Chapter 82: Young Lady, Let's Cooperate
Among a pack of poachers who were like wolves and tigers, a real "wolf in sheep's clothing" had truly infiltrated.
"This girl is way too bold."
Rio rolled his eyes.
"To act so recklessly with only a lv10 Ralts... Hmm? Ralts?"
The thought of Ming Rizhao's Ralts being only lv10, yet its Confusion move had reached the highest level for her level limit, suddenly sparked a plan in Rio's mind.
"But..."
Rio hesitated for a moment, but looking at the pure and flawless Aura that represented the essence of her soul in his vision, Rio still decided to trust her this one time.
"Bzzzt... bzzzt... Hey, are you Ming Rizhao?"
The sudden voice in her mind shocked the girl disguised as a poacher, making her sit up straight in panic.
"What's wrong?"
A poacher beside her saw this and asked casually.
Ming Rizhao silently waved her hand, signaling that it was nothing. Only then did the poachers stop paying attention to her and continued their spirited chat about how they would eat, drink, gamble, and whore after getting their payment.
"Ahem, I know you're very surprised, but stay calm, otherwise it will be very dangerous for both of us if you get exposed."
"...Who are you?"
Ming Rizhao tried to ask back in her mind.
"Look to your right."
Following the instruction, Ming Rizhao silently looked to her right.
What met her eyes was a small dog-like Pokémon with pupils full of blue light, imprisoned in an iron cage.
"It's you! The handsome Pokémon from the cake shop!"
Her eyes lit up. Riolu's unique appearance made Ming Rizhao remember instantly. This never-before-seen Pokémon had left a deep impression on her. If Ralts hadn't held her back in the cake shop, she would have long since taken out her Poké Ball to capture Rio and hug him... ahem, just kidding. A Pokémon that looked this strong would definitely be a good partner for her as a trainer.
"How are you communicating with me? Could it be that you have psychic powers too? That's amazing."
The girl's eyes were practically sparkling.
Rio felt a bit of a headache. How was this girl's train of thought so different from others?
"Yes, it's me. The mind communication thing is a bit complicated; I'll explain it to you when I have the chance." Rio fudged a little, then got to the main point. "Let's cut the small talk. You understand the current situation, right?"
"Mm-hmm, I also infiltrated by chance. I want to find an opportunity to rescue these captured Pokémon. It's all because of these despicable poachers, blah blah blah..."
Seeing Ming Rizhao was trending towards becoming a chatterbox, Rio quickly interrupted her.
"You have your Pokémon with you, right?"
"You mean Ruru? Yes, I do."
"Good. Do you see these iron chains locking our limbs? Have Ralts use its psychic power to twist them open. With your Ralts's ability, it can be done. Then I'll communicate with these Pokémon. When I give the signal, we'll revolt together. The strength of so many Pokémon should be enough to confront these people head-on. Can you do it?"
"Okay, no problem!"
After agreeing to Rio's plan, Ming Rizhao deliberately turned her body away from the poachers to conceal the light of summoning Ralts. And since Ralts itself was quite small, under the cover of the wide overcoat Ming Rizhao wore as a disguise, it was not discovered.
Rio focused his mind, expanding his Aura outwards to connect with all the Pokémon on the same truck, and then informed them of his plan one by one. After receiving replies from all the Pokémon, he waited quietly.
"Click!" Before long, Rio heard a faint cracking sound. The iron chains restraining his hands and feet had been broken without anyone noticing.
Rio quietly moved his limbs, narrowing his eyes as he watched the few poachers who were still unaware and chatting excitedly.
"Failing to repay a kindness is not yet vile, but failing to avenge a wrong makes one a real scumbag..."
"...Move!"
Receiving the telepathic signal from Rio, all the Pokémon on this truck, who had been appearing unusually calm, instantly erupted.
"Chirp, chirp!"
Altaria's wings, which looked as fluffy as cotton, were unbelievably hard. With a single flap of its wings, the cold, steel cage instantly burst open. Accompanied by a soaring cry, it flew high into the sky.
"Hisssss~"
Seviper flicked its forked tongue. Its blade-like tail drew a cold glint in the dark night. Not only the cage trapping it, but also the cages trapping other Pokémon nearby were cleanly sliced apart.
"Roar, roar!!"
And Lairon was even more ferocious. Relying on its steel armor, it lowered its head and smashed open its cage with its hard skull, then rampaged about.
For a moment, the truck was in chaos.
"Damn it, how did these beasts break free!"
The poachers wanted to curse out loud. They fumbled to take out their hunting rifles loaded with tranquilizer darts, wanting to suppress the riot.
But just as one poacher raised his gun, a black shadow suddenly flashed in his scope.
"Shoryuken!"
A small fist forcefully hammered the poacher's chin from below, knocking him out with one punch.
Another poacher wanted to come and help but seemed to be tripped by something invisible and fell flat on his back.
"What's going on?"
The truck Rio and the others were on was in the middle of the convoy. The commotion naturally alerted the poacher captain in the first truck.
"Reporting, Captain. It seems there's a situation with one of the trucks."
"These bastards... Stop the trucks!"
The captain's face darkened. He immediately signaled the drivers to stop, then leaped down from his truck and walked towards the truck where the commotion was happening.
As he walked, white lights flashed continuously around the poacher captain. A Mightyena, a Shiftry, and an Exploud appeared by his side.
"Ready the stun nets and tranquilizer guns! Get these unruly guys under control!"
The poacher captain commanded with a grim face.
