The dust took only a few seconds to clear, but it felt as if a long time had passed.
Finally, Dusknoir and Froslass could be seen lying next to each with their eyes closed. Meanwhile, Rhyperior stood on the opposite side, out of breath but otherwise still fine. Misdreavus then revealed herself after seeing no movement from the opponents.
Following that, the referee waved his flags and said, "Dusknoir and Froslass have lost their ability to fight. The winner of this match is Team Hisoka!"
The referee's announcement brought an end to this battle.
Clap!
Woohoo!
The audience could no longer restrain their excitement as they rose to their feet, cheering for Hisoka and Ran.
"They won! I knew they would win the tournament!" Maggie squealed, her face turning red due to excitement.
Suzie also shared her friend's enthusiasm as they joined the crowd.
Hisoka's performance not only conquered the audience but also everyone on television. That was one of the most exciting battles they had ever watched.
***
"It was a great battle. By the way, your Rhyperior is strong."
Reggie walked over with a smile. Although he was a bit reluctant to say it outright, he had to admit that Hisoka was a much better trainer than him.
Just his Rhyperior alone brought great pressure to him. Not to mention the other Pokemon he had.
"Good job, Rhyperior. You can rest first," Hisoka patted his hand and took him back to his Pokeball.
He then turned toward Reggie and said, "Your Dusknoir is strong too. I hope we can have a fight again someday."
Reggie held out his hand and smiled, "If you have some free time, you can come to Veilstone City in Sinnoh, where I live."
"I will someday," Hisoka nodded while shaking his hand.
Paul kept his head down during this time. He simply couldn't accept his brother had lost.
'I will defeat him in the future. Just wait,' he vowed, clenching his fist.
The two chatted for a while, and at the invitation of the staff, they went to the front stage together. Harrison and Morrison, who were sitting in the stands, were also invited. The two of them won third place in the tournament and would participate in the award ceremony.
***
Bang!
Bang!
Colorful fireworks exploded across the sky like flowers blooming in the dark.
Three beautiful hostesses in red dresses stood on the front stage, smiling. Each of them was holding a tray covered in white cloth.
Then, Vivian walked up to the podium as the crowd gave her warm applause.
"Thank you for being with us for tonight. Without further ado, I'd like to invite Miss Anna, one of Celadon Gamer Corner shareholders, to our stage," she finished loudly.
A few seconds later, a beautiful woman walked out from backstage. Her heels clacked on the hardwood floor as she approached the podium.
"She's beautiful!" Morrison nudged his friend.
"Shut up! What if she heard us," Harrison whispered, blushing.
In fact, it wasn't only Morrison. The others were also enthralled by her beauty. Her scarlet red hair perfectly framed her face, glistening with a light that attracted everyone's attention.
"Miss Anna," Vivian greeted, passing the microphone to her.
"Thank you," Anna took the mic and thanked her.
"I am honored to stand in front of you all today to present the prizes to the winners."
After saying a couple of words, Anna signaled the hostesses to prepare as they would be presenting the awards soon.
First, it was Harrison and Morrison who came in third place to receive the prizes.
"Congratulations."
Anna handed Harrison a Luxury Ball, which contained a Ditto, and a large cheque with 40,000 dollars written on it.
***
"Thank you!"
Reggie took the Luxury Ball from Anna. It contained an Eevee, which was just perfect for this brother, Paul. After that, he grabbed the giant cheque from Anna and took a couple of steps back.
Finally, it was the moment that everyone had been waiting for. The crowd burst into cheers when Hisoka held the giant cheque with 100,000 dollars written on it. He also got the Porygon he wanted for winning the tournament.
After three days of fierce battle, he finally got the Pokemon he wanted. He couldn't wait to go back to see the first artificial Pokemon.
But before he could leave the stage, he heard a whisper in his ear.
"Be careful. Someone is eyeing your Pokemon."
He quickly turned around and saw Anna winking her eye at him mysteriously. When he was about to ask her more about it, she had already left the stage.
He didn't know who she was, but hearing what she said just now ruined his mood. If what she said was true, then someone out there was after his Pokemon.
'Not good!' he thought hard.
It wasn't hard to guess that his every move must be monitored by the enemy hidden in the dark right now. If he acted rashly, the enemy might even catch some of the flaws in his plan.
Even though he didn't know her motive for doing this, there was no harm in making some preparations just in case something happened.
***
After the awards ceremony, the Double Battle tournament that lasted for three days finally came to a close.
