Riolu's bid for freedom

Cynthia planned to take advantage of the two-day gap between the round of sixteen and the quarterfinals.

She would use the Meadow Plate as bait to lure Team Galactic to Lily of the Valley Island and catch them all in one sweep. The chosen location was the island's Back Mountain, where League personnel and the International Police would set up an ambush beforehand.

Mingyou had a key role to play: the treasure hunter who had discovered the Meadow Plate. Through the League's information channels, news of the Plate would spread to certain trading platforms, drawing people in to make a deal. Surely Team Galactic wouldn't pass up the opportunity.

The plan was meticulous, but their opponents were not to be underestimated. They still needed to prepare for the possibility of failure and have countermeasures ready...

Sure enough, the day after the news spread, some strange men and women dressed in black appeared on the streets of Lily of the Valley Island again. No one thought much of them, though, assuming their clothes were simply the latest fashion.

"Damn it, someone beat us to it... We were so close that day! If you hadn't stolen that glass bottle, and that buddy of yours hadn't beaten me up afterward, this wouldn't have been so hard!"

As he spoke, the man kicked the Riolu walking ahead of him. Riolu made no complaint and simply kept walking in silence. After so many days in captivity, it finally had its feet on the ground again.

All this time, it had been stringing Team Galactic along. It knew where the treasure was, and as long as it had that bargaining chip, Team Galactic wouldn't do anything to it.

A stray Pokémon that could come and go freely through a city was not to be underestimated, even