Chapter 141: Lillie's First Capture
"Behave yourself." Ryan kicked a Team Aqua grunt to the ground and tied him up with rope.
Zeraora grabbed an incapacitated Corphish and tossed it away with disdain: using it against such a weakling was like using a sledgehammer to kill a fly.
Celebi directed the Leech Seeds to take root and sprout, tying up the Pokémon one by one.
Ryan grabbed the muscular leader and said, "Are you really Team Aqua? Who taught you this mindless, brute-force approach? It's shameful!"
Shelly was a little confused: How could this guy act like they were in cahoots? What was this feeling of disappointment?
But Shelly considered the situation and confessed honestly, "It was a man who suggested it to us. He said his name was Colress."
"Colress." Ryan threw Shelly down and frowned.
After Colress had confronted him twice in Johto, there had been no further activity. But unexpectedly, this time, he had dispatched Team Aqua to harass Ryan. No, it couldn't be said to be harassing Ryan; it was simply a way to test his current strength.
Ryan glanced at Shelly, lying on the ground, with a hint of disdain: "What a cocky fool, thinking she was so powerful, but in the end, she was just a pawn in someone else's hands."
He'd originally thought of her as a reckless grunt from the games, but now it seemed she was even more foolish. Such people are the easiest to manipulate, and they make excellent cannon fodder in crucial moments. Yes, she was just cannon fodder, a pathetic fool.
He called the police and let Officer Jenny and the others handle the matter. Ryan quietly waited for the fossil Pokémon to mature, preparing to catch them and transfer them to his own breeding center.
Officer Jenny soon led her team to take the entire Team Aqua squad away, and Ryan waited until the fossil Pokémon had fully revived. With Zeraora and Celebi holding the line, Ryan easily captured all fifty-eight fossil Pokémon.
One of them, the Archen, belonged to Ruby, so he left it for him. Ryan also gave President Stone four Pokémon—Omanyte, Kabuto, Archen, and Lileep—to use for promotional purposes. The remaining fifty-three fossil Pokémon were transferred to the breeding center, along with Zeraora and Celebi.
With his business concluded, Ryan hurried to the Pokémon Contest.
Arriving at the Contest Hall, it was the finals, and Ruby was using Gardevoir against her opponent's Roserade. Seeing this, Ryan already knew the outcome.
Ruby's battle prowess was formidable. Unless she failed the initial Appeal phase or faced an absolutely formidable opponent, she was a surefire winner in any regular Pokémon Contest.
As Ryan had predicted, Ruby used Gardevoir's Moonblast to beautifully dismantle Roserade's Petal Blizzard, effectively reducing her opponent's score to zero and winning the competition.
With the competition over, Ruby earned her first Contest Ribbon. Seeing Ruby's happiness, Ryan reminded them to get ready to head to Dewford Town.
"Yeah. The Pokémon Contest showcases the beauty of Pokémon, which is great," N remarked.
"Hey, aren't you thinking about becoming a Pokémon Coordinator?" Ryan glanced at N.
"Maybe. After all, if I had nothing else to do and was bored, I'd really go out and have some fun. Being a Pokémon Coordinator, showcasing the beauty of Pokémon, feels good to me," N said seriously.
Ruby and the others looked at Ryan and N, a huge question in their heads: How could these two be so close?
Arriving at the dock, Ryan and his group prepared to buy tickets for Dewford Town, but Sapphire said, "No need. I have Wailord. It's a Water Pokémon my dad gave me for traveling. It should be arriving soon."
Then Sapphire stood by the beach and called out, "Wailord!"
A long, drawn-out whale call responded, and a Wailord surfaced. Watching Sapphire happily leap onto the back of the Wailord, Ryan and his group followed suit.
Following Sapphire's command, the over-forty-foot-long Wailord slowly turned and swam towards Dewford Island.
A few days later, Ryan and his group finally arrived at Dewford Island, their faces pale. They weakly called out, "Water!"
There was no other way. Sailing across the ocean, the most essential resource was fresh water. Since they'd always crossed the sea by boat, fresh water was plentiful, so the amount they had brought was insufficient.
Furthermore, Wailord was a bit slow, and the days of sailing had worn on Ryan and his group.
"This should be near Dewford Island's famous Granite Cave. There should be a water source nearby," Ryan said.
He then took out a Town Map and checked it, finding the nearest lake. Everyone immediately ran towards it.
Arriving at the lake, everyone unceremoniously dove into the water to drink. After guzzling their fill, they breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed, "We're finally alive!"
"Where are we going next?" Ruby asked. "Should we go straight to the Gym?"
"Don't worry, since Granite Cave is nearby, let's go there first," Ryan said.
"Yeah, I'd like to capture a few Pokémon too. Right now, I only have Torchic and Aron as my battle Pokémon, and I feel a bit overwhelmed for the upcoming battles," Sapphire said.
"Then let's go check it out," N said.
Lillie also agreed, and everyone unanimously decided to go to Granite Cave first.
When they arrived, they were greeted by a swarm of Zubats.
"That seems a bit scary," Lillie said, hugging Ryan's arm.
"It's okay. This is a famous mining site, after all. It's not dangerous," Ryan said. "If you like, you can dig a bit."
As he spoke, Ryan handed Lillie the Itemfinder. Lillie immediately became interested, eager to see if she could dig up something valuable.
They walked a distance further in. The cave had been artificially excavated, and the further they went, the more branches appeared, and the larger the space became. Some wild Pokémon, accustomed to the occasional miners, didn't bother Ryan and his group.
"Hey, that's a group of Mawile!" Lillie said, looking at a group of Pokémon in a deep pit nearby.
"Huh, they really are," Ryan observed.
"I want to capture one," Lillie said. "Wait for me, Togekiss, take me down."
With that, she sent out her own Togekiss, grabbed Togekiss's feet, and Togekiss carried Lillie down. Then, she addressed the group of Mawile, "Hello, I want to capture one of you. Is there a Mawile that's willing to battle me?"
Seeing this, Ryan smiled and said, "It's Lillie's first time."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Sapphire asked Ryan, momentarily confused.
"Most of Lillie's Pokémon were given to her by me, and some followed her voluntarily. But this is her first time actually battling and capturing a Pokémon herself," Ryan explained.
Regardless of Ryan and the others, Lillie had already sent Togekiss to battle a Mawile.
(End of Chapter)
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