บท 39: Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice [39]
Shortly after, Rihua successfully captured the Houndour.
"Where... where should I hide it?"
A fleeting moment of joy flashed in Rihua's eyes after capturing the Houndour, but she soon faced another dilemma. She was wearing a dress with no belt to hold Poké Balls or any pockets to store items.
"You can hide it in your chest. I know someone who did that once," Stephen remarked casually.
Of course, he knew her, but she didn't know him. The sight of someone hiding a Poké Ball in their chest had once left everyone completely dumbfounded.
"Now you guys can run away in peace, right?"
Stephen glanced over at the three remaining Houndour. Compared to the one Rihua captured, these three had more normal temperaments. They nodded and prepared to flee together.
However, the situation took a far graver turn than anyone had anticipated.
"Joker... things aren't looking good..."
Aldus and Altair, each leading an Alakazam and a Marowak, were approaching.
Will swallowed hard, feeling a tremendous sense of pressure. These two were on a completely different level from that fat pig, Bishas. Even he could feel it.
But what was even more visually striking...
Behind the two brothers lay a fainted Ursaring, several Teddiursa, and two Murkrow. It was clear that the wild Pokémon released earlier had failed to escape, having been intercepted by the brothers.
"If we'd followed my plan, at least half the Pokémon could have escaped. Now look at this mess."
Stephen sighed in frustration. The Houndour inside Rihua's Poké Ball lowered its head in shame.
"What do we do now, Joker? Do we fight?"
Will struggled to maintain his composure as he glanced at Stephen.
"Fight, my foot! Run for it!"
Without another word, Stephen spun around and bolted in the opposite direction.
Aldus was undeniably an Elite Four-level powerhouse. And to hold a position as an Elite Four in a headquarters like the Indigo League? He was not a pushover like some of the Elite Four in Kalos. Not to mention that Altair, a Gym Leader said to be on par with an Elite Four, was also here.
Why fight them?
There's no reward for that!
Will was momentarily stunned, but he quickly came to his senses and followed Stephen in retreat.
The three remaining Houndour hesitated as they glanced at the unconscious Ursaring and the Murkrow. Eventually, they decided to follow Stephen and Will, running off in the opposite direction.
They were smarter than the Houndour that Rihua had captured—they knew there was no saving them.
"Should I do it, or will you?"
Aldus asked calmly.
Altair remained silent, taking a step forward and raising his palm toward the fleeing group.
Marowak hurled its bone club, defying the laws of physics as it curved through the hallway, striking the ankles of the three Houndour in rapid succession.
Like bowling pins, the Houndour fell one after another.
"Whoa, that accuracy..."
A flash of surprise appeared in Stephen's eyes.
The two sons of that bald old man were certainly no slouches.
The bone boomerang hadn't stopped. It continued its trajectory toward Stephen and Will.
Umbreon braked suddenly, her right forelimb flashing with a dark glow as she struck the bone.
The bone club was deflected and sent flying back.
From afar, Marowak leaped into the air and caught its returning bone.
"Joker, what about them...?"
Will pointed to the three Houndour writhing on the ground, howling in pain.
"There's no choice. Let's try this."
Stephen grabbed one of the Houndour. To everyone's shock, the Houndour's broken ankle began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Houn?"
Even the Houndour looked bewildered.
Next, Stephen picked up the second and third Houndour. Although he didn't fully heal them, he managed to restore enough of their mobility to let them stand.
"Why are you just standing there? Run!"
Stephen gave one of the Houndour a kick on the rear.
"Woof woof!"
The Houndour quickly understood and ran full speed down the hallway without looking back.
"Joker, what was that just now? That was amazing!"
Will marveled as he ran.
"I don't have time to explain right now."
While running, Stephen couldn't help but scratch his left arm.
Tch... still not fully adapted? Looks like it needed further refinement after this was over.
Meanwhile, another person had arrived behind Aldus and Altair.
It was Ritsuki.
When he saw the mess in the hallway and spotted the two masked kids fleeing in the distance, he pretty much figured out what had happened.
"Those damn Team Rocket scum!"
Ritsuki silently cursed and added this incident to Team Rocket's tab.
But his attention was quickly drawn to his daughter. Or rather, to the three bloody claw marks on her left wrist.
"Rihua, what happened?"
Ritsuki crouched down and grabbed her arm.
"Father, this... this is..."
Rihua panicked, her mind going blank as she struggled to come up with an explanation.
Before she could think of a plausible excuse, Ritsuki's gaze shifted to the Poké Ball in her hand.
Through the semi-transparent casing, he could see the Houndour inside.
"That... it's that one!?"
His eyes widened in shock.
He had a vivid memory of this Houndour. When they moved these wild Pokémon into the estate a few days ago, several security guards were scratched or bitten by this beast. They had to use more locks and muzzles on it than on any of the other Pokémon.
"Did it scratch you!?"
Ritsuki immediately realized what had happened. The scratches on the workers from before looked exactly like the ones on Rihua's wrist.
"No, it wasn't!"
Rihua panicked, but Ritsuki's large hand reached for the Poké Ball.
"Hand it over! That beast should have been dealt with long ago!"
Dealt with?
Those two words made Rihua's pupils contract in shock. She knew exactly what "dealt with" meant in this situation.
"No!"
Somehow, she found the strength to pull her arm free and dashed away.
"Rihua!"
Ritsuki was startled. He had no idea what was going on with his daughter.
...
"What do I do, what do I do, what do I do...?"
Biting her lip, Rihua glanced down at the Houndour in the Poké Ball. It was exhausted and couldn't escape on its own. To make matters worse, the Poké Ball couldn't be opened due to the remote lock that person had activated...
Wait!
She suddenly remembered how Stephen had healed the other Houndour earlier.
Recalling the direction in which Stephen and Will had fled, Rihua made up her mind.
She ran downstairs, leaped out of the window, and chased after them.
At that moment, Stephen and Will had just jumped down from the second floor.
"Whoa! What the heck are you doing!?"
Stephen cursed loudly, nearly squashing Tihua into a pancake.
"Please! My father wants to get rid of it! Please save it! Use that mysterious power of yours!"
With both hands, Rihua raised the Poké Ball containing the Houndour, holding it up in front of Stephen.
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