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At four o'clock in the morning, rain poured down over the city. Most people were still enjoying the tranquility brought by the gentle patter, sleeping soundly in their beds.
Meanwhile, a coordinated operation against the Asuka group was underway across five cities in Gumont province.
Stephen's team had departed from the border, with Stephen personally escorting the captured Eagle back to the Pokémon Investigator base. The other three teams were dispatched to provide support in the five cities where battles were raging.
Chris, Eliana, and Josh's team were sent to Nether City for backup.
Unlike the smooth and swift frontier operation, Nether City's operation had encountered stubborn resistance from the very beginning. When Chris and his companions arrived, the investigators hadn't even managed to breach the base.
"Josh, why are you here?" Ares, the captain in charge of the Sucker Punch operation in Nether City, asked with surprise when he saw Chris and his team appear.
"Our mission is complete. We've successfully captured Eagle, the leader of the Asuka group!"
"So now we're here to support you," Josh replied.
"You caught Eagle?"
"Investigator Stephen is indeed worthy of being one of the four famous arresters of China's investigators. We launched our attacks simultaneously, yet not only did he complete his task before us, but he even captured Eagle?" Ares couldn't help but sigh.
The investigators all had their own responsibilities during normal operations and weren't fixed as subordinates to any one leader.
In the past, Ares had thought that Stephen's reputation as one of the four famous arresters was merely an empty title, nothing more than having a few years of seniority over him. But now, comparing their achievements, the gap was indeed quite significant...
"Actually, that's not—" Josh glanced at Chris and was about to explain the detailed process, but Chris cut him off.
"Captain Ares, what's the current situation at the Asuka base in Nether City?" Chris asked.
Hearing Chris's question, Ares quickly replied, "The Asuka team's base in Nether City is guarded by Owl, the number one Executive in their organization. As soon as we initiated the operation, he appeared and personally stopped our advance."
"Now they've reinforced their defenses, making it even harder to get inside!"
"However, we've surrounded their base, and they cannot escape!"
Chris nodded. If Eagle, the leader of the Asuka organization, truly possessed the strength of a Gym Trainer, then the power of his number one Executive would definitely not be much weaker.
He turned to examine the Asuka organization's base.
It was a five-story building.
Normally, the first and second floors sold various daily necessities, while the third, fourth, and fifth floors served as living quarters for members of the Asuka organization.
Fortunately, the attack had been launched after three o'clock in the morning, so there were no civilians in the department store who could be taken hostage.
Now, the residential buildings surrounding the department store had been evacuated. Ares's team had sealed off the area from four directions and positioned Electric-type Pokémon at each corner. If anyone tried to escape, they would get a taste of Thunder on this rainy day.
"What about underground?" Chris asked.
"We have four Dugtrio on watch. As soon as they try to leave through the Ground, we'll be ready to give them some surprises!" Ares replied.
Chris nodded and looked up at the sky.
"This must be resolved before dawn, otherwise the situation will become increasingly complicated."
"Warn everyone around – if any try to escape, shoot them down immediately."
With that, Chris took out a Poké Ball and released the Pokémon inside.
Blaziken appeared.
"Flame Charge!"
Orange-red flames erupted all over Blaziken's body. His slender yet powerful legs propelled him forward as his vigorous figure burst forth like a fireball, blasting toward the Rock-type barricade the enemy Pokémon had constructed.
"BOOM!"
The seemingly sturdy Rock gate was as fragile as tofu before Blaziken's might, shattering with ease.
"Investigators are rushing in!" came a roar from inside.
Crimson flames blazed wildly, accompanied by crackling sounds.
Chris followed closely behind, walking through the entrance of the department store.
"Hey, what's going on?" Ares watched Chris charge in with a shocked expression. "I... I am the captain here. Aren't you being too reckless—"
Josh quickly pulled Ares back.
"Let Chris handle this. He single-handedly defeated all the members of the Asuka team who attempted to smuggle goods, and captured Eagle alive!"
"What?"
"I'm telling you, just now..."
...
Inside the Asuka Group headquarters.
Owl sat on the stairs leading to the roof on the fifth floor, surrounded by several core members of the Asuka team.
"The Pokémon Investigators have surrounded the entire building. They've arranged Pokémon to prevent escape whether we try flying in the sky or digging underground. What should we do now?" A middle-aged man with a goatee paced anxiously.
"Has there been any response to our request for help from the other bases?" Owl asked suddenly.
"No, there's no news at all. It's possible that they've blocked our signal and we can't send messages out, or there's another possibility..." The young man, Fian, said, trailing off midway.
"What's the other possibility? Tell me!" The goateed middle-aged man frowned and demanded.
"There's also a possibility that other bases have also been hit by the Pokémon Investigators' operation! So even if we couldn't send back the safety message on time, they wouldn't have been able to come support us anyway."
Owl answered this question for Fian, and continued, "There's no need to send any more messages to the boss. If all our bases are under Sucker Punch attacks, he should also be facing an assault from China's Pokémon Investigators by now."
Everyone fell silent.
"Woo..." Houndoom suddenly let out a Growl, moving restlessly, as if he had detected something through Covet, growing impatient.
"What's wrong?" Owl placed his hand on Houndoom's head.
Houndoom calmed slightly but continued staring downstairs, as if something was drawing his attention.
Owl immediately frowned.
Houndoom's behavior was concerning.
He had trained Houndoom to remember special scents, and now the Pokémon was indicating it had detected one of those memorized smells.
The scents Houndoom had been trained to recognize all belonged to important people or things.
But there were quite a few of these targets, and Owl would need to confirm with his own eyes to know what Houndoom had Lock-On.
"Why at this time?" Owl frowned.
Suddenly, his expression darkened further.
Was it possible that the person he was looking for was a member of the Pokémon Investigators, or that what he sought was currently in the possession of one of the Pokémon Investigators?