An Unexpected Retreat Order, Plans Moved Forward

Lucario temporarily detained Priest Ex and left him under the watch of a few trusted personnel.

He claimed he had only wanted to recover the kingdom's lost Soul Heart and restore its prosperity. But he had colluded with the Dark Hunters and crossed forbidden lines to do it. That could not be excused.

The trouble was, the priest genuinely seemed to know nothing about where the kingdom's main force or the Dark Hunters had gone.

Even Shedinja's psychic probing could draw no more useful information from his mind. He was likely just a pawn left in plain sight, with no knowledge of the core plan.

The most urgent task now was to locate the enemy's real hiding place.

Lucario immediately contacted the investigation team in Saffron City to ask whether they had found anything new.

According to the intelligence they had intercepted, the airship suspected of capturing Volcanion had last been seen near Saffron City.

It now seemed highly likely that the ship was the Kingdom of Azoth's missing airborne fortress, hidden away in some exceptionally well-concealed Secret Base.

After all, a machine that enormous could not simply vanish into thin air.

They had to find it quickly. The longer they delayed, the greater the risk that the enemy would finish preparing to activate the Ultimate Weapon.

Still, Lucario knew that if they truly intended to activate the legendary weapon, it would cause a massive disturbance. Concealing it completely would be almost impossible.

When that happened, she could only hope she would be in time to stop them.

Dealing with Ex and his Pokémon—left utterly weakened by energy depletion after being forced to undergo Mega Evolution—also meant calling in more League personnel to take custody of them. Lucario felt a wave of exhaustion.

Just as she was considering her next