"Why do you even have shoes in your bag?"
Shen looked at Julian, who had just pulled out a pair of hiking boots from his backpack. The boots fit her feet perfectly, and her expression turned slightly strange.
Does this guy keep a pair of shoes in my size all the time?
'I've always regarded you like a brother, but you're thinking of something else entirely'
"Cut it out with those dirty thoughts."
Julian said, sensing Shen's aura tinged with malice. He knew her mind had wandered somewhere it shouldn't.
"Boss Walker's backpack is like a treasure chest—he's got everything."
Dalton chimed in, completely unfazed by Julian pulling shoes out of nowhere.
"I wasn't thinking anything!"
Shen's face flushed slightly as she grabbed the boots and put them on. They fit perfectly, and once again, an impure thought crept into her mind.
"Do you know where Luis and the survey team are?" Julian asked.
"They should all be together. When Gengar put me under hypnosis, I still had some awareness. I saw them carrying Luis and the survey team eastward."
"How did you manage to stay conscious?" Dalton asked, puzzled.
"As someone who practices martial arts, my willpower is pretty strong."
But Dalton didn't believe it. "I practice martial arts too. Are you saying my willpower isn't as strong as yours?"
Shen nodded. "Just because your physical strength is greater doesn't mean your willpower is stronger."
"Alright, let's settle this. Whoever blinks first loses."
Dalton's competitive nature kicked in. He rolled up his sleeves, ready for a staring contest with Shen.
But what did a staring contest have to do with willpower?
Julian pushed Dalton aside and said flatly, "This has more to do with Shen's Heart's Eye ability. It helped her resist the hypnosis to some extent."
If it had been a psychic user, weak Pokémon using Hypnosis on them wouldn't have worked at all.
"Ugh, stupid ability users," Dalton muttered under his breath.
"Ah-I wasn't talking about you, Boss Walker!"
Realizing his words might have been misunderstood, he quickly clarified.
Julian ignored him and asked, "I'm going to look for Luis and the survey team now. Are you two coming with me or heading back to university?"
In truth, Julian preferred they head back to university. Having them tag along would only slow him down.
But, as expected, neither of them wanted to leave.
Shen shook her head firmly. "This mission was my idea. I invited Dalton and Luis to join, so I have to find Luis."
Dalton followed suit, "Of course, I'm sticking with you, Boss Walker."
Their answers didn't surprise Julian in the slightest. With a hint of exasperation, he said, "You'd be better off heading back to university."
"What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying we're a burden?" Shen snapped.
She looked at Julian with anger, her expression clearly saying, You'd better give me a reasonable explanation, or you're not getting off the hook.
"Yeah, your strength really is lacking."
Julian replied bluntly, nodding without hesitation.
Shen: 'I swear, I want to kill him'
Dalton: 'Boss Walker is so straightforward—it's awesome'
"Meta~"
Metagross let out a low, metallic hum in agreement with its Trainer.
"See? Even Metagross agrees. Machamp, do you think you're strong?"
Machamp shook his head without the slightest hesitation. After almost being killed earlier, it had no delusions about its strength.
Instead, it turned to Metagross with a look of admiration. After all, it had effortlessly defeated the two Ursaring. 'it was so f***g awesome'
"Machamp, are you trying to make me angry?"
Shen glared at her Pokémon, feeling betrayed. 'Since when did you start siding with Julian?'
Machamp: 'What's wrong with showing a little gratitude to the one who saved my life?'
---
The three of them were now flying through the air on Dragonite. Thankfully, Dragonite was larger than average; otherwise, carrying all three of them would have been impossible.
Initially, Julian had planned to ride Metagross while letting Shen and Dalton use Dragonite, but Dragonite had other ideas. It refused to let anyone other than Julian ride it without him onboard.
As for Metagross? Letting someone besides Julian ride on its back was out of the question entirely.
Dragonite's accommodating nature made it far more agreeable than, say, a Salamence. If a Salamence's Trainer dared to put someone else on its back, it might just toss the Trainer off as well.
Shen had told them that Luis and the survey team had been taken east by the Gengar group. Eastward meant heading deeper into the White Mountain Range, which was far from ideal.
The outskirts and mid range of the White Mountain Range already housed Pokémon at the pseudo-Elite level. Venturing further in meant facing stronger and stronger opponents. Pokémon deeper inside were fewer in number but significantly more powerful.
It wasn't uncommon to travel an entire day in the core regions without encountering a single Pokémon. But if you did, you could bet its strength started at pseudo-Elite level.
After flying east for a while, Julian ordered Dragonite to land.
"Let's get down and look around."
When they had found Shen earlier, it was thanks to spotting her backpack, combined with Growlithe's keen sense of smell and the marks she had left on the trees.
Luis, however, hadn't left any items behind, so Julian could only hope that he or the survey team had left some sort of markers along the way.
"Let's split up and check for any signs or markings nearby," Julian said to Shen and Dalton.
He released four smaller Pokémon—Lucario, Slowking, Growlithe, and Haunter—to assist with the search.
Shen and Dalton quickly followed suit, releasing their own Pokémon.
The three Trainers, along with their dozen or so Pokémon, spread out in a circular formation to scour the area for clues.
Beside Julian stood his Metagross, its glowing eyes focused as it used psychic powers to scan the surroundings for any traces of humans.
"Luca!~"
After about ten minutes, Lucario's voice suddenly resonated in Julian's mind.
Julian's bond with Lucario's Aura was exceptionally strong, allowing them to sense each other's presence within a certain range.
"Lucario found something, let's go."
Julian informed Metagross of Lucario's location. The steel giant immediately used Teleport, and in the blink of an eye, they appeared beside Lucario.
"A battle took place here."
Julian's eyes scanned the area. Broken trees lay scattered, rocks were cracked and shattered, and the ground bore large and small craters—clear evidence of a recent clash.
Patches of water glistened on the ground and tree trunks. Julian reached out to touch one of the snapped trees, his fingers brushing against its damp surface, accompanied by coldness.
He crouched down, dipped a finger into the water on the ground, and noted its icy temperature.
'It's water left behind after an Ice-type move melted'
This explained why both the water on the trees and the puddles on the ground were unnaturally cold.
Given that Luis was an Ice-type Trainer, it seemed likely his Pokémon had caused this, though Julian couldn't completely rule out the involvement of someone else.
"Meta~"
Metagross called out as it levitated over with a torn piece of fabric in its claw.
"This is theirs!"
Julian's eyes lit up as he took the fabric. It was unmistakably part of the uniform worn by the survey team.
Judging by the strength of Luis's Pokémon, Julian guessed that this Ice-type move had been used the previous day.
Further inspection revealed tracks that seemed to have been left as the group moved. However, what puzzled Julian was that instead of heading out of the forest, Luis and the survey team had gone deeper into the White Mountain Range.
*****
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