Chapter 240
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Upon entering Po Town, Lillie and the others discovered that it did indeed share many similarities with Spikemuth in Galar, with graffiti and paintings everywhere, and ruins scattered throughout. However, unlike Spikemuth possessed.
In addition, there are scattered tents in some open spaces. Not everyone living here can live in houses. Many who came to seek refuge later can only temporarily settle in tents.
"They're just thugs who've taken over this place; they're definitely not the original inhabitants of Spikemuth."
Mei shared her thoughts. She had lived in both places, but without a doubt, the people of Spikemuth felt more humane to her. Most importantly, they loved the land they lived on; their ancestors had lived there for generations.
As for the Team Skull of Po Town, being outsiders, their way of dealing with this land is naturally different from that of the Team Yell.
Although she had heard Gloria mention that the residents of Spikemuth used to form Team Yell to interfere with other Trainer in order to reduce Marnie's competition so that Marnie could successfully participate in Pokémon League battles, their actions caused a lot of trouble for the Galar Pokémon League.
Of course, Marnie personally opposes this behavior. As for the other aspects, Marnie herself is quite helpless. After all, these people are all acquaintances from her hometown, and she can't possibly call the police and have them all arrested.
"Team Skull used to cause trouble and interfere with the Alola Island Challenge. The Captain and Island Kahuna were driven crazy by them. They weren't very strong, but they were a real pain to deal with."
"However, compared to Galar's Team Yell, it's definitely easier to accept doing bad things for someone else than simply doing bad things."
Mei smiled slightly. There were some things she could understand, but there were others she couldn't. Although the things they did were similar, the feelings they brought were completely different.
Is it easier to accept?
Qiao Ran nodded, a smile appearing on her face. Although she often argued with him when they were together, she was indeed quite sentimental.
Furthermore, some Trainer tend to follow the rules, but most people don't really care that much about Rules, such as Sabrina and Phoebe.
"It seems you have the potential to be a Dark Type Trainer."
Qiao Ran couldn't help but make a teasing remark, but Mei immediately denied it.
"I... I'd say I'm half a Poison-type. If I have the chance in the future, I should train more Poison-type Pokémon."
Among the group, Mei's Pokémon preference is the most obvious. As for the others, they tend to prefer Pokémon like Cynthia, who can train any suitable Pokémon regardless of its type.
Both paths have their merits; ultimately, the most important factor is the Trainer's own choice.
"Come in."
Suddenly, Plumeria, who was leading the way, stopped in front of a villa. It was the largest building in the entire Po Town, and there were many Team Skull henchmen standing at the entrance. This was probably their stronghold.
"... You don't really need to be so hostile towards us."
Plumeria turned around, letting out a sigh. She had overheard bits and pieces of Qiao Ran Mei's conversation. She didn't deny the Team Skull's past actions, but...
"Guzma actually disbanded the Team Skull after what happened last time. We're only gathered here now because of this disaster. Po Town is surrounded by walls, and the only way to pass through is through the single main gate, which is perfect for defending against attacks from Ultra Beast."
As she spoke, she pointed to the skull symbol on her body, which now had a large Red X drawn on it.
Qiao Ran had seen this Red X in many places; even Guzma, the leader of the Team Skull, had a similar symbol on him. Was this... the symbol of the Team Skull's disbandment?
"Besides the former members of the Team Skull, many residents of Ula'ula Island also live here. I don't know if you're aware, but a terrifying Monster has appeared in Malie City, so many residents from there have come recently, and our carrying capacity is almost at its limit."
Plumeria sighed.
Their leader, Guzma, was a battle maniac who only knew how to fight and destroy, and he knew nothing about management. So these things were usually left to her to handle, which gave her a real headache.
"Enough talk, let's come in. If you have any questions, we can talk inside. Guzma should be inside too."
Plumeria shook her head, glancing at Qiao Ran with a hint of something. This boy had also left a deep impression on her before, being able to physically overpower Guzma. At least in all her years with the Team Skull, she had never seen anything like it.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Qiao Ran opened his mouth slightly and walked past her. Although they had done bad things in the past, everything they were doing now was still meaningful.
The others followed Qiao Ran into the building, and following the directions pointed out by the Team Skull members, they eventually arrived at a huge hall.
The hall was very spacious and completely empty. Upon first seeing it, Qiao Ran's immediate thought was, "How many people can actually live here?"
In the center of the hall stood a huge throne, upon which sat a white-haired man tapping his fingers on the armrest.
Upon seeing Qiao Ran and the others appear, he slowly stood up from his seat and looked at them.
"You've finally arrived."
His face wore a cruel and tyrannical smile; at that moment, he seemed to have transformed back into the leader of that rogue organization.
"Let me guess... the purpose of your visit is probably..."
His gaze lingered on Lillie for a moment.
"For the sake of Chairperson Lusamine of the Aether Foundation, perhaps?"
