The Trip to Lilycove City

Trapped inside the light prison, Abra screamed in pain due to the electric shocks. From their hiding spot, Harley cursed loudly, "Those bastard…"

This time, Yuga didn't stop Harley from jumping out, as using high-tech devices to capture wild Pokémon was illegal.

Along with Harley, Ariados also leapt into action.

Ariados' four legs swiftly cut through the grass, reaching the trapped Abra in the blink of an eye. It raised a sharp claw and used Shadow Sneak to stab the light prison. However, a flash of electricity from the prison repelled its attack.

Ariados prepared to strike again, but the opposing Shiftry had already spotted it. In a flash of green light, Ariados was struck by Leaf Blade and knocked back.

"Who are you?" a man asked warily after Harley appeared.

There were two men and one woman surrounding Abra, all seemingly in their early thirties. The eldest male was the first one to speak.

Furious, Harley pointed at Abra and shouted, "Who cares who I am? That Abra is mine!"

Harley was already livid due to the employer's "double-dealing." Now that the other party had broken the rules, he felt it was only fair to reclaim his target.

"Where did this freak come from? Can't you see we've already captured the Abra!" the woman spat angrily.

"Freak?" Harley's face turned green at that word.

Harley's behavior was indeed eccentric, with his feminine clothing and mannerisms, but he liked himself just the way he was. He wouldn't tolerate anyone insulting him for it. Anyone who dared to insult him in this way would face his retaliation—he was a vengeful person!

"Ariados, get her!" Harley, too angry to speak further, ordered Ariados to attack the woman. Harley had no concept of showing leniency just because she was female.

The woman's expression shifted in fear as the terrifying Ariados charged at her, but her Parasect swiftly intervened, getting tackled by Ariados.

Ariados pinned Parasect down with two of its legs, and with the other two, it used Poison Jab to stab Parasect. Parasect tried to fight back but was so frightened by Ariados' Scary Face that its moves were interrupted. After being hit by Poison Jab, Parasect was struck again with Toxic Spikes.

Given that Grass-type Pokémon are weak to Poison-type moves, Parasect was instantly poisoned. Already weak, it collapsed and couldn't get back up.

However, Parasect's ability was Effect Spore, and since Ariados had made physical contact with it, Ariados became paralyzed from the spores.

"You little brat!"

Seeing their companion attacked, the two men were furious and ordered their Shiftry and Mightyena to charge at Harley.

Ariados, now paralyzed, was unable to move and could only watch as Harley was put in danger.

But just then, Yuga and May stepped in. May's Blaziken and Altaria used Flamethrower and Dragon Pulse to blast Shiftry and Mightyena away.

The sudden appearance of Yuga and May made the three people more cautious. The eldest man held back his Shiftry and Mightyena, who were about to attack again, and said to Yuga and May, "We captured this Abra fair and square. You barging in like this is quite out of line, don't you think?"

May retorted angrily, "The way you captured Abra violates the League's laws! Why shouldn't we intervene?"

Hearing May's words, the man hesitated for a moment, then glanced at her Blaziken and Altaria. Realization dawned on him, and he looked at Yuga and May with a mocking expression.

At first, he thought Yuga and his group were rivals trying to steal the job. But May's "naive" statement made him realize he had misjudged them.

Now that he understood, the man stopped talking and, along with his male companion, released a Dustox, Breloom, Forretress, and Magcargo to join the battle.

Harley immediately recalled the paralyzed Ariados and sent out Cacturne, Banette, and Wigglytuff to focus their attacks on the woman.

Meanwhile, May also released Beautifly, teaming it up with Blaziken and Altaria to handle the two men.

As for Yuga… he stood off to the side, watching with his Sawsbuck and Florges, barely making his presence known.

With the strength of those three opponents, Yuga saw no need to intervene. It was a perfect opportunity for May to get some battle practice, and Yuga was curious to see how much she had improved lately.

In his rage, Harley fully displayed his terrifying combat style. His Cacturne used Needle Arm repeatedly, turning the woman's Exploud into a pin cushion.

