From a distance, you could see above the entire Goldenrod City, dark clouds pressing low, amassing large quantities of lightning.
At this moment, it was as if the sky was tilting, and the earth trembled.
Thunderclaps resounded through the heavens, heralding a momentous event brewing, accumulating, ready to strike...
Inside the club.
Due to the destruction caused by the Hypno, the club hall was now in total disarray, with almost all lights destroyed, only the constant flashes of lightning from outside illuminated the scene.
Weedle stood solemnly on Lotto, the stinger on its tail pressed against his neck, piercing his skin.
Amidst the splattered water and the Psychic powers of the Hypno, Lotto fell to the ground, his meticulously groomed hair now hanging messily, looking extremely disheveled.
Upon hearing Natsuhiko's question, Lotto not only was not nervous but instead laughed wantonly, letting the tremors of his laughter drive Weedle's stinger deeper into his neck.
Blood oozed from the corners of his mouth, and madness filled his eyes.
"Tom... Ruoqi!!"
Despite various signs pointing to Lotto being the Reserve Elite Four who betrayed the Alliance, to that Tom Rokicki, his battle performance earlier was utterly disappointing.
He didn't summon any Pokémon expected of an Elite Trainer, nor did he demonstrate the qualities an Elite Trainer should possess.
It was only a Hypno.
But this Hypno was clearly not his Pokémon, similar to Drowzee and Yujira, a product of the Rocket Team's lab.
Perhaps the Hypno also had a role in the power station incident.
Moreover, Natsuhiko vividly remembered what Lance said, that he was not clear on the specific Pokémon Tom Rokicki possessed, since he rarely participated in battles, but he definitely didn't have Psychic Type Pokémon.
Though there might be files on Tom Rokicki's Pokémon in the Alliance headquarters, it was clear that with Lance's previous Investigator status, he couldn't access these files.
If Tom Rokicki intended to betray the Alliance long ago, he would surely disguise his Pokémon to some extent.
This might be the confidence he had to betray the Alliance.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh —
Suddenly.
Dozens of League Trainers, riding new Flying Pokémon, appeared at the club's entrance, led by Azir, whose Beedrill had impressed Natsuhiko greatly before.
After landing, Azir and the others marched into the club.
Glancing over the devastated club hall and the disheveled Lotto lying on the ground, Azir frowned and said in a deep voice, "Lance, where's Tom Rokicki?"
Lance gestured towards Lotto on the ground.
Azir raised an eyebrow; based solely on appearance and outfit, he could indeed be Tom Rokicki.
But....
A Reserve Elite Four he couldn't handle alone, needing to gather many experts from Goldenrod City to deal with, was subdued by both Lance and Natsuhiko just like that?
Isn't this a bit hasty?
Two people behind Azir stepped forward to subdue Lotto and hoisted him up.
Another person came up, searched Lotto, and said, "No Conversion Device, no Pokeball, just this."
A golden feather pen was presented before Azir.
One could see at the tip of the feather, ink stains remained.
"Is this the Pure Gold Feather?" Azir's eyebrows furrowed even tighter.
He looked towards Lance, hoping for a confirmation.
"Cough cough... cough cough..." Lotto, being held up, suddenly coughed and laughed, "Haha..."
The smile was somewhat creepy, the sound chilling.
"What do you want to say...." Azir looked at Lotto and asked in a deep voice.
Before he could finish, he was interrupted.
"Haha... Thanks to you, 0451."
Lotto bared his blood-stained mouth, staring mockingly at Natsuhiko, and after struggling a few times without breaking free, gave up.
"What do you mean?!" Natsuhiko asked with a frown.
"Do you think... keeping you alive until now was for what?" Lotto didn't answer but continued asking, a wanton smile on his face.
Everyone's gaze fell onto Natsuhiko.
It seemed there was some hidden truth in Lotto's words?
Natsuhiko's expression gradually darkened, as that previous bad feeling resurfaced sharply from his heart.
"Telling you now is too late already. I can only say thanks to you; everyone's attention is now focused here..." Lotto seemed to want to savor Natsuhiko's expression of defeat, to find a sliver of satisfaction.
Draw everyone's attention?
