At the same instant, the Brute Dragon raised its head and roared.
Roar!
A sound wave visible to the naked eye spread out from its center.
Shatter!
The Arbok's Protect was instantly broken. It was stunned in place by the sound wave, unable to move. In the games, a monster's roar was a control skill that could make the player flinch. Of course, a creature large enough could be immune. To put it bluntly, the skill was most effective against smaller enemies.
"Roar!" The Rathalos opened its mouth, and a terrifying torrent of flame instantly engulfed the immobilized Arbok.
Fwoosh! The Crimsondog Beast hurled its exploding pinecones.
Rumble! Rumble!
The Arbok was blown into several pieces, its charred remains still burning.
Sizzle!
The venom had corroded the Nargacuga's chest, but fortunately, its sheer size meant the attack hadn't damaged its internal organs, only the flesh and skin on the surface. This was the benefit of being massive; it was harder to sustain a fatal injury unless the enemy was of a similar size.
"Escuregot, if you please." Zhang walked over to the Nargacuga and released the team's medic.
"Pfff…" The Escuregot spat out a cloud of green mist. Within the mist, the Nargacuga's wound began to recover at a rapid pace. Soon, it was completely healed, as if it had never been injured at all.
Zhang walked over to the operative's body and began to search it. He found nothing of value on the man himself, but he did have a spatial backpack, though it was smaller than Zhang's.
I hope there's something good in here, he thought as he opened it.
Inside, he found millions in cash, piles of energy cubes, some berries, and various other Pokémon items. After rummaging for a long time, he didn't find a single thing he considered precious. In truth, the bag contained plenty of valuable items, but Zhang's standards had risen with his strength. He no longer had any interest in things that could be bought with money. After all, back in the Monster Hunter world, he could earn a fortune in gold just by hunting a single monster. He wasn't short on cash.
"Rathalos, burn the bodies to ash, then let's go," he commanded. After the Rathalos had disposed of the evidence, Zhang recalled his Pokémon, leaving only Gardevoir out. Reporting this to the Pokémon League was pointless. Team Rocket's influence was too great. The League would just waste his time taking statements, and it wouldn't solve anything. Destroying the bodies was far more convenient.
"Let's go back, Gardevoir," he said with a smile.
"Shaaa…" Gardevoir nodded, and with a flash of Teleport, they returned to Cynthia and Bea.
"Is it settled?" Cynthia asked.
"It's done. They were from Team Rocket, here to steal my Pokémon," Zhang replied.
"So it was them. They're truly haunting," Cynthia's brow furrowed in displeasure. Apparently, she had also had run-ins with them.
"It's fine. We'll keep this in mind. When we're strong enough in the future, we'll take out their entire organization," Zhang said casually, but he had already logged the offense.
"You're right. With our current strength, we can't shake a behemoth like Team Rocket," Cynthia agreed.
"Alright, since the matter is settled, it's time for us to go," Bea urged.
"Let's go, then." Zhang released his Rathalos and leaped onto its back.
"Zhang Tian, can we ride with you?" Bea asked loudly. "That flying dragon of yours looks so majestic. I want to try riding it."
"If you don't mind, come on up," he said with a smile.
"Then don't mind if I do!" Bea pulled Cynthia along and easily leaped onto the Rathalos's back. She was a martial artist; in the anime, she even dared to fight a Machamp. Her strength was no joke, leading many players to jokingly call her "Bea, the human Machamp." Cynthia, on the other hand, was just an ordinary person.
"Let's go, Rathalos," Zhang commanded.
Whoosh!
The Rathalos spread its massive wings and flew toward the airport. Once, Zhang had been careful not to expose his strange Pokémon. But now, as a quasi-Elite Four trainer, he had the strength to protect himself. The twenty-one-meter-long Rathalos was enormous and impossible to miss. As they flew, people on the ground constantly looked up in awe.
"What kind of Pokémon is that? It's huge!" someone exclaimed. The Rathalos's shadow passed over the ground, an intimidating sight.
"An unknown quasi-Elite Four Pokémon, and it's not far from the Elite Four tier," a trainer noted with reverence. For trainers, size wasn't what was scary; it was the power it represented.
At the airport, the Rathalos descended.
"What is that?"
"Such a big Pokémon, it looks so majestic!"
"It looks so fierce! Will it attack us?"
Its appearance caused a commotion in the square.
Whoosh! The Rathalos landed, the downdraft from its wings so powerful it would have sent anyone nearby flying.
"There are people on its back! It really is a Pokémon!"
"So big!"
"Why do I feel like it's so dangerous?"
Many people gasped and took a few steps back. In the sky, the Rathalos just looked big. Up close, it radiated danger, the aura of a powerful predator. It was like watching a tiger on TV versus seeing one in person. Without bars in between, fear would turn into a desperate scramble to escape. The Rathalos was bigger and fiercer than any tiger, exuding a hundred times the danger.
"Let's go," Zhang said, hopping off its back. Bea helped Cynthia down, and they followed closely behind.
"Return," Zhang said, recalling the Rathalos.
Under the envious gazes of everyone in the square, the trio walked into the terminal.
That afternoon, under a golden sunset, they walked out of the airport in the capital.
"So this is the capital?" Bea said, looking at the city of towering skyscrapers with a sense of shock.
"It's so prosperous!" Cynthia was also taken aback. Few cities in the world could boast such a modern and bustling landscape.
"It's prosperous, but I don't like it much," Zhang said, frowning as he looked at the buildings that stretched hundreds of meters into the sky. "It feels a little oppressive."