"Awooo—Awooo—Awooo!"
Far off, the assassins' Pokémon were rushing back desperately.
But Bibarel, empowered by Aqua Jet, was far too fast. They had no chance of intercepting it in time.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Shaco commanded his two advanced-level beasts against Froslass, gradually forcing her back.
His Mightyena and Murkrow both possessed the Dark typing, granting them a natural advantage that suppressed Froslass heavily.
Shaco was just preparing to finish her off when suddenly he saw Bibarel streaking across the battlefield like a blue comet, cutting straight toward him!
Its speed was terrifying—within moments, it was already upon him.
Shaco's Mightyena, seeing the incoming threat, immediately abandoned Froslass and leapt in front of its master.
The beast's body shimmered with a dark glow as it unleashed Pursuit, colliding again and again with Bibarel in a flurry of high-speed clashes.
"Lass~"
Relieved of pressure, Froslass immediately retreated, her body fading into the air. When she reappeared, it was high above, where she immediately unleashed her chilling powers on the Golbat that had been dominating the skies!
"Murkrow—return!"
Seeing the figure of the Froslass retreat into the distance, Shaco did not order his Murkrow to continue chasing.
His expression was gloomy as he cast a glance at the assassin lying motionless in the pool of blood not far away, realizing that this time they had clearly fallen into the opponent's trap.
Although this so-called Earl Aven appeared to have brought only five magical beasts into the Black Coast Forest, in reality, the man must have used some unknown means to keep all of his true forces close by.
And with the addition of two magical beasts that could turn invisible, the enemy had instead managed to carry out a deadly ambush against them, leaving their side with devastating losses.
"Captain Shaco…"
The few surviving assassins quickly rushed over with their own magical beasts, forming up around him.
Out of the eighteen assassins that had originally come to this ambush point, only five remained. At this moment, every one of their faces was dark and unpleasant to behold.
Their eyes constantly swept about the surroundings, deeply afraid that another magical beast might suddenly appear from the shadows and launch a surprise attack against them.
"The most important thing right now is still to complete the mission!"
"Cancel the assassination plan—we'll face him head-on! No matter what, he is just one man!"
Shaco's tone was heavy and resolute. As for sacrifices, they had already been prepared for that long before. What mattered most was fulfilling the task they had been assigned.
Otherwise, even if they managed to escape back to the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild, what awaited them in the end would be terrifying punishment. And not only themselves—their families would also be dragged down and suffer because of their failure.
"Yes, Captain Shaco!" The remaining assassins all nodded one after another. Bringing their beasts along, they immediately withdrew from the depths of the forest and made their way toward the battlefield at the front.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At this moment, the battlefield had already split into several fronts, and fierce clashes were erupting everywhere.
Two advanced-level Mightyenas were each leading five more Mightyenas, almost advanced-level themselves, to encircle and attack the Rhydon and Torterra.
However, with the battlefield being empowered by moves Grassy Terrain and Growth, and the Flower Gift ability, Rhydon and Torterra were overwhelmingly strong, holding their ground without the slightest disadvantage.
Meanwhile, in the sky above, Froslass was already engaged in battle with a Golbat. For the Flying-type Golbat, the Ice-type moves of Froslass were extremely oppressive, suppressing it heavily.
Deep in the forest, Shaco's Mightyena was fighting fiercely against Bibarel. Both Pokémon were astonishingly fast, their figures flashing back and forth through the battlefield, accompanied by constant booming impacts.
By Shaco's side, his Murkrow had not yet joined the battle. But on Aven's side, Petilil, Vileplume, and Tangrowth had already laid out a Grassy Terrain across the battlefield.
"It seems in the end, I can only rely on it."
"But… if that beast is to descend, it will undoubtedly require many sacrifices."
Shaco's gaze swept around coldly. He planned to wait until the current fights concluded before deciding whether to unleash his final trump card.
"Ralts~ Ralts~"
Beside Aven, the small figure of Ralts floated quietly in midair.
Its gaze was unusually solemn. From the very beginning, it had faintly sensed a sudden surge of intense malice spreading across the battlefield.
