This time, Team Magma dispatched a squad of fewer than ten people, led by a single Admin.
After infiltrating the Oldale Town’s Pokémon Center, they directly abducted Professor Alden and locked Ash, May, and Nurse Joy inside a warehouse.
As long as Team Magma showed no intention of harming anyone, Terrance had no plans to reveal himself. Even the investigators hidden throughout Oldale Town had been instructed by him not to act rashly.
“My Pokémon have sent back information. They have support waiting outside. Let’s first see what their objective is, then wipe them all out in one sweep.”
Terrance quickly issued the order. With the situation under control, he wanted Team Magma to expose as much information as possible.
At this moment, Mismagius had already followed the Team Magma members away to monitor them. Terrance himself appeared inside the warehouse where Ash and the others were being locked.
Ash, May, and Nurse Joy were still in a state of panic, especially Nurse Joy. She was deeply worried about the Pokémon inside the Pokémon Center. The facility’s power system had been destroyed, and the Pokémon currently receiving treatment could be placed in danger if the equipment failed. Under these circumstances, the backup power supply had to be activated immediately.
“Don’t worry, Nurse Joy. Go activate the Pokémon Center’s backup power supply first. Leave those people to me.”
The sudden appearance of Terrance and Gardevoir startled all three of them. Using the Confusion Marker left behind by Gardevoir, Terrance had easily teleported into the warehouse.
“Brother Terrance…”
Upon seeing Terrance, Ash was momentarily stunned before immediately becoming overjoyed.
Beside him, May quickly covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out in surprise. She had never expected Terrance to appear here at a time like this.
“Could it be you’re…” Oldale Town’s Nurse Joy was also briefly taken aback when she saw him.
“Elite Four Terrance. Then I’ll leave it to you. I have to go activate the backup power supply right away.”
“I know.” Terrance nodded and looked toward the warehouse door. At that moment, Rotom Pokédex swiftly flew out of his pocket, pressed both hands against the door, and released an electric current.
With a crackling buzz, the warehouse door’s control system was activated, and the door automatically opened.
“Ash, May, stay here and protect Nurse Joy. I’ll rescue Professor Alden. Don’t act on your own.”
After assigning Ash and May their task, Terrance also left one Pokémon behind to protect the Pokémon Center. Then he began tracking Team Magma’s group.
Their destination was the Oldale Ruins.
The Oldale Ruins had previously remained sealed, requiring four special keys to open. In order to enter, Team Magma had paid a tremendous price to search for those keys. They had also abducted Professor Alden, the foremost expert on the Oldale Ruins, intending to use him to gain access and collect the information they needed.
Inside the Oldale Ruins, Team Magma had already used Professor Alden’s research results to enter the ruin and had begun continuously photographing the murals and inscriptions carved into the stone walls.
“Amazing…” Professor Alden exclaimed in astonishment at the sights within the ruins. “These murals depict ancient humans and Pokémon living together. This is a tremendous discovery.”
Ignoring Professor Alden’s muttering, the Team Magma members continued their urgent search for something…
After a while, as Team Magma’s members neared the end of their documentation work, the young Admin leading them spoke in a deep voice, “What about information regarding ‘it’?”
“Doesn’t seem like there’s any,” a Team Magma member reported.
“We’ve collected all the data. No discoveries at all.”
“Tch, looks like this isn’t the place either.” The Team Magma Admin curled his lip, then glanced at his watch. “Alright, we’re pulling out.”
As soon as the retreat order was given, the helicopter waiting in the sky on the outskirts of Oldale Town immediately descended and slowly landed at the exit of the Oldale Ruins.
This investigation of the Oldale Ruins had yielded nothing, and the Team Magma members were obviously in a foul mood.
Then a voice rang out, making their mood even worse.
“Leaving in such a hurry?”
The eight-man Team Magma squad—six members plus two helicopter pilots—was suddenly blinded by a flash of light.
Within the radiance, a figure slowly emerged, looking at them with a faint smile.
“Team Magma only sent eight people to invade a Pokémon Center. I have to say, that’s quite an overestimation of yourselves,” Terrance mocked.
Terrance’s arrival immediately startled the Team Magma members. They quickly assumed combat stances, and with flashes from Poké Balls, over a dozen Mightyena and Houndoom appeared, baring their fangs and glaring viciously at him.
“Elite Four Terrance.” The Team Magma Admin snorted coldly, though a trace of panic appeared in his eyes.
“Since you know who I am, that makes things easier. I’d advise you not to resist. Otherwise, getting hurt wouldn’t be pleasant.”
As Terrance spoke, two flashes of light streaked by. Gallade transformed into a blur and darted through the opposing Pokémon. Working alongside it was Beautifly, which had entered the Wind Domain. Relying on its unique golden energy, it could still display that incredible agility and explosive power even without a totem aura. At the same time, Gardevoir’s Confusion suppressed the helicopter, preventing it from taking flight.
This eight-man squad had no way of withstanding the combined assault of Terrance’s three Pokémon. Their formation quickly collapsed.
“Mismagius, Hypnotize them.”
Nearby, the concealed Mismagius’ eyes flashed blue. As Terrance walked forward, the Team Magma members fell one after another.
At that moment, Professor Alden also emerged from the Oldale Ruins. The first thing he saw was the sight of the criminals who had kidnapped him lying unconscious on the ground. Then, when he recognized the face of the person who had defeated them, he exclaimed in shock:
“E…Elite Four Terrance.”
“Professor Alden, everything is fine now. However, afterward, I’d like you to cooperate with us and tell us everything Team Magma discussed with you.”
“No problem.” Professor Alden swallowed as he looked at the figures constantly arriving from all directions.
Under Terrance’s orders, the helicopter and all eight Team Magma members were handed over to the investigators. Unfortunately, aside from some ordinary members and a minor Admin, they had failed to capture any important Team Magma personnel.
Following Terrance’s interrogation, the League only obtained one piece of information that was neither particularly significant nor insignificant.
These people were one of the squads subordinate to Team Magma’s “Groudon Capture Operation,” tasked with searching for Groudon’s hiding place. The information they had brought was related to that mission.
“Now that Team Magma has obtained the Blue Orb, they’ve started searching for Groudon’s whereabouts. That’s both good news and bad news,” Terrance muttered.
The good news was that they still hadn’t found Groudon.
The bad news was that their ambitions had already reached the final stage…
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