Under Gengar's protection, Xia You stood at the very bottom of the battlefield, but none of the energy spilling from the four Pokémon in the sky could hurt him.
Cynthia and the others, meanwhile, had already retreated several times in succession.
Each time they retreated, they ran more than a hundred meters down the mountain, but whenever they thought they would be safe for a while, the spreading shock waves forced them to retreat again.
In just over ten minutes, they were already too far away to see Xia You clearly.
And that was not the end of it. As the battle in the sky grew fiercer, the energy threatened to collapse Mt. Coronet's slopes at any moment, forcing them to retreat even farther downhill.
But if they kept retreating, meeting up with Xia You again would not be so easy.
Fortunately, at moments like these, someone would always step forward.
Cynthia looked around at the others, then finally spoke to Cheryl and Gardenia.
"I'll leave what comes next to you. Take these three down the mountain first, find somewhere safe, and hand them over to the International Police."
Gardenia blurted out, "What about you?"
"Of course I'm staying." Cynthia smiled confidently. "It might not be necessary, but someone has to stay behind to meet Xia You, and I'm the only one here capable of doing that."
"There's absolutely no need for that." Shelly, however, snorted at her words. "Xia You can handle whatever comes his way. He doesn't need anyone to meet him!"
"Exactly." Courtney also stared at Cynthia, her tone hostile. "Even if someone has to meet him, it should be us. Why would it be you? Volunteering so eagerly-who knows what you're plotting!"
It was not that Shelly and Courtney were simply trying to undermine Cynthia.
There