"Xia You?"
Maxie remained dazed for quite a while before he suddenly realized who Courtney meant.
That annoying fellow who kept getting in the way of our operations!?
Unlike Archie, Maxie operated behind the scenes, and Xia You's name was anything but unfamiliar to him. Especially lately, that name had appeared frequently in all sorts of internal reports. Having repeatedly ruined their plans, he had long since been designated Team Magma's greatest threat!
Even Maxie himself knew how formidable he was, though he had never dealt with him personally!
But he had never imagined this man would turn up here!
Why was he everywhere?
"What's going on?" Maxie turned to Courtney and demanded, "Why is he here? Didn't you say no one had come up the mountain to help?"
Courtney was clearly just as bewildered. Usually so composed, she actually began to panic, a rare sight. "I don't know... Neither the patrols nor the hidden sentries spotted him earlier. I really don't know how he... he..."
The rest seemed to catch in her throat, and she could not get another word out.
After all, as the member of Team Magma who had dealt with Xia You the most, she knew all too well what his appearance here meant for them!
Thinking of all his Legendary Pokémon, and even the rumors after that great battle that he must have caught that Deoxys, she could well imagine that their operation would fail. Whether they could even escape unscathed was now in question!
Meanwhile, Xia You commanded his Pokémon as they charged into Team Magma's ranks after their initial surprise attack had caused widespread confusion.
With an Elite Four member leading the charge and drawing most of the enemy's fire, he had not deployed his Legendary Pokémon this time, sending out only his