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Swish.
The tent flap was thrown open, and a handsome man stepped inside at Raven's call. He wore a round, brimmed hat, and his smooth golden hair gleamed beneath the lantern light.
"I'm here, boss."
"What do you need?"
Raven did not answer immediately. Instead, she handed him the paper report.
Pointing at the contents, she spoke in a low, cold voice.
"Find him. Kill him."
Zeke's sapphire-blue eyes flickered with confusion. He took the report and read it carefully. After a moment, realization dawned, and he nodded.
"Oh… so we're finally moving against him."
"Makes sense. The Order's taken more than enough losses because of him. It's time he learned what that costs."
He paused.
Then he looked up at Raven with faint hesitation.
"…Will things be alright here?"
"It's fine. One less person won't change anything."
"Just go. And come back quickly."
Raven waved her hand dismissively.
She had chosen Zeke for a reason.
First, as one of the Phantom Order's founding members, his Bisharp ranked among the strongest Pokémon under any senior officer. Even if the enemy proved stronger than expected, Zeke could handle it without difficulty.
Second, Zeke possessed an unusually sharp intuition. When the enemy's location was unclear, that instinct alone could make the difference between success and failure.
Under those circumstances, his notoriously poor sense of direction hardly mattered.
Besides, after two days wandering the Nightmare-infested wilderness, the enemy could not have gone far. Once the mission was complete, Bisharp could easily guide him back to camp.
And finally, the most important reason.
Despite his seniority, Zeke's lazy nature had never earned him much goodwill within the Order. Many of his peers quietly resented him, even if they rarely voiced it outright.
Now that Raven had forcibly gathered so many senior officers in one place for the Xerneas operation, long-suppressed tensions had begun to surface.
The atmosphere had grown volatile, like a powder keg waiting for a spark. Without Raven's authority keeping things in check, infighting would have already erupted.
Temporarily removing Zeke, the focal point of much of that resentment, would ease the tension and help ensure the mission's success.
Zeke himself was well aware he wasn't particularly welcome. Leaving camp for a mission was almost a relief.
The suffocating tension had been wearing on him.
He asked no further questions. After memorizing the key details from the report, he departed that very night, his Bisharp at his side.
---
Boom! Boom!
Blinding flashes tore across the open plains, thunderous explosions echoing across the empty landscape. Damp soil and shredded grass were scattered into the air.
"Hah… hah…"
Benson ran.
He sprinted across the uneven wasteland without daring to look back. His breathing was ragged, broken by desperation.
The middle-aged man, whose gentle features once gave him an air of quiet reliability, was now covered in blood and wounds.
His reddened eyes were wide with terror.
Broken words escaped his throat between gasps.
"…Impossible… monster… don't want to die…"
Benson was an elite Trainer from the branch of the Pokémon League. Calm and experienced, he had been appointed squad captain the moment the Nightmare Pokémon returned.
Years of academic training. Countless battles. Endless dedication to raising his Pokémon.
These foundations, simple in appearance but brutally difficult to achieve, had allowed him to reach the absolute peak of his level.
In less than six months, he and his squad had completed numerous high-risk missions, earning immense merit.
They grew stronger through battle.
His Pokémon partners evolved alongside him, tempered by constant combat and strengthened by resources earned through merit.
The heights he once thought unreachable were now within sight.
To Benson, the Nightmare invasion was not just a crisis.
It was an opportunity.
A chance to achieve everything he had ever dreamed of.
If he accumulated enough merit, he could request reassignment to the League's central headquarters deep within human territory.
Only there, among the elite, could he truly fulfill his ambitions.
Five days ago, Benson had accepted what was supposed to be a routine mission.
Intercept and eliminate a large Nightmare Pokémon group near Pink Hill.
Everything went perfectly.
Thanks to thorough preparation, flawless coordination, and carefully planned strategies, the Nightmare Pokémon had fallen quickly.
In less than half a day, every enemy had been defeated.
As Benson cleaned the battlefield, calculating how much merit he still needed to reach headquarters…
Something appeared.
A Pokémon unlike anything he had ever seen.
Its body resembled a fortress, built entirely from dark gray stone.
Massive. Overwhelming.
Even Benson, who knew the Pokédex inside and out, could not identify it.
The moment it appeared, it attacked.
Without warning.
Without reason.
Its assault was devastating beyond imagination.
Five minutes.
Just five minutes.
His loyal partners, who had fought beside him for years, were annihilated.
Reduced to lifeless bodies.
The sudden collapse. The incomprehensible power.
Benson's mind shut down.
And now, driven by nothing but raw instinct…
He ran.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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