Natsuhiko suddenly seemed to realize something, stepped forward with a stern expression, grabbed Lotto's collar, and lifted him off the ground.
"You were using me?"
"Haha—did you finally realize? Truly the most suitable candidate, no one better than you for this task. Just like there's no one more fitted for my task than me, I'm satisfied! And you?" Lotto laughed somewhat manically.
Hearing Lotto's taunts, Natsuhiko pressed his lips, his expression shifting unpredictably.
"Natsuhiko, what does he mean?" Lance grabbed Natsuhiko's wrist, pulling him away from Lotto's collar, asking.
Natsuhiko did not answer, he just lowered his head.
His mind.
A bit chaotic.
His thoughts.
A bit complicated.
He finally realized now why there were so many coincidences happening to him.
His cautious personality, his relationship with Lance, his relationship with Kenji, the tasks he had experienced, the things he had come into contact with, one after another...
All were actually manipulated by someone.
The person behind Lotto was using him, using his relationship with Lance, to slowly pass the information he released to the League, to the Trainer Guild of Goldenrod City.
When did it start?
From when he met Lance?
Was his meeting with Lance also calculated?
Or was it really a coincidence?
Now, he really didn't want to believe in coincidences anymore. When coincidences happen too often, they can no longer be described with the obviously lucky word "coincidence".
Natsuhiko felt very cold.
It wasn't the cold of the rain piercing the bone, but the chill seeping from the marrow of his spine, as if everything he had was in someone else's calculations.
"Natsuhiko, what's wrong?!" Lance looked at his changing expression, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him hard.
Woken up by Lance's shout, a cold sweat broke out on Natsuhiko's back, and his whole body felt somewhat exhausted.
He glanced over at Lance, Lotto, and Azir, stepped forward, and in the surprised eyes of everyone, grabbed the golden feather from Azir's hand.
Feeling the softness in his hand, he applied a little pressure.
Crack!
Sure enough.
The feather broke just like that.
"This...." Lance was stunned.
Was the Pure Gold Feather so fragile?
An inexplicable fire rose in Natsuhiko's heart.
His speculation was once again confirmed.
The feeling of being manipulated, led by the nose...
It was really terrible!
Taking a deep breath, forcefully calming himself, he said in a deep voice: "In the slums."
"The garbage dump!"
He finally connected all the information completely!
The mud on Lotto's shoe sole was from Muk's mud. He intentionally showed the golden feather pen to influence his own judgment, the injuries suffered by the Pokémon at the Fengluo River... etc.
Just as he finished speaking,
The sky suddenly boomed.
Boom!!!
Previously, the sky over Goldenrod City had already been filled with thunder and lightning, and neither the sound nor the lightning was small.
But compared to this time, it really was like a child playing at being a wizard.
The sky seemed to split open, suddenly revealing a gap, a huge golden lightning flashing dramatically and not dissipating for a long time.
A vast, jagged lightning bolt hung in the black sky, like a new sun hung in the air, lighting up the entire Goldenrod City, as if daylight had arrived.
And within this golden lightning, a sacred figure, like a holy deity, slowly emerged from the sky, bathed in thunder.
An orange pointed beak, its body covered in golden feathers, its wings and tail lined with a multitude of spiky feather quills, black feathers interspersed on the inner sides of its wing back and tail feathers, with a crest entirely composed of sharp feathers, its sharp orange claws appearing intermittently in the thunderlight.
"Hahahahaha!! It's here! It's here!"
Lotto, somehow gaining strength, frantically broke free from the restraints, spread his arms, closed his eyes, and looked up to the sky with a face full of reverence.
"When the sky is dark, and the thunder never ceases, legends will appear..."
"That's... Zapdos!"
Seeing the holy Pokémon appear, Azir's pupils contracted suddenly, murmuring the name of this Pokémon.
Not just him, but everyone present revealed astonished eyes.
The huge commotion also drew the attention of all the residents of Goldenrod City, whose eyes showed awe as they looked at the figure.
The legendary Pokémon of the Kanto Region, Zapdos!
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First update of the day! It seems I still owe an update from yesterday, so today should have four updates! Five updates... ahem...