Exploud's greatest weapon was its voice, but under Banette's relentless Shadow Sneak attacks, it couldn't manage to use a single sound-based move.

The woman's cute little Corsola was nearly driven to madness by Harley's Wigglytuff.

Despite its cute, pink appearance—just like Corsola—Harley's Wigglytuff was far from ordinary. A Wigglytuff chosen by Harley certainly wouldn't be a normal one. This particular Wigglytuff might have looked sweet on the outside, but it was undoubtedly dark on the inside.

Harley's Wigglytuff, while known for its terrifying looks, was chosen for its equally terrifying personality. It had mastered Confide, a move that used soft, persistent whispers to disturb the opponent's focus and lower their special attack.

Wigglytuff had also combined Confide with Sing, creating a combo that not only prevented Corsola from focusing but also made it drowsy. However, the nasty Wigglytuff wouldn't let Corsola sleep. The moment it started to doze off, Wigglytuff would slap it awake with Wake-Up Slap. Then, when Corsola was severely injured, Wigglytuff would hit it with Heal Pulse.

Corsola was utterly devastated!

On May's side, Beautifly took on Dustox, Blaziken faced Magcargo, and Altaria handled both Breloom and Forretress simultaneously.

May's Beautifly had been training with Yuga's Vivillon for a long time, learning flight techniques from Ledian. After putting in significant effort, Beautifly had not only mastered those techniques but had developed its own unique style, clearly reflecting its hard work.

Under Beautifly's nimble control, Dustox was utterly outmatched.

As for the battle between Blaziken and Magcargo, there wasn't much to say. May's Blaziken was her primary focus of training, and whether in terms of fire temperature or control over fire-type energy, it far outclassed the ordinary Magcargo.

Altaria, being May's first Pokémon, was even stronger than Blaziken. Facing Breloom and Forretress, it remained in complete control throughout the fight.

However, as the opposing trio realized they were losing, they gave a desperate order: Forretress was commanded to use Explosion, a move that harms both the user and others nearby. If Yuga hadn't intervened in time to save May and Harley, they would likely have been gravely injured.

Though May and Harley were unscathed, the three enemies were left on the brink of death due to Forretress' Explosion. Fortunately, Yuga had Florges use Grassy Terrain to sustain their lives. Otherwise, they might have died on the spot.

Yuga wasn't acting out of compassion. Rather, Harley wanted to take these three people back to confront their employer. With Harley's vengeful nature, he wouldn't let this go without a proper reckoning.

Seeing the three people in such a pitiful state, most of the anger in Harley's heart finally subsided.

The light prison that had trapped the Abra had resisted both Harley and Banette's attacks for a long time without breaking. In the end, it was Yuga who found the switch to open it and freed the Abra.

That Abra was extremely cunning, and the moment the light prison opened, it tried to use Teleport to escape. But Sawsbuck, quick on its feet, immediately hit it with Leech Seed.

With its small body, Abra couldn't withstand Sawsbuck's Leech Seed for more than two or three seconds before it was drained dry, collapsing like a beached fish, lying motionless on the ground.

Harley picked it up, swearing under his breath. "You ungrateful little thing! We just saved you, and you were already trying to run away. What a piece of work!"

Yuga used Insight ability to check on the Abra, and to his surprise, it turned out to be a Pokémon with green potential—definitely worth all the trouble Harley went through.

"Quick, put it away. Don't you have a task to complete?"

Harley, hearing this, replied, "Is this really for me?"

If it weren't for Yuga and May helping out today, Harley would never have been reckless enough to face those three people alone. Now that Yuga was offering him the spoils of their battle, Harley couldn't help but feel a rare sense of embarrassment.

Yuga smiled and said, "Didn't we agree this would be your compensation? Lapras accidentally involved you earlier, so this is our way of making it right."

"Well… alright then." Since you insist, I'll take it.

Harley took out a Pokéball and captured the Abra.

