Chapter 1093: Dangerous Plan
The Charjabugs moved very slowly. Their insect legs were hidden under their bellies, making them difficult for the average person to see. As soon as they started crawling, their square bodies would wobble, giving off a very amusing impression.
The two Charjabugs that Akihiro had teleported back were rounder than the others, and as a result, even after moving for a long time, they hadn't gotten far.
Yuga watched their clumsy movements, wondering how they managed to survive in the wild. Would they still be this slow when faced with an enemy?
The Charjabugs hadn't moved much when suddenly, three small Joltiks, no bigger than a palm, appeared and quickly surrounded them.
The two Charjabugs were very timid, and the sudden appearance of the Joltiks gave them a huge fright. However, the three Joltiks were actually very weak, with almost no attack power, so they posed no real threat.
The Joltiks were very lively and quickly climbed onto the backs of the Charjabugs. The Charjabugs, startled, instinctively released the electricity stored in their bodies, but instead of scaring off the Joltiks, this only made them more excited.
The Joltiks, bathed in the electric light, had their golden bristles standing on end, guiding the electric currents into their bodies.
It turned out that the Joltiks were attracted by the electricity stored in the Charjabugs.
Joltik, as a Pokémon, cannot generate electricity on its own, but it needs to absorb enough electricity to grow healthily. Joltiks with parents usually absorb electricity from them to grow. If they don't have parents, they attach themselves to larger Pokémon to absorb static electricity.
Because they are so tiny, it's hard for larger Pokémon to notice them.
Joltiks are common in the Unova region. If they live in cities, people often see Joltiks near their electrical outlets. Since the amount of electricity they absorb is minimal, people in Unova tend to overlook their presence.
Joltiks are very sensitive to electric currents, which is why they quickly detected the presence of the Charjabugs.
Charjabugs have the Battery ability, which not only allows them to enhance the power of their teammates' special moves but also lets them store an extraordinary amount of electricity.
In the wild, Vikavolts often use Charjabugs as backup batteries, especially during battles. They tend to clamp Charjabugs under their legs, and whenever they need to fight for an extended period, they absorb the electricity stored in Charjabugs to replenish their energy.
Because of Vikavolt's habits, Charjabugs are very willing to share their electricity with their companions.
Realizing that the three Joltiks meant no harm, the two Charjabugs finally settled down. When they noticed the Joltiks absorbing their electricity, they even actively released more.
This behavior greatly improved the Joltiks' opinion of the Charjabugs, and before long, the five little creatures became good friends.
Yuga observed the interaction between the three Joltiks and the two Charjabugs, finding it quite amusing.
Just then, an Ariados descended from the sky on a strand of webbing, landing right in front of the Charjabugs. Its long, slender legs made a loud thud as they struck the ground with its special web material.
The menacing appearance and fierce eyes of the Ariados terrified the Charjabugs, causing them to let out a high-pitched scream and bounce high into the air, instantly leaping a considerable distance away.
Yuga was amazed at the Charjabugs' incredible jumping ability and their speed when fleeing, finally understanding how they survived in the wild!
But with the Joltiks still on their backs, the Ariados wasn't going to let them get away easily. It quickly shot out two strands of web, binding the Charjabugs and the Joltiks on their backs tightly together.
This Ariados was not the same Shiny Ariados that had originally been in the Eco Park, but one of its offspring with a Galvantula.
The Shiny Ariados and the Galvantula had reproduced rapidly over the years, with several generations of offspring, earning them the title of "fertility stars" in the Eco Park! Many of these offspring had become high-quality Pokémon due to the modifications from the Potential Potion. Compared to other Pokémon, the offspring of the Shiny Ariados and Galvantula had an exceptionally high success rate with the Potential Potion.
The Shiny Ariados was aggressive by nature, only concerned with mating, having children, and wandering around, leaving the task of raising the children to its mate, the Galvantula.
