"Well, well, old man! Long ti no see."
Lin Ke greeted him with a mocking smile. As one of the Azure Dragon Society's veterans, Uncle Ye was soone Lin Ke knew all too well.
"Heh!"
"Lin Ke, your dog nose is as sharp as ever. You really managed to sniff us out here, huh?" Uncle Ye shot back with a sneer.
Lin Ke once had a nickna—"Lin Dog."
It wasn't without reason.
Every shady deed the Flying Eagle Gang ever pulled off always had his involvent.
In everyone else's eyes, Lin Ke was the biggest lapdog under their boss, Ying Tou.
And so, "Lin Dog" stuck.
Lin Ke, long used to the na, didn't show a hint of offense.
"Old man, it's been a while."
"Let's see if you've lost your edge."
"Ariados, say hello for !"
With a flick of his hand, Lin Ke sent Ariados leaping into the air. Dozens of needles shimred with purple light, raining down toward Uncle Ye.
But—
The volley of [Poison Sting] was intercepted mid-flight by a burst of fire.
"Infernape, [Fla Wheel]!"
The bodyguard captain had stepped in.
"Lin Ke! You dare kill our Elite Bodyguard personnel? Don't think this ends here. The Elite Bodyguard Company will make you pay!"
The captain's eyes blazed with fury.
Lin Ke, though, only feigned surprise.
"Oh my! Captain Wang, let's not go throwing around accusations. If your people got themselves killed, what's that got to do with ?"
"Careful, or I might sue for slander."
"And a bit of advice, Captain—maybe you should screen your hires a bit better. Don't just bring in any old stray cat or dog. Wouldn't want your company's reputation going down the drain."
He wasn't about to admit to anything in public, even if he was responsible for the deaths. Why hand them that leverage?
"You—!"
Seeing Lin Ke's shaless grin, the captain's rage boiled over.
"Infernape, [Blaze Kick]!"
Whoosh!
Infernape exploded upward, both feet ablaze as it soared through the night. As it ca crashing down, a fierce orange fla erupted from its legs.
Seeing Infernape make its move, a sly smile crept across Lin Ke's face.
Instead of worrying about the type disadvantage, he ordered Ariados forward.
"Ariados, [Cross Poison]!"
A shimring purple X of poison flashed above Ariados's head as it pushed off, launching itself straight into Infernape's fiery assault.
A heavy, muffled boom echoed as the two attacks collided midair.
For a mont, Infernape and Ariados were locked in a tense struggle.
But with the elental advantage and solid ground beneath it, Infernape clearly had the upper hand.
If this dragged on, victory was certain for Infernape.
Captain Wang was already grinning, sensing the tide turning.
Yet—
Uncle Ye's face remained tense, his eyes searching for any sign of Lin Ke's ace—Arbok.
Strange. For a fight like this, why would Lin Ke hold back? Where's his Arbok?
Wait—unless…
A sudden suspicion flashed through his mind. Uncle Ye focused on the ground beneath Infernape.
Sure enough—
Cracks began to spiderweb through the earth. The fissures widened, as if sothing monstrous was about to burst through.
"Not good!"
Uncle Ye's expression changed as he shouted orders to Ursaring.
"Wang! Watch out!"
"Ursaring, use [Earthquake]!"
Captain Wang instantly realized the threat as well—sothing was coming from below Infernape.
"Old man, not bad—as sharp as ever! A sha you're a little late."
"Arbok, [Poison Fang]!"
Before Ursaring could unleash [Earthquake], Arbok—who'd been lurking deep underground—erupted from below.
Its gaping jaws glistened with lethal toxins.
Lin Ke knew that, with both his Pokémon double-teaming, it still wasn't realistic to bring down Infernape all at once—after all, these were all Pseudo-Elite Four battlers.
So he opted for a different tactic.
If he couldn't knock Infernape out, then he'd make sure it couldn't keep fighting.
And for a Poison-type, nothing was simpler or more effective than poisoning the opponent.
Infernape's right leg flared with power, sending Ariados flying, but Arbok's venomous fangs were already upon it—there was no dodging.
The bite sank deep. Poison surged through Infernape's veins, its skin flushing dark purple as agony twisted its face.
Thankfully, Ursaring's tily intervention sent Arbok flying back.
But even so, Infernape, now heavily poisoned, could barely muster a tenth of its forr strength.
With the top battlers on both sides now clashing, the stand-off instantly devolved into all-out chaos.
The once-quiet village exploded with noise and violence.
---
Sounds like the fighting's coming from the villa…
The commotion jolted Guo Yi from sleep.
Sensing sothing wrong, he imdiately sent out Nidoking and Nidoqueen ahead of him, threw on his clothes, and rushed after them.
---
Infernape, struggling against the venom coursing through its body, was fighting at a fraction of its usual power.
With only Ursaring left to stand against two Pseudo-Elite Four opponents, they were soon overwheld.
But Lin Ke didn't try to poison Ursaring the sa way.
After years of rivalry, he knew exactly what Ursaring's Ability was—[Guts].
If Ursaring was poisoned or afflicted with any status, its strength would spike dramatically.
A rampaging Ursaring was a terrifying sight.
Worse, if Infernape took the chance to launch a desperate assault, Lin Ke could be thrown on the defensive.
So he chose to wear them down slowly, the safer bet.
The only thing that puzzled Lin Ke was—
He wasn't in a hurry because the battle was going his way. But why were the old man and the bodyguard captain so calm, too?
Do they have so ace up their sleeve?
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a thunderous roar split the night.
Two hulking beasts crashed onto the field from the flank—
Nidoking and Nidoqueen had arrived!
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