Acapulco Hospital.
Over an hour had gone by, and the light above the operating room was still red. Silas paced back and forth in the hallway, a mix of helplessness and anxiety written all over his face. The constant tap of his footsteps even made Giselle force a wry smile—in truth, she wanted to comfort Silas, but she couldn't even comfort herself. Suzie was her friend too, after all!
Click! Click! Click!
As the two of them worried, the sound of heels echoed across the floor, followed by a crisp, authoritative woman's voice: "Which one of you is the Dragonite's Trainer?"
"I am." Silas looked Officer Jenny straight in the eye and admitted it without hesitation.
"Alright." Officer Jenny nodded, then said seriously, "You're under investigation for violating Acapulco's no-fly law, and for injuring members of our aerial unit. I need you to come with me to the police station. Please cooperate."
"I refuse."
Silas had no intention of backing down. He pulled out his Elite Four badge and answered impatiently, "My friend's life is on the line. I don't have time to mess around with you right now, so could you please get lost?"
"You—"
Officer Jenny instantly fumed. She'd actually been planning to drop it after seeing the Elite Four badge.
After all, anyone who carried an Elite Four badge was backed by an official League Elite Four. For those people, as long as they weren't breaking any major laws—just bending the rules a little—Officer Jenny would usually turn a blind eye. It wasn't about being scared; even if she arrested them, the League's tangled web of connections meant she'd just have to release them anyway. No need to hassle herself for nothing.
But Silas's attitude right now? She found it completely insufferable—totally over the top. Adopting a strict, by-the-book tone, she said, "Sorry, I don't care what you're holding. You're coming with me now. No exceptions."
"Don't care?" Silas raised an eyebrow, a sneer tugging at his lips. "Well, I still refuse. If you want to arrest me, I suggest you call every top Trainer in this city with Elite Four-level skill. If all you've got is regular cops, you don't even come close."
"You—"
That just made Officer Jenny even angrier. She'd never met anyone who'd dare go toe to toe with the police station like this. But she also knew she was in a bind—Acapulco's forces had been gutted today, with most of their strength pulled away by the League. Catching a pseudo-Elite Four-level Trainer? Pretty much impossible!
The whole scene suddenly grew tense.
"Alright, alright!" Sensing things were reaching the breaking point, Giselle hurried to mediate, speaking to Officer Jenny apologetically, "Officer Jenny, I'm really sorry. Our friend is in critical condition—Silas is just stressed out. Normally, he's super reasonable! Would you be willing to cut us a break, just once?"
"No can do!" Officer Jenny huffed coldly, her voice icy. "Look, I get that your friend's hurt, but rules are rules—and on top of breaking them, your friend's got a hell of a mouth. That's just not something I can brush off."
Giselle could only sigh. She turned to Silas and pleaded, "Silas, how about you just go to the station with Officer Jenny? It's not worth it to make enemies with the Jenny family. You'll need them someday—"
"Not going." Silas kept his eyes on the surgery doors, tone flat. "The future's the future—this is now. Let's keep it simple and deal with things as they come."
"…."
Giselle was speechless. With neither side yielding, this thing was only getting bigger and messier.
Before she could figure out what to do, the red light above the surgery doors finally dimmed. Several doctors streamed out, followed by nurses pushing Suzie's bed. She still hadn't regained consciousness, face pale as ever, but at least she looked better than before she went in.
"How is she?" Silas rushed forward in a panic.
"It was a success." One of the doctors replied at once, relief in his voice. "Your friend's luck was unreal. If you'd gotten here even a few minutes later, not even Arceus could have saved her. Extreme blood loss, wind chill nearly shut her body down—but you got her here just in time!"
"Thank goodness…" Giselle exclaimed with real joy.
Silas finally let out the breath he'd been holding. The worry that'd been eating at him finally loosened its grip. He blamed himself for Suzie's injuries—it was all down to his own overconfidence, his failure to think of everything. If he'd been more careful, the whole thing could've been avoided.
"Giselle." Silas handed her a black card. "Go pay the bill, would you? I'll stay with Suzie."
"Sure." Giselle nodded and headed off.
With Giselle gone, Silas was just about to follow the nurses to Suzie's room when Officer Jenny stepped in front of him, ice-cold: "You're coming with me to the police station. Now!"
"Out of my way," Silas said, getting annoyed.
"No," Officer Jenny shot back, her tone sharp as a whip. "You're under arrest!"
Arrested?
The term made Silas chuckle. "You seriously think I'm a criminal?"
"I do!" Officer Jenny replied with absolute certainty.
