"Woooar—!!"
Machamp nodded, then charged straight into the reinforcement squad rushing in from outside.
Its four arms swung wildly.
Deep brown Fighting-type energy and white Normal-type energy coated both pairs of fists.
Dynamic Punch, Cross Chop, and Mega Punch were unleashed in rapid succession.
Like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep—
It was unstoppable. No one could block it!
"Zzwaa—!!"
Electivire didn't slack off either.
It gathered the powerful Electric-type energy within its body.
Then the long, slender black tail behind it shot straight up like an antenna, rising above its head.
A crackling sphere of electricity condensed at the tip of its tail.
Thick bolts of lightning blasted out from the sphere one after another, striking the Pokémon flying overhead.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Explosions rang out in a chain.
Mixed with Pokémon screams and human cries of alarm, the noise tore through the sky above.
Figures dropped from the air and plunged into the forest, snapping the branches of tall evergreens as they fell.
In the end, only heavy, dull impacts remained.
Kazu's face filled with despair once again.
The tiny bit of hope he'd just felt was like a bubble—ruthlessly popped.
That Machamp and that Electivire—
They were Elite Four-level too!
Three Elite Four-level Pokémon!
How could they possibly win?
Nidoking had already forced its way in as well.
Three battle zones had turned into hell—dead bodies everywhere, and badly wounded Pokémon sprawled across the ground.
In the face of absolute strength,
a numbers advantage looked especially trivial and ridiculous.
"It's over…"
Staring at the scene in front of him, Kazu felt only darkness and despair.
Right now,
his only remaining hope
was that the Military's reinforcements could arrive a little faster.
But watching Nidoking, Electivire, and Machamp rampage like slaughtering gods,
Kazu felt they wouldn't last more than fifteen minutes at best.
Fifteen minutes?
In such a short time,
how could the Military possibly make it in time?
"Looks like it's my turn."
Inside the Luxury Ball, Shiko had already witnessed everything happening on-site.
This Dayu really wasn't simple.
He pulled out three Elite Four-level Pokémon in one go.
Sure enough,
there was a reason Team Dark had survived so long under the League's relentless manhunt.
"Can you handle it?" Himeko couldn't help asking.
There were three Elite Four-level Pokémon on the field.
If Shiko went out, it would be one versus three.
Himeko knew Shiko was strong,
but facing Pokémon belonging to a vicious Team Dark member,
she still felt worried.
"No problem. It's just three-on-one."
Shiko looked confident.
He was Elite Four-level now as well.
One against three
was nothing.
"I've got a feeling this fight can net us a huge haul."
"End it early. Then we'll search this place properly."
Shiko added two more lines.
A hint of anticipation had already appeared in his eyes.
A huge haul?
Himeko didn't understand why Shiko suddenly said that.
"It's obvious this Dayu wasn't targeting you from the start," Shiko analyzed.
"We only arrived in Wintergreen City yesterday at dusk. Even if the news spread fast and Team Dark's execution was efficient,"
"they couldn't possibly complete such a detailed setup and plan in a single night."
"The only possibility is that he came here for another purpose."
Himeko immediately understood.
"I get it—so this place very likely has Team Dark's research base!"
Once she realized that,
she finally understood why Shiko said they could score big.
If there really was a Team Dark research base here—
and one important enough to require an Elite Four-level person to guard it—
then without question,
it was a major base, conducting high-risk research.
And inside a base like that,
there would usually be a massive stockpile of resources.
All kinds of rare items and materials—there would definitely be plenty.
Thinking of that,
Himeko couldn't help feeling expectant too.
As for Shiko,
he hoped that inside this base he could find rare Steel-type materials and items
to push the Steel-type law inside his body up another notch.
"Then I'm counting on you!"
Himeko took a deep breath
and pulled the Poké Ball from her waist.
The casualties on the City Defense Forces' side were rising nonstop.
If they didn't act now,
they would be wiped out.
"Himeko-san! Don't throw away more pointless lives!" Kazu forced a bitter smile and tried to persuade her, shaking his head.
A peak Gym-level Trainer
in front of an Elite Four-level Trainer
was nothing more than a lamb to be slaughtered.
If she resisted,
the only outcome
would be her Pokémon suffering severe injuries.
Himeko ignored him.
The Luxury Ball flew out.
Red light poured out in midair.
"ROAR!!"
The instant Shiko appeared,
a terrifying presence swept through the entire forest, spreading in all directions.
A powerful draconic pressure blanketed everything.
That crushing Pressure slammed into every human and every Pokémon present.
It was like a giant had stepped into a crowd of dwarves—
blatant, eye-catching, impossible to ignore.
The moment he appeared,
he became the focus of everyone and every Pokémon.
A flicker of astonishment surfaced in Dayu's expression, followed immediately by intense delight and excitement.
This was the first time he'd seen Shiko in person.
That body overflowing with power suited his tastes perfectly.
And that suffocating, oppressive pressure—
was proof enough
of how strong the Pokémon in front of him was.