At first, the Galvantula found it challenging, but as their first generation of children grew up, it too became hands-off, leaving the task of raising the younger siblings to the older ones!
While the Galvantula didn't dare to boss around its mate, it had no qualms about exploiting its children. So, recently, it and the Shiny Ariados had been solely focused on reproduction, leaving the raising to others.
The Joltiks that the Charjabugs encountered were the latest offspring of the Shiny Ariados and Galvantula, and the Ariados was their older sister.
The Ariados slowly dragged the two Charjabugs back. Once they were close, it released them from the web, leaving them trembling in fear, repeatedly muttering, "Don't eat me! Don't eat me!"
The three tiny Joltiks slid down from the Charjabugs' backs, patted their larger companions with their minuscule limbs, reassuring them that the Ariados was their sister.
Their tiny size made them look quite comical as they tried to comfort the much larger Charjabugs, and Yuga couldn't help but laugh.
"Ari!"
The Ariados finally noticed Yuga, nodding slightly in greeting.
Yuga smiled and said to the Ariados, "These two Charjabugs are new here. Please take good care of them."
"Ari!"
The Ariados nodded in agreement but inwardly felt a bit miserable. The three little ones at home were already troublesome enough, and now two more had joined them!
Annoyed, the Ariados spat out more webbing, tying the five little ones together in a line and dragging them away.
Seeing the Ariados leave with the Joltiks and Charjabugs, Yuga also turned to leave the Insect Nest sub-park.
However, as soon as Yuga exited the Eco Park, he received a call from Masato Shirai. The Sunflora generators transported from Kalos to Verdanturf Town had been hijacked as soon as they arrived at the airport.
Yuga was shocked to hear this. Who would dare cause trouble in Verdanturf Town?
After hanging up the call, Yuga quickly headed to the Verdanturf Town airport. By the time he arrived, the commotion had already subsided. Masato Shirai and Kotono were busy calming the crowd and investigating the scene, while two Arcanines were trying to track the criminals by scent. However, with so many people at the airport, it was almost impossible for the Arcanines to identify the culprits by smell alone.
Yuga approached Masato Shirai and asked, "Director Shirai, have you found any clues?"
Masato Shirai shook his head and replied, "Not yet, but we did catch an accomplice. We just haven't had a chance to interrogate them."
"Where are they? I'll take a look."
In an office at the airport, Yuga met the captured accomplice, a fierce-looking man in his thirties.
Here is the revised translation with the specified name changes:
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"How is it? Did he say anything?" Shirai Masato asked as he approached the officer guarding the prisoner.
The officer shook his head with difficulty and said, "He refuses to say anything."
Yuga stepped forward and said, "Leave it to me."
After Shirai Masato nodded, he and the officer made way for Yuga.
"Gengar, use Hypnosis!" Yuga summoned Gengar and commanded it to use Hypnosis on the prisoner.
As soon as the prisoner saw Gengar, his face changed drastically. Realizing what Yuga intended to do, he tried to speak, but his head quickly grew heavy under Gengar's Hypnosis.
Shirai Masato was surprised by Yuga's decisive use of Hypnosis for questioning. Normally, in their police interrogations, Hypnosis was used only as a last resort due to its potential harm to the brain.
Yuga didn't pay any attention to Shirai Masato's thoughts. Under Gengar's Hypnosis, the man soon revealed everything he knew.
It turned out that he was not the mastermind behind this incident but merely one of the bounty hunters hired for the job.
Bounty hunters are known for being desperate individuals who would do almost anything for money. It was no wonder they dared to cause trouble in Verdanturf Town.
From the man's fragmented words, Yuga quickly identified the masterminds behind the theft of the Sunflora's generator—Bryony and Mable.
Because Malva had warned him about these two and he knew what they looked like, Yuga immediately thought of them when the man spoke.
Bryony and Mable were among the five core scientists of Team Flare, along with the captured Xerosic, Celosia, and Aliana. During the crackdown on Team Flare, these two had remained unaccounted for, and Yuga hadn't expected them to come to Hoenn.
