With Tobias' gym back in his gloved hands, Team Virtue resolved to head for the center of town. The quickest way was to cut south—slipping down the narrow sidestreets that led to Jade Lake Park before taking to the main roads. There were inevitable dangers in the plan. Liam knew from the New Incineroars' group text that many of the main roads were blocked, and the downtown plaza next to Feather & Petal Street was completely overrun. But that was where they could do the most good, and that was where Silas had told them to converge. So, with only occasional and very short rests, they made their way through the deserted streets and along the western edge of Jade Lake Park—dark and placid as always, with Pokemon lurking just below the surface.
"You okay, Chez?" asked Liam as he struggled to keep up.
"Yeah," said Chelsea, breathing heavily as she jogged alongside him. "What about you?"
"Probably the worst pain in my whole life. But I'll live."
Chelsea frowned sympathetically.
"I can teleport you if it—" she began, but Liam shook his head.
"I'll be fine," he said. "Besides, you'll need to…"
They had turned a corner onto the main street they had hoped to take all the way to Feather and Petal, and found a regiment of Team Power grunts less than two blocks down marching in the opposite direction. The grunts had already spotted them. They were outnumbered at least two-to-one—maybe even three-to-one, and the grunts looked eager to take advantage of those odds. They laughed and jeered as the distance closed between them.
"Well... this looks b-bad," said Orchid.
That was an understatement. For the first time that night, Liam was actually afraid for his life. They weren't going to win this fight. They couldn't outrun them either—even if Liam could've run with his broken collarbone, he knew a retreat would end with them being picked off one by one. He could teleport away with Chelsea, but that would mean abandoning his friends—and the Team Virtue initiates. Liam adjusted his sling and scanned his surroundings, looking for some unforseen escape.
"What do we do?" asked Aziz desperately.
Aziz, Orchid, Jera, and the others all looked as terrified as Liam did. Even Vasilio was sweating.
"Fight for our Pokemon," said Liam, gritting his teeth. "And hope we get lucky."
He reached for his Murkrow. Espeon was already snarling at Chelsea's heels. He didn't say what he really thought. "We lose" wasn't exactly an inspiring battle-cry.
"Well, this is cute," called one of the Team Power grunts. "Little schoolchildren and lost foreigners thinking they can stand against Team Power. Ha!"
The students from No. 1 High School took defensive formations. Mori was perched atop Anastasia, her Misdreavus floating just above her left shoulder. Chelsea and Marsha positioned themselves on either side of Liam like bodyguards. Liam felt his heart racing.
"Stay low," said Liam. "It's no good for our Pokemon if we get—."
"Bro, do you hear that?"
Liam stopped and looked over his good shoulder. The roads were deserted, but Liam was sure he had heard it too—the roaring engines and screeching tires of street racers. He motioned for the others to be quiet and strained his ears toward the distant noise. Even the Team Power grunts were frozen—trying to make sense of the noise as it grew closer.
Suddenly, they were on top of them, and the sound went from distant to deafening. There were six cars in all—each decked out with a racing spoiler and underglow that pulsed in time with whatever drum & bass or breakbeat song its driver was blasting. They were flying down the road—going so fast Liam was sure they were about to crash straight into the advancing grunts. Instead, the cars skidded to a halt in the gap between them and Team Power, forming an arc dividing the two sides. Liam recognized the men who climbed out of the driver's seats. They were gangsters, street racers, ruffians—the ones he had seen at the Track with Mori the year before. For a moment, he wondered whose side they were on.
Then he remembered how they had received Team Power the last time.
"Team Power," called one of the drivers—a man with an Arcanine tattoo covering his back. "The streets of Nanzo belong to us. You don't belong here."
Another driver—wearing a stylish suit and shining black shoes—leaned back to where Liam and the others were watching in dumb amazement.
"Silas sends his regards," he said. "We'll handle this. Take the other road."
They were sending out their Pokemon—Houndooms, Gyarados, Golems—as well as a Rapidash with a mane of blue-gray fire that Liam recognized from the night he saw Claire for the first time.
"Whoa," said Orchid.
Orchid wasn't the only one who wanted to stay and watch the fight between Team Power and the street racers, but Liam managed to lead them away before things got really ugly. He was expecting casualties, and he didn't want the younger members of Team Virtue to have to watch. As he and the girl from No. 1 School led the others into a sidestreet, they heard explosions and hoarse yells behind them.
"It is bad that I kinda feel bad for those guys?" whispered Chelsea.
Liam shook his head.
"No. But I don't."
"Well, well," said Arthur jovially. "Look who finally showed up."
"Hey, we liberated a gym and almost got slaughtered by a squad of grunts back there," said Liam, wincing as Arthur tried to pat him on his bad shoulder. "What have you been doing?"
"We're still on our way to Feather and Petal," said Sylvia. "It's taking a little longer than expected… even with their help."
She pointed to Stephanie, Ruth, and Jonah. Liam raised his eyebrows. That was quite the squad.
"We're heading there too," said Vasilio. "And based on what we ran into back there, I'd say we need safety in numbers."
Orchid and the other initiates nodded vigorously.
"Well, let's get moving," said Liam.
"Not so fast," said Stephanie. "Sylvia, you can keep going. I want to look at Liam's arm."
"I am fine," said Liam, taking a step back out of Stephanie's reach. "We've got Team Power scum to deal with."
"Chelsea, you stay back with Liam and Stephanie," said Sylvia. "Then you guys should have no problem catching up."
Liam sulked a little, but he couldn't argue. As Stephanie unpacked an improvised first aid kit, the others—including the Team Virtue initiates—started heading on down the empty highway.
"Jera and Aziz are in charge!" Liam called. "Listen to everything they say!"
"Bro, they'll be fine," said Chelsea. "They have Ruth."
"Fair enough," said Liam, wincing as Stephanie began examining his wounded shoulder.
"It is broken," said Stephanie, frowning slightly at the bruising on Liam's clavicle. "Probably just a small fracture, though, not a clean break. I would recommend the hospital."
"And if the hospital doesn't exactly fit into my schedule this evening?" asked Liam.
He winced again as Stephanie started to fashion him a proper sling.
"I don't approve of your Unovan stubbornness, but you should be fine," she said. "Just keep holding the ice and do not move your arm. Apart from making you a better sling, there isn't much I can do."
The new sling she had made was both cozier and more secure, but the feeling of pins and needles in Liam's arm was as intense as ever.
"There… might be something I can do," said Chelsea.
Stephanie looked at her inquistively. Chelsea closed her eyes and stretched out a hand towards Liam. For a moment, Liam thought she was going to try and set his broken bone telepathically—a rather terrifying prospect given that Chelsea wasn't a doctor and had absolutely no experience in that area. Instead of a forceful snap, however, Liam felt a warm feeling in his shoulder, and the pain gradually faded into a comfortable numbness.
"Did it work?" asked Chelsea uncertainly.
"I think so," said Liam. "I don't know what you did though."
"C'est incroyable!" said Stephanie, staring at the receding bruise on Liam's shoulder. "Was that Healing Pulse?"
"Something like it," said Chelsea, flushing at her success. "I figured if a Ralts could do it, I probably could too."
From about a kilometer up the road, they heard a resounding "bang."
"We'll need your powers again, Chelsea," said Stephanie darkly. "I think our friends are in trouble."