Chapter 77: Thieves United!

As Diancie raised her hand and lightly touched the Sweet Ball switch, the Sweet Ball shot out a red light that enveloped Diancie and drew her into the ball.

Thud!

The Poké Ball in Ash's palm showed no tremor at all, fell silent, his finger touched the Sweet Ball switch, and Ash released Diancie.

"Ash, let's try again now!"

Having emerged from the Poké Ball, Diancie, ever mindful of her mission, immediately could not wait to propose another attempt at Mega Evolution.

"Okay!"

Although he roughly guessed it wouldn't succeed, Ash was still quite eager and nervous—what if it did?

The outcome that would not disappoint Ash ended up disappointing him,

After the failure, Ash, citing that their bond had not yet deepened, temporarily soothed Diancie.

Se Mei's warm-hearted suggestion had Ash and Diancie interact more—for example, feeding each other, increasing physical contact, playing games together… and so on.

……

In the wilderness,

A green‑clad girl of relatively neutral appearance stood on the hilts of her twin sword sheaths, flying airborne, blocking the path of two disheartened thieves.

"You two, I think we can talk!"

"Miryu Si?"

The moment the visitor appeared, the ninja and the witch instantly had the other's information surface in their minds,

Miryu Si, daughter of the Great Thief Algeus,

The father‑daughter duo's ranking on the thief list far surpasses theirs, possessing immense financial resources and even a huge airship serving as a mobile fortress.

Such a person……what could they want from them?

If there is anything that could possibly link the two, perhaps only Diancie and Ash could do it.

Still, everyone here is a thief, each other's nature is all too clear—cooperation is possible, but one must also guard against betrayal among thieves,

especially when the opponent's strength far exceeds ours, it's hard to guarantee we won't be used as cannon fodder or fall victim to thieves stealing from thieves,

Thinking this, the ninja thief furrowed his brows, saying, "I don't think we have anything to talk about.

While speaking, he did not forget to give a glance to his fellow thief, the witch, beside him.

The two made a hand signal toward their respective Pokémon beside them,

the Kouga Ninja Frog and the Bewitching Fire Red Fox received the order, instantly becoming alert, water and flame gathering in readiness.

"You two seem to have misunderstood; I come with utmost sincerity, and of course we won't force you—whether you wish to act to seize Diancie is up to you."

Shrugging her shoulders, the girl Miryu Si pointed at the empty sky above.

"Our airship will hover in the sky for five minutes; if after five minutes you two have not made a decision, we will leave on our own."

No sooner had the words fallen than, without waiting for the two to reply,

the twin sword sheaths began to rise slowly, carrying the girl into the stealth fighter.

Having clearly heard the other's intent, the witch thief almost instantly drew a Poké Ball from her waist,

a ancient giant dragonfly, its body military green covered in many red spots, with three pairs of legs and three pairs of wings, appeared beside the two,

on this ancient giant dragonfly's body was also bound a flight‑assist device, a long handrail extending downward.

"I don't care anymore; even if I can't get Diancie, at least I must take back that iron dumbbell I struggled so hard to capture."

As the words fell, the witch recalled her Bewitching Fire Red Fox and, carried by the ancient giant dragonfly, flew up into the sky.

The ninja thief frowned, shook his head, and still released two iron‑masked ninjas, who, biting the rope, lifted him onto the airship.

With the arrival of the last guest, the airship's hatch shut instantly.

In the airship hall, seeing that the two had arrived,

a burly man in adventurer's gear, wearing the essential wrap‑around glasses for adventurers, his skin dark, was eating a dessert; he immediately shoved the dessert into his mouth, stood up, and opened his arms to the two.

"Welcome, you two will be glad you made the right decision."

The ninja gave a cold snort: "Let's hope so, Algeus—I hope your aim isn't to betray us, and that we can avoid dying at the hands of that legendary duke."

Half of that was said to the other party, half to the hot‑headed witch, to make her wary of the possibility of them betraying us,

but unfortunately, the vengeance‑eager witch did not take those words to heart.

"Oh, you mean that one? I think you may have misunderstood our plan."

Algeus settled back into the leather‑crafted soft seat, leisurely picking up a cup of fruit wine from the table and gulping it down in one go.

"What do you mean?"

"The meaning is, do you know what this airship's maximum flight speed is?"

Without waiting for the ninja and the witch thief to reply, Algeus cracked a grin, his face quite pleased,

"Nine Mach per second! A full nine times the speed of sound! In one second we can travel 3060 meters! In one minute we reach 183 kilometers away! After one hour we are already 11,016 kilometers distant—with this speed, do you still think we can't survive?"

Hearing this, the ninja finally felt moved: "You mean… a surprise attack to snatch Diancie, then immediately withdraw?"

Algeus gave an appreciative glance to the ninja thief and snapped his fingers.

"Exactly! After our multiple investigations, beside Duke Ash the strongest force now is only one Latias, and under normal circumstances it is kept in a Poké Ball, its defenses limited.

"As long as you send out your Dark‑type, aura‑concealing Kouga Ninja Frog to act, there is over a 99% chance of success; once successful we can immediately transfer, and later divide the spoils."

Having come to this point, Laiter also fully grasped their intent: "Your target is me!"

At this moment, the girl Miryu Si, who had not spoken until now, opened her mouth,

"That's right; actually we originally only wanted to find you, but you and this witch lady have never been apart, so…"

Algeus immediately continued, "Of course, if you're dissatisfied, I suggest we first take down this witch lady, then after the incident ends release her."

As soon as those words were spoken, the witch was dumbfounded—how had everyone's ire turned toward her? She immediately retreated warily.

No, let's just split it like this!

The ninja's words interrupted the witch's vigilance, and Milis's eagerness to try,

At the same time, it left the witch feeling astonished: "Laitel... you."

Ignoring the witch's astonishment, the ninja turned his gaze toward Argeus.

"When does the plan start?"

"No rush!"

Seeing there was no good show to watch, and that he'd still be forced to eat dog food, Argeus boredly waved his hand, sat down, and continued eating his sweets.

The girl Milis picked up the conversation,

"Diancie still hasn't truly mastered the ability to permanently create diamonds; once she masters that ability, it won't be too late for us to act then."

"Then how are we supposed to know whether Diancie has truly mastered that ability or not?"

"Through this!"

Milis pointed at the monitor on the wall behind the two of them,

She turned her head, her gaze toward the screen,

The image of Ash and his group walking through the forest instantly came into view.

What left the ninja and Milis stunned was that, at the very front of Ash and his group's advancing path,

On the hillside, a mysterious divine deer blocked their way.

"That is..."

"It's Xerneas!? Dad, hurry over and take a look!"

"This really is it; this moment has finally arrived!"

Amid the ninja and witch's bewilderment, Argeus yanked off the glasses perched on his head.

"Get ready to move!"