The Glow of the Strange Ball; Wyrdeer Appears

After a brief introduction to Latias, it was time to deal with the aftermath. Mingyou looked into the distance, and the smile gradually faded from his face.

"But what do we do with these Pokémon? If we leave them here, they'll attack other wild Pokémon as soon as they wake up."

Looking at the two Shadow Pokémon, he felt a tangle of emotions. Team Rocket certainly wouldn't experiment on Pokémon they had trained themselves. Most likely, they had stolen these two from somewhere else.

But he didn't know how to purify them, and he couldn't just take them away like this...

"Mm..."

"Ugh..."

It was true. These Pokémon were too pitiful. They could all sense it from the battle just now.

Shadow Pokémon seemed to have closed off their hearts, but they were aware of everything they experienced. Unable to respond, they could only watch helplessly until, over time, they became nothing more than "weapons."

After a moment's thought, Mingyou made his decision. He would find their Poké Balls on Cliff and take the two Pokémon with him for now.

He couldn't turn a blind eye to something like this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have risked confronting Team Rocket to rescue Latias in the first place.

"Then... huh?"

Just as Mingyou was about to move, he finally noticed the persistent shaking in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out its source.

The Strange Ball, which hadn't reacted no matter what he did before, was now glowing emerald green, as though something inside had awakened!

"What's happening now?"

Mingyou stared at it in confusion while Ogerpon and Latias watched curiously beside him. Then a beam of red light shot from the Strange Ball, accompanied by strange colors, and landed on a small mound nearby.

A gray-white figure slowly appeared. It looked somewhat like a Stantler, with thick white fur on its face like Santa Claus's beard. A black bead sat between the yellow antlers on its head, and its tail was thick and fluffy. It looked wonderfully warm.

〔Wyrdeer: Big Horn Pokémon. It came here from a distant land and took on a duty to protect. It grants its approval to humans who cherish their bonds with Pokémon.〕

"Huh?"

Mingyou looked at the Strange Ball in his hand, then at the Wyrdeer before him. So there really had been a Pokémon inside. But who had caught a Wyrdeer in a Strange Ball and then tossed it away?

"Mm..."

Ogerpon gazed at it curiously too. It was a Stantler with a huge beard! Latias was just as surprised. This Stantler looked so strange...

After all, wild Wyrdeer had all but vanished in this era. They existed only in old records.

The wilderness had once been harsh for Stantler. To survive, they had honed their psychic powers through crisis after crisis, eventually breaking past their genetic limits and evolving into Wyrdeer.

It was said that only one Stantler in ten thousand could become a Wyrdeer. Now that life in the wild was easier, most wild Stantler had lost that sense of danger. Only Trainers who enjoyed pushing limits might manage to raise one.

The Wyrdeer that had emerged from the Strange Ball glanced at Mingyou, then turned toward Electivire and Torterra, who were still wreathed in dark flames.

It started toward them under everyone's gaze. At the same time, the black beads on its antlers began to shine with an eerie light as they generated psychic energy...

"Hm?"

Mingyou watched curiously, unsure what it was doing. But Latias, who could sense emotions, understood at once.

The Wyrdeer was using a special psychic power to reopen the Shadow Pokémon's sealed-away emotions and help them wake up!

"So that's purification?"

Through Telepathy, Mingyou understood what Latias meant. She nodded, then belatedly realized, I could've done that too! I'm so stupid. Why didn't I think of it earlier?

My brother was right. I really am stupid. Otherwise, I never would've been caught...

Under the influence of Wyrdeer's psychic power, the dark flames around Electivire and Torterra gradually faded. The unsettling atmosphere finally disappeared, and both Pokémon returned to normal.

"Wyr..."

Wyrdeer caught its breath. The effort seemed to have taken a lot out of it. Then it turned to Mingyou and the others, letting them know the two Pokémon were all right.

"Thanks. Um..."

Mingyou held up the Strange Ball, wanting to ask Wyrdeer about it, but Wyrdeer looked elsewhere—toward the remaining Pokémon in their cages.

They hadn't been caught in the explosion, but unlike Latias, they still hadn't woken since Team Rocket had knocked them out.

Realizing this, Mingyou and Ogerpon hurried over and opened all the cages.

Inside were an Eevee, a Gible, a Pikachu, a Torchic, a Kirlia...

Eight Pokémon in all. None looked particularly unusual, but since they had been captured alongside Latias, Team Rocket must have selected them for experiments.

"I can't tell if any of them have Trainers..."

Mingyou couldn't tell by looking. But the Pokémon were unconscious, so he couldn't leave them here. He couldn't carry them all in one trip, either.

Just then, Wyrdeer walked over and slowly crouched, inviting him to ride.

"Huh? Is that okay?"

"Wyr~"

"Woo~"

Latias flew over and stopped beside them, offering to help as well.

"Then... let's take them all back to the Manor!"

Mingyou was grateful for everyone's help. He went over to Cliff, found Electivire's and Torterra's Poké Balls, and returned the two Pokémon to them. They were back to normal, though they still hadn't woken up.

Next, he asked Latias to carry a few Pokémon and tucked several more into his backpack. Luckily, none of them were very big...

There was still Team Rocket to deal with. To keep them from waking up, Latias hit them with another blast of psychic power for good measure. Those people wouldn't be waking up today, at least.

"Woo~"

"Nice work. My phone still has no signal, though... We'll call the police when we get back. Let's go."

Mingyou put his phone away, scooped up Ogerpon, and climbed onto Wyrdeer's back. It was his first time riding a Pokémon, and it felt surprisingly good.

"What do you think?"

He asked Ogerpon.

"Mm~"

Ogerpon leaned against him, holding her plastic bag and looking delighted. The bearded deer's fur felt so nice, too. It was wonderful to touch.

"..."

Wyrdeer said nothing. Once everyone was ready, it broke into a sprint along the mountain path. It was so fast Mingyou and Ogerpon nearly went flying, but its psychic power held them securely. They were in no danger.

Latias watched Wyrdeer race away, unwilling to be left behind. A determined smile touched her face, and she flew after them as they headed down the mountain together...

Not long after they left, a plump yellow Dragonite flew overhead. Seeming to notice something, he circled back and landed in Hell Valley.

Once he had landed, a striking red-haired man wearing a cape jumped down from Dragonite's back and walked forward.

He was Lance, Champion of the Johto Region, a master of Flying—no, Dragon-type Pokémon, a man with a particular fondness for capes, and the Dragon Master!

He stopped and surveyed the scene of Team Rocket's defeat with a grave expression. Then he froze.

"What happened here?"

Lance was dumbfounded. Team Rocket had been wiped out, and even their plane had been blown up. A fierce battle must have taken place here. But that raised a question... where were the Pokémon they had captured?

He couldn't make sense of it. An ally inside Team Rocket had warned him that Cliff had two powerful, unfinished Shadow Pokémon and told him to be careful. But what was there left to be careful of?

"Who did this... Or did some other organization lie in wait and beat us to them?"

Baffled, he tried to make a call, only to find there was no signal here. Fortunately, he had a dedicated International Police line and finally managed to reach an operator.

"Hello, it's me... No, not Doduo! Who the heck is this Doduo, anyway?"

After grumbling at the operator, he asked, "Was anyone else involved in this mission? You're sure there wasn't? Hm... All right, then."

With no answer to his question, Lance didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried.

Then he glanced toward Cliff, who was buried in a mound of dirt while several wild Koffing and Chingling circled him at play, and continued.

"Send the nearest team to Kitakami to pick them up. I've captured Cliff and his entire GO Team Rocket elite squad."