Lucario's nest rested through the night before rising bright and early for their revenge. They enjoyed another Elite ranked meal courtesy of Alex before finally being ready for battle.
"So, what exactly do you want to do for this battle?" Alex asked Lucario through their Gardevoir.
'We battle the Champions while you distract the horde,' came their telepathic reply.
"I'm willing to concede one Champion at most," Alex said firmly. "I highly doubt your group could contain all three at once. If you slip up and lose control of even one, your nest would be devastated, and my group would have to clean up the mess."
The Champion ranked Lucario furrowed his brows in thought but understood Alex's point. Swallowing up the three Champions would be ideal, but they couldn't guarantee containment. At most, they could handle two, but even that wasn't certain.
'We accept.'
"Excellent. And your nest?"
'They will help you with the rabble.'
"Fine. I'll cut the pie and distribute it, but I won't be responsible for any deaths."
They discussed the finer details at length before finalizing their plan and setting off.
Alex, riding on Hydreigon with Stormline at the ready, led the way in a wedge formation. His attack team occupied the tip, while his defense team split between either side. All of his and the girls' Pokémon occupied the front line of the formation.
Behind their main group was Lucario and his team of Infernape, Lopunny, Mienshao, Toxicroak, and Gardevoir, forming the core of the wedge.
Lyra and Mika each held the tips of the wings, while the nest provided the bulk at their rear. Sable followed from underground to ensure they were covered against ambush.
The moment they crossed into Tauros territory, Lucario threw his head back and unleashed a roar that rolled through the 11th level of the Spacious Cave like a shockwave.
ROAR!
The echo hadn't even faded when three colossal voices answered, accepting the challenge.
The ground trembled as the Tauros nest surged toward them in a single living wall. At the front thundered the 3 Champions, followed by 300 Elites, and behind them the rest of the frenzied thousands.
Alex called for the formation to brace and just as the stampede was seconds from impact, he gave a single command.
"Roar!"
ROOOAR!
Every Pokémon capable of using Roar poured their voices into the oncoming wave. The sound hit like a physical force, tearing through the center ranks and blowing a hole straight through their momentum. The charge faltered. One misstep became two, then a full cascade as bodies collided and stumbled into each other, killing their advance. The bulk of the herd skidded to a halt in confusion and rising panic.
The Champions and the sturdier half of the Elites powered through unfazed, but they slammed headlong into Alex's front line, meeting an unmoving wall of Protect shields.
Kommo-o's team of Togekiss and Dusknoir locked down the weakest Champion. Arcanine's trio of Raticate and Ceruledge targeted the strongest. Lucario and his squad seized the remaining.
The Elites behind them fared worse. A tight rotation of Protects and area-of-effect attacks hammered them backward, dropping nearly a third in the opening volley and leaving the survivors dazed and scrambling.
The formation's wings opened wide and then curved inward, shifting into an inverted wedge. It tightened into a crushing surround just as the stampede began regaining its senses.
From above, Alex readied himself on Hydreigon's back and watched the chaos unfold. Then he opened fire, Stormline bathing the disorganized core with random special moves while Hydreigon's Snarls and Roars tore at their focus, shredding what remained of their cohesion. The center collapsed into a churning mess of confusion and fear, exactly how Alex wanted them.
Once chaos was properly sown, the defense team shifted to single-target moves, carving clean lines through the Tauros nest. The openings widened just enough for Lucario's nest to drive straight into the exposed center. They rushed in and began taking down Pokémon one at a time, their melee exploding the moment they made contact.
All the while, the rest of Alex's Pokémon continued to surround, pound, and squeeze the entire Tauros nest into submission.
Meanwhile, Kommo-o was manhandling the Champion ranked Tauros easily by using its momentum against it, flipping it, and then slamming it down onto the reinforced ground. Togekiss worked to weaken the Champion with status moves, while Dusknoir used Brick Break to start bringing its health down.
Arcanine butted heads with his opponent, who continued to use Giga Impact liberally, then followed up with Morning Sun to heal himself repeatedly. Raticate focused on debilitation with Grass Knot, Thunder Wave, and Sludge Bomb, while Ceruledge chipped at it with Vacuum Wave.
Lucario was having the easiest time, as it used Aura Sphere to attract attention before using Detect to avoid it like a matador, all the while his allies bombarded its openings whenever they could.
