Chase and Escape

The death of the Black Leader infuriated the White Leader. Without hesitation, he boarded a flying craft and left the base of the Heaven Organization, heading straight for the location of the Black Leader.

The memory chip implanted in the Black Leader Thirteen's body not only stored memories but also served as a tracking device to ensure that the Black Leader's clone remained under the White Leader's control.

Meanwhile, far away in Verdanturf Town, Yuga received a distress call from Hill.

It turned out that after Alakazam painstakingly returned to Lilycove City to find Hill, it struggled to communicate the current situation of Gon and explain what had happened with the Black Leader due to the language barrier.

Then, Alakazam remembered Yuga, who could communicate with Pokémon, so it urged Hill to ask Yuga for help. Still unaware that the Black Leader was dead, Alakazam believed that the Black Leader was too powerful for Hill to handle alone. But with Yuga's powerful assistance, things would be different!

Alakazam had considered seeking help from the Hoenn League, but contacting the League would require many formalities, wasting precious time. It decided it was quicker to go straight to Yuga for help.

"Alright, I understand. I'll head over immediately, wait for me!"

After hanging up from the video call with Alakazam, Yuga immediately found his Dusknoir, and together they set off from Verdanturf Town on a ghost ship.

As both the White Leader and Yuga rushed toward Lilycove City, Gon and May, who had been unconscious on the island, woke up.

The first thing May did upon waking up was to search for Manaphy. When she saw Manaphy lying not far away, she breathed a sigh of relief and rushed over to hold it in her arms.

She checked Manaphy's condition and found no injuries.

"Who are you?"

Gon positioned himself in front of May, his face full of wariness as he looked at the strange boy in front of them, who was half-naked and wearing a grass skirt. He was puzzled—he had passed out from psychic backlash, but now he felt completely refreshed, which was abnormal!

Psychic backlash was very serious for a psychic user. Sabrina had taught Gon about this when she was instructing him on how to use his psychic abilities.

"I... I'm not... a bad... person. You... you passed out... on the beach. I... brought you... back..."

The boy stammered, struggling to speak as if he wasn't used to talking. His awkwardness made him seem less threatening, so Gon relaxed slightly and asked in a calmer tone, "What's your name? Where are we?"

"No... no name," the boy shook his head. "I don't... know this place."

No name? Gon was stunned.

"Did you see anyone else?" May, who had been hiding behind Gon, couldn't help but ask.

Hearing this, the boy became conflicted. He guessed that the person May was referring to was the one accidentally killed by Croagunk. Believing that May and Gon were that person's companions, he felt a deep sense of guilt.

"Sorry... follow me," the boy apologized sadly, then motioned for May and Gon to follow him. Surprisingly, his speech was becoming more fluent.

In truth, the boy wasn't incapable of talking; it was just that since waking up, he had only had Croagunk for company. Talking felt strange at first, but as he continued, he became more comfortable.

Why did he say "sorry"? Both May and Gon had this thought in their minds as they quietly followed the boy.

Led by the boy, they quickly saw the already dead Black Leader. His body was stiff.

"Sorry... s-sorry. We... we accidentally... killed him."

The boy apologized again. May and Gon were both clever and quickly figured out the reason behind his apology.

Neither of them had expected that the Black Leader, who was so powerful and arrogant, would just... die like that. For a moment, they were filled with complex emotions.

"It's okay, that person was bad. You don't need to blame yourself." Seeing the boy's guilty expression, May couldn't help but comfort him. After all, he had saved her and...

May still didn't know Gon's name.

"We should bury him. Leaving him like this isn't right," Gon suddenly suggested.

Gon's proposal was immediately agreed upon by May and the boy. However, when Gon turned the Black Leader's body over, the moment he saw the Black Leader's face, he froze!

He looked at the boy, then at the Black Leader. The two looked too much alike. One was young, the other old, but otherwise, they were looking very similar—even the mole on the right side of their nose was the same. To say they were unrelated would be unbelievable!

May also noticed the similarity and was about to say something, but Gon tugged at her sleeve, and with a meaningful look from Gon, she remained silent.

Given the uncertainty of the situation, Gon decided to wait and observe before figuring out the relationship between the boy and the Black Leader. May was sharp and quickly understood what Gon meant.

