"Why do you even have shoes in y?"

  Shen looked at Julian, who had just pulled out a pair of hiking boots from his backpack. The boots fit her feet perfectly, and her expression turned slightly strange.

  Does this guy keep a pair of shoes in my size all the time?

  'I’ve always regarded you like a brother, but you’re thinking of something else entirely'

  "Cut it out with those dirty thoughts."

  Julian said, sensing Shen’s aura tinged with malice. He knew her mind had wandered somewhere it shouldn’t.

  "Boss Walker’s backpack is like a treasure chest—he’s got everything."

  Dalton chimed in, pletely unfazed by Julian pulling shoes out of nowhere.

  "I wasn’t thinking anything!"

  Shen’s face flushed slightly as she grabbed the boots and put them on. They fit perfectly, and once again, an impure thought crept into her mind.

  "Do you know where Luis and the survey team are?" Julian asked.

  "They should all be together. When Gengar put me under hypnosis, I still had some awareness. I saw them carrying Luis and the survey team eastward."

  "How did you mao stay scious?" Dalton asked, puzzled.

  "As someone who practices martial arts, my willpower is pretty strong."

  But Dalton didn't believe it. "I practice martial arts too. Are you saying my willpower isn’t as strong as yours?"

  Shen nodded. "Just because your physical strength is greater doesn’t mean your willpower is stronger."

  "Alright, let’s settle this. Whoever blinks first loses."

  Dalton’s petitive nature kicked in. He rolled up his sleeves, ready for a staring test with Shen.

  But what did a staring test have to do with willpower?

  Julian pushed Dalton aside and said ftly, "This has more to do with Shen’s Heart's Eye ability. It helped her resist the hypnosis to some extent."

  If it had been a psychic user, okémon using Hypnosis on them wouldn’t have worked at all.

  "Ugh, stupid ability users," Dalton muttered under his breath.

  "Ah-I wasn’t talking about you, Boss Walker!"

  Realizing his words might have been misuood, he quickly crified.

  Julian ignored him and asked, "I’m going to look for Luis and the survey team now. Are you two ing with me or heading back to uy?"

  In truth, Julian preferred they head back to uy. Having them tag along would only slow him down.

  But, as expected, her of them wao leave.

  Shen shook her head firmly. "This mission was my idea. I invited Dalton and Luis to join, so I have to find Luis."

  Dalton followed suit, "Of course, I’m stig with you, Boss Walker."

  Their answers didn’t surprise Julian in the slightest. With a hint of exasperation, he said, "You’d be better off heading back to uy."

  "What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying we’re a burden?" Shen snapped.

  She looked at Julian with anger, her expression clearly saying, You’d better give me a reasonable expnation, or you’re not getting off the hook.

  "Yeah, your strength really is g."

  Julian replied bluntly, nodding without hesitation.

  Shen: 'I swear, I want to kill him'

  Dalton: 'Boss Walker is shtforward—it’s awesome'

  "Meta~"

  Metagross let out a low, metallic hum in agreement with its Trainer.

  "See? Eveagross agrees. Machamp, do you think you're strong?"

  Machamp shook his head without the slightest hesitation. After almost being killed earlier, it had no delusions about its strength.

  Instead, it turo Metagross with a look of admiration. After all, it had effortlessly defeated the two Ursaring. 'it was so f***g awesome'

  "Machamp, are y to make me angry?"

  She her Pokémon, feelirayed. 'Since when did you start siding with Julian?'

  Machamp: 'What’s wrong with showing a little gratitude to the one who saved my life?'

  ---

  The three of them were now flying through the air ohankfully, Dragonite was rger than average; otherwise, carrying all three of them would have been impossible.

  Initially, Julian had po ride Metagross while letting Shen and Dalton use Dragonite, but Dragonite had other ideas. It refused to let aher than Julian ride it without him onboard.

  As for Metagross? Letting someone besides Julian ride on its back was out of the questioirely.

  Dragonite’s aodating nature made it far mreeable than, say, a Samence. If a Samerainer dared to put someone else on its back, it might just toss the Trainer off as well.

  Shen had told them that Luis and the survey team had been take by the Gengar group. Eastward meant heading deeper into the White Mountain Range, which was far from ideal.

  The outskirts and mid range of the White Mountain Range already housed Pokémon at the pseudo-Elite level. Venturing further i fag stronger and stronger oppos. Pokémon deeper inside were fewer in number but signifitly more powerful.

  It wasn’t unon to travel aire day in the cions without entering a single Pokémon. But if you did, you could bet its strength started at pseudo-Elite level.

  After flyi for a while, Julian ordered Dragoo nd.

  "Let’s get down and look around."

  When they had found Shen earlier, it was thanks to spotting her backpack, bined with Growlithe’s keen sense of smell and the marks she had left orees.

  Luis, however, hadn’t left any items behind, so Julian could only hope that he or the survey team had left some sort of markers along the way.

  "Let’s split up and check for any signs or markings nearby," Julian said to Shen and Dalton.

  He released four smaller Pokémon—Lucario, Slowking, Growlithe, and Hauo assist with the search.

  Shen and Dalton quickly followed suit, releasing their own Pokémon.

  The three Trainers, along with their dozen or so Pokémon, spread out in a circur formation to scour the area for clues.

  Beside Julian stood his Metagross, its glowing eyes focused as it used psychic powers to s the surroundings for any traces of humans.

  "Luca!~"

  After about ten minutes, Lucario's voice suddenly resonated in Julian's mind.

  Julian's bond with Lucario's Aura was exceptionally strong, allowing them to sense each other’s presehin a certain range.

  “Lucario found something, let’s go.”

  Julian informed Metagross of Lucario’s location. The steel giant immediately used Teleport, and in the blink of ahey appeared beside Lucario.

  “A battle took pce here.”

  Julian's eyes sed the area. Broken trees y scattered, rocks were cracked and shattered, and the ground be and small craters—clear evidence of a ret csh.

  Patches of water glistened on the ground and tree trunks. Julian reached out to toue of the srees, his fingers brushing against its damp surface, apanied by ess.

  He crouched down, dipped a finger into the water on the ground, and s icy temperature.

  'It’s water left behind after aype move melted'

  This expined why both the water orees and the puddles on the ground were unnaturally cold.

  Given that Luis was aype Trainer, it seemed likely his Pokémon had caused this, though Julian couldn’t pletely rule out the involvement of someone else.

  “Meta~”

  Metagross called out as it levitated over with a torn piece of fabri its cw.

  “This is theirs!”

  Julian’s eyes lit up as he took the fabric. It was unmistakably part of the uniform worn by the survey team.

  Judging by the strength of Luis’s Pokémon, Julian guessed that this Ice-type move had beehe previous day.

  Further iion revealed tracks that seemed to have bee as the group moved. However, uzzled Julian was that instead of heading out of the forest, Luis and the survey team had gone deeper into the White Mountain Range.

  *****

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