But when it tried to probe more carefully, it could not pinpoint where that malice originated from. This unsettled it greatly, making it feel as though a dark cloud had been hanging over its head.
"An unknown threat, is it?"
"Then we must end this battle as quickly as possible!"
Aven's sharp gaze swept across the battlefield and finally landed on Bibarel.
In the distance, Bibarel seemed to sense it. It turned its head back, and its eyes locked directly with Aven's.
In the next instant, Bibarel suddenly surged toward Aven's direction. Behind it, Mightyena cloaked in ghostly light was giving chase at full speed!
"Cherrim, bestow Flower Gift upon Bibarel!"
"Tangrowth, use Growth with all your strength—lend your power to Bibarel!"
Hearing his command, both Cherrim and Tangrowth nodded firmly. Tremendous energy gathered and burst forth from their bodies.
"Biii!"
Once more, Bibarel and Mightyena clashed violently, their figures crashing down to the ground.
Then—energy of Flower Gift and Growth poured into Bibarel, completely wrapping around its body.
"Biii!"
Bibarel crouched low, tail raised high. Its aura skyrocketed, surging at an incredible pace.
As Flower Gift and Growth enveloped its entire being, yet another surge of power welled up from within Bibarel itself, pushing its energy fluctuations to an even greater level.
"Awoo! Awoo!"
Opposite it, Mightyena landed solidly upon the ground, fixing its gaze on Bibarel with a furious snarl before unleashing a resounding howl.
At once, it lunged forward, its form wrapped in ghostly light again, claws outstretched as energy condensed rapidly!
"BIII!"
Feeling the tremendous energy coursing through its body, Bibarel raised its head.
In the very next heartbeat, it crouched once more, water jets bursting from beneath its feet as its figure shot forward like lightning!
Boom!
The two Pokémon collided in midair.
But this time, the clash lasted only an instant. Mightyena's body was struck head-on and hurled backward violently!
What had been an evenly matched confrontation until now suddenly ended in Bibarel's overwhelming dominance!
Crash!
Mightyena slammed into the ground, rolling several times before it managed to stagger upright again, battered and disheveled.
Its eyes stared in disbelief at Bibarel, utterly unable to comprehend how its opponent—who had been equal in strength just moments ago—had suddenly become this powerful!
"Biii!"
Bibarel landed steadily and instantly lunged forward again!
"Awoo!"
Mightyena grit its teeth, forced to meet the charge head-on.
Boom!
Another thunderous impact shook the battlefield—yet Mightyena was once more sent flying without exception!
This time, Bibarel had already fully adapted to its newfound strength. Without even pausing, it pursued relentlessly!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
From that point on, it was nothing but one-sided devastation. Bibarel mercilessly battered Mightyena again and again, sending it flying across the battlefield every time!
"What's going on? Captain's Mightyena is being completely overwhelmed!"
The assassins watching were all dumbfounded, shock etched across their faces.
It had all happened far too suddenly. In the blink of an eye, they could only watch as Mightyena was battered around repeatedly, without a shred of resistance!
Could it be… had this Bibarel already reached quasi-king level? This terrifying thought flashed through all of their minds.
In the distance, even Aven could not help but sigh to himself, "Indeed powerful… the Simple Ability of the Bibarels!"
The Simple ability was a kind of amplification ability. When a Pokémon with this trait experienced a change in its stats, the change would be doubled in effect!
Thus, after receiving both Flower Gift's blessing and Growth's enhancement, Bibarel's boosts were directly doubled beyond their original effect!
Under such conditions, if equipped with a Life Orb, a Bibarel could indeed barely reach quasi-king level strength.
And if rainy weather were added on top of that, its power could rise even further—defeating the Nidoking leader from before would no longer be impossible.
No matter what, in this moment, Bibarel had achieved a complete suppression of Mightyena. With Flower Gift, Growth, and Simple combined, its offensive power had been pushed to the absolute limit!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Once again, Bibarel sent Mightyena flying.
Immediately after, its jaws opened wide, energy condensing rapidly upon its front teeth.
It unleashed the powerful Normal-type finishing move—Hyper Fang—biting down heavily upon Mightyena's body!