So, neither May nor Gon mentioned the resemblance between the boy and the Black Leader.

Soon, the three of them dug a hole and casually buried the Black Leader. As for the Black Leader's heavily injured Skarmory, Gon used a Pokéball he found on the Black Leader's body to retrieve it.

Afterward, Gon deliberately began to chat with the boy, trying to discover something from him.

The boy was simple-minded. Almost everything Gon asked, he answered, although for most questions, the boy didn't seem to know much. Still, he became more fluent as he spoke.

Before long, Gon learned from the boy about their current situation and a rough idea of the boy's own circumstances.

They were on a small, isolated island. Besides the boy, there was also his Pokémon companion. The boy had appeared on the island not long ago, with no memory and no identity. He didn't even know who he was.

Meanwhile, May sat on the grass, holding the now-awake Manaphy and comforting it. Gon continued talking to the boy, and at this moment, Croagunk returned with a bunch of wild fruits.

The moment Gon saw Croagunk, he guessed that this must be the Pokémon companion the boy had mentioned.

"You... you're back!" The boy was overjoyed to see Croagunk return. He immediately ran over to take the fruits from Croagunk's arms.

"Would you like to eat some?" The boy walked over to Gon and May, holding the fruits.

Manaphy, who was already starving, grabbed a fruit from the boy and stuffed it into its mouth before May could stop it.

"Let Manaphy eat," Gon said. Then he reached out and took some fruits the boy was offering. If the boy had intended to harm them, he would have done so while they were unconscious.

Since they had no way of leaving the island, it was important to maintain their strength.

"We should eat too." Gon handed a fruit to May.

May trusted Gon, and her stomach had been growling with hunger. She took the fruit and began to eat.

Time passed quickly, and three days went by. During this time, May, Gon, and the boy got along quite well. The boy's speech became much more fluent, and now he could speak almost as clearly as any ordinary person. Even his personality had become more lively.

Both Gon and May noticed that the boy was genuinely simple-minded. He believed everything they said and didn't even know many basic things. They weren't sure if it was due to his amnesia or if he had always been this way.

On the fourth day on the island, Gon went out alone to look for food. He hadn't gone far when he heard a loud rumbling overhead. Looking up, he saw a massive flying craft hovering above the island.

Seeing this, Gon immediately turned around and ran back. He even used teleportation once, which caused his already strained psychic abilities to start acting up again.

Enduring the headache, Gon found May and Marlin.

The name Marlin was given to the boy by Gon and May. After spending a few days together, they found it inconvenient that the boy didn't have a name, so they decided to give him one. The boy also agreed to the name.

At that moment, both May and Marlin noticed the flying craft hovering above the island. Anxious, May asked, "Gon, what's going on? Who are the people on that craft?"

Gon shook his head and replied, "I don't know. Let's hide and see what happens." Although he hoped that the League had come to rescue them, he couldn't forget the ever-present threat of the Heaven Organization lurking in the shadows.

May, understanding Gon's concerns, quickly grabbed Marlin and hid with him.

The flying craft didn't land. From their hiding spot, Gon saw the hatch open, and a group of people in uniform riding flying Pokémon emerged, surrounding a man wearing a white mask.

The white mask was identical to the black mask worn by the Black Leader (except for the color).

It was indeed the Heaven Organization Gon's worst fear had come true.

About half an hour later, Gon saw a group of people carrying a stretcher. To his shock, the body on the stretcher was the Black Leader they had buried days ago.

Gon regretted it now. He should have searched the Black Leader more thoroughly when he retrieved the Pokéball for Skarmory.

Although he did search, he hadn't been thorough. He was sure the Black Leader had some kind of secret on him. Otherwise, the Heaven Organization wouldn't go through so much trouble to retrieve the body.

Unfortunately, with only a weakened Manaphy by their side, they could only watch helplessly as the Heaven Organization took the Black Leader's body.

Just as the White Leader was about to return to the flying craft with the body, he suddenly instructed his subordinates, "Search the entire island."

"Yes, sir!" The subordinates immediately returned to the island on their flying Pokémon.

"Gon, what should we do? Will we be discovered?" May asked nervously, clutching Manaphy tightly. Even Manaphy seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and stayed quietly in her arms without moving.