"Alright then."
Having gotten a clear answer, Silas casually pulled out a Master Ball, tossed it in the air, and gave a command that left everyone—literally everyone—gaping in shock: "Pikachu, Thunderbolt Officer Jenny."
"Pika—chuu!"
A flash of yellow shot out, and a split-second later, a powerful bolt of lightning slammed down on Officer Jenny, right in front of everyone's stunned eyes…
"Argh…"
Thunder shocked her to the core. Officer Jenny collapsed to the floor, motionless, her uniform and skin scorched as if she were a burnt-out corpse.
"Pika~!"
Having finished, Pikachu hopped onto Silas's shoulder. Silas leaned over Officer Jenny—who glared at him, simmering with rage—and grinned: "Well, I guess I'm officially a criminal now. Come arrest me if you've got the guts. My name's Silas Oak. Get it memorized!" With that, he left as if nothing had happened, whistling as he followed after the nurses.
Silas Oak!!!
Just you wait!!!
I swear I'll put you behind bars!!!
Officer Jenny screamed in her mind, anger practically boiling over.
"Um…" As Officer Jenny plotted revenge, the head surgeon who had just operated on Suzie gave her a sheepish smile: "Officer Jenny, should I have someone help you rest for a while? It's just some mild paralysis—it'll wear off in about thirty minutes."
"Thank you," Officer Jenny replied softly.
"No problem." The chief doctor shook his head, still wryly amused. He honestly had no idea how Officer Jenny had ended up fighting with an Elite Four badge holder, but hey—he was just a doctor. His only job was to save lives.
After sending for help, Officer Jenny struggled to grab her phone and dialed a number.
It rang a couple of times, and a young officer picked up, "Officer Jenny, did you get the perp?"
"No." Officer Jenny's face turned dark, but her tone stayed composed. "He's a violent Trainer. I think he may be a fugitive. Round up every cop we've got, every affiliated Trainer, and get to Acapulco Hospital. We're taking him down."
"A fugitive?!" The voice on the line nearly jumped.
"That's right!" Officer Jenny's voice was firm as steel. "So get moving, fast!"
"Understood! We'll be there in half an hour at most!"
...
Half an hour later.
Top floor suite, Acapulco Hospital.
Giselle was carefully cleaning up Silas's wounds, sighing as she worked, "Silas, is it true what I heard? Did you really order Pikachu to shock Officer Jenny? Tell me that's a rumor."
"It's true," Silas replied without a hint of shame.
That left Giselle completely speechless. She hadn't dreamed Silas would actually attack Officer Jenny!
Because, in this world, the two most powerful families were the Jennys and the Joys. It wasn't about strength in battle, but sheer numbers and influence—even criminal syndicates usually knew better than to mess with them. The Jennys and Joys had helped too many Trainers, too many families. Nobody wanted to end up on the bad side of either clan.
And more than that, the Joy and Jenny families were allied. Offend one, and you offended both. Facing off against two families with a global reach? Even the thought made Giselle's skin crawl.
So when Silas admitted what he did, Giselle could only look at him in utter shock.
Wee-oo, wee-oo, wee-oo—!
As Giselle sat there stunned, wailing sirens blasted through the hospital. The noise was deafening, sending doctors, nurses, and patients rushing to see what was going on outside.
And what they saw scared them stiff.
Dozens of cop cars packed the parking lot, blocking every exit. In the sky, just as many Pidgeot soared in formation, each one carrying a police officer.
Here comes trouble…
That was all Giselle could think as she stared down at the chaos below.
Even Silas was a little taken aback. He'd figured Jenny would want payback, but he hadn't expected her to mobilize the entire Acapulco police force at lightning speed.
"Silas…" Giselle's face went pale. She'd seen big shows of force before, but never one aimed at her own group. "Maybe you should just go to the station? If you explain things, apologize a little, maybe Officer Jenny will go easy."
"Ha…" Silas just let out a quiet laugh. "For what? A few dozen cop cars and a flock of Pidgeot? Not enough to make me kneel. They could bring a hundred times as many and it still wouldn't matter."
The look on Giselle's face turned to pure dread. "What are you gonna do?"
"What do you think?" Silas watched as police began pouring out of their cars, his eyes filling with disdain. "Obviously, I'm gonna play with them a little. If they don't respect the Elite Four badge, then frankly, anything I do from here on out is totally fair game."
"Take care of Suzie." Before Giselle could reply, Silas pulled out a Master Ball, lobbed it in the air, and said, "I'll draw them away from here!"
"Let's go, Charizard!"