But in the very next instant,
that delighted, excited expression froze on his face.
Something was wrong!
This Pokémon's aura was too strong—
far beyond his expectations!
There was no way a peak Gym-level Pokémon could have such presence and pressure!
At the very least—
it had to be Elite Four-level!
Dayu reacted,
and an ominous premonition surged up in his heart.
This Pokémon…
it actually…
it had actually reached Elite Four-level already?
That was ridiculous!
It had only been a few months!
It could jump from Elite-level to Elite Four-level in that time?
How was it leveling up like this?
Cheating?
"Machamp! Nidoking! Electivire! All of you, come back!"
Dayu's expression turned serious.
Deep in his eyes,
a bloodthirsty, battle-crazed emotion ignited.
Elite Four-level!?
On Kazu's side,
a veteran like him could naturally judge from Shiko's oppressive presence and terrifying aura that Shiko had definitely reached Elite Four-level.
The moment he realized that,
he felt his worldview take a direct hit.
How could there be a Pokémon
that, in just a few months,
rose from Elite-level
to Elite Four-level?
Unless someone spared no expense and buried it in resources—feeding it Rare Candy like crazy—only then would such a thing be possible.
But the cost would be astronomical.
Converted into League currency,
it would be at least tens of billions—
so high it was hard to imagine.
And besides,
a Pokémon raised that way
had combat strength so awful it was laughable.
It would only meet the evaluation rank of "Elite Four-level."
Its real fighting power
might not even match a properly trained near–Elite Four-level Pokémon.
That was why nobody would be stupid enough to do something like that.
What's more—
one glance at that tall, brawny, tyrannosaur-like Pokémon
made it obvious.
There was no way it was some hollow fraud built by drugs.
It was a solid, genuine Elite Four-level powerhouse.
So this was the talent of the League's top geniuses?
Truly terrifying—
to raise a Pokémon to this level in such a short time!
Of course,
GeoGreymon's talent was beyond doubt too—absurdly rare and exaggerated!
But…
could it really fight one versus three,
and win against the three Pokémon across from it?
Kazu's heart loosened slightly—
then tightened again.
He stared at the standoff,
not daring to look away for even a moment.
"Nidoking! Earthquake!"
"Electivire! Screech!"
"Machamp! Close Combat!"
Dayu issued his orders immediately.
No holding back.
All three Pokémon attacked together.
He wasn't some righteous Trainer who would give Himeko a fair one-on-one.
He wanted victory.
He wanted to knock Shiko down and capture it.
Nidoking's feet became coated in intense Ground-type energy.
With its weight and sheer power behind it,
it stomped down hard.
In an instant, the ground beneath everyone's feet spun and lurched like the world had flipped over.
Terrifying tremors surged up from the earth.
Deep fissures split open across the soil.
Violent energy transmitted through the shaking ground.
"Zzwaa!!"
Electivire pounded its chest like a gorilla.
Then it bared its teeth
and expelled an extremely piercing screech, like metal grinding against metal.
The tangible soundwaves shot toward Shiko.
The powerful sonic energy slammed against Shiko's body.
Invisibly,
his defensive capability was reduced.
And right then—
Machamp stepped across the violently shaking ground,
rushing in with the suicidal, all-in posture of a death squad, throwing itself straight at Shiko's front.
This chain of moves from the three Pokémon was extremely smooth.
Earthquake to lock down Shiko's footing and deal the first wave of damage.
Then Screech to cut his defense.
Next—
Machamp, the one with the highest Attack and the best raw Strength—
would use Close Combat
to heavily injure Shiko.
This Elite Four-level member of Team Dark really had skills.
Right from the start—
it was an assault so suffocating it left no room to breathe.
Seeing this,
everyone on Shiko's side
had their nerves stretched to the limit.
Not to mention an ordinary Elite Four-level—
even a peak Elite Four-level Pokémon
would probably struggle against this kind of three-Pokémon combo.
"ROAR!!"
Shiko's eyes remained steady and cold.
After a low, rumbling roar,
he found a way to break the situation with sharp instincts.
He didn't use any type energy at all.
Relying only on his body weight and pure physical strength—
Shiko stomped down hard on the shaking ground beneath him.
That terrifying force
drove the earth into a three-hundred-meter depression.
More than that—
the ground that had still been violently quaking
was forcibly stomped to a stop by that single step!
That scene
nearly made people's eyeballs pop out.
Just a simple stomp using only bodily strength—
and the destruction matched Nidoking's Elite Four-level Earthquake!?
This guy—
was unbelievably absurd!
Before anyone could recover,
Machamp—at 1.6 meters tall—looked like a toddler in front of Shiko.
It lunged straight into Shiko's chest.
It completely abandoned defense and attacked with everything it had.
Thick, concentrated Fighting-type energy coated its arms.
A chaotic yet terrifying barrage
poured down like a violent storm!
This was bad!
If Shiko took this head-on—
with his defense already lowered by one stage—
he would definitely be heavily injured!
Everyone present instantly tensed up.
(End of Chapter)
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