A brilliant white light gathered in the Ghoul's mouth. Unlike a Pokémon's instant attack, this Destructive Beam required several seconds of charging when released by the Ghoul.
Behind Luke, Kirlia clasped her hands in front of her chest. Watching Luke fight on his own, she didn't interfere.
Her silence passed the choice entirely to Luke.
Should he attack, or defend?
If this were just a human battle, he might have risked it, charging the Ghoul while it was still gathering power and smashing it stink, beam, and all into the ground.
But unfortunately, the fight in front of him wasn't the only battle he had to face.
"Gahhh "
A massive beam erupted from the Ghoul's mouth. The intense white light forced even the distant Rocket Team members surrounding Lopunny to step back. But no matter how strong, the Destructive Beam was useless if it missed its target.
Using the momentum from his fiery propulsion, Luke dodged the beam's direct path. Yet the Destructive Beam didn't dissipate when it missed; instead, as the Ghoul turned its head, the light swept across after Luke.
Soon, an unusual sight unfolded. Luke ran ahead, the beam chased behind him, and the observing Pokémon dodged left and right to avoid the sweeping attack.
The white beam circled the area, once, twice, and again. Eventually, the dizzy Ghoul disoriented from chasing Luke misaligned its aim, and the beam smashed into the Rocket Team, now positioned a hundred meters away.
Seeing the Destructive Beam hurtling toward them after several circuits, the Rocket Team members targeted by it began to panic.
"Move!"
Someone shouted, and the Pokémon scattered to avoid the beam.
Though a human's Destructive Beam wasn't as powerful as a Pokémon's, even ordinary Pokémon felt pain if struck except for a few specially resistant types.
Boom
The Ghoul's beam tore through the dodging Rocket Team and smashed into the wall behind them. A loud explosion shook the building, punching a massive hole through what must have been some unlucky Pokémon's home.
Duskull, watching the Ghoul stumble in exhaustion after nearly hitting its allies, chuckled quietly and recalled it into its Poké Ball. Before Duskull could turn its attention back to Luke, he had already positioned himself in front of Kirlia and Lopunny.
"Now! Move!"
The continuous battles left Luke like a rolling fireball. Heat radiated from his body so intensely that under the streetlight, his form seemed to distort slightly.
"…"
Hearing Luke's voice, Kirlia didn't hesitate. She grabbed Lopunny, who had been dodging the Destructive Beam alongside her, and with her other hand, seized Luke's wrist.
Sizzle
The contact crackled like sizzling meat, but Kirlia ignored the pain. Using her psychic power, she initiated teleportation.
Light flared, signaling the teleport, yet when it faded, Luke and the two Pokémon were still in the same spot.
"Gahahaha! You kids really think you can get away from me?!"
Before Kirlia could recover from the shock of failed teleportation, a wild laugh rang out. Gengar emerged from the shadows, its presence so intense that the air seemed to tremble. Seeing the Pokémon and the human a dozen meters away, who had failed to escape, Gengar felt the earlier frustration fade entirely.
"Trying to run? Did you ask me first? I've been watching all along!"
As if to demonstrate, Gengar unleashed its black glare at Kirlia and the others. Though the attack no longer had effect, it was satisfying… until
Boom!
"Pugah!!"
Before Gengar could finish laughing, a massive burst of flame engulfed it. It felt like being hit by a rolling boulder, and the cocky grin turned instantly into a scream as it was flung backward.
Thud!
The flames pressed into the ground with Luke's feet. Staring at the Gengar he had punched away, Luke opened his mouth, and a jet of fire erupted.
Thanks to Gengar's clownish antics, Luke's anger reached its peak. He felt a roaring inferno in his chest, ready to tear him apart and unleash a deafening cry toward this cursed world.
Boom
As if answering his fury, the city erupted with continuous explosions the moment Luke sent Gengar flying.
The sudden chaos stunned every Pokémon except Duskull. Watching the fires rise and the buildings burn, Duskull witness to its vice-captain nearly defeated by Luke's punch smiled in satisfaction.
"Ah, my vice-captain deserved that. I said if I lost the human battle, I'd let you go, yet he interfered anyway."
Treating Gengar as though it weren't one of his own, Duskull turned to the two Pokémon attempting teleportation, offering a seemingly kind smile.
"Now, I'll lift the blockade. You leave, and we part ways here."
Despite Luke's overwhelming display of power, Duskull's gaze remained fixed on Kirlia.
Kirlia's hand, red from the heat, clenched in pain. Though Gengar's blockade was lifted, she could feel all the surrounding Pokémon watching her after Luke's punch.
She knew these Rocket Team Pokémon would never give her a second chance to teleport.
A gentle tug.
A small force transmitted along Kirlia's skirt. Her gaze shifted slightly. Lopunny, who should have been beside her, had silently moved behind her.
"There are too many of them. If we fight head-on, we won't win."
Lopunny's deliberately low voice reached Kirlia's ears. The Pokémon who had previously threatened to take on fifty others now offered a calm, strategic assessment. Kirlia stayed silent for a few seconds, then glanced at Luke.
Though she was the trainer, in moments of crisis, Luke human as he was often made better judgments than she could. Just like in the human battle a moment ago.
Luke remained silent, eyes closed, focusing inward.
For the first time, Kirlia felt a flicker of unease. From so far away, she couldn't sense Luke's emotions, but recalling his body moments ago, almost indistinguishable from fire itself, she knew he wasn't in his best state.
Time was running out.
"…Alright."
Two simple words drained almost all of Kirlia's energy. As she spoke them, Duskull's grin widened even further.
"Good, good. I like Pokémon who understand reason. I hope we never meet again." Duskull moved its gaze away from Kirlia, still bowed and unreadable, and turned to the other team members. "Give our vice-captain a medicine tablet. Mission complete. Prepare to withdraw."
At the captain's command, the otherwise passive team members began to act. Some fed the pill to Gengar; others, having lifted the blockade, chatted as if they were office workers leaving for the day rather than city-raiding criminals.
Yet one Pokémon stayed behind, eyes locked on a single figure unnoticed by the others.
"Zoroark?"
Meowth, recovered from heavy injury, had been preparing to retreat, only to notice Zoroark normally the most eager to move standing frozen.
Following Zoroark's gaze, Meowth saw Luke, who had been silent since the explosions, now fully in its sight.