack slammed straight into Togepi.
Dust and smoke filled the air.
"…Got it?" Gary muttered.
But when the smoke cleared—
Togepi was gone.
"…What?"
Gary frowned deeply.
Togepi didn't have any teleportation or displacement moves. It couldn't just vanish like that.
"Boke."
A voice sounded from behind him.
Gary and Cyclizar spun around instantly.
There stood Togepi again—right behind them.
But this Togepi looked completely different.
Gone was the evil grin.
Instead, it wore a pitiful expression, eyes watery, body trembling slightly, as if it had just narrowly escaped danger.
And above its head—
Information appeared.
[LV60 Togepi ♀ / Quasi-Legend]
"…What?"
Gary was genuinely shocked.
Level 60.
A Togepi.
That alone was absurd.
And then realization struck him.
This was that Togepi.
The infamous Togepi Ash had once encountered during his travels in Sinnoh—a Togepi with an evil personality that delighted in tricking people using Substitute and misdirection.
A Togepi born with malice.
"Heatran, I'm leaving this to you," Gary said instantly.
He didn't waste a single word.
A Poké Ball flew forward.
Flash!
Heatran appeared in a burst of light.
"HRR… DUO…"
Heatran let out a deep, heavy growl, heat radiating from its steel body.
"Boke!!"
Togepi's eyes widened in shock.
It had deliberately put on a cute, helpless expression. Why wasn't this human fooled?
Was this boy heartless?!
"Heatran, Flamethrower!"
Heatran opened its mouth, releasing a torrent of blazing flames.
Togepi reacted quickly.
A Substitute appeared in front of it, taking the full force of the Flamethrower and burning to ashes instantly as Togepi slipped aside.
"Boke!"
Instead of retreating, Togepi counterattacked.
It puckered its lips and blew a kiss.
Waves of pink energy surged forward.
Attract.
"HRR…?"
Heatran tilted its head slightly.
Nothing happened.
Togepi froze.
"Boke!!"
It couldn't believe it.
With its flawless cuteness—its queenly charm—it couldn't even affect this big steel monster?!
How humiliating!
Gary sneered. "Metal Claw."
Heatran swung its massive claw forward, steel glowing with heat.
Togepi had just used Attract.
Unfortunately for it, Heatran was genderless.
Attract had zero effect.
Togepi tried to fight back, spitting out a small fireball in desperation.
Gary's eyes widened slightly.
"…Fire-type move?"
This Togepi knew an absurd number of moves.
But unfortunately for it—
Fire-type attacks were completely useless against Heatran.
The flames struck Heatran's body and were instantly absorbed by its Flash Fire Ability, only making it stronger.
The superheated Metal Claw slammed into Togepi.
Bang!!
Togepi was sent flying like a volleyball, crashing into the ground.
"Boke!!"
Anger twisted Togepi's face.
Its eyes glowed blue.
A powerful psychic force erupted.
Confusion.
Heatran's massive body was lifted off the ground and suspended in midair.
Gary's pupils shrank.
"This Togepi doesn't even have Psychic typing… and yet its Confusion is this strong?"
This was far beyond a normal Togepi.
"Heatran, Fire Blast!"
Heatran roared.