Steven still maintained the demeanor of a Devon nobleman; he shook his head and said, "No idea, but we really have those three to thank for stepping in today."
"Interesting." A light flashed in Phoebe's eyes.
Three Pokemon of different species and different Types actually came together?
Judging from how well-trained they looked, they didn't seem like Normal wild Pokemon.
Thinking of the shoulder bag hanging around that Zapdos's neck, Phoebe wondered if there was some Human Trainer who had specially trained them.
Beside her, Steven withdrew his gaze. Calmly looking at the houses around them that had been damaged by the Pokemon battle, he said:
"We can't keep the two Treasure Pearls here anymore."
Just now, in the middle of the fight, those two Treasure Pearls had been tossed into the grass by members of Team Magma and Team Aqua.
Steven turned around, intending to search nearby and then send them to the Hoenn League Headquarters for safekeeping.
However, very soon, he noticed something.
The patch of grass where the two Treasure Pearls had been lying just a moment ago was now completely empty.
Steven couldn't help being stunned.
Where were the Treasure Pearls?
Phoebe noticed this as well. She hurried forward and started rummaging through the grass, but after searching for a long time, she still didn't see a trace of the Treasure Pearls.
This made her expression grow dark.
A bad guess surfaced in Phoebe's heart: "Don't tell me Team Magma and Team Aqua took them?"
"Impossible." Steven analyzed calmly.
All the Team Magma and Team Aqua members present had been captured in one swoop; right now they were being escorted into police cars by the arriving Inspectors, so there was no way they could be secretly hiding the Treasure Pearls.
Which raised the question: where on earth had those two Treasure Pearls gone?
*
High up in the sky, the proud figure of Zapdos was streaking through the clouds at incredible speed.
The originally pure-white clouds were, under the influence of Zapdos, all turning into thunderclouds brewing with lightning.
A crash of thunder echoed through the night sky; people on the ground all raised their heads to look up, but all they could see was a flash of Spark.
The Hoenn Region hadn't been very peaceful lately, had it!
People who already had some advance understanding of the current state of affairs hurried their pace on the way home.
Mew and Teddiursa were sitting on Zapdos's back.
In their hands, each was holding a beautiful-looking Treasure Pearl—one crimson red, one indigo blue.
Even more interesting, they could glow!
These two Treasure Pearls had just been picked up by Teddiursa in the grass.
When they passed by there, Teddiursa had immediately spotted those two beautiful Treasure Pearls casually tossed on the ground.
The Pickup instinct hidden in its body let it recognize at a glance that these were two treasures!
So, while Mew was using Helping Hand to assist that old man, Teddiursa ran into the grass and picked up those two Treasure Pearls that nobody wanted.
Right now, Teddiursa was excitedly cradling the Treasure Pearls, thinking how pretty they were! If it gave them to Naoki, Naoki would definitely like them!
So, once the Heroic Expedition Team found a place to rest, Teddiursa handed the Treasure Pearls to Zapdos, asking it to deliver them back to the ranch.
*
Meanwhile, Naoki, who had been about to Sleep, received another message from Steven.
[Steven: Change of plans, the two important items Team Magma and Team Aqua were trying to snatch have disappeared!]
Seeing this message, Naoki instantly perked up.
He immediately caught the meaning in Steven's words.
Those two important items should be the Blue Orb and Red Orb.
[Stranger No.1: What happened?]
[Steven: I'm not sure either.]
He then told him everything that had happened today.
All the Team Magma and Team Aqua members had been arrested by the International Police, but those two items were nowhere to be found.
They had searched every member from head to toe and still hadn't found them.
The two important Treasure Pearls had vanished as if into thin air.
Reading these messages from Steven, Naoki's first reaction was: no way, right?
Could it be that people from Team Magma and Team Aqua had used Teleport to move those two Treasure Pearls?
He immediately proposed this idea to Steven.
[Stranger No.1: Could it be a Psychic Type Pokemon used Teleport to transfer them somewhere else?]
[Steven: That should be impossible, because among the Pokemon Team Magma and Team Aqua sent out, there were no Psychic Type Pokemon; they were almost all Mightyena, Carvanha, and Sharpedo.]
Now that was a bit strange…
Naoki couldn't help falling into deep thought.
But it was already very late, and Steven didn't ask any more questions.
[Steven: Thank you so much for your help. I won't bother you anymore tonight; tomorrow I'll continue investigating.]
[Stranger No.1: Okay.]
Exiting the Pokemon Forum, Naoki began mulling over where those two Treasure Pearls had gone, but after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out.
However, Naoki soon learned the answer to this question.
The next morning, Zapdos, with its shoulder bag, landed in the middle of the ranch.
Seeing this, Naoki knew the Heroic Expedition Team had something else to send him.
He reached into the shoulder bag with practiced ease.
Very quickly, his hand brushed against two round objects.
Naoki took them out, and the moment he clearly saw what he was holding, he froze on the spot.
[Red Orb: A Treasure Pearl that emits a red glow. It is said to have deep ties with the legends of the Hoenn Region.]
[Blue Orb: A Treasure Pearl that emits a blue glow. It is said to have deep ties with the legends of the Hoenn Region.]