Testing

If Hunter G admitted that his Pokémon was lost or killed, it would be the same as exposing his weakness to everyone.

Yet at this moment, he couldn't come up with a suitable excuse.

He really wanted to say his Pokémon was just running late, or that it had been sent off for something else. But someone would definitely offer to "help" and go looking for it.

"My Noivern..." he finally said, slowly spitting out the words, "It died there... that bastard Renji set me up."

Facing his silent subordinates, watching their heavy expressions and lowered heads, Hunter G pushed past them and walked straight toward the Dynamax device for inspection.

The machine, made up of four black, perfectly cylindrical pillars, was still running. But the thing Hunter G had come all this way for hadn't shown up yet. None of them had seen even a trace of their target Pokémon.

"Still no sign of it..." he muttered.

Just then, he noticed a subtle ripple in the crimson fog above, signaling that someone was attacking the boundary of the Dynamax Den.

And the location... it was the northwestern grassland where he fought Shiro.

Hunter G spun around and shouted at the still-dazed crowd behind him.

"The enemy might be on his way right now! If he wants to break out, he'll have to destroy this device! Psychic squad, Strike squad, get ready for battle! Treat this like you're facing the main forces of Macro Cosmos!"

Hearing that, some still looked unsure, but years of trained obedience kicked in. Over twenty hunters moved into action, following orders like they'd done it a thousand times before.

As Felix watched with an unreadable expression, a shimmering psychic barrier cloaked them all in concealment.

* * *

In the dim, eerie red sky, a towering beam of deep crimson light stood out clearly at the heart of the Stony Wilderness.

Corviknight and Drakloak didn't slow down at all as they flew straight toward the target.

Under the red glow piercing the dark, Shiro noticed that most of the standing water in the field had dried up. Only a few shallow puddles remained, almost gone. The Water-type Pokémon had already taken the chance to follow the receding water back to the rivers in the open plains.

Only a handful, too injured to move from fights, lay rotting in the shallow pools, barely alive.

Below, at the center of the Stony Wilderness, where there had once been a hollow basin, now stood a massive rocky hill. The Dynamax energy beam shot up from the top of that place.

At the peak, four black cylindrical devices were continuously releasing Dynamax energy, all converging into a single beam. But strangely, not a single hunter was stationed around it.

Shiro immediately ordered Corviknight and Drakloak to halt, then looked over at Dalton.

Such obvious terrain changes, paired with how suspiciously unguarded the device was, made it clear that it had to be a trap.

But the man just shook his head blankly. He didn't know either.

After thinking for a moment, Shiro made Dalton put on a hood and mask. Then he gave Drakloak careful instructions and said, "Go, take him down there first. See what's really going on."

"Drak~"

The Pokémon gave a muffled reply. Dalton, pale as paper, wanted to shout in protest, but the rush of air roaring into his mouth and nose drowned out every word. In just a few seconds, he was dropped down to the rocky hill.

Drakloak stopped about three meters above the dirt-colored ground when a sudden blast of strong pink psychic energy surged near the device. The energy shot precisely toward Dalton, still in its mouth.

Pretending to dodge upward, Drakloak let the psychic energy latch onto his legs. Then it suddenly bit through the back collar of his clothes, making him fall unexpectedly.

The psychic energy wrapped tightly around him. He couldn't speak, couldn't move.

"Draaak!"

Just like Shiro told it to, Drakloak flew around anxiously in circles above Dalton, acting worried but not daring to dive in and bite through the psychic hold.

Dalton looked like a wounded beast, struggling with all his might. But he was trapped inside a soft pink psychic net, slowly being pulled toward the Dynamax device.

At the same time, four black-cloaked figures appeared before the machine.

Two of them stood at the front, each flanked by a yellow fox-like Pokémon holding spoons—Kadabra.

The hunter on the front left, directing his Kadabra, spoke to Hunter G behind him.

"Didn't expect it to be this easy to catch someone. Lord G, this guy's Pokémon may be strong, but he himself seems a little... off in the head. Completely—"

Hunter G cut him off sharply. "That's not the guy. He's not that Drakloak's trainer! He's the traitor I mentioned!"

Beside him, the tall and thin black-cloaked figure raised his head. Under the hood, he wore no mask. His pale, gaunt face looked like a cross between a vampire and a corpse. When he saw the person being dragged over, he grinned.

"Looks like it's Dalton~"

"Huh?" The hunters up front froze for a moment. "L-Lord Dalton..."

Instinctively, they turned to look at the tall, thin man, Felix, who simply returned a smile.

All the hunters knew that he and Dalton were close. They were two of the Elite Fours in this Wild Area. If the latter had turned against them like Renji, then what about Felix...?

Right now, with Hunter G having lost his Noivern, he was undeniably the strongest among them.

Seeing his men start to hesitate, Hunter G barked out, "Stop overthinking it. Drag him over! For all we know, he's a bait sent by the enemy after being captured!"

"Yes, sir!"

As soon as the voice sounded, the two Kadabra increased their psychic output, hauling Dalton over with greater force. Drakloak hovered for a few seconds before turning and flying high into the sky.

Felix stepped forward, pulled back Dalton's hood and mask, and let out a quiet chuckle when he saw the familiar bald head beneath.

"Dalton... you're a disgrace."

"Urgh..." The man groaned. The pressure of the psychic energy wracking his body made cold sweat pour down his face.

"Toss him aside." Felix waved a hand to the hunters behind him, then looked above.

Drakloak had already risen to about fifty meters overhead. From below, it was just a dark silhouette.

After getting a clear view of the situation, Shiro didn't hesitate anymore.

"Drakloak, use Dragon Pulse!"

"Draaa!"

With a low growl, the Pokémon opened its mouth, unleashing a concentrated beam of energy at the Dynamax energy device.

If Drakloak knew Draco Meteor, Shiro would've gone for that instead—scorching the whole area like a tactical strike and smashing the device to pieces.

Hunter G reacted swiftly. He released his three Noibat and had them launch a combined Dragon Pulse of their own.

The two energy waves collided midair. The bluish-green beam quickly overpowered the purple one and continued descending toward the ground.

"Felix! What are you waiting for?!" Hunter G roared at the top of his lungs.

At the shout, Felix, who had been calmly observing, finally flicked out a Poké Ball.

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Will use * * * for scene break from now on.

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