<h4>Chapter 1018: Rescued</h4>


    Seeing the Masked Man fleeing, Ilima that hiding in the dark, immediately shouted happily towards Yuga, "Gym Leader Shimizu!"


    Yuga, upon seeing Ilima lying on the aircraft with his Haunter, was surprised and quickly had his Charizarde to his side. "You''re here too?"


    Ilima nodded and asked, "Is Gym Leader Shimizu here to save May?"


    Upon hearing May''s name, Yuga inquired eagerly, "May is here too? How is she? Is she unharmed?"


    Responding to Yuga''s question, Ilima''s expression turned grim. He truthfully revealed to Yuga the incident of May and Primarina jumping into the sea.


    "Sorry," Ilima felt a significant responsibility for May''s decision to jump into the sea, looking guilty as he apologized to Yuga.


    Yuga fell silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. "It''s not your fault; you had good intentions. With Primarina apanying May, she should be safe." He couldn''t me Ilima.


    Moreover, the aircraft was flying rtively low, so jumping down shouldn''t pose a danger.


    "What''s the situation inside the aircraft?" Yuga turned to Haunter beside Ilima and asked.


    At that moment, Ilima wasn''t aware that Haunter was a Pokémon sent by Yuga. He found Yuga''s question a bit strange until Haunter gestured and mumbled something to Yuga, which made Ilima realize the connection.


    After hearing Haunter''s report about the situation inside the aircraft, Yuga learned that the Masked Man was the leader of these people.


    He then thought for a moment and said: "Alright, I''ll leave Dusknoir, Mismagius, and Gengar. Let them deal with the remaining people in the aircraft. Ilima, you watch over these people. I''ll go find May, and once I locate her, I''lle back to handle these individuals."


    Having witnessed the battle between Dusknoir and Suicune, Ilima was well aware of Dusknoir''s strength and happily agreed, "Don''t worry, Gym Leader Shimizu! I''ll watch over them."


    Yuga expressed his gratitude, "Thank you!"


    After saying this, he recalled his other Pokémon, leaving Dusknoir, Mismagius, and Gengar. Then, riding on his Charizard, he went in search of May''s whereabouts.


    On the other side, the Masked Man rode on Suicune to a secluded ind. However, as soon as Suicunended, it exhaustedly copsed, and soon losing its breath.


    The Masked Man lightly kicked Suicune''s face and grumbled in frustration, "Useless! Spent so much money for nothing!"


    Legendary and ordinary Pokémon were different. The difficulty in cloning them was far beyond normal, so the resources and money spent to clone a Suicune were much more than cloning an ordinary Pokémon. The cost of cloning one Suicune might outweigh three to five Aerodactyls or Archeopsbined.


    This was why the Masked Man only had one Suicune in his hands.


    Cloning another Suicune in a short time was impossible! Thinking about this, the Masked Man muttered, "It seems I need toy low for a while." His Pokémon were all wiped out by Yuga and, for now, he couldn''t put together a team.


    "Brother!"


    At that moment, a voice called out from behind the Masked Man.


    The Masked Man turned to see the neer, saying casually, "It''s you..."


    The new arrival also wore a mask identical to the Masked Man''s, except that the Masked Man''s mask was ck, while the neer''s was white.


    Additionally, the white-masked man was apanied by a gloomy-looking Zangoose.


    "Didn''t I tell you not to let this Zangoose appear in front of me?" the ck-masked man said unhappily.


    After speaking, he red fiercely at the Zangoose and turned to leave..


    The ck-masked man disliked his brother''s Zangoose deeply; each time he saw it, it made him feel uneasy, especially the red scar-like mark the Zangoose sported above its left eye, resembling the scar on his brother''s face. It made him incredibly ufortable.


    "Brother, where are the kids you went to get?"


    Apanied by the Zangoose, the white-masked man walked behind the ck-masked man, asking as they went.


    "Don''t even mention it, it''s a bad luck! I never thought I would encounter Verdanturf Town''s Gym Leader and not bring even a single one back!" The ck-masked man didn''t even turn his head as he cursed at Yuga.


