Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 508 Conflict, The Moving Meteorite
Himura and his men aggressively surrounded Dr. Soros, who was in a panic and had nowhere to run.

Soros looked at the red-clad thugs surrounding him from the front and back, especially the one from Team Firestone who exuded an evil aura. His face turned ashen, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Well done!" Fire Village strode up to Ash, his face full of undisguised admiration, and patted Ash's shoulder hard.

"You've locked onto the target so quickly! Thank you for your hard work! This operation is a success, and I will personally report to Chief Crimson Pine for credit on your behalf!"

Behind him, several members of Team Magma immediately pounced on the limp Dr. Soros like wolves, ignoring his weak struggles and ransacking all his pockets, backpacks, and even the soles of his shoes.

While searching, Himura turned around and looked at Ash with great interest:

"Ash, what's your name?"

Xiao Zhi was slightly taken aback.

“Natsume-nii, he asked me my name.”

"It's okay, you can speak. I'll use telekinesis to change your voice. You can choose any name you like, just don't use your own name."

The chibi version of Natsume is indifferent to the Dao.

Hearing this, Xiao Zhi nodded in relief.

He looked at Huocun, and a strange, chilling voice, matching his sinister face, emanated from his throat:
"My name is Xiaomao."

Natsume: "."

"Xiao Mao? Well done!"

Huocun didn't recognize the person at first, but since the organization had recently expanded its recruitment, he guessed that this person was a newcomer.

Such a strong newcomer in the organization should be recognized and acknowledged immediately.

Just then, Soros was lifted up by several team members and dragged behind Himura.

"Reporting to Lord Fire Village," a team member reported with a strange expression.

"No, Dr. Soros had nothing on him. Only some research notes and compressed biscuits or something."

"What?!" Himura's smile froze instantly as he looked at Soros in disbelief.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he turned sharply to look at Xiaozhi, his eyes filled with questioning and a hint of barely perceptible suspicion.

"Xiao Mao, what's going on? Where's the meteorite?!"

Xiao Zhi was speechless. How did he know where the meteorite was?
If they knew, would they need to chase after Dr. Soros?

The atmosphere was somewhat silent.

Himura frowned; this was completely different from the scenario he had envisioned: "loyal team members outsmarting the doctor and seizing the meteorite."

Did this kid slip up?

Himura's gaze toward Ash grew increasingly cold.

Judging from the information obtained by the undercover agents who infiltrated Team Aqua, it seems that Team Aqua also has quite a few spies planted within Team Magma.

"Doctor, where is the meteorite?!" Himura grabbed Soros by the collar and asked again fiercely.

"I...I don't know! It really does run by itself, I swear!" Soros was so frightened he was incoherent.

"I didn't bring it with me at all! It...it..."

Just then, the communicator on Huocun's waist suddenly rang urgently, and the excited voice of the team members who stayed by the huge energy machine next to the crater came through.

"Lord Hi-Himura! He's appeared!"

"A meteorite! That meteorite! It appeared inside the machine by itself, right in the launch bay! My God, how did it get in there?!"

"What?!" Himura, Soros, Ash, and Natsume inside the other's body were all stunned.

"Back to the crater!"

Without hesitation, Himura led his team to the crater.

Regardless, let's cut to the chase and get the machine running first.

Ash touched his nose and followed behind the detained Professor Soros, also blending into the group.

Inside the body, the chibi version of Natsume slightly raised an eyebrow.

It sounds like that meteorite actually moved on its own?

Natsume became increasingly curious about what was inside.

The group from the Fire Village, along with Dr. Soros and Ash who was mixed in with them, hurriedly returned to the crater.

The closer you get to that huge vent, the hotter and more pungent the air becomes. The smell of sulfur is so strong it's almost unbearable. The exposed rocks are scorching hot, and your shoes feel like they're about to be melted by the heat.

The dark red light surging deep within the volcano was clearly visible, carrying a chilling, primal, and violent sense of power.

That strangely shaped, enormous machine stood on the edge of the crater, its base deeply embedded in the rock, its muzzle pointing directly at the churning lava below.

At this moment, the machine has started up, its deep hum intertwining with the pulsation of the volcano itself, creating an ominous resonance.

At the core of the launch bay, the meteorite emitting a faint green light lay quietly.

Subconsciously, the chibi version of Natsume, along with Ash, looked toward the meteorite.

"Quickly, charge it, aim at the core of the crater!"

Without bothering to investigate how the meteorite appeared, Himura roared the order, his eyes burning with fanatical flames.

Several members of the Fire Rock team immediately rushed to the control panel, their fingers flying across the complex control panel.

Just as the light from the machine gun muzzle began to gather and emit an increasingly piercing buzzing sound.

"Woo-hum-hum!"

A tremendous roar tore through the air at the mountaintop, and a flying machine painted with the navy blue logo of the Aqua Fleet swooped down like a giant steel bird, hovering in mid-air.

The hatch opened, and Fleet Commander Izumi led a team of elite members in a swift rappelling, instantly creating a standoff on the flank of the Fire and Rock Team.

"Himura, stop your foolish plan immediately."

Quanmei stood at the front of the group, her voice cold and her eyes sharp as knives.

"Hmph, Izumi!" Himura turned around, his face filled with undisguised disgust and contempt.

"You bunch of worthless fish and shrimp from Team Aqua who can only flounder in the sea, do you think you're qualified to interfere with Team Magma's affairs? Get out of my way!"