Where is she?
Upon hearing this, Qiao Ran couldn't help but frown. This guy... could he really know something?
"Hey, hey, hey, don't rush me."
As Guzma spoke, he took his right hand out of his pocket, revealing a red and white Poké Ball in his palm.
"If you want information, let's settle this with Pokémon battles."
He roared loudly, his smile growing even more "sunny."
"I, Guzma, think about how to give you all a good, good beating every single day!!"
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Guzma, a native of Alola.
As a child, he studied under Hala, the Island Kahuna Melemele Island, and was in the same school as Professor Kukui of Alola. However, despite their efforts over the years, neither of them could become the Captain of Alola. Guzma, in particular, not only could not become the Captain, but he was also always second in the competition with Kukui. Over time, the trophies and certificates for second place had piled up all over his house.
Unable to become Captain Kukui sought another path, exploring other regions and becoming Pokémon Professor. After completing his studies, he returned home and worked diligently to rebuild his hometown. He not only won the heart of a beautiful woman but also initiated the construction of the Pokémon League, becoming one of the founders of the Alola League.
Guzma, on the other hand, embarked on a completely different path. The hatred of not being able to become Captain accumulated in his heart. He rallied a large number of Trainer shared his ideals and hated the Island Challenge and Alola traditions to form the rogue group Team Skull. They became a pariah, only thinking about how to sabotage the Island Challenge, and fighting wits with the Captain every day, creating all sorts of trouble.
Kukui and Guzma were both talented individuals, but their drastically different fates were due to their different choices and perspectives.
After being utterly Defeat by Mei and in front of so many of his subordinates, Guzma realized this. From that day on, he disbanded the Team Skull and embarked on a journey of training alone.
However, fate had other plans. An unprecedented catastrophe struck Alola, and countless former Team Skull members sought out Guzma, pleading with the King of Destruction to return to the fold. In the end, they returned to their former stronghold and became the backbone of the human settlement.
"Day and night, every single day and night!! During that time, I trained every single day. Where exactly am I inferior to those Captain? Where am I inferior to Kukui? Why am I even Defeat by a little girl? Why am I always second place?"
Antiquity
Zima's pent-up frustration was released like a raging torrent.
Being Defeat by a young girl was a humiliation that Guzma could never forget. He thought he could suppress it, but when he saw Mei again, this emotion surged up once more and could not be contained.
"You want to know about Chairwoman Lusamine? Then come and Defeat me! Or you can beg me and see if I'll have the mercy to tell you?"
"..."
Mei remained silent without answering. She probably understood what he was thinking. No matter what kind of scoundrel Guzma was, he was first and foremost a Pokémon Trainer.
To talk to Trainer, you have to engage in battle.
"Since you want to experience the feeling of losing again, I don't mind—"
Mei was interrupted by Guzma halfway through her sentence.
"No, you can come back later. This time, I'm going to take on a whole bunch of them at once! -- As for you, you can stay until the end and enjoy the despair of seeing all your friends being crushed one by one by me!!"
Guzma's resentment was originally directed at Mei alone, but just now, someone had made him humiliated in front of so many people once again. The person he wanted to defeat was no longer just Mei.
His finger pointed directly in the direction where Qiao Ran was.
"The first one starts with you!"
Guzma, returning from his workout, seemed to be bursting with confidence. However, he didn't realize that when he pointed at Qiao Ran, everyone present seemed to be giving him strange looks.
"I?"
Qiao Ran pointed to herself and asked a question with some disbelief.
Is this guy... a little off his mind?
How did this random pointing end up on me?
"You can send three people to have one-on-one Competition with me. If you win twice, I'll tell you about Lusamine."
Guzma crossed his arms and held his head high.
"Only if you can win! Hahahaha!"
"Why."
Qiao Ran sighed. The other party had made up their mind, and he had no other choice. Even if he beat them up and got the information, he would still have to fight them. In the end, it was all about fighting.
If it's going to be a fight, then let's fight.
Qiao Ran walked to the opposite side of Guzma. Only now did he realize that the room's enormous space wasn't for anything else—it was specially designed for Pokémon battles.
Guzma probably had this in mind from the very beginning.
As she passed by Mei whispered something to her.
"Qiao Ran, hurry up."
This girl really didn't take Guzma seriously and was thinking of a quick victory. However, like her, the others present also seemed to disregard their opponent.
"Okay."
Qiao Ran responded. They were indeed pressed for time and didn't have time for a leisurely battle. Besides, since their opponent wasn't some "senior" with whom they could have a calm and collected conversation, they had to use their strongest abilities to defeat this kind of rogue.
"Good, good, very good. How dare you stand opposite me like this!"
As Guzma spoke, he Fling the Poké Ball in his hand.
A Pokémon with a red, steely shell and two large pincers appeared in the center of the Battle Court.