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"What's going on?! That direction—! It's the Burned Tower! Oh no, something's happened at the Burned Tower! Voltorb! Magnet Rise! Hurry, get to the tower!"
"Bzzzt!"
Seeing the thick black smoke rising from the distant Burned Tower, Eusine's face was filled with anxiety. He quickly hopped onto Voltorb's round body. At once, Voltorb's underside emitted a magnetic hum as it lifted off the ground, rapidly floating forward under a surge of electromagnetic energy—speeding straight toward the tower.
"Hey! Eusine, slow down! Wait for me! Come on out, Murkrow! Take me to the Burned Tower!"
"Kraaa!"
Seeing Eusine rush off, Morty's face also showed clear worry. He grabbed a PokeBall, released a Murkrow, and grasped its claws—letting it lift him up into the air as they hurriedly flew toward Eusine's direction.
"Senior, I'm going too! The Burned Tower is the symbol of Ecruteak City—it's already been destroyed once, we can't let anything happen to it again! I'll go ahead! Come on out, Manectric! Hurry and follow them!"
Hearing the commotion, even Axu—who had been standing calmly beside Liam—couldn't stay still anymore. After briefly addressing Liam, he released a Manectric from Hoenn, leapt onto its back, and sped off toward the Burned Tower.
In just a few seconds, only Liam, Delia, and a barely standing Wartortle remained on the platform.
"War…"
Watching the others run off, Wartortle finally couldn't hold on any longer. With a weak cry, it collapsed onto the ground, eyes spinning in dizziness.
"Wartortle… I'm sorry… Come back and rest."
Seeing her partner faint, Delia hurried over, kneeling down to check its injuries before returning it to its PokeBall. She didn't get up—just crouched there, resting her face against her knees, trembling softly as she sobbed.
"Delia… it's okay. The match wasn't even finished yet. We can challenge them again next time."
It was Liam's first time seeing Delia so upset after a battle. His heart ached. He stepped closer, speaking softly to comfort her.
"No… that's not it! I lost… Wartortle has fainted…"
Hearing Liam's words, Delia slowly lifted her tear-streaked face, her voice choked with emotion.
"It's alright, Delia. It's just one match. Everyone loses sometimes—you'll win next time."
As Delia looked up, Liam knelt down too, smiling gently. He wiped her tears and held her face tenderly.
"I… I…"
Delia seemed to feel a bit better from his words. She opened her mouth to say something—but just then—
Boom! Boom-boom!
A few more explosions echoed from the distance—this time mixed with flashes of lightning and dark energy. Clearly, something had happened over where Axu was.
Hearing the distant noise, Liam naturally looked up toward that direction, his brows knitting slightly with concern.
"Heh… Liam, go on and take a look. Don't worry about me—I'll be fine. Go do what you need to do."
Delia noticed the concern in Liam's eyes. She reached up, gently removing his hand from her face, and smiled faintly as she spoke.
Liam: "…"
For a moment, Liam hesitated. He thought it might be better to stay and comfort her, and was about to refuse—but Delia interrupted him.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I just… want a little time alone."
Delia patted his hand lightly, signaling for him not to worry.
"…Alright then. Delia, stay here and rest for a bit. I'll be right back. Don't wander off, okay?"
Hearing her insist, Liam finally nodded. He gave her one last serious reminder before standing up and pulling out a PokeBall.
"Come out, Arcanine!"
"Arroo!"
"Head for that tower ahead!"
"Arroo!"
Leaping onto Arcanine's back, Liam pointed toward the distant Burned Tower. With a low, powerful growl, Arcanine crouched slightly and then sprang forward, covering ground in huge bounds until both of them disappeared from Delia's sight.
"Hmph… does he think I'm a child…? Wartortle, Lapras, Shuckle…"
Watching Liam leave, Delia stood up and walked to the stairway, sitting down as she pulled out the three PokeBalls from her recent battle. The tears that had just stopped began to spill again.
...…
The Burned Tower wasn't far from Ecruteak Gym. With Arcanine's speed, Liam reached it in less than two minutes.
The Burned Tower truly lived up to its name. The entire structure was half-destroyed, its wooden frame charred black. Apart from the main supports, most of the tower bore deep scars of fire damage—a chilling reminder of just how devastating that blaze had once been.
When Liam arrived, he saw—
"You bastards! Unforgivable! Voltorb, Charge Beam!"
"Bzzzt!"
"Murkrow, Curse!"
"Kraa!"
"Manectric, Discharge!"
"Rai!"
The scene before Liam was not what he had expected. He had thought the Burned Tower's disturbance was caused by some wild Pokémon—but it turned out to be something else entirely. The culprits were… familiar faces.
"Counterattack! Ariados, Curse!"
"Dos!"
"Quagsire, Mud Shot!"
"Qua!"
"Marowak, Bonemerang!"
"Wak!"
A group of people in black uniforms—the Hunter Group—were locked in combat with Eusine, Morty, and Axu. The Hunters were numerous, and their Pokémon were mainly Ground-types like Quagsire and Marowak—immune to electricity.
Even though the ones weak to Electric-type moves had already been knocked out, the remaining ones still outnumbered Eusine's group, and were pressing them hard!
"Arcanine! Take them down—Flamethrower!"
"Scizor! Show them your Bullet Punch!"
"Rrrow!"
"Shaaa!"
Seeing the black-clad group, Liam didn't hesitate. He leapt into action instantly. Arcanine opened its jaws wide, releasing a roaring stream of fire that engulfed both the Hunters and their Pokémon, while another PokeBall flew from Liam's hand.
A flash of crimson light streaked out like a bolt of lightning—it was Scizor, darting straight through the ranks of the Hunter Group, leaving chaos in its wake.
"Senior! Haha! With you here, we're basically done!"
Axu's face lit up with relief and excitement as he turned toward Liam, who had stepped out from the smoke. The battle was clearly over.
Indeed, as Axu said—Liam's intervention ended things in seconds. After Scizor sliced through the enemies and returned to his side, every member of the Hunter Group—and their Pokémon—were down for the count, lying unconscious on the ground.
"What on earth happened here? Why are there so many Hunter Group members?"
Liam dismounted from Arcanine, looking at the fallen enemies with confusion before turning to Axu.
"Hmph, since you already know who they are, then you should also know what they're here for. These guys came to the Burned Tower to capture the Ghost-type Pokémon living inside. But the Ghost-types fought back—causing all this chaos."
Eusine, walking over after the fight, gave Liam a sharp glance before kneeling to the fallen Hunters. He picked up several transparent glass jars from beside them and opened them one by one—releasing the trapped Gastly inside.
"Tch… these guys never learn. Better call Officer Jenny and let her handle them."
Liam sighed. For stubborn fools like these, handing them over to the authorities was always the safest move.
"Got it, I'll call right away."
Morty nodded quickly, calling Murkrow to his side as he turned to leave—but then—
"Hehe~ Kaz~ Something interesting seems to be happening here~ Should we join in? Sounds fun~"
From the nearby forest, a voice—sounding like that of a young girl—drifted out softly, tinged with eerie amusement.