Lucas cursed inwardly as he looked at the person in front of him.
Gengar floated in front of Lucas, watching Hunter J warily.
Hunter J also noticed Lucas. She looked at him, standing on her Salamence, and calmly said, "Have you seen the Ninetales here?"
Lucas's eyebrow twitched. Ninetales? Grandma's Ninetales?
Illuminated by the firelight, Hunter J saw the change in Lucas's expression.
"So you know it?"
Hunter J chuckled. "Then do you know where it went?"
"You set fire to this forest, intending to burn it down, just to find a Ninetales?"
Lucas did not answer her, but instead questioned her coldly.
"Is there a problem? Someone offered to buy this Ninetales from me. I couldn't find it for two or three days, so I had to set fire to try and force it out, but who knew it still wouldn't come out."
Hunter J answered Lucas's question nonchalantly.
"But your Gengar seems pretty good too. It should fetch a good price."
Hunter J chuckled.
Hearing this, Lucas immediately gave an order.
"Will-O-Wisp it."
Many flames appeared around Gengar, burning away all the String Shot spun by Ariados in the darkness.
From the moment Lucas first saw her, he had already become wary of his surroundings.
From the moment he met her, he was destined not to escape.
Fortunately, he was very familiar with Hunter J's battle methods: first trapping people with String Shot, then petrifying Pokémon with a ray and taking them away.
So while she was talking, Lucas used his Cheat to Detect the Ariados hiding in the shadows.
Ariados
Attributes: Poison, Bug
Gender: Male
..."Vespiquen, Air Cutter."
Vespiquen unleashed several wind blades in the direction Lucas indicated, forcing Ariados out.
"Close combat."
Two Machamp met Drapion, forcing it back with close combat.
Hunter J looked at Lucas with some surprise, her eyes dark.
"Flamethrower."
Salamence breathed fire from its mouth towards Lucas.
Watching the Flamethrower rush straight at him, Lucas gritted his teeth.
"Vespiquen, Staravia, Air Cutter."
Vespiquen and Staravia simultaneously unleashed Air Cutter, which collided with the Flamethrower, creating smoke.
As the smoke dissipated, Hunter J and Salamence's figures disappeared.
Lucas was unusually calm now, so calm that he could hear his own heartbeat.
Ariados and Drapion were entirely handled by the two Machamp, while he remained vigilant against Hunter J, not daring to be distracted in the slightest.
"Gengar, Dazzling Gleam!"
Gengar dodged Salamence's Dragon Pulse and launched a Dazzling Gleam, perfectly hitting Salamence.
But Salamence swayed and continued to fly higher.
With the help of the Pokémon prompt bar, Lucas could always precisely pinpoint Salamence's location.
Hunter J stood on a tree, waved her hand, and several Pokémon Hunters advanced towards Lucas.
Lucas whispered something to Gengar, and then Double Team created a dozen Gengar, each holding a Shadow Ball, which they threw towards the Pokémon Hunters.
The Pokémon Hunters commanded their Pokémon to block the Shadow Balls, creating smoke again. As the smoke cleared, Gengar had vanished.
"Flamethrower."
Hunter J's voice rang out again.
Lucas had no time to react.
Vespiquen flew in front of him, launched a Bug Buzz to meet the Flamethrower, and was ultimately engulfed by the Flamethrower, falling to the ground charred and unresponsive.
Lucas gritted his teeth.
Sister Reese, why aren't you here yet?
"Staravia, Brave Bird!"
Staravia charged directly at Salamence, but Salamence dodged and took a direct hit from Dragon Pulse.
It barely managed to support its body and fly in front of Lucas. Hunter J, seeing this situation, chuckled and then gave an order: "It's over, Flamethrower."
Lucas saw the figure in the shadows and grinned.
"Gengar! Full-power Dazzling Gleam!!"
Hunter J's eyes narrowed. Gengar suddenly appeared beneath Salamence, and a Dazzling Gleam directly hit Salamence.
Salamence shrieked and fell to the ground.
Hunter J looked at the ground; all her subordinates had been hypnotized by Gengar or paralyzed by Lick.
"A bunch of trash."
Hunter J cursed furiously, then looked at Lucas.
"Your strength isn't bad. Ariados, String Shot."
