Ten minutes later, Salamence deactivated its Mega Evolution and collapsed under the focused barrage of Ice Beams from Blastoise.
Looking at Blastoise, which had taken almost no damage, Zinnia recalled Salamence and crouched on the back of Wailord, drawing circles in distress.
Clearly, Zinnia was feeling defeated by Ace.
Ace also recalled Blastoise, silently nodding at Zinnia's growth.
If Zinnia were assessed independently right now, her strength would far exceed that of an average Gym Leader. Even against an Elite Four member, while she might not win, she could manage a safe retreat.
That Zinnia could grow this much in such a short time spoke volumes about her effort and talent.
"Your progress is far beyond what I imagined," Ace praised her, causing the slightly defeated Zinnia to look up, feeling a bit better.
"However, you're still a bit short of the standard I have in mind."
Zinnia dropped her head and returned to her self-pity.
"Next, I'm going to increase your training standards to get you to my level as quickly as possible."
Ace's words made Zinnia lift her head. After glancing at Ace, she asked, "Are we moving locations?"
Ace nodded and said, "We need to boost your strength as soon as possible. The place I'm taking you to next is to strengthen your willpower, so you'll have enough stamina to control Kyogre later."
Hearing Ace, Zinnia subconsciously recalled her experience after touching the Blue Orb on Mt. Pyre.
She instinctively shivered, then gritted her teeth and nodded: "I understand. I promise I won't hold you back, Lord Ace."
Ace nodded, very satisfied with Zinnia's resolve.
The weather gradually turned cooler. Aside from procuring necessary supplies, Ace and Zinnia were entirely immersed in special training.
Ace would spar with Zinnia from time to time, and Zinnia's strength was increasing at a stable rate.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Including the time spent on the Illusionary Island, Ace and Zinnia had trained together for nearly a full year.
Over this long period, Zinnia's strength gradually approached Ace's ideal standard. Furthermore, by living and training together, their collaboration became increasingly seamless.
Currently, their performance in double battles was such that even when facing the combination of Chansey and Tao Dragon —Ace's two strongest Pokémon—it would take some time for the Legendary Pokémon to defeat the coordinated duo of Ace and Zinnia.
Just when Ace felt the time was right to take Zinnia to the Seafloor Cavern, he received a communication from the Elder of the Dragons.
The Elder didn't say much, simply repeating the information Ace had told her to watch for. On this particular day, while observing the cloud lines, she detected a disruption in the flow over the southeast.
Hanging up the communication device, Ace muttered to himself, "The southeast... not too far away..."
Ace considered it briefly. In the end, he took all his Pokémon, and after Zinnia's earnest plea, Ace took Zinnia with him and flew towards the location described by the Elder.
"According to the ancient texts, the 'Final Location' should be here."
In Sootopolis City, a woman in a dress with neatly shaved eyebrows walked through the streets.
She murmured softly, observing the ancient city like a tourist. As her gaze swept over certain buildings, she silently committed them to memory.
In a while, she planned to search these places sequentially to find the target location.
"It's a shame I can't operate openly. I wonder what my current boss is so cautious about?"
The woman shook her head, feeling her current boss was overly cautious.
But it was precisely this caution that made her feel particularly tricky to deal with, as she simply couldn't find any flaws in his plan to exploit.
Just as the woman was thinking this, a man and a woman suddenly walked toward her. The man wore a black trench coat, and the woman wore a gray cloak.
The woman was slightly puzzled by their attire, but they quickly passed each other.
"Wait!"
Just as they passed, the woman instantly spun around and called out to them.
The man and woman stopped. The eyebrow-less woman then plucked a micro-listening device, only half the size of a grain of rice, from her dress. Holding it in her hand, she asked, "What is the meaning of this?"
"Ah, I told you this plan wasn't very good, but you wouldn't believe me."
Seeing that the listening device had been discovered, the man in the trench coat, Ace, sighed: "Now you've been caught."
"You are way too alert, lady."
Zinnia, in the cloak, looked at the woman and said speechlessly: "You can find something that small?"
The woman smirked, saying nothing.
In her line of work, if you weren't sufficiently alert, the grass on your grave would be six feet high.
Never mind a listening device this small; even if it were several times smaller, as long as it was placed on her, she would certainly sense that something on her body was amiss.
Seeing that she remained silent, Zinnia looked at Ace and said, "Since this plan won't work, let's proceed with your plan, Lord."
Ace nodded. It should have been done this way from the start!
Zinnia's words immediately put the woman on high alert. She subconsciously took a step back.
But as she did so, the woman suddenly noticed that a Shiny Gardevoir had appeared behind her sometime earlier.
"Oh no!"
The instant she saw the Gardevoir, the woman cried out. She tried to escape, but it was already too late.
Gardevoir's hand touched the woman's body. The next moment, Gardevoir performed a Teleport with the woman and vanished from the spot.
A person suddenly disappearing on the street instantly attracted significant attention.
However, Ace and Zinnia were even faster. The moment Gardevoir left with the woman, Ace and Zinnia instantly released their respective Aerodactyl and Salamence.
The two Pokémon carried the duo soaring into the sky, disappearing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.
The entire sequence took less than ten seconds, giving others no time to react and minimizing the impact.
On the other side, Gardevoir brought the woman to a location high above the ocean. Gardevoir hovered in mid-air using its psychic power. As for the woman, Gardevoir naturally ignored her, letting her perform a free-fall toward the sea surface below.
"You damned fools!"
A Starmie appeared beneath the woman's feet. Starmie spun rapidly, stabilizing the woman's body, and they hovered in mid-air.
She looked up at the Gardevoir and said coldly, "You have messed with the wrong person!"
"I'll return those same words to you."
Just as the woman was about to launch an attack, Ace and Zinnia arrived.
Looking at the woman standing on Starmie, Ace sneered, "You must be Sachi. Would you mind dying right here?"
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
I only share the most exquisite and beautiful novels. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon DaoistWujinzi