Izumi showed no sign of backing down, waving her hand and shouting, "Do it! Destroy that machine!"

"Protect the machine! Stop them!" Himura roared. A battle was about to break out.

Forgotten in the corner, Dr. Soros watched the fierce battle raging before him, then looked at the machine that was charging and shining brighter, and at the churning lava below. His face turned pale, his lips trembled, and his eyes were filled with despair and fear.

"Touch over there, touch over there!" The excited voice of the chibi Natsume echoed in my mind.

Ash swallowed hard, quietly untied Soros, and then carefully used the boulder as cover to grope his way toward the machine in the distant crater.

"you"

Soros turned pale and before he could say anything, Ash's figure disappeared.

During a break from directing the battle, Himura's gaze unconsciously swept over the spot where Shigeru had just been—the new team member who was quite skilled but always seemed a bit unpredictable to Himura.

All that could be seen was rising steam and chaotic figures; there was no trace of Xiao Mao anywhere.

Himura frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Where did that kid go at such a crucial moment?
A hint of doubt crept into my mind.

While directing the fire-breathing camels to repel the Water Fleet members who tried to approach the machine with their flames, he used the corner of his eye to scan the area around the machine more carefully.

The chaotic battlefield and the rising mist made everything blurry.

That guy named Xiao Mao disappeared without a trace, like a drop of water merging into the ocean.

The doubts in Himura's mind grew heavier.

Could there really be something wrong with this guy?
Is he an undercover agent for the Aqua Fleet?
Or is there another picture?
Just then, a blinding green light flashed from the machine's launch slot.

Himura suddenly turned his head, his pupils contracting sharply.

Suddenly, the vanished Xiao Mao had somehow reached the base of the machine and was reaching out his hand, his target being the meteorite in the launch slot!

Himura's heart sank to the bottom, a surge of betrayal and cold killing intent rising to his head.

Sure enough! This guy is suspicious!
He didn't come to help at all; he came to steal the meteorite!

The previous pursuit of Soros was probably just an act, and Himura was almost ready to immediately order the capture of this traitor.

However, in that split second—

"I was here first, hand over the meteorite!" A sharp shout rang out from the other side of the machine.

Wearing his Aqua Team uniform, Kojiro suddenly rushed out, excitedly trying to snatch the meteorite.

Himura's command, which he was about to deliver, got stuck in his throat.

He saw that Shigeru seemed startled by the sudden attack, and then a fierce expression appeared on his sinister face. He swung his fist and punched the Aqua Team member in the cheek, sending him flying.

"Hmph, just as I expected, Kojiro infiltrated the Aqua Team and neglected his training!" Musashi's face showed an expression that said, "I knew this would happen."

"Wow, but I have to say, Kojiro flew really high, meow."

Behind the boulder, inside the Meow Meow head balloon, Meow Meow holds a telescope, predicting Kojiro's landing point.

That's it!

Himura's tense nerves instantly relaxed, and he felt a sense of relief, even a pang of guilt.

"Well done, Shigeru! Guard the meteorite for me!" Himura's voice was full of praise and trust, and his previous doubts vanished.

However, just as everyone's attention was drawn to this fierce battle, Dr. Soros, forgotten in the corner, had a glint of desperate madness in his eyes.

He watched the machine's light approaching its critical point, listened to the increasingly muffled roar from the depths of the volcano, and suddenly rose from the ground, letting out a roar that was not human:

"No—stop! All of you, stop!"

Like a cannonball, he used all his strength to slam into the base of the machine that was charging.

"Professor, no!" Ash exclaimed in surprise as he came to his senses.

But Soros had already lunged at a device on the side of the machine that looked like an emergency brake valve, and with all his might, he pulled it off!
Click! boom!

The machine emitted a piercing scraping sound and a short-circuit-like pop, and the charging light instantly became extremely unstable.

Soros used the momentum to slam his entire body into the machine's base.

The heavy, massive machine, half-embedded in the rock, was violently shaken by his desperate ramming.

The connection between the base and the rock made a teeth-grinding cracking sound.

"No—!" Huo Cun's eyes were about to burst.

Boom.

The out-of-balance machine, carrying the green-glowing meteorite, plummeted straight down into the churning lava abyss below, much to everyone's horror.

"Get out of here quickly! The machine is gone, and the Alliance is almost here."

Upon seeing this, Izumi made a decisive decision and immediately ordered the members of the Aqua Fleet to retreat.

Her goal was to stop Team Magma, and now that the machine has crashed, she has barely achieved her objective.

"Damn it!!" Himura trembled with rage as he watched the machine and meteorite disappear into the lava.

"Captain Himura, an Elite Four trainer is on his way here!" a team member said, his voice trembling.

Himura could only grit his teeth and shout, "Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

In the last second before stepping onto the aircraft, he looked at the crater with a lingering sense of despair.

"Wow~"

The magma exhibits a vortex-like pattern.

Upon seeing this, Himura's face showed a relieved expression.

Fortunately, the objective was largely achieved.

Suddenly, he caught sight of Ash, who was still on the ground. As the aircraft took off, Ash's figure grew smaller and smaller.

Oh no, I forgot about him.

Himura frowned.

After weighing the options for a moment, I decided to give up.

Well, if this kid really manages to escape from the clutches of an Elite Four trainer...
(End of this chapter)