Ariados forced one Machamp back with an X-Scissor, then shot String Shot towards Lucas.
"Nii-kya!"
At the critical moment, Staravia's Air Cutter scattered the String Shot.
Lucas's mouth was dry, and he gradually fell into a disadvantage against Hunter J's formidable strength.
Hunter J's strength was too great; the current Lucas could barely resist even with all his might and his Cheat.
Even Gengar had been forced to take two Flamethrowers from Salamence, covered in wounds, swaying, and holding on by a thread.
Hunter J seized the opportunity, aiming the launcher on her wrist at Gengar and firing.
"Get away, don't get petrified."
"Gengar—"
Gengar quickly dodged the ray.
Thankfully, he defended against it. From the very beginning, Lucas had been guarding against her petrification ray.
Hunter J frowned. She realized that Lucas seemed to know her very well, able to precisely avoid Ariados and Drapion hiding in the dark, and even her petrification ray had been dodged.
"You seem to know me very well?"
Hunter J couldn't help but ask. Lucas smiled.
"Hunter J, who doesn't know her?"
Lucas thought for a moment and said, "I can tell you where that Ninetales went."
"Just a delaying tactic."
Hunter J chuckled, seeing through Lucas's intentions.
During their battle, the forest fire grew larger and larger, and the Pokémon inside fled everywhere.
A Marill, along with its family, was also fleeing until it reached the forest exit. It saw Lucas, and it also saw the Salamence flying in the air.
It recognized that Salamence as the Pokémon that started the fire. It stopped, staring intently at it.
Gengar swayed its shaky body and floated in front of Lucas.
The two Machamp also began to retreat to Lucas's side.
"Hyper Beam!"
Salamence unleashed a terrifying beam of energy.
"Dazzling Gleam, Air Cutter, Focus Punch!"
All the moves were unleashed, canceling out the Hyper Beam, and the swirling dust covered the entire battlefield.
Seizing the moment of Salamence's rigidity, Marill sat on its tail, then launched itself into the air, getting close to Salamence, and a Play Rough knocked Salamence down.
"Where did this Marill come from!"
Hunter J cursed angrily.
Lucas cheered, the Dragon Slayer lived up to its name.
As Marill was falling, Salamence trembled, stood up on the ground, and flew up again, hitting Marill with an Iron Head, sending it flying to Lucas's side.
Watching Marill get knocked away and land near him, Lucas inwardly cursed, "What a shame."
Marill's last Play Rough lacked power, otherwise it could have completely defeated Salamence.
Drapion and Ariados continued their attacks; all of Lucas's Pokémon were already covered in wounds.
"How is this damned Salamence so tough! Three super-effective hits still can't take it down."
"Draco Meteor! Poison Sting! Thunder Fang!"
Hunter J shouted.
Salamence spat out energy, forming a Draco Meteor in the air that crashed down.
Ariados's Poison Sting was all swallowed by Gengar, but Thunder Fang hit the Marill that had just stood up, and Marill painfully collapsed.
"Block the Draco Meteor!"
Lucas roared.
Gengar's Psychic erupted, blocking one Draco Meteor after another. The two Machamp also resisted with their fists. Staravia continuously dodged in the air, but ultimately took two Draco Meteors and fell to the ground, losing its fighting capability.
Just as Hunter J thought Lucas had run out of options, siren sounds echoed around them.
"Arcanine, Flamethrower!"
Sister Reese, you're finally here!
Lucas breathed a sigh of relief.
Hunter J, seeing the Jenny and International Police surrounding them, scoffed, then jumped onto Salamence, recalled Drapion and Ariados into their Poké Balls, and flew unsteadily into the distance.
She looked back at Lucas.
Lucas likewise stared at her with icy eyes. Under the illumination of the night and the flames, his expression was unusually cold, fixed on her.
The Gengar beside him swayed, having taken several Flamethrowers from Salamence, yet still forcing its body to stay upright, watching her and Salamence.
And those two Machamp, clearly not as strong as Drapion and Ariados, yet they had stubbornly held back her Drapion and Ariados.
She heard Jenny call him Lucas.
"Lucas, someone will eventually commission me to capture your Gengar."
"Next time, you definitely won't be so lucky!"
Lucas similarly spoke a cold retort towards the distance.
....
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