"Zinnia, you're the Draconid who previously sent threatening letters to my family, aren't you?" Edward looked straight at the woman in front of him. By now, Headmistress Lillian had already instructed Ruckus to disperse the other Pokémon. A battle was clearly unavoidable at this point.
And Zinnia didn't seem like the kind of person who would surrender peacefully.
"That's right, that was me," Zinnia admitted with a bright smile, not even trying to deny it. Edward narrowed his eyes slightly. While he knew that in the game's storyline Zinnia was someone obsessed with a singular goal, this was the real world.
Joseph was his father, Steven his older brother—and yet this woman had dared to threaten his family. That was something Edward absolutely could not tolerate.
"Fortune!" Edward called out in a low voice. All six of Zinnia's Pokémon were already out on the field. This wasn't a formal Pokémon League battle, where trainers took turns sending in Pokémon one by one.
In fights like these, there was no such thing as fairness—only a chaotic melee. Nobody was going to give you the chance to reason things out.
"Salamence, use Flamethrower!" Zinnia was equally decisive and wasted no time giving commands. But before her instructions could even reach her Pokémon's ears, a vast shadow suddenly loomed over her from above. Zinnia instinctively looked up—only for her pupils to contract sharply in surprise.
Hovering overhead was a massive black cloud formed entirely from sparkling, metallic coins. Without warning, the entire cloud collapsed like an avalanche, the coins pouring down with the force of a waterfall—this was Make It Rain, a move imbued with the power of a Steel-type attack.
Caught completely off guard, Zinnia's Pokémon were buried beneath the barrage of half a million coins. They were struck violently, their heads split open, bleeding profusely. These weren't just ordinary coins—they carried the full weight of an offensive move, each one enhanced by the energy of Steel-type power.
Headmistress Lillian's mouth opened in disbelief. Edward pressed his lips together tightly. Fortune's Make It Rain was far more terrifying than he had expected. Half a million coins fell at once, instantly blanketing Edward's entire field of vision. Apart from a blinding cascade of dense, metallic glints, he couldn't see anything at all.
"Q!" Edward didn't hesitate for a second. Now was not the time to waver. If Zinnia managed to escape, who knew when they'd be able to find her again?
Given that most of Zinnia's Pokémon were Dragon-types, Edward ordered Q to immediately unleash a full-power Dazzling Gleam.
In the next instant, a brilliant radiance filled the entire area. The Fairy-type energy was so dense and potent it felt almost tangible. Zinnia's dragons were bombarded with a massive blow, one they couldn't hope to endure.
When the blinding light finally faded, Edward saw Zinnia lying unconscious on the ground. Over her, Salamence was standing protectively with its wings spread wide, shielding its fallen trainer. However, the dragon itself was riddled with wounds and covered in blood. The coin-shaped bruises on its body were obvious—these injuries were all caused by Fortune's relentless attack.
The rest of Zinnia's Pokémon lay scattered around her, all fainted. Only Baxcalibur and Altaria were barely able to remain standing, and even they were in extremely poor condition.
Still, the main source of the damage wasn't even the coins. The magical brilliance of Dazzling Gleam had carved deep burns into their skin—marks that were clearly visible even from a distance.
"Raaawr!" Salamence let out a furious roar, its gaze fixed on Edward with burning hostility.
Edward looked down at Zinnia's unconscious body, half-buried in the enormous pile of coins. Clearly, Fortune's attack hadn't spared her, either.
Few humans could survive a direct hit from a Pokémon move. Not everyone was a "Super Rookie" who could get electrocuted every day and still be fine. Under the combined pressure of half a million metallic coins raining down from above, Zinnia had been knocked out instantly. If Salamence hadn't shielded her, she might've ended up in the ICU.
"Headmistress Lillian, please call the Pokémon Center. And also contact Officer Jenny while you're at it," Edward said after a long breath. Fortune's attack had been wildly effective—half a million coins crashing down from the sky was no joke.
As for Zinnia, Edward had no more sympathy to give. This unfortunate woman had sent threatening letters to his family, and from Edward's perspective, that made her an enemy. Protecting his family was his highest priority—Zinnia could be handed over to Officer Jenny and her squad for all he cared.
As for what came next… Edward silently pulled out his phone and sent a message to his big brother. Now that his brother was involved, Zinnia probably wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Zinnia's strength wasn't bad, to be fair. After all, raising a full team of Dragon-types was no small feat.
Dragon-type Pokémon were notoriously difficult to train. Their growth was slow, their evolution curves steep, and their early stages were awkward to work with. But once they reached their final forms, they were exceptionally powerful.
However, raising them required incredible resources. Their appetites were huge, and their dietary needs were particular. For ordinary families, training Dragon-type Pokémon was simply too costly.
"GRAAAHH!" Zinnia's Salamence roared in frustration, clearly unwilling to give up. It wanted to carry its trainer away and flee, but Headmistress Lillian's Clefable was still exerting Gravity. The effect prevented the dragon from lifting off—it could only huddle close to its unconscious trainer and the equally dazed Altaria and Baxcalibur, guarding them vigilantly.
"Don't worry. Your trainer's not dead. She'll be taken to the hospital soon," Edward said softly, reading the worry in Salamence's eyes. This Pokémon clearly cared deeply for its trainer. There was a powerful bond between Zinnia and her Pokémon—that much was easy to see.
At that moment, the distant sounds of police sirens and ambulance bells could be heard approaching from outside.
"I'll be damned, it was this *** who kidnapped me?!" Suddenly, a psychic message echoed inside Edward's mind. He winced slightly, the corners of his mouth twitching.
Headmistress Lillian let out a long sigh, covering her face in shame.
Even after all this time, Kirlia hadn't changed one bit. Every time it opened its mouth—or sent a telepathic message—it was censored profanity. Headmistress Lillian's head throbbed. This was the most unruly, foul-mouthed Pokémon she had ever tried to rehabilitate.
In an instant, every conscious human and Pokémon present turned their attention toward the voice.
Over there, stomping her way into the scene, was a very angry Kirlia, spewing a high-frequency barrage of censored expletives. Behind her, a Mightyena was gently tugging on Kirlia's little skirt with its teeth, clearly trying to hold her back and calm her down.
"Kirlia, please, calm down," Headmistress Lillian pleaded gently.
"Calm down? You want me to calm down? I'll bleep her bleep bleep, and then I'll bleep her BLEEP!" Kirlia's psychic message was still going strong, not a single ounce of restraint in sight. She looked ready to sprint forward and kick Zinnia in the face.
"Kirlia, did this woman participate in your kidnapping back then?" Edward asked, watching the furious Psychic-type carefully. He wanted to confirm whether Zinnia had directly taken part in the abduction.
"I don't remember," Kirlia said after a pause, shaking her head. "I blacked out almost instantly. I couldn't see who was involved."
(End of Chapter)