Chapter Twenty: A Battle That Began with Great Force but Ended in Weakness

Zhao Fang looked at Dawn in surprise, then glanced ahead several more times. He could still see only two Team Aqua members; the third person was nowhere in sight. This left him puzzled. How had Dawn spotted a third person?

“Where is that person?” Zhao Fang asked in a low voice. If there were three of them, the situation was entirely different. Even if he could rely on the advantage of a surprise attack to knock out two, the third person hiding in the shadows would still be a serious problem.

Dawn raised a finger and pointed in a certain direction. Zhao Fang followed her gaze and realized that she was pointing behind and to the side of the Team Aqua members. There was a shrubbery there, and it certainly looked like someone could be hiding inside it.

Zhao Fang stroked his chin. Now that he knew where the hidden enemy was, he would have to alter his plan. But when he looked at the two Mightyena in the field, he knew he could not delay for long. Mightyena had an exceptionally keen sense of smell. If they caught the scent of him and Dawn, a surprise attack would be impossible.

“Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll attack these two, and you order Kirlia to attack the person hiding in the bushes. Be ruthless, or we’ll be in trouble. They’re all bad people.” Zhao Fang spoke in a lowered voice, but as he did so, he noticed that one of the Mightyena had already turned its head toward them.

Zhao Fang knew they could not wait any longer. He immediately threw out a Poké Ball, slapped his thigh to activate the emergency button, and quickly ordered Gyarados to attack the Team Aqua members with Iron Head and Splash. Dreepy also shot forward at once.

“Who’s there? Mightyena!” The Team Aqua members naturally noticed the commotion. They tried to command their Pokémon to block the attackers, but faced with the high-speed assault of Gyarados and Dreepy, their reactions were just a little too slow.

Dreepy had the advantage of being invisible, so its attack landed cleanly. A single Dragon Tail sent one of the Team Aqua members crashing unconscious to the ground. Gyarados, however, made far too much noise, and Mightyena used its body to block Gyarados’s Iron Head. As a result, the other Team Aqua member suffered barely any injuries.

“I thought some rat had sneaked up on us. Turns out it’s just a couple of brats.”

A woman’s voice rang out. Zhao Fang then saw a woman emerge from the bushes. She stared coldly in the direction where he and Dawn were hiding. Standing beside her was a Ludicolo. Apparently, it was the one that had blocked Kirlia’s attack.

Zhao Fang narrowed his eyes as he studied the woman, then relaxed slightly. She was not Shelly, the Team Aqua administrator he had encountered last time, but an unfamiliar face. Even so, Zhao Fang recalled Dreepy and Gyarados, then released his own Amaura and Charmander.

The moment Amaura appeared, it immediately activated its Ability, and hail began to fall from the sky. Charmander seemed somewhat unaccustomed to it and edged closer to Zhao Fang.

Seeing this, Dawn sent out another Pokémon of her own—a Swablu. Zhao Fang was rather surprised. He had truly not expected Dawn to have caught a Swablu. It seemed that the Dawn in this world had already strayed from her original path.

“What fine Pokémon you have. If I capture all of them, they should bring the organization quite a profit, don’t you think?”

A greedy glint flashed through the woman’s eyes. She did not seem to feel surrounded in the slightest, which made Zhao Fang frown.

Either the woman was bluffing, or she truly possessed enough strength to remain calm even while surrounded, believing that she could deal with all these Pokémon with ease.

Soon, Zhao Fang saw the woman throw out her own Poké Balls. A Crawdaunt, a Mightyena, and a Walrein appeared.

The Team Aqua member who had not been knocked unconscious also moved to the woman’s side and released his Pokémon. They were not particularly strong, but in terms of numbers, the two sides were now evenly matched.

Zhao Fang watched the enemy solemnly, hesitating over whether to strike first, when the woman suddenly pulled something from her pocket and smashed it onto the ground. A cloud of smoke burst forth.

Zhao Fang froze for a moment. By the time he recovered and ordered Gyarados to use Hurricane, the two women had already vanished. All that remained was the unconscious Team Aqua member lying motionless on the ground. Even his Poké Balls had been taken.

“What was that supposed to be?”

Zhao Fang was utterly baffled. The whole affair had ended far too abruptly. He had expected to fight the two women in a fierce battle and hold out until reinforcements arrived, but the woman who had seemed so confident had simply thrown down a smoke bomb and fled.

Speaking of which, Pokémon such as Weezing and Ekans were commonly used by criminal organizations. Weezing in particular—even before a Koffing evolved, its remarkable ability to produce smoke made it a popular choice among all kinds of villainous groups.

Zhao Fang cautiously approached the Team Aqua member and checked his condition. He then had Gyarados and the others guard him and Dawn. After waiting a while longer, a Pokédex holder finally arrived to provide assistance. With the help of this kind-hearted person, Zhao Fang escorted the Team Aqua member to the police station in Petalburg City and handed him over to Officer Jenny.

Once everything had been settled, Zhao Fang accompanied Dawn to the harbor. He explained how to buy a boat ticket and went over some of the rules of the Fighting-type Gym before preparing to leave.

“Are—are you going to Mauville City?” Dawn lowered her head, nervously pinching the hem of her clothes while twisting her right foot against the ground.

“Yes. I’m going there to challenge the Electric-type Gym.” Zhao Fang nodded. He planned to walk from Rustboro City to Verdanturf Town again, which would save him the high cost of a boat ticket. He also needed to take on some jobs in Rustboro City and Petalburg City as soon as possible and save up some money. Otherwise, he would soon be unable to afford Pokémon food.

Dawn lowered her head and said nothing. Seeing her fidget shyly, Zhao Fang did not know whether to laugh or cry. Other rivals charged straight into battle without saying much at all. Why was his rival so bashful?

“Next time, I’ll definitely challenge you!” Dawn seemed to summon all her courage. Clenching her fists, she spoke with great determination. Of course, she would have looked even more imposing if she had lifted her head.

“Good. I’ll be waiting for you.” Zhao Fang nodded with a smile, then turned and left the harbor. He still needed to get to the Pokémon Center as soon as possible and see whether there were any commission quests he could accept.

Making money was the most important thing.