It was ten o'clock at night, and Central Park was almost quiet. Most of the people had already left the stadium. There were only some people left in the area.
"Why are you alone? Where is Hisoka?" Maggie looked around but didn't find the person she was waiting for.
Ran lowered her head as she stood in front of Maggie and Suzie.
"Hisoka asked me to follow you back first. He has some important things to do right now. He will pick me up when he is done," she said hesitantly.
"Oh, well. Since Hisoka said so, you can stay at my house first," Maggie replied.
"I don't want to stay with you," Ran muttered under her breath.
"What did you say?"
"Sorry to bother you," Ran lifted her head, showing a "happy smile."
***
At this time, Hisoka was standing outside his room. As soon as he entered it, he instantly knew something was off. Remembering what the mysterious woman said earlier, he quickly took out a bug detector and proceeded to inspect the whole room.
Beep!
The device detected something when he waved it on a painting. He quickly flipped it around and found a small device glued to the back.
"Found you," he murmured, pinching the bug until it broke into smaller pieces.
***
Celadon Game Corner.
Ouch!
A green-haired man in a black Team Rocket uniform suddenly covered his ears with a painful expression. He then tore off the headphone from his head, rubbing his ringing ears.
"Butch, what's wrong with you?"
A woman spoke to him. She had blonde hair done in pigtails and was wearing the same uniform as the man. She also wore a pair of triangular pink earrings.
"The first target had found the bug, Cassidy," Butch slowly replied.
"That bastard might have broken the bug just now. Damn. My ears are still ringing from that!"
"How did he find it?" Cassidy crossed her arms together with a look of doubt.
"Don't care about that for now. You have to report to Sird! Hurry up! Before he runs away," he said anxiously.
***
Sird was sitting on the sofa, sipping a glass of wine. A Persian was lying at her feet. Its tail was holding upright as it bared its teeth.
Cassidy swallowed the lump in her throat and only kept her eyes on Sird. She didn't even dare to look at the Persian in front of her.
'This Persian is much scarier than the one owned by Giovanni.'
This thought appeared in her mind.
Clearing the thoughts inside her head, Cassidy returned her attention to the pale-looking woman.
"Sir! The bug we placed in the first target's room has been discovered," she said hastily.
Sird put down the glass on the table and said, "Since it has been discovered, send more men to surround the hotel. Make sure he doesn't escape."
"Is there anything else? No? Then leave," she waved her hand dismissively.
"Yes, sir!"
Cassidy shouted respectfully and immediately left the room.
After that, Sird rubbed Persian's head, calming it down while her mind wandered off. Actually, she wasn't willing to take over this task. The risk was too great. While Team Rocket had great influence in Celadon City, that didn't mean they could do whatever they wanted, especially targeting a talented young gym leader like Hisoka.
Yes, she had read the other party's information several times. It was quite surprising. After seeing him fight in front of her very own eyes, she was quite sure that the young man was at least as strong as her and her other Three Beast members.
This attack was led by Proton alone. And since Celadon City belonged to Ariana's faction, Proton could only mobilize the local Team Rocket members.
She knew Proton and Petrel were planning to replace Ariana and Archer to become the strongest faction within Team Rocket. Unfortunately, they overestimated themselves.
***
After clearing the bugs and wiretaps from the room, Hisoka finally had the time to check the Porygon he won from the tournament.
When he pressed the middle button, a polyhedral Pokemon appeared before him. It looked like it was made from pink and blue building blocks.
"..."
He looked into its eyes for some time before giving up. Its eyes were cold and lifeless, as if it wasn't alive.
He then rubbed his head and said, "Do you know Professor Akihabara?"
"..."
Yet again, there was no response from it.
When Hisoka turned around, its pupils moved slightly, but it quickly regained its calm.
Reluctantly shaking his head, he took a new Pokeball and caught the Porygon again to register its information. As for the old Luxury Ball? He had already broken it. There might be something wrong with it, and he didn't want to take any chances.
He then walked toward the window and pulled the curtain slightly, revealing a small gap. He then looked out the window, seeing nothing except for the occasional passers-by and some cars.
Since he had destroyed the bugs, he was pretty sure the other side would take action soon. He already had some inkling as to who it was. Only Team Rocket would have the courage to attack someone in broad daylight.
The mysterious woman he met earlier might also be a member of Team Rocket herself. As for why she decided to reveal the news about the attack, it probably was nothing more than a dispute.
In a group as large as Team Rocket, there were bound to be some kind of factions within it. This was normal.