"Who are you?"
Facing Ace, who suddenly appeared and offered to help her, Zinnia's first reaction was disbelief, coupled with intense wariness towards him.
"Who I am isn't important."
Ace smiled and said to Zinnia, "But I can help you."
"What do you want?"
Zinnia's internal alarm bells rang loudly, her vigilance towards Ace reaching its peak.
"This Pokémon next to me is a Psychic-type."
Ace pointed at Mewtwo and said with a smile, "It can use Teleport to help your Salamence directly move into that building."
Hearing Ace's words, Zinnia instinctively looked towards Mewtwo.
Mewtwo subtly snorted, clearly displeased with Ace's actions.
"Do you have a grudge against the League?"
Zinnia's guard slightly lowered, and she frowned, asking Ace, "Otherwise, why would you help me?"
"Don't overthink it."
Ace pointed to the distinctive scarf around Zinnia's cloak and said, "I've read some资料. Your attire suggests you are from the Draconid people. I want to visit Meteor Falls, so I help you, and you tell me about Meteor Falls. This is a trade, understand?"
Ace's words slightly eased Zinnia's tension.
There was no unwarranted hatred, nor unwarranted love.
If Ace had no desires, Zinnia would never have lowered her guard against him.
But Ace laid out his conditions clearly, and he also stated it was a trade, which made it more convincing.
"Your purpose for going to Meteor Falls."
Instinctively, Zinnia was still somewhat resistant to Ace, but hatred still clouded her eyes.
Zinnia, only thirteen or fourteen, clearly couldn't think too deeply. She could only conclude that if Ace's sole purpose was to simply visit Meteor Falls, then exchanging her hometown's location for help was still very much worth it.
"For now, I just want to see it."
Ace said to Zinnia, "The specifics, I'll only know once I get there."
Hearing Ace's words, Zinnia furrowed her brows, hesitated for a moment, then said to Ace, "Alright, you help me, and I'll tell you the location of Meteor Falls."
"Deal."
Ace extended his hand towards Zinnia. Zinnia slightly frowned, then slapped his palm.
"Mewtwo, I'm counting on you."
Ace looked at Mewtwo beside him. Mewtwo sighed, telepathically conveying to Ace alone, "This counts as one task."
"No problem."
Ace smiled, not bothered.
Meanwhile, Zinnia hugged Salamence's head with both hands, carefully instructing Salamence on what to do next.
Once Salamence nodded, indicating it understood, Mewtwo walked over to Salamence's side.
It would help Salamence teleport into the research facility, but Salamence would have to rely on itself to escape.
Psychic energy surged. Mewtwo placed a hand on Salamence, and in an instant, Salamence vanished without a trace before Zinnia's eyes.
Then, less than three seconds later, an explosion suddenly occurred in the distant Rayquaza laboratory, and a violent burst of flames instantly illuminated the night!
The next moment, a serpentine Pokémon burst through the research facility's roof, then flew west without looking back.
Ace saw this and sighed inwardly, "Norman, I've cleared your name. I wonder how much my intervention in this matter will affect the future storyline."
"Side Quest (Release Rayquaza) completed. Quest Rating: A. Quest Reward: 500 Gold, 10 Task Points."
"Retreat!"
Zinnia immediately fled in the opposite direction of Rayquaza without looking back. As for Salamence, the moment Rayquaza escaped, it also followed Rayquaza, flying west.
Thus, one went west, the other east. Zinnia wanted to distance herself from this incident as much as possible.
"Don't forget the reward."
Ace recalled Mewtwo and quickly followed. The two swiftly disappeared into the night.
Behind them, a piercing alarm sounded within the League building. This night was destined to be a sleepless one!
After running for nearly half an hour, completely out of Goldenrod City's range, Zinnia finally stopped, panting heavily.
Ace, seeing this, also halted his steps and looked at Zinnia.
"Meteor Falls is located beneath Meteor Falls in the Hoenn region."
Zinnia looked at Ace, sighed, and said, "That's the home of Dragon-types, with many Dragon-type Pokémon. Is that your goal?"
"Side Quest (Draconid People) completed. Quest Rating: S. Quest Reward: 3,000 Gold, 50 Task Points."
"Gift package has been stored for you, redeemable at any time."
"Subsequent quest issued..."
"Side Quest (Origin of Mega Evolution): Go to Meteor Falls and gain the elder's approval. Quest Reward: 10,000 Gold, Task Points awarded based on quest completion rating."
After reviewing the subsequent side quests, Ace said to Zinnia, "Partially. More importantly, I want to acquire your special power."
"Special power?"
Zinnia was initially confused, then looked down at her right leg. On her right calf, a peculiar stone was embedded in a spiral-shaped anklet.
"Is that your goal?"
Zinnia chuckled, then looked at Ace seriously and said, "Then I wish you good luck. I hope you don't regret it."
After speaking, Salamence, which had flown west earlier, made a wide circle and met up with Zinnia.
Zinnia leaped onto Salamence's back. Salamence flapped its wings, swiftly carrying Zinnia skyward, and soon disappeared from Ace's sight.
"Gengar."
As Zinnia left, Ace called out into the air.
Gengar chuckled as it emerged from the shadows, holding a half-palm-sized, emerald-green, rhomboid orb.
"Is this the Green Orb?"
Ace looked at this artificial orb, taking it from Gengar's hand.
For these three days, Ace had kept Gengar lurking near the League building, just so it could rush in immediately after Rayquaza escaped and retrieve the Green Orb.
Clearly, Gengar had succeeded!
"Side Quest (Green Orb) completed. Quest Rating: S. Quest Reward: 6,000 Gold, 50 Task Points."
"Gift package has been stored for you, redeemable at any time."
"Subsequent quest issued..."
"Side Quest (Rayquaza's Contractor): Subdue Rayquaza and help it learn Dragon Ascent. Quest Reward: 500,000 Gold, Task Points awarded based on quest completion rating."
Ace placed the Green Orb and the Mewtwoite Y together, and also recalled Gengar to its Poké Ball.
"Potential Enhancement. Target: Gengar."
"Task Points deducted. Estimated time: Twelve hours."
Two S-rank evaluations directly gave Ace a hundred task points. Ace unhesitatingly used them to boost Gengar, who had experienced a drop in potential after evolving.