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Panic consumed Benson entirely.
The thunder of explosions still rang in his ears, mixed with the dying screams of his teammates. The sounds clawed at his mind, pushing the seasoned middle-aged Trainer to the edge of collapse.
Truthfully, he had been prepared for this.
Ever since graduating from the Trainer Academy and formally joining the Pokémon League, he had known how his story might end.
In this dark era, death was not rare.
Perhaps it was that constant awareness that shaped his choices. Despite his age and respected status in Falyn City, he had never married, never built a family.
He refused to leave behind people who would suffer because of his death. Even if he died honorably in battle, he knew his final moments would be haunted by regret.
When the Nightmare Pokémon returned and he was sent to the front lines, he had steeled himself even further.
He had already decided how his possessions would be distributed.
Benson was ambitious. Fiercely so.
But he had always accepted the possibility of sacrificing himself for humanity's survival.
It was a quiet resolve shared by many in this era.
However, that resolve had always been built upon one assumption.
That he would die fighting Nightmare Pokémon.
Not this.
What he faced now was something unknown. Something alien.
Something that had appeared without warning and destroyed his partners with effortless brutality.
This was not the heroic final stand he had imagined. Not the defiant warrior who dragged enemies down with him.
If his opponent had been a Nightmare Pokémon, he would have faced death with dignity.
But this was different.
The human mind did not break gradually.
It shattered in an instant.
And Benson's had.
Boom… boom…
The explosions behind him continued.
But they were slowing.
He knew why.
Because the screams were fading too.
He did not dare look back.
He did not need to.
Deep down, he already knew.
He was the last one left.
Then—
His foot caught on something.
A stone. A broken branch. He did not know.
His already unstable stride collapsed completely.
His balance failed. Momentum carried him forward as his body slammed into the ground.
He rolled across the grass, pain tearing through him. Sharp stones ripped through his clothing, carving open fresh wounds.
"Ugh!"
He spat dirt and grass from his mouth, forcing himself upright.
The monster had not even struck him yet.
And he was already half dead.
But the pain brought clarity.
Years of experience returned to him in fragments.
He knew the truth.
Against Pokémon, a human could never win a race of speed.
Running blindly would only excite the predator.
He had to calm down.
He had to think.
Benson staggered and turned.
The creature's massive shadow swallowed him whole.
And for the first time, he saw it clearly.
It was a living fortress.
A massive, block-shaped body formed from countless dark gray stone bricks. Each block shifted subtly, as if alive.
A single glowing blue eye stared out from the gaps between its stone walls.
The devastating beam that had annihilated his team had come from that eye.
Anyone familiar with Pokémon would have recognized it instantly.
Stakataka.
A Rock and Steel type.
An Ultra Beast.
Designation: UB Assembly.
Its appearance resembled stacked construction blocks. Solid. Symmetrical. Almost harmless at a glance.
But in truth, it possessed the power to reduce entire cities to rubble.
When it entered this world and became infected by the Nightmare Seeds, it transformed into something far worse.
A walking artillery platform.
A machine of destruction.
And unlike most Nightmare-infected Pokémon, its hunger for destruction knew no distinction.
Even other infected Pokémon fell before it.
Benson did not know its name.
But he understood one thing.
He could not win.
Cold sweat poured down his face.
The air itself seemed thick with killing intent. The creature's presence crushed his will, suffocating him.
"I…"
His voice trembled.
He did not even know what he wanted to say.
The Ultra Beast did not care.
It did not hesitate.
It did not question.
It existed only to destroy.
Bzzzz—
A deep, piercing hum filled the air.
Light gathered within its glowing blue eye.
"No…!"
Benson's pupils shrank.
He raised his arms instinctively, a futile attempt at protection.
Desperation filled his voice.
A final, meaningless plea.
Boom.
A silver-white beam erupted.
Radiation and heat tore through him instantly.
His body disintegrated before he could even feel the end.
Reduced to nothing.
Death was constant in this world.
Especially on the battlefield between humanity and Nightmare Pokémon.
And for Stakataka, driven purely by its instinct to destroy…
This was nothing unusual.
Just another moment.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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