Chapter 148: Obstruction

"I'll handle him," Sean declared. As the strongest among them, already a mid-level Trainer, he was best suited to confront this enigmatic figure.

Sean promptly released his Pokemon: Braviary, Machamp, and Jolteon - all formidable creatures and key members of his team.

"Great, let's go find Zapdos." Kalia glanced at Sean's Pokemon and nodded immediately. With one person dealing with the intruder, the rest could search for Zapdos, aiming first to calm its fury.

"Be careful," Kalia said as she led her Pokemon alongside Julian towards the deck.

"Do you really think you can stop me?" The mysterious figure sneered, commanding both Houndoom and Staraptor to attack simultaneously. This wasn't a regulated battle, so no rules applied.

"Machamp, use..." Sean swiftly issued orders, directing his Pokemon to counterattack. Since their opponent only had two Pokemon, they couldn't spare another to pursue Kalia; thus, Sean focused on containment alone.

"Trying to stop me is too naive. My companions should arrive soon, so let's entertain ourselves for now," chuckled the mysterious figure, casually directing their Pokemon attacks.

Sean's Pokemon were powerful, but Houndoom and Staraptor held their own strength. Despite being outnumbered two against three, they managed to maintain an even footing.

Meanwhile, Lian followed Kalia onto the ship's deck, with Julian trailing behind them. They witnessed the aerial battle unfolding above; Zapdos and Moltres were engaged with Trainers on the ship, clearly at a disadvantage as the sky favored Zapdos' agility.

"Zapdos and Moltres!" Julian exclaimed, astonished by his first close encounter with these Legendary Pokemon.

Seeing Moltres reminded Lian of the incident in the Kana Mountains. The Pokemon egg beneath Moltres' claws was indeed a Zapdos egg. It seemed likely that Zapdos had entrusted Moltres, utilizing its Flame Body Ability, to accelerate the hatching process.

The mysterious individuals must have attempted to steal the egg, leading to a confrontation with Moltres. Inadvertently losing the egg allowed the stall owner to find it and eventually sell it to Julian.

Ah!

Suddenly, a Trainer accidentally fell from their flying-type Pokémon, heading straight towards the ship's deck. Given the considerable height, such a fall could result in severe injuries.

"Ninetales, use Extrasensory to save them!" Kalia commanded swiftly. Although Extrasensory is typically a Special attack, it can also manipulate objects by employing psychic energy to cushion the impact of the fall, which wasn't too challenging for Ninetales.

Having already mastered Extrasensory, Ninetales gazed at the falling Trainer, emitting red light from its eyes. The psychic energy enveloped the Trainer, dramatically slowing their descent and allowing them to land safely on the deck without any harm.

The rescued Trainer expressed deep gratitude, knowing well that such a high fall would have undoubtedly resulted in broken bones otherwise.

"Target located."

At that moment, two mysterious figures in the sky spotted Kalia's group and noticed the Zapdos youngling cradled in Julian's arms.

"Secure the target first."

The two enigmatic individuals immediately disengaged from battle, instructing Honchkrow to fend off other Trainers while they rode their Staraptors down towards the deck.

The young Zapdos noticed the yellow figures in the sky and let out a call, seemingly responding to them.

At that moment, another group of masked individuals approached from afar, clearly allies of the mysterious figures.

"Stop fighting! Zapdos is searching for its youngling, which is now with me," Kalia shouted loudly, hoping the Trainers battling Zapdos would hear her and cease their confrontation. "If you allow Zapdos to take back its youngling, there will be no further issues!"

As long as the Zapdos chick returned to its parent, everything would be fine. With Zapdos's speed, Staraptors couldn't keep up.

The Trainers in the sky evidently heard Kalia's plea. During a brief pause in combat, the leading Trainer called out, "Cease fire; let Zapdos descend."

