Pokémon: Breeding Simulator [16]

By the time Elias teleported onto the Bell Tower using his psychic abilities, he finally confirmed that one of the black specks in the sky was indeed the Ho-Oh he had been searching for.

And the one locked in battle with Ho-Oh was a Delibird—with a masked man standing on its back.

The sheer size difference between the ice-covered man and the small Delibird made for an almost comical sight. However, Elias did not let his guard down in the slightest.

On the contrary, the moment he saw the Delibird actually managing to chase after Ho-Oh and peck at it, he realized that the masked man before him was likely no weaker than Giovanni.

"Oh?"

On the other side, Pryce—who was commanding the Delibird—let out a small sound of surprise upon noticing a new presence atop the Bell Tower.

"A meddlesome third party?" Though he had no idea who Elias was, Pryce decided it would be best to eliminate the unknown factor first, just to be safe.

"Swinub, [Blizzard]."

At his command, a small, brown Swinub emerged from under Pryce's cloak.

Its unassuming, harmless appearance was deceiving. Taking in a deep breath, the Swinub then unleashed a fierce gust of icy wind straight at Elias.

In an instant, a blinding white blizzard, amplified by the howling wind, surged toward Elias, blanketing the sky.

Elias's expression shifted slightly at the sight. Without hesitation, he conjured a psychic barrier in front of him, simultaneously throwing out two Poké Balls.

"Gengar, [Dark Pulse]!"

"Gengaaa!"

At his command, Gengar rubbed its hands together, forming a swirling black wave of energy before launching it toward Pryce.

Seeing that his Swinub's attack had failed to take down Elias, Pryce's eyes flickered with surprise.

But with his focus entirely on battling Ho-Oh, he had no time to dwell on the reason.

As Gengar's attack approached, Swinub countered by firing a beam of [Ice Beam] to intercept it.

Black and blue energy clashed in midair, creating ripples that disrupted the battlefield—so much so that even the small-bodied Delibird nearly lost control mid-flight.

Seizing the opportunity, Ho-Oh—gasping for breath under the relentless assault—unleashed a powerful Fire Blast.

Though the attack failed to inflict any real damage on Pryce, it at least bought Ho-Oh a brief moment to breathe.

However, just as Ho-Oh felt a sliver of relief, Pryce's Delibird abruptly broke away from its formation and shot toward it.

Like an arrow released from its bow, the Delibird crashed straight into Ho-Oh's chest, the sheer momentum sending the legendary Pokémon reeling in midair.

A flurry of vibrant feathers scattered through the sky.

Meanwhile, Pryce—now without Delibird's support—was plummeting toward the ground with Swinub in his arms.

Yet despite this precarious situation, not a trace of panic could be seen on his face.

Just as he was about to hit the ground, Delibird managed to swoop back just in time to catch him.

Beneath his mask, Pryce smirked in triumph. It had been a risky move, but clearly… he had made the right call. Ho-Oh had let its guard down, and he had landed a decisive blow.

At least, that's what he thought—until he suddenly noticed something off.

Despite being caught by Delibird, he was still… falling?

A sudden alarm rang in Pryce's mind, and when he looked down, the ground was already dangerously close.

Boom—!

Watching from above as dust and debris erupted into the air, Elias slowly lowered his hand, retracting his psychic power.

That masked man was strong—Elias wasn't certain he could defeat him in a fair one-on-one battle.

But… it seemed like Pryce had been so caught up in fighting Ho-Oh that he had completely overlooked Elias's presence.

Or perhaps… he never even realized Elias was a psychic.

Either way, Elias doubted anyone could withstand a fall from that height and remain combat-ready.

"Gardevoir, grab Ho-Oh's feathers. We're leaving."

"Garde~"

By now, Ho-Oh had disappeared, leaving only a scattering of golden feathers behind. Retrieving them posed no challenge for Gardevoir.

However, just as Gardevoir teleported away to collect the feathers, a sudden sense of danger surged through Elias.

"Lugia?!"

Looking up, he saw a massive, white avian Pokémon diving straight toward him, its body glowing with a faint blue light.

There was no time to ponder why Lugia had appeared here. Elias immediately erected another psychic barrier and shouted:

"Gengar, Eevee, [Protect]—now!"

The moment his words fell, an overwhelming force crashed into the barrier, sending shockwaves rippling through the air.

Elias's expression changed—he attempted to teleport away, only to find that his psychic energy wouldn't respond.

The sheer impact sent him and Eevee hurtling deeper into the Bell Tower.

Boom—!

The tower trembled as the deafening explosion echoed within its ancient walls.

Still clutching Ho-Oh's feathers, Gardevoir's pupils contracted in shock. Its heart skipped a beat before it hastily teleported inside to find Elias.

Meanwhile, dazed and disoriented from the impact, Elias barely registered the sight of Eevee… floating in the air?

Before he could get a clearer look, Eevee suddenly darted toward him—

And knocked him out with a swift paw to the head.

"Mew—"

"Garde~"

Those were the last two voices Elias heard before everything went dark.

...

When he finally woke up, the first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Where… am I?"

A throbbing pain pulsed through his head as flashes of memory returned—being knocked unconscious by Eevee's paw.

"Big brother, you're awake?"

A soft, sweet voice suddenly spoke from beside him.

"Hm?" Elias turned toward the voice and found a young girl with chestnut-brown hair and bright blue eyes gazing at him with a watery-eyed look.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Blue," she introduced herself cheerfully before pulling over a boy who had been silently grinding herbs with a cold expression.

"And this is Silver. Thank you for saving us!"

Blue was full of warmth, but her words left Elias confused.

Save them?

Hadn't he been fighting Ho-Oh and the masked man? How had he saved them?

Sensing his confusion, Blue quickly explained:

"Silver and I were kidnapped by the Masked Man and taken to the Masked Army. Thanks to you injuring him yesterday, we were able to escape."

Her voice was gentle and pleasant to the ear. Coupled with her adorable face, it reminded Elias of a younger Sabrina and Ralts. The pain in his head eased slightly.

But he soon caught on to something in her words.

"Injured? That masked man isn't dead?"

"Where's Gardevoir?"

Only now did he realize that Gardevoir had not appeared since he had woken up. A sense of unease crept into his heart.

Fortunately, Blue's next words put him at ease.

"Gardevoir is fine! She's just been taking care of you this whole time, and she fell asleep from exhaustion."

Hearing that, Elias's body relaxed—but the weight in his heart remained.

He had miscalculated this time. He hadn't expected to face such a formidable opponent.

And he certainly hadn't expected… to encounter both Ho-Oh and Lugia at once.

With that thought, Elias picked up the phone beside his bed and sent a message.

[Giovanni, I need all the intel you have on the Masked Army. —Elias]

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T/N: WHY IS SWINUB SO OP??