At this moment, still in the South Sea waters of Huazhong, the surrounding area was filled with the corpses of dead bandits, floating on the sea surface.
The members of the Sucker Punch team, riding on the Alliance speedboat, were still waiting for the divers who had submerged to return with information.
On the sea surface, a few sporadic bubbles began to emerge, gradually turning into a continuous stream of dense bubbles. Two divers, each holding onto the yellow floats on the necks of two Floatzel, quickly surfaced with the help of the Floatzel's biological characteristics.
The diver quickly climbed onto the speedboat, removed his mask, and reported to Elite Xiao Chu, saying, “Elite Xiao, this freighter was plundered, triggering its emergency protocol and causing it to self-destruct and sink to the seabed.”
Elite Xiao frowned slightly, sensing that things were not that simple. He then asked, “Plundered? What about the Pokémon and casualties on the freighter? Did you board the ship to check?”
The diver nodded upon hearing this and said, “We have already boarded the ship to check. There are signs of battle on the deck and in the cabins. The special cabin for rare Pokémon has been forcibly breached, and some Pokémon that didn't cooperate might have been killed. There are also human bodies on board, and it's difficult to count the exact number as many have been swept away by the ocean currents, but based on personal belongings on the ship, there were at least thirty or more crew members.”
The diver then pulled out pictures taken with a diving camera. The pictures clearly showed a large hole blasted through the deck, and evidence that a powerful electric-type skill had attacked the entire freighter, with the ship's hull covered in traces of electrical currents.
Xiao Chu was even more puzzled. A freighter with nearly thirty people, including international bandits with quasi-Champion Pokémon, was wiped out in Huazhong territorial waters. This meant the opposing force must have been a team of at least thirty people to completely annihilate them in less than an hour.
The news quickly reached the Central China Champion Office. Li Guanjun had been awake all night, dealing with previously accumulated official duties, and was waiting for good news from the Sucker Punch operation team.
Bang ~ Li Guanjun slammed his palm on the Champion office desk in front of him, roaring in anger, “The freighter was robbed? And they were completely annihilated in less than an hour of estimated combat time?”
Xing Ken, a member of the Champion Office, took the documents from the Champion's hand and carefully compared the photos of the sunken ship sent back by the divers.
He said, “Champion, this… the freighter was likely plundered by someone skilled in using Electric-type Pokémon. And among those who originally knew about the freighter's existence, there was someone skilled in using Electric-type Pokémon…”
Li Guanjun began to connect the timeline. The information about this freighter was originally known by the Zhang clan, and it was possible he himself carried out the robbery now.
Li Guanjun rhythmically tapped his index finger on the wooden desk in front of him. After a moment of thought, he looked at Xing Ken and said, “You mean, he was awake all night, making a long-distance raid to the South Sea border waters? Robbing the freighter alone?”
Xing Ken also couldn't directly draw a conclusion based solely on the ship showing signs of electrical attacks. He said, “There's no conclusive evidence, only suspicion. If we want to know the specific information, we just need to observe whether he is in the country or if he possesses Pokémon unique to this freighter…”
“That makes sense. Then I'll leave this matter to you. Don't alert the enemy.”
“Yes, Champion.” After speaking, Xing Ken left the Champion Office with the materials sent back by the Sucker Punch team.
The culprit behind the freighter robbery, Zhang Lei Yuan, was comfortably lying on Charizard, resting on an uninhabited island.
The sea breeze carried a salty, damp scent, gently sweeping by. The Charizard beside him, with its skin glowing orange in the sunlight, occasionally let out a low purr, as if harmonizing with the waves.
The two of them had undertaken a long-distance raid and participated in a major sea battle, leaving them mentally and physically exhausted.
Zhang Lei Yuan stood up, patted the dust off his backside, and said, “Let's go, Charizard, it's time to head back.”
… … … … …
The free clinic above the prison attracted most of the people in the prison, both inmates and guards, making the scene exceptionally lively.
Meanwhile, Zhang Heng and Zhu Zi in the underground of Goose City Prison did not attract anyone's attention, no matter how much noise they made. The two of them were proceeding cautiously.
Zhu Zi seemed a bit talkative; he had been asking questions since their first meeting and continued to do so now, asking Zhang Heng, “The Electric-type Pokémon down here are all pretty good. Are you not interested in catching any?”
Zhang Heng naturally couldn't tell him that the system restricted the types of Pokémon he could catch. He simply said indifferently, “I don't have any experience in raising Electric-type Pokémon.”
Gurgle gurgle ~ Suddenly, a sound of what seemed like very thick liquid flowing came from the dark passage ahead.
Zhang Heng reacted quickly, saying, “Cutting Rotom, Electric.”
Rotom's body released an even more brilliant light, and a swift electric current pierced into the darker depths of the passage ahead.
As the light flashed, two humanoid Pokémon figures were momentarily seen in the passage ahead, as if waiting for prey.
They were deep purple, humanoid salamanders. One had yellow markings from its chin to its abdomen, on its palms, soles, and legs, a yellow lightning bolt on its head, and six strings on its chest.
The other was different; it had blue markings from its chin to its abdomen, on its palms, soles, and legs, a blue lightning bolt on its head, and only four strings on its chest.
Zhu Zi also quickly identified them, saying, “Those are two Toxtricity?! One Amped Form and one Low Key Form!”
The Amped Form Toxtricity's body glowed with an eerie purple light, its cheeks puffed out intensely, and Poison-type energy rapidly gathered in front of it.
In an instant, a corrosive Acid with a pungent odor surged like a tide towards Zhang Heng and Zhu Zi. Where the liquid passed, the ground sizzled, and the soil instantly withered and turned black, emitting a foul stench.
Zhang Heng's eyes narrowed. Having encountered Poison-type Pokémon several times, he said, “Poison-type skill, Acid. They must have mistaken us for food.”
“Leave the Poison-type Pokémon to me, Frogadier, Water Pulse.”
Frogadier's ability activated, changing its type back from Ground-type to its original Water-type. It raised one hand, and Water-type energy surged, condensing into a blue orb pulsating with powerful Water-type energy.
Frogadier slammed it directly onto the ground, and instantly, a small wave of water surged from a seemingly waterless area, crashing towards the Acid skill, attempting to push the Acid back towards the Toxtricity.
However, it did not repel the Acid skill as expected; instead, it created a stalemate.
“Poison-type skills don't affect Steel-type. Bisharp, Iron Head.”
Bisharp pushed off with its feet and leaped forward. The horn-like protrusion on its helmet-like head, shining with a metallic luster like an axe, charged towards the Toxtricity in front…