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Thomas was one of the three contestants who had teamed up to take down Ranka. Now, he was fleeing eastward in a panic, riding his Rapidash as fast as he could, terrified that Ranka and his Mega Aggron would suddenly strike from behind.
At this moment, Thomas's fear of Ranka had reached an unimaginable peak.
He just couldn't comprehend how a favorable 16-on-4 situation had been completely overturned by a single stone carried by Ranka and his Aggron.
Although Ranka's Aggron was undeniably powerful, Thomas and the other two contestants were elite trainers among Team Rocket's younger generation. Naturally, they knew how to deal with a bulky Pokémon like Aggron.
They had decided early on to use a kiting strategy—perfect against Pokémon like Aggron that were strong in both offense and defense but lacked mobility.
With that in mind, they coordinated their attack with nine high-mobility Pokémon: Rapidash, Scyther, Victreebel with the Chlorophyll ability, Sceptile, Shiftry, and others, aiming to wear down the terrifying Aggron.
At first, the kiting strategy worked quite well.
But it didn't take long for Ranka's Aggron to demonstrate the brutal truth of battle: "If you have enough power, you can ignore all disadvantages."
Its defense was simply absurd. Attacks from the enemy Pokémon felt like nothing more than tickles.
Especially physical attacks—even moves with type advantage couldn't deal significant damage to it.
And then came the turning point. Ranka activated the Key Stone and Aggron's Mega Evolution Stone, unleashing a transformation that turned the steel behemoth into an immovable iron fortress.
But it wasn't just Aggron's unbreakable defense that won the fight. The real game-changer was its tremendous physical attack power and terrifying area-of-effect (AoE) offensive capability.
Under Ranka's training, Stone Edge—a Rock-type move with 100 base power and a high critical hit ratio—had been refined to perfection by Aggron.
It could launch a seamless 360-degree assault, covering a radius of over a hundred meters with deadly precision.
Worse still, Ranka's Aggron could unleash this wide-range Stone Edge attack continuously without pause. Its precision was so exact that it never hit allied Pokémon.
In other words, once Aggron started its barrage, it effectively became a turret with overwhelming firepower and full-area coverage.
As if that wasn't enough, within a 20-meter radius, it could trigger devastating Earthquake attacks. Many non-flying Pokémon didn't even get the chance to approach before being crushed by the seismic shockwaves.
Think you can leap into the air to dodge? Once airborne, with no leverage, you'd be an easy target for Aggron's precision Stone Edge. And these weren't just rocks—they were a torrential downpour of sharpened stone spikes.
As for the unlucky ones who managed to get close for melee combat, what awaited them was a fully armored steel tyrannosaurus.
There was no doubt: in terms of close combat prowess, Ranka's Mega Aggron was top-tier. Even powerful pseudo-Legendary Dragon-types would struggle to match it. Perhaps only Kommo-o could go toe-to-toe with it.
Within just a few minutes, the Pokémon of all three trainers were completely overwhelmed—taken down by Aggron's Earthquake and full-range Stone Edge.
Thomas was just lucky. His starter Pokémon, Rapidash, was quick-witted. As soon as the battle turned south, it bolted, allowing Thomas to escape without being caught by Ranka.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Thomas wouldn't have believed that such a powerful trainer could exist among Team Rocket's younger generation.
He had always known that, coming from a modest background, he was no match for the inner-circle members of Team Rocket. That was why he joined forces with others to ambush Ranka.
But now that he had experienced the gap firsthand, all he felt was despair.
Thomas finally understood—his opponent started from a much higher point, had been training for longer, and came from privilege. As someone from a humble background, no matter how hard he chased, he couldn't close the distance.
"Maybe only a true prodigy, someone blessed with extraordinary luck, can rise from nothing to defeat people like them. Clearly, I'm not that kind of person."
Riding eastward on Rapidash for dozens of kilometers, Thomas wore a look of defeat. After this encounter, he had given up the thought of competing with Team Rocket's elite.
Still, Thomas was an optimistic person. After wallowing in frustration for a short while, he felt grateful for his current circumstances.
He had already covered several dozen kilometers, and Ranka had yet to catch up. It seemed he was finally safe.
Thinking about what fate might have befallen the teammate who was last to escape, Thomas couldn't help but feel a sense of miraculous survival.
At least he hadn't been eliminated. If he could regroup and recover, he might still hang on until the end of the competition.
Thomas had made up his mind. From now on, he would focus on surviving. Rankings didn't matter anymore—staying alive was all that counted.
Unfortunately, his good mood didn't last long. The signal light on the detector in his hand suddenly lit up, followed by a soft alarm sound.
"Run, Rapidash! That monster is coming!"
Seeing the detector's signal, Thomas's face went pale. He immediately shouted at the now-panting Rapidash beneath him.
"Neighhhh!"
Rapidash, having seen Mega Aggron's wrath firsthand, was already on edge. Hearing its trainer's panicked voice, it jolted as if it had received a sudden boost of energy. Its speed surged once again.
"That monster is too fast! Even with Rapidash going all-out, the distance isn't increasing—it's closing! It's over, it's all over!"
With the wind whipping at his face, Thomas stared at the brightening signal light on his detector. Realizing that Ranka was getting closer, his expression turned to despair, and he began screaming hysterically.
Rapidash, hearing its trainer's cries, looked equally desperate. The thought of facing that terrifying Aggron again pushed it to run even faster.
.....
Meanwhile, far to the west, Sato was riding Arcanine, swiftly heading in the opposite direction with a detector in hand.
Seeing the signal light on his device grow brighter, his expression turned serious.
"Confident, huh? Heading straight toward me—and at such speed. Seems like someone's in a real hurry. Fine, let's see what you've got."