    "Oh... so brother faced Shimizu Yuga? He''s indeed a formidable opponent. But brother... you just as useless as your Suicune!"


    "How dare you speak to me like that! You..." The ck-masked man was incredibly angry at his brother''s words and was about to turn and scold him, but his voice suddenly stopped.


    "You... you... h-huh... huh..."


    Blood kept pouring from the ck-masked man''s mouth; after a while, it dripped onto his clothes. He couldn''t say a word, producing a disturbing choking sound from his throat.


    As it turned out, the Zangoose beside the white-masked man had somehow silently moved behind the ck-masked man.


    The Zangoose''s sharp ws were already inserted into the ck-masked man''s waist.


    Bang!


    The Zangoose pulled out its bloodstained ws, and the ck-masked man copsed, eyes open but without breath.


    The white-masked man tossed a handkerchief to the Zangoose, then walked over to the ck-masked man, crouched down, and removed the ck mask from his brother''s face, looking at his brother''s lifeless face, and softly saying: "This brother wasn''t quite good either; I need to find a better recement."


    The Zangoose was ustomed to such scenes and calmly wiped the bloodstains off its paws with the handkerchief.


    Tossing away the ck mask in his hand, the white-masked man stood up, took out amunicator, and dialed, he said, "Bring number 12 over... Yes, right away... Hurry."


    Soon, a helicopternded on the ind, and a group of people in white coats unloaded a cylindrical capsule from it. Inside the capsuley a person whose face bore an uncanny resemnce to the deceased ck-masked man.


    The capsule was swiftly taken into the ind''sboratory.


    In front of a pile ofplex machinery, the white-masked man operated various controls and connected numerous wires to the brain of the person lying in the capsulebeled "ck-masked man."


    Staring at the screen filled with iprehensible characters, the white-masked man muttered to himself: "What kind of brother shall I create this time? If an arrogant brother doesn''t work, let''s go for a gentler one."


    Saying this, his fingers swiftly moved across the screen.


    After some time, the door of the capsule made a hissing sound and opened. Inside, the ck-masked man slowly opened his eyes.


    At first, his face showed bewilderment, but upon seeing his brother''s sWaceng face looking down at him, he gently said, "Brother..."


    "Bro, you''re awake!"


    At this point, the white-masked man no longer wore his white mask; instead, a long scar stood out prominently at the corner of his right eye.


    Unaware of the fate of the masked men, Yuga was fervently riding on Charizard, searching anxiously for May wherebouts.


    After plunging into the sea, May was immediately carried away by Primarina, swimming alongside for an unknown duration until they finally caught sight of a coastline in the distance.


    Drew''s family specialized in the floral industry, and in the Hoenn regio, they had several flower nting bases owned by them.


    During his trip with her mother to inspect one of these flower nting base, he took time to conduct special training for Pokémon Contest by the beach.


    Not long after receiving his initial Pokémon Cyndaquil from the YoYo Day Care, he went on trip. Inspired by Wace''s performance at the Wace Cup, he directly registered as a Coordinator after his travels.


    However, after participating in several Pokémon Contest, Drew realized that being a Coordinator was not as simple as he had imagined. He hadn''t even earned a single Ribbon Medal yet, which left him feeling somewhat disheartened.


    The reason for apanying his mother to visit the flower nting base was to rx and change his mood during this break.


    Quva ran quickly on the beach, leaving behind circles of fire formed by mes along the way.


    "Very good, Quva, keep working hard!" Drew directed Quva''s actions while praising Quva, who immediately performed even harder.


    Cyndaquil, which was just a tiny ball at the beggining, had evolved into the magnificent Quva under Drew''s careful nurturing.


    However, Quva suddenly ceased its movements, pricking up its ears high, seemingly sensing something.


    "Quva, what''s wrong?" Surprised by Quva''s unusual behavior, Drew nquired.


    After twitching its ears, Quva called out to Drew and then dashed away.


    "Quva, what''s the matter?" Drew yelled, chasing after Quva.


    Soon, Quva halted, and following close behind, Drew immediately spotted the elegant and graceful Pokémon lying on the beach.