The immense power allowed Bibarel's sharp fangs to tear through Mightyena's defenses, ripping open its skin as blood spurted out instantly.
With a violent jerk of its head, Bibarel flung Mightyena's body away, sending it crashing down hard into the open ground in the distance!
"The battle is over—Poké Ball, go!"
Witnessing this, Aven swiftly pulled out an empty Poké Ball and hurled it.
The ball struck the fallen Mightyena dead-on, absorbing it into a beam of red light.
Click… click… click…
The Poké Ball rolled slightly upon the ground.
But with Mightyena gravely injured, how could it possibly resist the netlike capture mechanism inside?
With a final clack, the button light dimmed—signifying that Mightyena had been successfully captured!
"Ralts~ Ralts~"
At once, Ralts used Psychic.
The Poké Ball floated gracefully through the air into Aven's hand. After locking it securely, he tucked it away into his pack.
From a distance, every assassin froze as they watched Mightyena vanish into the Poké Ball. Their lips trembled as they muttered in disbelief, "Mightyena… is gone?"
"How is that possible? My Mightyena…" Shaco's face went slack, stunned.
That Mightyena was one he had painstakingly raised step by step. Its sudden disappearance left his heart hollow, as though a chunk of his very soul had been carved out.
"One less threat to deal with—things just got a lot simpler." Aven exhaled lightly.
Though Mightyena had been gravely wounded, if it had chosen to fight to the bitter end, it still could have caused great trouble. Now, with it captured in a Poké Ball, it had lost all ability to resist.
Without pause, under Aven's command, Bibarel charged back into the fray, racing directly toward the Rhydon's battlefield with astonishing speed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At that time, Rhydon was swinging its fists mightily, alternating between Rock Slide and Drill Run.
From time to time, it even unleashed Stone Edge and Smack Down. Even under the siege of six Mightyenas, it showed no fear.
But the Mightyenas were simply too agile, and for the moment Rhydon could not decisively finish them off.
Yet with Bibarel's sudden arrival, everything changed. Those five Mightyenas that had not yet reached true high-level strength were instantly no match, not even for a single clash!
"Rhydon, use Stone Edge on those Golbats!"
"Froslass, support with Icy Wind—combine with Rhydon's attack!"
The moment Aven gave the order, Froslass nodded sharply. Its form flickered, the surrounding air plummeting in temperature as countless icy crystals spread through the sky.
Though Icy Wind could not freeze the very air solid, the speed of the Golbats was nonetheless drastically reduced, their movements becoming stiff and sluggish.
At the same time, Rhydon's Stone Edge struck. A torrent of jagged rocks shot upward, slamming into the slowed Golbats and sending them tumbling from the sky like kites with cut strings.
"Petilil, Vileplume, Tangrowth—use Giga Drain!"
The three Grass-types nodded in unison. With the grassy terrain and vines as conduits, green light immediately enveloped the fallen Golbats.
Their stamina drained away at a shocking rate, their bodies bound tightly by vines and grass, until one by one they lost the will to fight.
With that, Froslass's pressure in the skies lessened considerably. With it adding a Blizzard with the relentless assaults, it brought down several more Golbats, feeding them straight into the grasp of the three Grass-types!
Absorbing that vitality, the exhaustion on Petilil, Vileplume, and Tangrowth's faces quickly faded, and they immediately launched another powerful wave of attacks at the remaining Golbats in the air.
"Now all that's left… are those assassins themselves!"
"Rhydon—charge and use Take Down!"
Hearing Aven's command, Rhydon let out a thunderous roar. Its entire body became shrouded in blazing white light!
Its hard head protected it from the side effects of the Take Down, allowing it to unleash its full strength, pressing forward with overwhelming momentum!
Seeing the massive Rhydon bearing down upon them, terror flickered in the assassins' eyes. Shaco's Murkrow flapped into the air, preparing to intercept the oncoming juggernaut.
Yet standing at the forefront, Shaco himself wore an eerily calm expression. Cold light gleamed in his gaze as the stone gripped in his hand was suddenly hurled high into the sky—
(End of Chapter)