But why did they want to steal the generator? Yuga was puzzled about their motives.
What Yuga didn't know was that Bryony and Mable had only recently arrived in Hoenn.
When the Alliance cracked down on Team Flare, they had avoided capture by going out to search for the Kyogre Core. Upon returning, they found themselves abandoned.
Months had passed, and although they had not been caught by the Alliance, almost all their fellow Team Flare members had been captured, making their situation very difficult.
After much inquiry, they finally learned that Yuga was the one who exposed Team Flare. The person who informed them was none other than Malva.
Malva wanted to ensure that Team Flare members didn't reveal her identity, so she had to make them aware that she was still a hidden pawn of Team Flare within the Alliance. As long as she was around, Team Flare still had a chance to make a comeback.
Little did she know that she was the biggest "traitor" revealing all Team Flare's secrets!
Malva believed these two minor figures couldn't do much to Yuga, so she had no hesitation in "selling out" Yuga. Her true aim was to use Yuga to wipe out the remaining Team Flare forces. Once Team Flare was eliminated, her past affiliation would remain a true secret.
Having provided intelligence to Yuga, Malva was confident that Yuga wouldn't expose her. And the captured Team Flare members considered her their hope for revival, so they would not expose her either.
Malva had warned Yuga to be cautious of Bryony and Mable because she had guessed that they would contact her and seek revenge. Only by being wary could Yuga's objective be achieved flawlessly.
Although Yuga learned that Bryony and Mable were responsible for the generator theft, the man didn't know their whereabouts. After all, he was just a bounty hunter for hire, not a leader, and thus didn't know their subsequent plans.
However, knowing the identity of the criminals was enough for Yuga. As long as they were still in Verdanturf Town, they couldn't escape his grasp.
After saying goodbye to Shirai Masato and returning to the daycare, Yuga found photos of Bryony and Mable. Since they were now wanted criminals, their photos were easily found on the Alliance's wanted website.
Yuga took the photos to the Hunted House sub-park, and within minutes, hundreds of ghost-type Pokémon emerged from the daycare and spread out across Verdanturf Town.
If you asked which annex had the most Pokémon in Yuga's Ecological Park, it would definitely be the Hunted House sub-park. The massive numbers of Mismagius and Misdreavus captured in Waterfall City, the Litwick and its minions captured in Unova, the companions brought by Dusknoir, plus the many that had been born subsequently… in short, there were many.
Sure enough, that night, the ghost-type Pokémon found Bryony and Mable hiding in a sewer in Verdanturf Town.
When Yuga and Shirai Masato arrived, Bryony and Mable were busy with their preparations. They chose to act at night to avoid detection.
Their goal for stealing the generator was the core device within it.
The generator, designed based on Sunflora's skill, Mirror Coat, absorbed and stored the sunlight beams from Sunflora, converting them into electricity.
The core device, which used the principle of Mirror Coat, was the generator's main function.
Bryony and Mable planned to use this device to blow up the entire Verdanturf Town, which is why they were hiding in the sewer.
The core device could absorb and convert a tremendous amount of energy. If Bryony and Mable operated it correctly, blowing up the whole town was no idle threat. As core scientists of Team Flare, they were well capable of achieving this.
After discovering that Yuga was the cause of Team Flare's downfall, they harbored intense hatred towards him, leading to such a vicious plan.
Shirai Masato was horrified when he learned of Bryony and Mable's intentions. If they succeeded, he and Kotono might not survive. Even if they managed to escape, if the town he was responsible for was destroyed, his life would essentially be ruined.
Although he didn't know how Yuga managed to locate them so quickly, Shirai Masato was immensely relieved that Verdanturf Town's Gym Leader was a person of exceptional skill!
PS: It's the last day of the month. Let's get a wave of monthly and recommendation votes!
(End of Chapter)