    "It''s Primarina!"


    Although it was their first encounter, Drew quickly recognized the identity of this Pokémon.


    "It would be great if I could capture it!" Drew mmediately harbored the idea of capturing Primarina, not even questioning why an Aln regional-exclusive Water-type starter like Primarina appeared in the coastal area of Hoenn.


    Primarina was very alert and immediately noticed the approaching Quva and Drew. Its eyes revealed a guarded stance.


    Unfortunately, just after the recent kidnapping incident, it was exhausted. Despite being a Water-type Pokémon, swimming with a person for so long stil took its toll on Primarina; even May had passed out from ingesting too much water.


    Primarina made a slight movement, and as Drew stepped closer, he saw the figure of May behind the Pokémon.


    "Someone? Could this Primarina already have a Trainer?" Thoughtfully disappointed, Drew understood that he couldn''t capture it this way.


    However, it seemed the girl had fallen into the water.


    "Do you need help?" Drew softly inquired to Primarina, noticing the cautious glint in its eyes.


    "Don''t worry, I''m not a bad person. If you really need help..."


    Seeing the genuine concern in Drew''s eyes, Primarina eventually lowered its guard and nodded slightly. It was clear that, on its own, it couldn''t aid May. If this boy could genuinely help, that would be the best oue.


    Thus, unconscious May was brought by Drew to his family estate on the ind.


    Upon waking up, May found herself lying on arge bed: I... I''ve been rescued?


    Drew''s mother entered the room just as May opened her eyes, pleasantly surprised. "Great, you''re finally awake!"


    "Did... Did you save me?" May sat up, supporting herself.


    Drew''s mother set down the tray she was carrying and smiled, "It was my son who saved you. By the way, you must be hungry, right? Would you like something to eat?"


    Just as Drew''s mother finished speaking, May''s stomach rumbled loudly.


    Meanwhile, Yuga, riding on Charizard, arrived at the ind, greeted by vast fields of flowers and the fluttering Beautifly and Vivillon.


    They have Vivillon here too?


    Witnessing the flower fields and the Vivillon below, Yuga immediately recalled that Drew''s family had purchased many Beautifly and Vivillon from YoYo Day Care.


    What a coincidence!


    With this thought in mind, Yuga directed Charizard to descend onto the ind. He needed to investigate, to see if anyone had spotted May.


    Observing the luxurious estate at the end of the flower fields, Yuga was certain that someone resided on the ind.


    As Charizard approached the estate, Yuga spotted Drewing out with Quva.


    "Drew!" Yuga eximed with joy, calling out to Drew below.


    Little Drew, looking up, saw Yuga riding Charizard and his eyes immediately lit up: "Big Brother Yuga!"


    Yuga and Charizardnded, and he asked Drew, "Are the flower fields on this ind all from your family?"


    Drew nodded happily, "Yes, they are. But how did youe here, Big Brother Yuga?"


    "By the way, have you seen a girl with a Primarina around here?" Yuga asked anxiously. He was very worried about May''s situation. If something happened to her, he wouldn''t know how to exin it to Mr. Norman.


    Upon hearing Yuga''s description, Drew immediately recognized who he was talking about.


    Guided by Drew, Yuga quickly saw May and Primarina. When May saw Yuga, tears couldn''t help but stream down her face.


    God knew how scared she was. She had never experienced so many dangerous situations in her life, from being kidnapped to jumping into the sea.


    She could act strong in front of the unfamiliar Drew''s mother, but as soon as she saw Yuga, her emotions rxed and she couldn''t hold back, hugging Yuga tightly and crying heavily.


    "It''s all okay now, don''t be afraid, don''t be afraid!" Yugaforted her softly, patting her back.


    Afterforting May, Yuga finally released the tension he had been holding: Thank goodness she''s okay!


    He immediately called home to inform Aunt Caroline about finding May. At this moment, Aunt Caroline must have been extremely worried.


    At the gym, Max, who had been ying with friends in the new Ecopark all day, was shocked to hear from Yuga that her sister was missing. After a few seconds of shock, he burst into tears.