"Who are these people? Why are we hiding from them?" Marlin asked, confused. When he saw the White Leader, he felt a strange sensation. Despite the mask, he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew him.

"Everyone stay hidden and don't move," Gon whispered, enduring the pain as he used his psychic powers to conceal their presence.

Neither May nor Marlin noticed that the flame-shaped mark on Gon's forehead, which had previously faded, was now flickering again due to the psychic backlash.

Just then, as the White Leader hovered above on a Magnezone, gazing down at the island, he suddenly noticed something. Pointing towards Gon and the others' hiding spot, he commanded, "Magnezone, use Thunder!"

Crackling electricity surged down toward Gon, May, and Marlin.

"Run!" Gon shouted as the lightning struck. He quickly used his psychic power to form a purple barrier.

May didn't hesitate. She grabbed Marlin and started running.

The electric attack hit the barrier Gon had raised, dissipating upon impact. Then, Gon took off running as well.

"The three little mice were hiding here after all... Hmm?" The White Leader suddenly noticed Marlin, who was being pulled along by May. "I didn't expect you to still be alive, let alone show up here. How surprising..."

After muttering this to himself, the White Leader, riding on Magnezone, pursued the trio, occasionally commanding Magnezone to fire off bolts of lightning. Most of these were blocked by Gon's psychic powers.

Watching the boy, who looked exactly like his brother in his youth, running frantically, the White Leader found it amusing, like a game of cat and mouse.

The island was small, and before they realized it, the three had been driven to the edge of the beach. There was no cover, and they were fully exposed to the White Leader.

"Why aren't you running? Aren't you going to explain how my brother died?" the White Leader asked nonchalantly, his gaze frequently drifting to Marlin, who was hiding behind Gon and May.

So, the Black Leader was this man's brother!

May and Gon suddenly understood. As the companion of the Croagunk who had accidentally killed the Black Leader, Marlin was trembling with fear, his hand instinctively clutching the Pokéball at his waist.

This ordinary red and white Pokéball was the one Gon had found on the Black Leader. With May's guidance, Marlin had learned how to use it.

"Manaphy is here too, huh? Seems everything's falling into place without much effort!" the White Leader said, stepping off Magnezone and walking slowly towards them.

Hearing this, May clutched Manaphy tightly in fear, and Manaphy, sensing the danger, held on tightly to May's neck.

"Don't come any closer!" Gon shouted, standing in front of May and Marlin. His eyes glowed with purple light, and it seemed like his psychic power could explode at any moment, threatening the White Leader to stay away.

The White Leader, seeing Gon standing in front of Marlin, grew visibly impatient. Without hesitation, he ordered Magnezone to attack Gon.

Purple psychic energy clashed with golden lightning. Gon's headache grew more intense, and the flame-shaped mark on his forehead suddenly reappeared, then he collapsed.

Magnezone's lightning tore through the psychic shield and exploded on the beach, scattering white sand everywhere. May quickly caught Gon as he fell.

"Gon, are you okay?!"

But no matter how much May called to him, Gon remained unconscious, his eyes closed tightly, while the flame mark on his forehead glowed more brightly.

"Manaphy!!!"

Seeing the White Leader approaching and sensing May's growing worry, Manaphy suddenly jumped forward, letting out a strange cry. Although the sound was childish, it was powerful and resonant.

As the sound echoed, the sea suddenly began to churn, and a large number of Water-type Pokémon appeared along the shore, surrounding the White Leader.

Seeing the newly arrived Water-types, the White Leader sneered, "As expected of Manaphy, but unfortunately... it's useless!"

Indeed, although Manaphy had summoned a large number of Water-type Pokémon, their strength was lacking. The group consisted of Magikarp, Goldeen, Krabby, Corphish... Magnezone's Thunderbolt could knock out a large portion of them in one shot.

The main issue was that there were no high-level Water Pokémon near this barren island.

Within moments, the White Leader had effortlessly dealt with those Water-type Pokemon. He then reached out to grab Manaphy.

At that very moment, a flurry of Magical Leaf suddenly struck the sand at his feet. Had the White Leader not quickly retracted his hand, he would've been left as a one-armed man.