Knowing that Drake was on Cain's side, Celebi didn't attack him.
Drake, seeing the situation, kept a serious expression outwardly, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief.
No one can stay completely calm in front of so many Celebi.
After Mitchell disappeared, there was no reason for anyone to remain there.
Tabitha and Shelly were there to help Mitchell; their subordinates were also there for that reason.
On the other hand, Drake and the three from Cain's group were mainly there to rescue people.
Only when they learned of the true objective of the Hunter Guild did they decide to intervene.
Now that the root of the problem, Mitchell, had vanished, their respective missions were complete.
Even so, Celebi's cheerful expression had not faded.
Clearly, what had just happened was very amusing to it.
Especially Mitchell's final face!
Pure comedy!
Cain is the smartest of all!
That's what Celebi was thinking at the time.
It flew around for a while. No one dared interrupt. It seemed to get tired of flying, and stopped, floating in the air. It brought its little hands to its mouth and yawned. Tears began to stream from its large blue eyes.
It was clearly sleepy.
Seeing that, Cain became alarmed.
They were at the base of the Tree of Life and still hadn't found a way out. If Celebi fell asleep now, how long would it take them to find the exit?
Maybe they'd never find it!
Cain quickly stepped forward and said, "Celebi, if you're sleepy, you should rest... but before that, could you send us outside?"
Upon hearing that, Celebi's eyelids, which were just about to close, paused for a moment.
Although a bit reluctant, Celebi waved its little hand, and a spatial rift opened beneath everyone's feet.
Before they could react, they all fell into the rifts.
In the last second before falling, Cain shouted, "Celebi, don't forget the ones from the forest!"
In truth, Cain didn't even need to say that. When Celebi sent them outside, it had already sent out everyone from the forest and from the Tree of Life beforehand.
It didn't care if they were from the League, Team Magma, or Team Aqua—it threw everyone out equally!
After that, Celebi could no longer stay awake. The spatial rifts disappeared, Celebi slowly closed its eyes...
And its body gently merged with the trunk of the tree.
Though... no one knew how long it would sleep this time.
...
Cain's group finally returned to the small island in the sea.
And they didn't appear one by one—but all at the same time on the island.
They didn't even need to exit through the cave.
For Cain and his group, that was great. But for the other three factions... it was a disaster.
During the days the incident lasted, the League had completely sealed off the area.
Cain had foreseen that, which is why he thought Mitchell's plan was absurd.
It was an all-or-nothing plan! If they failed to capture Celebi, once they got out they would end up directly in a League ambush.
And that's exactly what happened!
Among those who came out were Tabitha and Shelly.
Upon reappearing, they ignored their subordinates, pulled out their Pokéballs, and jumped straight into the sea.
After all, aside from a few people, no one could stop them.
And Drake couldn't risk capturing them in front of so many people.
If they got desperate, they could cause heavy casualties to the League.
This time, the team wasn't led by a member of the Elite Four, but by the head of the Jenny family.
A force that was by no means weaker than the Elite Four.
In addition, there were also League researchers, led by Steven's cousin—the enthusiastic, Chief-level researcher who always treated Cain very cordially.
After Tabitha and Shelly escaped, the rest didn't try to run.
Even the other Officers from Team Magma, Team Aqua, and the remaining elite member of the Hunter Guild—all were arrested.
Tabitha and Shelly might've been too much, but the others weren't on their level.
And this time the League had really committed: aside from Drake and Cain's group, there were five more elite-level trainers on the island.
Including the leader of the Jenny clan, comparable to a member of the Elite Four.
All other members, from high-ranking Officers to low-ranking ones, were arrested without exception.
In just half an hour, all except Tabitha and Shelly had been captured.
Though there will always be a few who manage to escape...
Because some of them were also wearing League uniforms.
Like that guy Cain blocked—dressed in a League researcher uniform. He even wore the intermediate-level badge on his chest.
Before Cain stepped in front of him, he was walking with his head down toward the edge of the island. Upon seeing him suddenly, he was startled. But he quickly forced a dumb smile.
"Mr. Cain, sir... how can I help you?" he asked nervously, pretending to be a loyal subordinate.
Cain showed no reaction.
He just watched him act.
Which made the man even more uncomfortable.
"Your name?" Cain asked in a neutral voice.
The guy seemed relieved for a moment.
"My name is Gordon. I'm an intermediate resear—..."
He didn't even finish when Cain interrupted him: "Why did you do it?"
The question left him bewildered.
"Do what...?"
"Why did you attack Elite Four Wattson?" Cain repeated in a direct and severe tone.
Cain already knew this guy's identity thanks to Logan.
Wattson wasn't only badly injured by direct enemies—but also by a treacherous attack.
Back in Celebi's space, Cain had been looking for him, but didn't find him in the League base.
He thought he might've died inside... but no, Celebi transported him along with the others.
He had probably hidden in some corner of the forest or the Hunter Guild base.
Once back, Cain found him immediately.
"I... I...! How could I? I didn't do anything!" Sweat poured from his forehead as he denied it repeatedly.
"Mr. Cain, you must be mistaken. I'm a League researcher!" Gordon said, visibly nervous.
Cain smiled coldly.
Who knows someone best...?
Someone of the same type!
(End of chapter)