No one would believe it if he said it out loud, but even after using Substitute five tis in a row, Cacturne still had over half its stamina left.
Too confident in Lock-On Zap Cannon, the pale-faced man ended up getting schooled by Sato. After five consecutive Drain Punches -even with Magnezone's decent defense- it eventually went down.
Imdiately after, under Sato's expectant gaze, Cacturne excitedly threw a punch into the air… then cheerfully trotted back.
'…That's it?'
Seeing Cacturne showing no signs of a breakthrough, Sato was dumbfounded.
So… it was his fault the challenge was too easy?
Other people's Pokémon leveled up just from eating, Cacturne went through an overleveled fight and still didn't break through…
"Dammit! dicham, use Mach Punch!" Ca the pale-faced man's voice from not far away. Sato and Cacturne instinctively dodged to the side.
Unfortunately, Mach Punch is called that for a reason…
A punch as fast as sound isn't sothing you can dodge so easily.
A pained cry rang out. Cacturne clutched its left arm and turned to look at dicham, who was twisting its neck with a very "innocent" expression.
"dicham, Ice Fire Punch!"
"Cham!"
dicham leapt nimbly, making its movents impossible to track.
Then, in a flash, it reappeared behind Cacturne!
"Spiky Shield!"
At the critical mont, it was the only thing Sato could shout. Cacturne instinctively hunched down, activating all the spikes on its back.
Boom!
The combined Ice Punch and Fire Punch landed squarely on Cacturne, but now its whole body was wrapped in spikes, like a big golden porcupine.
"Chaaaam~"
dicham shrieked and backed away, shaking its hands with a shudder. Its eyes were filled with fear as it stared at Cacturne.
Spiky Shield not only had the absolute protection effect like Protect, it also inflicted so damage in return.
And if you happened to be in close combat with Cacturne when it activated?
That sting… was unforgettable.
Just ask dicham!
"Cacturne, Leech Seed."
Of course, Sato wasn't about to waste such a golden opportunity, he imdiately had Cacturne plant a seed on dicham to start draining health.
"dicham, charge in and use Jump Kick!" the pale-faced man ordered cautiously. With its hands out of commission, he didn't dare risk using High Jump Kick recklessly.
But in Sato's opinion, dicham was the kind of Pokémon that should lean into self-destruction. Open with High Jump Kick, not to win, but to scare the enemy half to death.
'I, the pale-faced man, am a ruthless guy!'
Unfortunately, his only real trait was being pale. Too ugly to be a proper pretty boy…
"Cacturne, Cotton Spore."
Cotton Spore ca out again. Without its strongest weapons -its hands(?)- dicham had no way to defend itself and was instantly wrapped in a thick "winter coat."
"Feint Attack."
Seizing the mont, Cacturne dashed in, circled behind dicham, and landed a fierce kick.
dicham reflexively braced itself with its hands to avoid smashing its face into the ground, but doing so only worsened its injuries.
One wound on top of another, dicham let out another wretched scream.
The cry was so miserable that even the others battling nearby couldn't help glancing over out of the corner of their eyes.
"Garchomp, use Dragon Rush!"
"Gogoat, Bulldoze!"
With determined commands ringing out, Garchomp and Gogoat used the opening to defeat their respective opponents.
But the next mont, the enemies swiftly sent out new Pokémon to take their place; though the hesitation in their eyes made it clear they were already thinking of retreat. A quick glance exchanged between them, and consensus was reached.
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out from the direction of the helicopter. The Pokémon Hunters all turned to look and saw that Officer Jenny had sohow made her way there and was now battling the last Hunter guarding the aircraft.
As expected, Pokémon Hunters, who live on the edge of a knife, would never just waltz into battle. At the very least, their escape route had to be protected.
This unexpected developnt stunned both sides for a mont. Sato's group instantly wanted to press the advantage, while the enemy clearly intended to use the opportunity to escape.
Bang!
A smoke grenade detonated, shrouding everything in thick smoke. Cynthia and Mark reacted swiftly and both sent out their Lucario.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" x2
Boom! Boom!
The helicopter was still warming up, but two Aura Spheres hit, snapping the rotor blades clean off. The smoke wasn't just obscuring Sato's group's vision, after all.
"Cacturne, Dark Pulse, no discrimination."
"Togekiss, Air Slash… attack however you feel like!" Mark's command was so carefree it was hard to believe, but Togekiss's aura was now wildly unstable, it was clearly on the verge of a breakthrough.
Sato looked at this and couldn't help but feel frustrated. Why was it that even after overleveled victories, Cacturne still hadn't broken through?
"Garchomp, Draco teor!"
"GAAAAAR!"
Garchomp let out a roar and opened its jaws, firing a glowing orange-red energy sphere into the sky.
Once the energy sphere reached its peak, it exploded. Scattering like a teor shower that rained down at terrifying speed onto the helicopter's original landing spot.
No need to check…
The helicopter was truly scrap tal now.
As the smoke slowly dispersed, the wrecked helicopter ca into view. Two of the Pokémon Hunters had been too slow to dodge and were caught in the blast.
Without a word, Sato and the others rushed in. Now cornered, the Hunters had been completely provoked. Each of them sent out two to three more Pokémon, clearly intent on wiping out their opponents.
Sato added Krookodile to his team. Joseph Gallade, and ganium in the rear officially joined the fight as support, its first Heal Pulse went straight to the badly injured Cacturne.
With too many Pokémon on the field, one-on-one battles were no longer possible. A full-blown "free for all" was about to erupt. Both sides instinctively adjusted for two seconds…
Then attacked at the exact sa ti.
In an instant, the battlefield was flooded with moves -flying rocks, raging flas, freezing ice- and an endless bombardnt followed.
In the blink of an eye, two Pokémon were already out: the enemy's Honchkrow and Sato's Cacturne.
The forr had already been badly injured, so its defeat was expected.
The latter -Cacturne- was just too flashy, attracting attention that led to it being targeted from the start.
Sato sighed helplessly. Sotis, the more you want sothing to happen, the harder it becos. Focusing too much on the goal can make you forget the importance of the process.
"Next ti. No rush…" Sato said softly to Cacturne inside the Poké Ball.
Then, he pulled out another Poké Ball and tossed it forward.
"Ti to end this farce… Tyranitar!"
"TYRAAAAAAAN!"
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