"Meow! Meow!!"
As Little N was led away under Yamask's control, the Purrloin—its entire body tightly wrapped in bandages—struggled desperately after him, wriggling across the ground.
But Little N was moving away quickly. With its injuries leaving it unable to move properly, there was no way for Purrloin to catch up.
"Meow! Meow! Meow!"
In the end, Little N disappeared completely from Purrloin's sight. Lying helplessly on the ground, it could only cry mournfully toward the direction in which Little N had vanished.
"Hm? Purrloin?! What happened to you?! Where's Little N?!"
At that moment, hearing Purrloin's desperate cries, Liam finally arrived.
"Meow! Meow, meow!"
The instant it heard Liam's voice, Purrloin remembered that he was still here. Hope returned to its eyes as it immediately cried out loudly to him.
"Hm? Zorua!"
"Chi chi chi~ Master, this little cat says that Little N was controlled by a Pokémon and taken away. It's asking us to hurry and rescue him!"
Since Liam couldn't understand Purrloin's speech, he released Zorua to act as a translator.
"What?! Damn it! Purrloin, do you know where that Pokémon took Little N? Hurry and lead the way!"
After learning what had happened, Liam flew into a rage. He scooped Purrloin into his arms, tore away the bandages wrapped around it with his bare hands, then immediately ordered it to lead the chase as they rushed out of the museum.
"Sniff... sniff... Meow!"
The moment they exited the museum, Purrloin jumped to the ground, pressed its nose against the pavement, and sniffed for Little N's scent.
As soon as it found the trail, it immediately dashed after it.
Seeing that Purrloin had picked up the scent, Liam and Zorua hurried after it.
"Meow!!"
Now free from its bandages, Purrloin's speed increased dramatically. Its nimble little body darted along the streets, weaving effortlessly through the crowds.
Liam, however, was much slower.
Perhaps because the Nacrene Museum was so famous, there were an enormous number of visitors at this hour. Worse still, Liam was forcing his way against the flow of people. Constantly bumping into pedestrians slowed him down considerably.
"Damn it! Zorua! Go after Purrloin first!"
"Chi chi chi!!"
Seeing no other choice, Liam immediately shouted the order. Zorua promptly sprang onto the heads of nearby pedestrians and raced after Purrloin, disappearing into a narrow alley.
The alley they entered lay between the museum and a neighboring high-rise building. Because that building was so tall, its shadow completely covered the alley. From a distance, it resembled the throat of some enormous beast, silently waiting for its prey to walk inside.
After finally pushing through the crowd, Liam glanced into the alley and charged in without hesitation.
Then—
Bang!!
"Meow!!"
The moment Liam entered, a loud crash echoed through the alley!
The badly injured Purrloin came flying out of it!
Liam quickly reached out and caught Purrloin in his arms. Seeing that it had already lost consciousness, the fury in his heart surged to an even greater level.
Bang!!
Another loud impact rang out from inside the alley.
This time—
"Chi chi chi!"
It was Zorua, rolling out of the alley like a ball.
Fortunately, Zorua had managed to dodge the attack in time. It wasn't seriously hurt, merely covered in dust.
"Zorua! Are you alright?"
After coming to a stop, Zorua glared furiously into the alley, growling continuously. Liam immediately asked in a low voice.
"Chi chi chi!! (There's an enemy! Master, be careful!)"
Zorua instantly warned him.
Just after Zorua finished speaking, several figures slowly emerged from the depths of the alley.
Among them was a small figure.
Little N, still wearing his mask.
He remained silent, quietly following behind a tall man.
The tall man had light green hair.
He wore a loose priest-like robe, leaned on a white-and-gold staff, and had a monocle hanging over one eye. Standing beside the green-haired man were a fierce-looking Bisharp and a floating Yamask.
"Heh... Ghetsis. Do you realize you've already made me very angry? Even if you apologized now, I wouldn't show you any mercy."
Liam stared coldly at the man wearing that inexplicable smile, his voice overflowing with anger.
"Oh? So you know who I am. Yet... I have no memory of you whatsoever. Just who are you?"
The green-haired man was indeed Ghetsis.
After hearing Liam call out his name, Ghetsis showed surprisingly little shock. Instead, he simply asked with mild curiosity.
"Who I am is none of your concern. I originally intended to have a few words with you... but right now, I'm furious. There's only one thing you need to do—give Little N back to me, and then get the hell out of here!"
Liam had no patience left to waste on Ghetsis.
"Hahaha! Ridiculous!
"N is my son! And you... are nothing but a kidnapper! As his father, I am rescuing him from his abductor! And now you dare tell me to hand him back?"
"Tell me—what kind of father would do such a thing?!"
Liam's words caused Ghetsis's expression to darken.
Without yielding an inch, Ghetsis slammed the tip of his white-and-gold staff against the ground and shouted with righteous indignation.
"Enough! You dare call yourself Little N's father after everything you've done? Don't think your ambitions are unknown to everyone. I'm telling you one last time—
Give Little N back to me!"
Liam completely ignored Ghetsis's self-righteous speech.
A PokeBall slipped smoothly into his hand.
"…My ambitions?"
Ghetsis sneered.
"You mean my grand dream of allowing all humanity and Pokémon to coexist as equals?"
"Ha! Hahaha! If that's what you call ambition... Then I gladly admit it!"
"But N is my son! He possesses unparalleled talent! In the days to come, he will inherit the position of our King!"
"He will be crowned a great King! He will lead Team Plasma in achieving our ultimate goal!"
"So tell me!.. How could I possibly hand over someone so important to you?"
"He is our future King! A King whom we would protect even at the cost of our lives!"
"And you… You abducted our King! That is not only an insult to our future ruler… it is also a direct provocation against Team Plasma!"
"Come then, mysterious stranger! From the moment you abducted our King, we became enemies!"
"Come! Let me see what gives you the confidence to oppose us!"
"Bisharp! Guillotine!!"
"Bishar!!"
Ghetsis threw both arms into the air, laughing with fanatical fervor.
The instant his command fell, the Bisharp standing beside him exploded into motion, its gleaming blades flashing with deadly light as it charged straight toward Liam.