Understandably, Lucario finished off his opponent first, followed by Kommo-o. Arcanine, however, continued to butt heads with seemingly no progress.
It had gotten to the point where Arcanine just stood there while the Champion ranked Tauros was quickly running out of steam. Arcanine's instructions were clear. Delay for as long as possible.
On the rabble's battle front, Lucario's nest was having a grand time taking down one confused opponent after another. They were already familiar with how to fight a four-legged Pokémon from months of harassment, so they were easily able to handle themselves.
More importantly, however, was that Lyra and Mika were finally able to meet up and complete the encirclement.
"Finish it," Alex commanded from atop Hydreigon as he loomed over the battlefield.
Receiving Alex's command, Arcanine's eyes flared before he lunged in with Close Combat, hammering the tiring Tauros with a vicious mix of bites and heavy paw strikes. Ceruledge followed his lead, diving into a flurry of slashes with a Close Combat of her own, while Raticate darted in and out, landing repeated Quick Attacks.
In just a few seconds, the leader of the nest was overwhelmed, finished off with a clean beheading from Ceruledge with a Bitter Blade.
The sudden absence of its aura frightened the nest even more than the bombardment of Roars, as they attempted to escape the encirclement. Some succeeded in jumping or burrowing their way out, but most were shot out of the sky or intercepted by Sable's Pokémon underground.
In no time after Alex's command, the entire Tauros nest, composed of thousands, was brought down.
-----
Tsssss…
"Alex, that smells amazing!" Mika said, hovering over Alex's grill with a few slabs of Champion ranked Tauros bone-in ribeye steaks sizzling.
"Thanks," Alex replied with a chuckle. "But that's just premium steak seasoning. I'm not much of a chef. I just know enough to cook a steak."
Surrounding them were Alex's Pokémon who were cooking their own slabs of meat in much the same way.
At first, they had been content eating their raw meat, but the smell of Alex's cooking quickly changed their minds. With drooling mouths and pleading eyes fixed on him, he had no choice but to give them a few bottles of his premium steak seasoning so they could flavor their own cuts.
Smelling the delectable aroma compared to their own raw food, Lucario's nest quickly joined in, convincing Alex to give up his entire stock of steak seasoning to please the masses.
Alcremie immediately took charge, directing the Psychic type Gardevoirs as they began roasting their seasoned meat over open flames.
Now, they were enjoying a barbecue party in Lucario's territory as a celebration of their victory.
Once the steaks were cooked to a perfect medium-rare, Alex served the girls their plates before sitting down with them at the table.
No words were exchanged as the group dug in and relished the taste. It didn't compare to the richness of a properly fattened cow since Tauros were all lean muscle and barely had any marbling, but the flavor was still deep, clean, and surprisingly addictive.
"This is delicious," Mika exclaimed. "Lyra, we have to start hunting for Champion ranked Tauros."
Lyra scoffed. "Good luck finding another herd like that. We've been on this detour for over a week and only managed to locate this one on the 11th level. Without Alex, we could barely survive the 5th."
"Good thing we have him with us, then."
The group finished their meal in no time, and Alex began cleaning up his grill.
"So, Alex, what's the plan now?" Sable asked. "You've found your Lucario and even managed to grab a few Miltank from the nest for Kaia. We're practically at full capacity with all the Elite ranked meat we collected. Are we finally heading back to collect more Spheres?"
"You'll be collecting more Spheres while I run a few errands," Alex replied, continuing to scrub the burnt residue off. "I need to see a Gym Leader about the nest, then stop by the base to deliver the goods we've managed to collect. I'll meet you back where I plan to drop you off at the northern Grand Underground in a day or two."
"Why do I get the feeling you'll be adding another girl to your harem in that short timeframe?" Sable teased.
"Beats me. I never search for these things, they just happen on their own," Alex replied, turning to Sable with a smirk. "You should know."
"Ha! As if you didn't stalk me the first time we met."
"I didn't stalk you. I went to apprehend you."
"That sounds even worse!" Sable exclaimed, bursting into laughter.
Alex chuckled, shaking his head at Sable's antics.
He truly didn't put any effort into bedding women. Most of the time, it just happened. The only exception so far was Sable, and that was only because he had been trying to catch her off guard.
And somehow, that effortless streak of luck seemed destined to follow him, no matter where or with whom he found himself next.
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