Chapter 30: Every Step of Our Plan Has Been a Success, Hasn’t It?!

When Nobuhide rushed frantically into his office, he saw only a towering, vaguely human Pokémon, shrouded in black mist with six arms, floating above the ruins and howling at the sky, its blood-red eyes glaring furiously. At its feet, Gangliang lay there, his fate uncertain, clutching nothing but a bottle cap, with six rings scattered nearby.

A surge of hot blood rushed to Nobuhide’s head, a deep sense of frustration and helplessness flooding his heart. One phrase echoed endlessly in his mind.

What on earth just happened?!

Coincidentally, not far away in the poachers’ camp, Chen Ou—now freed from his electric restraints—wore the same dumbfounded expression. He hadn’t seen Nobuhide’s face, but had he looked, he would have realized their reactions were uncannily identical.

It was as if a pie chart showed them sharing three parts confusion, two parts puzzlement, four parts complete bewilderment, and one part simmering anger.

A voice crackled in Chen Ou’s earpiece—a furious and incredulous Wataru: “Chen Ou! What happened? Why didn’t you tell us when the plan went awry?!”

Chen Ou opened his mouth, but couldn’t quite find the words.

“Say something!”

Wataru’s tone was nothing short of frenzied. Their carefully crafted plan had just been ruined—worse yet, it was ruined ahead of schedule! This completely threw off all their prior preparations. At this time, the Contest Hall had only a fraction of its expected crowd. If they’d had just one more day, they’d have been able to draw in half the city for the show. But now…

“You probably won’t believe me,” Chen Ou said, hastily regaining his composure under Wataru’s urging, “but our plan was executed perfectly. There was a minor hiccup, but nothing that should have alerted anyone…”

“Then explain what I’m seeing right now!”

“I’ve been thinking... If our side is fine, maybe something went wrong with the other side’s plan…”

Wataru: …

Chen Ou: …

Good grief, after all these years, it was their first time encountering something like this…

Couldn’t the opposition be a little more reliable? They were threatening the entire Kanto League! Couldn’t such a grand scheme be just a bit more rigorous?!

This was the first time Chen Ou and Wataru found themselves cursing their “pig-headed” adversaries.

“In any case, let’s not dwell on it now. Something feels very off about this. Hoopa’s Shadow’s pattern of activity isn’t matching my predictions at all. We have to modify the second half of our plan. How many people can you spare for the evacuation?” Chen Ou rubbed his brow, looking troubled.

“I can only send you Cynthia, Red, and Diantha. Everyone else is needed for emergency evacuation and to hold off the panicked Pokémon surging toward the city…” Wataru’s words carried a hint of resignation.

According to Chen Ou’s calculations, including Hoopa itself, they were up against at least seven legendary Pokémon. And on their side, only three Champions could be spared… They were strong, certainly, but compared to Chen Ou’s memories, the legendary Pokémon here seemed far more terrifying.

Red had once told Chen Ou that he had indeed defeated Mewtwo, and even captured it, but Mewtwo had not been at full strength at that time, and Red had needed to rotate through all six of his Pokémon to achieve victory. Because of this, Mewtwo never fully acknowledged him in strength, and Red eventually released it back into the wild.

Now, Red had grown much stronger than he was in those days, but he knew Mewtwo wouldn’t have stood still either. If they fought now, the outcome was far from certain.

So, three Champions and Chen Ou… even stalling, let alone defeating, their opponents was a nearly impossible task.

Chen Ou frowned at this, then said, “There’s no time to lose. Every second counts now. Have Cynthia and the others come over, and bring little Hoopa along. That little guy can summon powerful allies in a pinch.”

“All right… Stay safe.”

“…I will.”

With that, a click signaled the end of the call. Chen Ou let out a long breath, took the Poké Balls for Charmander and Growlithe from a burly man beside him, and then reached into his own chest.

Within his chest burned a flickering flame—he had been carrying a Poké Ball inside his thoracic cavity all along. Of course, this was not a trick he liked to use often. For one, elemental transformation was exhausting. For another, stuffing things into one’s own body was… unsettling.

With a fireproof Poké Ball and Chen Ou’s own ability to control his internal temperature, he could indeed carry things inside himself. But it was an experience he had no desire to repeat.

After all, he was a man—it was better to let someone else try this method.

Then, Chen Ou opened the Poké Ball. Entei emerged from within.

Yes, Chen Ou had caught Entei—or rather, temporarily persuaded it to travel with him.

That was his trump card. How could he have ventured into enemy territory without safeguarding his own security? So he had “invited” Entei into his Poké Ball, at least for the time being.

As for a permanent bond, there might be a chance someday. After all, Entei didn’t reject Chen Ou. In fact, their relationship could even be called a friendship.

Chen Ou addressed Entei gravely, “Have Ho-Oh join the battle. Hold on as long as you can.”

Entei nodded, its own heart heavy with the gravity of the situation. Then, lifting its head, it unleashed a Sacred Fire into the sky—the agreed-upon signal for the other two legendary beasts and Ho-Oh.

War, in the end, could not be avoided.

“The most critical thing now is to find the Prison Bottle. Whether it’s intact or shattered, as long as we find it, it can be repaired.”

Chen Ou swung himself onto Entei’s back, and the beast immediately bounded toward their predetermined rendezvous.

Even as he raced toward the battlefield, Chen Ou’s mind was awhirl with questions.

This emergence of Hoopa’s Shadow was unfolding very differently from how he remembered the movie. Originally, Hoopa’s Shadow was supposed to devour Hoopa’s will, seize its body, and then unleash its long-suppressed fury.

That was why Chen Ou had brought Hoopa, yet kept him at a distance. The Shadow needed time to locate its host, and helping Hoopa resist it could buy precious minutes.

But now, it seemed the Shadow had manifested directly, with no intention of seeking Hoopa’s body. It had already begun its rampage, venting a century of pent-up rage in a storm of destruction.

Was this the handiwork of that Nobuhide fellow?

Chen Ou pondered. No, that man’s plan seemed to have failed. Besides, the place Hoopa was rampaging was precisely the breeding facility.

They had warned Nobuo that the facility might be attacked, and advised him to act natural and discreetly give all staff the day off tomorrow. Pokémon had a natural instinct for avoiding disaster, and since Hoopa’s anger wasn’t directed at them, the Pokémon living there didn’t need to worry too much.

To keep things as quiet as possible, Nobuo had planned to issue a last-minute notice around closing time, perhaps under the pretense of a VIP coming to choose a Pokémon for their child—nothing unusual.

But now, it was still only midday.

So… was there someone else behind all this?

Chen Ou’s thoughts raced as he hurried toward the battlefield.