Looking at the three people lying side by side on the ground, Yuga asked Harley, "Where are you headed next? If it's on the way, we can give you a lift."

"Really?" Harley's eyes lit up. "I'm going to Aromatic City. How about you?"

"We're headed to Petalburg City," May responded.

"That's perfect. Aromatic City is right on the way to Petalburg. Let's travel together then," Yuga said.

So, they hauled the three injured people onto the ghost ship and set off for Aromatic City. Harley was overjoyed to be on the ghost ship. He kept looking around and touching everything, obviously thrilled by its spooky aesthetic.

Aromatic City wasn't far from where they were. After about two or three hours, they arrived. Thanks to Florges' efforts, the injuries of the three captives had stabilized, and their lives were no longer in danger.

Before disembarking, Harley turned around to Yuga and May and asked, "Would you two like to stay at my place for the night? It's too late to reach the next city by now."

It turned out that Aromatic City was Harley's hometown.

With the ghost ship, Yuga and May didn't mind spending a night outdoors, but they also didn't want to reject Harley's hospitality. After all, why suffer outside when there was a better option?

Especially May, who had grown tired of the ship's food after spending so many days onboard.

Leaving the ghost ship under the guard of Dusknoir and the others, Yuga, May, Max, and Harley headed into Aromatic City together.

Before going home, Harley decided to stop by the mission center to hand in his task.

The mission center operated similarly to a Pokémon Center, but instead of lodging and rest for trainers, it handled task submissions.

After completing a mission, trainers could deliver the task items to the mission center, which would then pass them on to the employer, reducing the chances of disputes. Most cities had a mission center, but it was Yuga and May's first time inside one, and Max's too, of course.

Initially, Harley intended to go directly to the task submission window, but after thinking it over, he headed to the complaint window instead and reported the employer's "two-timing" betrayal.

He even dragged the three injured people over as evidence, with the light prison's black-market technology serving as proof. The trio had no way to deny it.

Harley had originally planned to settle things privately with the employer, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. In the end, his temper got the better of him, and he decided to go public.

Harley's actions quickly attracted the attention of the other trainers in the mission center, and soon, a crowd gathered around the complaint window.

From the conversations of a few trainers, Yuga and the others gradually learned more about the trio.

It turned out these three were regulars at the mission center, and they were siblings. However, their reputation was notorious—they were often involved in shady jobs, though no one had ever been able to gather any concrete evidence.

People who frequently took on illegal jobs were known as bounty hunters. Unlike trainers who operated above board, bounty hunters worked in the underworld, and most of them were fugitives.

Due to the employer's betrayal, Harley refused to submit the task items, which led the mission center to contact the employer directly.

Not long after, a plump, middle-aged man rushed into the mission center. In his haste, he was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

The man's apology was sincere, and seeing the three people Harley had brought in, he didn't offer a single excuse for himself. He immediately began apologizing.

"Of course it's your fault! What do you take me for? Do you think a couple of apologies will make this go away?"

Though the employer was quick to apologize, Harley wasn't willing to let it slide. He held onto Abra and refused to submit the task items, which eventually drew the attention of the mission center's management.

Since the fault clearly lay with the employer, the mission center's resolution was fair. They canceled the mission as Harley requested, and his deposit was refunded in full.

As for the three siblings, they were handed over to Officer Jenny of Aromatic City. The employer vehemently insisted that he hadn't known the trio would use black-market technology to capture a Pokémon, so Officer Jenny only questioned him as part of standard procedure.

However, Yuga reminded Officer Jenny that the light prison technology looked advanced, likely beyond the reach of ordinary people, and advised her to investigate its source thoroughly.

Since Officer Jenny knew Yuga, she took his reminder seriously and promised to conduct a proper investigation.

On their way home, Harley, Yuga, and the others were stopped by the employer. He pleaded with Harley to release the Abra, offering to pay extra.

"Sorry, I just don't like you, so no deal!"

Hot-tempered as ever, Harley rejected the offer without hesitation.