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At three o'clock in the morning, the rain grew heavier. In the dark woods, the powerful sound of rainfall created an atmosphere both wild and eerily quiet.
"Boss, are we still crossing the border today?" a deep voice questioned from the darkness.
More than a dozen people wearing black jackets huddled against three massive trees. In the noisy downpour, they remained motionless as statues. Without careful observation, one would never notice their presence.
The person addressed as "boss" lifted his head slightly.
This rain would never cease.
Rainy weather wasn't favorable for border crossing. The weather forecast had been utterly useless—in terms of inaccuracy, it had been remarkably accurate.
"We cross," Eagle whispered, raising his hand and tossing a Poké Ball.
A Noivern materialized instantly.
He climbed onto its back with a fluid motion.
"Move out!"
Noivern immediately flapped its powerful wings, navigating swiftly and skillfully through the forest.
Flying above the treetops was forbidden—even in the dark of night, they would be exposed to the watchful eyes of border patrol.
More than a dozen black shadows sprang into action, releasing their Flying Pokémon and following Eagle one after another, advancing through the rainy night according to plan.
Simultaneously, six shadowy figures passed overhead.
A Weavile, a Shiftry, a Skuntank, and three Honchkrows.
These six Pokémon had been perched on the large trees where the group had been resting, responsible for maintaining vigilance.
Among them, the Skuntank possessed the Stench ability.
"Use the Psychic Pokémon to scan the area with Confusion!" Eagle whispered.
One of the dozen followers immediately threw a Poké Ball.
A Malamar appeared, floating behind the group. Its invisible psychic force spread like tidal waves, radiating outward in concentric circles.
Wherever those waves washed over, Malamar's mind reached.
"Tailwind!" Eagle commanded softly.
The Honchkrows overhead immediately flapped their wings vigorously, generating a powerful gust of wind.
Instantly, the flying speed of the entire team escalated to another level!
In the darkness, the black-clad figures rushed forward like invisible ghosts floating through the rainy night.
Hundreds of meters away.
"Tailwind! That's Tailwind—Chris, get ready!" Stephen, positioned at the rear of their team, felt the sudden acceleration of the surrounding air and immediately reacted, alerting the others through his headset.
"Understood!" Chris acknowledged in a hushed voice. He too had felt the accelerated air current, but lacking the experience of a top Pokémon Investigator like Senior Stephen, he simply assumed it was a Tailwind employed by the criminal organization.
Behind Chris, Eliana and Aiden clutched Poké Balls in their hands, prepared to provide assistance at any moment.
Chris held his breath and concentrated, his gaze piercing the darkness like a torch.
The Eye training technique he had obtained from Ecruteak Gym wasn't just for show.
On this dark night, while he couldn't claim to see as clearly as in daylight, discerning objects forty or fifty meters away posed little challenge!
Until...
A fierce gust of wind rustled the rain-soaked green leaves.
A cluster of black shadows impenetrable to normal sight leaped into Chris's field of vision! Three cloaked figures leaned forward, half-kneeling on the backs of three Swellows as they rushed past! Their speed was so great that they would pass directly in front of him in the blink of an eye.
They're coming!
Chris's heart pounded with alarm as his eyes locked onto the moving shadows.
They drew closer and closer.
At just twenty meters away—an optimal ambush distance—Chris prepared to strike.
But just as he was about to make his move, Mega Gardevoir placed a hand on his shoulder.
Chris immediately abandoned his plan.
To ensure nothing went awry, Chris had specifically instructed Gardevoir to use Future Sight when the targets appeared.
To resist Future Sight, an opponent would need psychic power exceeding Gardevoir's capabilities.
This was precisely why Chris had Gardevoir undergo Mega Evolution.
With Mega Gardevoir's psychic prowess, who could possibly evade Future Sight?
Only an Elite-level Psychic-type Pokémon!
And even then, it would need to specialize in Special Attacks. Even an ordinary Psychic-type Pokémon at Elite level might not match Mega Gardevoir's psychic strength!
But if Eagle, the leader of the Asuka Group, possessed Elite-level power, Chris and Stephen would likely watch helplessly as they slipped away.
That would be disastrous!
Two Trainers at Gym Leader level combined wouldn't be a match for an Elite-level opponent!
The three shadowy figures swiftly passed by Chris's position.
Chris made no move, nor did any other group.
Stephen nodded approvingly to himself—his junior was sufficiently cautious and composed in his actions, perfectly suited for the role of a Pokémon Investigator!
More than ten seconds after the three shadows flew past, additional black figures emerged from the dark forest. This time there were more than ten shadows, accompanied by Noivern, Pidgeot, Skarmory, and other Flying Pokémon.
It seemed their earlier estimation had been correct—those first three had been decoys.
The main force had arrived!
"Cunning criminal organization!" Chris's eyes flickered coldly.
It was almost time to strike.
"Surf!" Chris commanded, pointing forward.
Greninja, who had already been released and concealed in the darkness, immediately reached out and slapped the ground!
In an instant, a massive wave over ten meters high rose from the earth and surged forward!
It was like a gigantic beast opening its bloody maw, ready to devour this forest and this stretch of land as its evening meal!
"It's an ambush!" Sensing the enormous surge of energy, someone immediately raised the alarm.
"Scatter!" Eagle eyed the ten-meter-high wave before him and realized that whoever had set this trap were definitely not ordinary border guards!
"Noivern, Hyper Beam! Clear a path!"
Everyone immediately dispersed like startled animals, fleeing in all directions. No one retreated—if there was an ambush ahead, then surely a massive net was closing in from behind.
None used Psychic-type Pokémon to teleport to safety, as most border areas were designated as blocked spaces. This prevented the easy method of crossing borders via Teleport.
Their only option now was to forcefully break through and fight their way across!
However, they quickly discovered that enormous waves were also approaching from both left and right!
One was equally tall at 10 meters! Another was shorter at only seven meters, but still impossible to charge through head-on!
"Take to the sky!" someone shouted.
A dozen or so Flying-type Pokémon immediately straightened their trajectories and soared upward.
At that moment, the dark clouds that had seemed so "calm" suddenly erupted with thunder.
In the next second, several lightning bolts as thick as buckets crashed down from the heavens.
"BOOM!!!"