The other Trainers immediately stopped. Most passengers had already evacuated the ship, making it unnecessary to continue blocking Zapdos. Battling against Zapdos was extremely taxing, even for such a large group. A single Thunder move from Zapdos could defeat a flying-type Pokémon, and several Trainers had already plummeted into the sea, drenched like drowned rats.

Meanwhile, two mysterious figures disengaged from battle and swiftly approached Kalia.

"Our reinforcements have arrived; don't worry about Zapdos, focus on securing the target," one of the mysterious individuals spoke, noticing their allies flying towards them from afar.

"Who are these people?" Julian asked as he observed the newcomers descending, puzzled by their sudden appearance to snatch the little Zapdos.

"I'm not sure, but they likely belong to an organization dealing in illegal Pokémon trafficking. Prepare for battle; we can't let them take the little Zapdos." Despite the intruders' formidable strength, Kalia couldn't simply hand over the young Zapdos, leaving no choice but to engage in combat.

"Why do these people show up everywhere?!" Julian expressed his frustration, deeply angered by such illicit Pokémon traders. It was precisely due to them that his Charmeleon had been captured previously.

The two mysterious figures landed on the deck, fortunately, with only their Staraptors accompanying them, while their other Pokémon remained engaged high above with the Trainers.

Without hesitation, the duo charged at Julian, clearly intent on seizing the little Zapdos, followed closely by both Staraptors.

Lian immediately prepared for battle, focusing primarily on defense. The ongoing rain severely disadvantaged Fire-type moves, and facing one Staraptor was already challenging; taking on two would be even more difficult.

He swiftly released Smokescreen, sending out a dense cloud of smoke to envelop the area ahead. Without the Keen Eye Ability, the Staraptors' vision would be significantly impaired by the smoke, providing Lian with a strategic advantage.

As expected, the Staraptors could only use Whirlwind to disperse the smoke. However, once the smoke cleared, Lian had already unleashed his second move.

Lian employed Dragon Breath. His current objective wasn't to defeat them but rather to hinder their advance. The additional Paralysis effect from Dragon Breath effectively restricted the Staraptors' movements.

Following Kalia's commands, Grovyle and Ninetales also engaged in combat.

Julian directed his Pokemon to assist Kalia while keeping a close eye on the mysterious figures, wary of any sudden attempts to snatch the Pokemon. As a minor, he knew he couldn't overpower two adults alone.

At that moment, the group of mysterious masked individuals arrived, forcefully intercepting Zapdos and Moltres as they attempted to descend. Although their Pokemon were not exceptionally strong individually, their numbers overwhelmed the powerful duo, temporarily preventing them from breaking through.

"Let's assist Zapdos!" the leading Trainer exclaimed. Now understanding the situation, there was no need to conflict with Zapdos further.

With another hostile group emerging, it was clear that helping Zapdos against these newcomers was the right course of action.

Bang!

Lian's limited strength couldn't match up against two opponents simultaneously. One Staraptor swiftly knocked Grovyle away; at this level of combat, Grovyle's contribution was minimal due to its weakness.

Ninetales faced a similar issue; despite using Extrasensory, its impact on the Staraptors was significantly limited, suggesting it wouldn't hold out for long.

Meanwhile, Lian's Dragon Breath successfully hit the Staraptors. Hidden behind the Smokescreen, the gusts dispersed the smoke but could not deflect the Dragon Breath.

The Dragon Breath accurately struck the Staraptors, causing only slight tremors in their feathers. However, Lian remained focused on whether it would induce Paralysis, rather than immediate visible effects.

After a moment, Staraptor's movements remained unaffected, leaving Lian slightly disappointed. The secondary effect of Dragon Breath was not guaranteed unless he could enhance his mastery over Dragon-type energy.

Now, Staraptor charged towards Lian, initiating an attack with its flying-type Wing Attack, evident by the change in wing movement.

Lian couldn't afford to take it head-on.

These mysterious individuals were at least mid-level trainers, meaning their Pokemon would be significantly powerful, likely no less than Level 40.