"Hey, girl, hand over the Poké Balls on your waist. Otherwise... I'll just have to take them myself. Heh heh..."
A deep, sleazy voice echoed in Nessa's ears.
She was already struggling with the relentless sandstorm, and now, with an attacker suddenly appearing, her mood plummeted.
Nessa knew she was the slowest and had fallen to the back. If there was an ambush, it made sense that they would target her first. The others had already gone ahead, and with this blinding sand, there was no telling if they had even noticed she was missing.
'Damn it...'
Keeping her arm up to shield her face, she gritted her teeth and stayed still. She recognized the black metal rod at her waist. It was a stun baton capable of delivering a shock as powerful as a Thunderbolt. Even an Intermediate-level Pokémon could be knocked out in one hit, let alone a human. One wrong move, and she might not even survive.
"Hey, girl! I'm just worried about frying the money on you, not about killing you, so don't try playing innocent!" The attacker's voice cut through the howling wind.
"Alright! Just... don't do anything rash. I'll lock the Poké Balls first and hand them over..." Nessa spoke calmly, trying to deceive him. Moving slowly, she reached for her waist.
"Hurry up!" The man growled, his grip tightening on the baton. The crackling sound of electricity sent a jolt of fear through her.
She quickened her movements, locking the buttons on the empty Poké Balls before handing them over one by one. In these conditions, there was no way he could check if they were empty. He had to take them and assume she was complying.
'Just need an opening...'
Holding her breath, Nessa ignored the sting of sand cutting into her skin. She was waiting for him to drop his guard.
"Heh, these are all empty, aren't they?" The man's mocking tone made her heart pound, and her body instinctively tensed.
"Dark-skinned and flat as a board. You really don't fear death, do you?" He sneered, as if he was about to press the stun baton and electrocute her on the spot.
"Hah..." He exhaled slowly, convinced he had successfully scared her stiff. He had only been testing if she was lying. Turns out, the Poké Balls really were empty.
Still, he didn't want to press the baton just yet. He had no idea how strong her Pokémon were. If he accidentally fried the Poké Balls and killed her, what if her Pokémon escaped and tore him apart? Better to take things slow, break her down bit by bit.
Nessa didn't respond. She had already made up her mind—she was going to run for it. Gambling her life on whether he could react in time was better than waiting for death.
"Hmph..." The man snorted. "Keep handing over the Poké Balls! And don't even think about—ugh..."
His words cut off.
All he felt was a sudden coldness in his throat, as if something sharp had pierced through. His body stiffened.
Nessa flinched instinctively, then tried to flee, only to be caught by Shiro just in time.
"Nessa! It's me!" He bent down, grabbing the attacker's lifeless head and shoving it toward her.
"Shiro?" Nessa halted at the familiar voice. She turned, only to find something strange now in her hands. The moment she realized what it was, she yelped and flung it away. "You... you just—"
Before she could finish, Shiro was already walking off.
"Hey!" She hurried forward, grabbing his wrist. "Wait for me..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Shiro turned, scanning her from head to toe. That's when he noticed the faint cuts on her arms and legs. Her skin, softened by years in the water, was delicate enough for the sand to leave marks.
Understanding her discomfort, he swiftly pulled the sand-colored cloak from the corpse on the ground and tossed it to her. Then, shaking off her hand, he started walking again.
There were no more enemies behind them, but there could still be some ahead. Plus, he still hadn't found Allister.
Nessa hesitated for a moment before quickly wrapping the cloak around herself and catching up. The sting of the sand was a constant reminder that she couldn't afford to slow down.
Up ahead, Shiro was searching through the wind and sand. He estimated the distance between Marvin and Nessa to be about fifty meters, but with the raging sandstorm, those fifty meters felt like five hundred.
"Shiro?"
A cold voice suddenly called from the side of the road. A pale, hollow mask emerged beside him. It was Allister, riding on his Dusclops.
The ghostly Pokémon had something in its mouth. Looking closer, Shiro saw that it was the remains of a corpse—only the legs were left.
"Good." Shiro gave a short nod. "Let's keep moving. There may be more enemies ahead."
"Mm." Allister responded lightly, glancing at Nessa, who was now wrapped in the yellow cloak, before signaling Dusclops to move forward.
They continued another ten meters before spotting Marvin pressed against the rocky wall on the left.
"Shiro!"
Marvin had also picked up a yellow cloak, draping it over himself. He pointed at the corpses on the ground, his voice heavy.
"These guys don't even have Poké Balls on them."
"...No Poké Balls?" Shiro frowned. He had been too focused on finding his teammates to search the bodies earlier, but he hadn't expected them to have nothing of value.
"Not even Pokédollars?" He asked.
"Nothing," Marvin confirmed. He had no interest in pocketing such trivial things. "Their clothes are torn and ragged, just like... when we used to be outlaws."
Shiro felt a headache coming on.
He had expected trouble in this weather, opportunists lying in wait. What was shocking was that even the lowest of the low were openly blocking the entrance to Stow-on-Side to rob people.
They didn't need a sandstorm to bury the town. The people themselves had already cut it off from the rest of the world.
And yet, within the town, Leon's faction was still stationed. These people dared to be this reckless?
Shiro could already picture the chaos inside Stow-on-Side. The road ahead was only going to get worse.
"I have a Ground-type Pokémon…" Shiro said grimly, looking at the others. "I'll have Rhyperior clear the way. You should release Pokémon that can protect the flanks. We're no longer on League territory."
"Understood!" Nessa and Marvin nodded, releasing Drednaw and Mr. Mime.
Shiro then tossed his Poké Ball forward.
"Come out, Rhyperior!"
The massive Pokémon landed with a thud, blocking most of the path. Even the raging sandstorm weakened behind it.
The four of them moved in close behind Rhyperior, advancing slowly but securely, a strong sense of protection settling over them.
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