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Chris turned his attention back to Owl, his gaze unwavering.
In less than a minute, three of Owl's Pokémon had lost their ability to battle.
Feraligatr, Pidgeot, Weavile.
Impressive, Chris thought. This Pokémon team configuration is actually quite formidable.
"Blaziken, Flame Charge!" Chris commanded, pointing directly at Owl himself.
Without hesitation, Owl turned and sprinted up the stairs while simultaneously hurling two Poké Balls at Blaziken to obstruct its path.
The Poké Balls burst open, revealing a Houndoom and a Manectric.
"Blaziken, take them down!" Chris shouted.
"Gardevoir, use Psychic on that trainer!" Chris wasn't about to let Owl escape.
Gardevoir emerged from its Poké Ball and extended a graceful arm. Immediately, Owl , who was still racing up the stairs, rose helplessly into the air. His legs continued running motions, but he remained suspended, unable to advance!
"Leader, I'll help you!" A voice suddenly called from the second floor.
A Honchkrow swooped down from above, unleashing a powerful Snarl attack on Owl.
The move wasn't meant to injure him, but rather to use its Dark-type properties to dispel the Psychic hold on Owl's body.
"Craw-haw!" The Honchkrow let out its distinctive harsh cry.
Instantly, the Psychic energy enveloping Owl dissolved like ice under the sun, and a hand reached out to pull him up to safety.
Meanwhile, Honchkrow launched a fearless blocking attack toward Chris, disregarding its own safety.
"Troublesome," Chris muttered coldly.
Whether at border checkpoints or within Team Dawn bases, special equipment was inevitably installed to lock down the dimensional space and disable Teleport moves, just like at Dragon University.
This measure effectively prevented criminals from escaping. Otherwise... with just one Psychic-type Pokémon, national borders would become meaningless, and fugitives could play an endless game of hide-and-seek.
But the spatial lock worked both ways—Team Dawn couldn't use Teleport to escape, and Chris couldn't use Teleport to pursue them.
"Tyranitar, Rock Slide!" Chris released another Poké Ball.
"GRRRAAAARRR!!" Tyranitar's thunderous roar shook the department store, startling the vigilant Pokémon investigators stationed nearby.
Following Tyranitar's bellow, the ceiling of the first floor—the foundation of the second floor—instantly shattered and collapsed like an avalanche of chaotic boulders.
The falling debris buried Honchkrow alive as it lunged toward Chris.
Simultaneously, Owl, who had just reached the upper level, and the young Team Dawn member who had extended a hand to save him, both tumbled down with the collapsing floor.
They landed hard on the ground, surrounded by piles of rubble and merchandise that had fallen from the second floor.
On the staircase leading from the second to the third floor, three middle-aged Team Dawn members witnessed the devastation with horror-filled eyes. Without a second thought, they turned and bolted upstairs.
"Garchomp!" Chris threw another Poké Ball.
The Dragon Pokémon immediately pursued the fleeing trio up the stairs with a powerful Dragon Rush, hunting them down with predatory efficiency.
Meanwhile, Gardevoir used Psychic to clear away the surrounding rocks and fallen merchandise.
As the debris shifted, Owl and the young Team Dawn grunt were exposed. Both were breathing heavily, their bodies covered in blood from numerous cuts and bruises.
Not dead yet, Chris noted mentally.
Well then...
"Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!" Chris pointed directly at Owl.
Tyranitar parted its massive jaws slightly, and terrifying destructive energy immediately began to condense within its maw.
"Don't! Don't kill me! I surrender!" Owl endured the excruciating pain wracking his body and raised his hands in surrender. If he didn't yield now, his fate wouldn't be as simple as being captured—he would be eliminated on the spot!
Outside Team Dawn's base, after listening to Josh's description of Chris's one-man war at the border checkpoint, Ares's jaw dropped so wide he could have swallowed an Exeggcute whole.
"No wonder he's a Gym Trainer. His strength is absolutely formidable!" Ares exclaimed in awe. He had initially thought it was Stephen's investigation team that had neutralized the border operation, but it turned out that Chris had accomplished it single-handedly! And he had completely wiped out Team Dawn's entire infiltration squad!
A Gym Trainer was indeed worthy of the title!
Incredible!
"Right? I suddenly understand why Chris's popularity rating is so high." In just a few hours of interaction, Josh had already become a die-hard fan of Chris's abilities.
Eliana looked at the note where she had written "666" and added more words after it:[T/N note: In Chinese, "666" (liù liù liù) is a popular internet slang phrase that means awesome, cool, or impressive]
Absolutely BEAST!!! (Overdrive)
Three exclamation points and parenthetical emphasis seemed appropriate.
While the three of them were marveling at Chris's prowess, an Arcanine descended through the rain curtain from the sky above.
Captain Lucas dismounted in front of them with a practiced motion.
"What's the situation? Is Owl still inside?" he inquired urgently.
"Reporting, Captain Lucas, the target remains inside!" Ares replied immediately. His team had been waiting for Lucas and reinforcements; a direct assault might have resulted in casualties, so they deferred to the more experienced Trainer.
"Excellent!" Lucas immediately sprinted toward the Team Dawn base.
But after just two steps, a furious roar erupted from inside the building.
"GRRRAAAARRR!!!"
The unmistakable battle cry of a Tyranitar.
"Someone went in ahead of us?" Lucas turned back to Ares, questioning.
"It's Trainer Chris!"
No sooner had the words left Ares's mouth than a thunderous "BOOM" shook the area, and a searing white beam of energy punched through the wall, shooting diagonally into the rain-soaked sky.
Lucas immediately recognized that such a devastating move must have been Hyper Beam!
Had the battle inside already escalated to such intensity?
I need to get in there and assess the situation!
Before Lucas could enter the Team Dawn base, three executives from the criminal organization appeared on the roof of the fifth floor, mounting Flying-type Pokémon in an attempt to flee. They were immediately struck down by Thunder attacks from the Pokémon investigators who had been stationed strategically, waiting for exactly this escape attempt!
Looking back toward the entrance, Lucas saw Chris already stepping out of the base, followed by his Gardevoir and Blaziken.
"The base has been cleared. Their leader, Owl, has been apprehended by me personally! Other Team Dawn members have sustained various injuries, from minor to severe. Someone will need to take them into custody."
A Garchomp descended from the sky and landed beside Chris.
The three Team Dawn executives who had attempted to escape on their Flying Pokémon had made their desperate break because they were being pursued by the fearsome Dragon/Ground-type.
Obviously, they were doomed either way.
Chris recalled Garchomp to its Poké Ball.
"Captain Lucas, your timing is perfect. I'll leave the cleanup to you. I need to move on to provide support in the next city!" Chris walked past Lucas and waved to Josh and Eliana.
"Let's go! We should head to the next city!"
"Right behind you, legend!" Josh called enthusiastically.
Eliana ran over to hand Chris a note.
"Still with the 'Overdrive'? Say something out loud for once!" Chris looked at the words on the note, exasperated.
Eliana turned her head as if she hadn't heard Chris's request.
The trio quickly released their Flying Pokémon and soared toward the next city.
Lucas remained rooted to the spot, watching Chris's retreating form. He felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if he had seen that confident stride somewhere before, but couldn't quite place the memory.