"Then let's see who reaches the summit first."
Less than forty minutes after Lin Hao said those words, Steven's phone rang. Sidney's hoarse, urgent voice came through the speaker. "Mt. Pyre is completely sealed off. Team Galactic has laid at least three layers of proximity mines. My Lucario detected Aura traps."
Steven eased off the accelerator, slowing the car. "Force our way through?"
"You want to blow up half the mountain?" Sidney snapped.
Lin Hao leaned back in his seat and tapped his knee. "Turn around."
Steven glanced at him. "Are you sure?"
"Pluto is waiting for me to charge in. I'm not giving him what he wants." Lin Hao closed his eyes. "Have Sidney's people keep watching the mountain entrance. We'll try a different approach."
Steven turned the car around and headed north again. May spoke from the back seat. "What approach?"
"Keep challenging Gyms. Let Team Galactic think we're in no hurry." Lin Hao took out his phone and checked the map. "Dewford Town has a Fighting-type Gym, sixty kilometers northwest of Mt. Pyre. It's on our way, so we can scope things out."
Steven nodded. "Dewford Gym's Leader is Yue Shan, a retired fighter. He almost joined the Elite Four once."
"Almost?"
"He didn't like being tied down, so he gave it up himself." Steven smiled. "But he hasn't lost any of his strength."
May huffed. "Another tough customer."
An hour and a half later, the SUV stopped in Dewford Town. The small town was built against a mountain, and the air carried a mingled scent of sea breeze and rock. The Gym stood in the town center, its entrance an open-air ring with no walls, only a circle of thick hemp rope.
A man stood in the ring, shirtless and heavily muscled, wearing old boxing shorts