The poachers who got down from the other trucks all picked up their equipment. Just as they were about to subdue the Pokémon on the truck they had surrounded, furious roars of various Pokémon came from the other parked trucks again.
"Damn it, which bastard is behind this?"
Seeing such a huge commotion, the poacher captain knew that tonight's operation was a bust.
His gloomy face was so dark it looked like ink was about to drip from it.
"Quickly return to the trucks! We're leaving this place... Don't bother with these escaped beasts anymore, leave quickly!"
Facts proved that the poacher captain's decision was correct, because not far away, the sound of police sirens and the commotion of various humans and Pokémon were rapidly approaching.
"Trying to leave?"
But on a tree nearby, a small dog-shaped Pokémon revealed a cold smile.
"Clang," "Clang," "Clang."
The trucks, which had just started up, seemed to get stuck in some deep holes as they moved forward, their speed instantly reduced.
Only with the help of the streetlights did the poacher captain discover that on the road ahead of the trucks, numerous potholes had appeared at some unknown time. Although it wasn't impossible for the trucks to power through, driving at such a reduced speed would inevitably allow the pursuers close behind to catch up.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The poacher captain was driven mad with anger. In his past poaching operations, it wasn't that he hadn't encountered obstacles, but never had he encountered a situation so full of deliberate "accidents" like tonight.
"Retreat!"
Seeing that the trucks could only move at a turtle's pace, the poacher captain reluctantly had his team members abandon the vehicles and flee.
A large number of poachers in black clothes hurriedly got down from the trucks. They couldn't even be bothered with their "prey" and scattered, fleeing into the surrounding woods.
Only one "poacher" and Riolu were left, high-fiving in celebration.
"Yeah~"
This series of "farcical events" was naturally orchestrated by Rio, Ming Rizhao, and Ralts. In the midst of the chaos, Ming Rizhao, relying on the disguise of the overcoat she was wearing, stealthily ran behind the other stopped trucks and then, using Ralts's psychic power, released the trapped Pokémon. And Rio, leading Lairon and some other Pokémon who knew the [Dig] move, quickly ran ahead of the truck convoy and dug a large number of potholes with all their might to slow the trucks' advance.
Although the Pokémon from some of the trucks had escaped, some Pokémon were still bound. After Rio and Ming Rizhao finished celebrating, just as they were thinking of continuing to free these Pokémon, Rio's keen hearing seemed to catch a faint sound of gritted teeth.
"Even if I have to leave, I'll make you pay a price!"
"Shiftry, [Explosion]!"
A Pokémon with a white mane, its hands like three-leafed fans, strode towards Rio's direction. As it walked, the energy on its body fluctuated violently.
"Not good!"
Rio saw it with sharp eyes. Just as he was about to quickly run away, the unstable energy had already detonated in an instant.
"BOOM—"
Just as the name [Explosion] suggested, this move was to extremely concentrate all of a Pokémon's energy and then trigger a violent energy explosion outside the body!
"BOOM BOOM BOOM—"
The roar of the explosion echoed in their ears, nearly deafening the Pokémon and Ming Rizhao. The blast ripples also spread out with Shiftry at the center, cracking the surrounding ground and toppling trees.
The vibrations gradually weakened. Rio, who had his eyes squeezed shut, only then realized he was being protected in a warm embrace.
"Hmm?"
He opened his eyes and saw the young girl, her eyes shut tight, but still holding Rio and Ralts tightly in her arms. And her body was protected by the pink psychic power cover from Ralts.
Recalling the moment before the explosion, he realized that it was Ming Rizhao who had fearlessly leaped over, tightly shielding Rio, who was closest to the explosion, in her arms.
"This girl, she's really reckless..."
In fact, with Riolu's sturdy build, taking this [Explosion] move wouldn't have led to death, but a two or three-month stay in the Pokémon Center would have been necessary. On the contrary, a human body of flesh and blood like Ming Rizhao's, although the physical fitness of humans in the Pokémon world was much stronger than that of Earth humans in his previous life, could still easily have an accident when facing the high-intensity and extremely dangerous attacks of Pokémon.
Ming Rizhao slowly opened her eyes. Looking at the two Pokémon in her arms, a silly grin spread across her dusty face. "Hehe, little doggy, Ruru, are you two okay?"
The Pokémon called "Ruru" was so angry its face turned red.
"(Pokémon Language) How many times have I told you, don't do such dangerous things again! You didn't listen at all..."
"Alright, Ruru, I was wrong."
Ming Rizhao admitted her mistake with her usual silly grin.
"Honestly, I'm starting to suspect that Ralts's powerful psychic abilities were trained just to protect this girl..."
Rio shook his head helplessly. But as he glanced around, his mood grew a little heavy.
The poacher captain's Shiftry was definitely not low-level. And the full-power [Explosion] from such a high-level Pokémon had severely injured these Pokémon, whose average level was between lv20 and lv30. Some of the lower-level Pokémon were even knocked down directly and couldn't get up.
"Quick, quick, medics, come up! Take the injured Pokémon for treatment!"
From the direction of Verdant Leaf City, a large number of humans swarmed out.
Among them were Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Center, both familiar faces to Rio. Nurse Joy was currently directing a large group of similarly dressed nurses and several Chansey, putting the fallen Pokémon onto medical vehicles and at the same time providing emergency treatment to the groaning, injured Pokémon.
Officer Jenny, on the other hand, was leading the police officers to spread out and investigate.
Just then, a middle-aged man in a red jacket walked out from the crowd and slowly approached Ming Rizhao.