"Whoa! The Ursaring got back up again!"
"Its eyes are glowing red—is it in rage mode?"
"Can our Lord still beat it?"
Seeing the Ursaring stand up again, now even more intimidating than before, the players couldn't help but worry for Ryan.
Ryan, however, was staring at the Ursaring with a serious expression, confusion filling his mind.
He had clearly knocked it down—so why was it standing again, and in an even better state than before?
Could it be a special ability?
But Ursaring's two abilities only activate when it's in a status condition, and they merely increase its attack and speed—they don't induce a rage state like this.
Before Ryan could finish his thoughts, Ursaring broke free from the Sticky Orb's hold and lunged straight at Scyther.
"Dodge quickly!"
Ryan quickly ordered.
Scyther swiftly sidestepped the attack, and Ursaring's sharp claws slashed through the tree behind it, cutting the massive trunk in half.
"Its attack power has increased so much!"
Given that level of force, Scyther could probably only take two hits—any more, and it might be knocked out entirely.
"We can't let it land another hit. Use Double Team!"
Scyther moved so fast it created multiple illusions, making it difficult for Ursaring to distinguish which was the real one.
"Roar!"
Unable to figure out which was Scyther, Ursaring changed targets, swiping at Aron instead.
Unlike Scyther, Aron wasn't fast enough to dodge and took the full brunt of the blow, its small body sent flying through the air.
"Aron, are you okay?" Ryan asked anxiously.
"Coco!"
Aron scrambled to its feet, nodding to Ryan to show that it could still fight.
It had used Harden to increase its defense earlier, and since the attack was a Normal-type move, the damage wasn't too severe.
Seeing Aron was mostly unharmed, Ryan sighed in relief but quickly turned to see Ursaring rushing toward him.
He swiftly threw another Sticky Orb, hitting Ursaring dead on and briefly slowing it down again.
But this time, the orb's effect didn't last long, and Ursaring's huge claw came slashing down at Ryan.
"Swish!"
At the last second, Scyther leaped in front of Ryan, taking the hit for him.
"Scyther!"
The impact was so strong that Scyther dropped to one knee, struggling to stay upright. It wanted to counterattack, but Ursaring was already swinging its next strike.
Just as Scyther braced for another blow, a Poké Ball hit Ursaring, pulling it inside.
"Hurry! That Poké Ball won't hold it for long."
Ryan grabbed Scyther and moved to the side.
Sure enough, the Poké Ball couldn't contain Ursaring for more than a second or two before it broke free.
"Roar! Roar!"
Now completely enraged, Ursaring's eyes burned with fury. It had underestimated this puny human at first, but now it wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.
Ryan noticed the malice in Ursaring's eyes and realized it had made him its primary target.
He turned to Scyther and said:
"Don't worry about protecting me. I have a way to avoid its attacks. You focus on building up energy and wait for my command."
"Swish!"
Scyther wanted to refuse—it didn't want Ryan to take such a risk—but after seeing the determination in Ryan's eyes, it reluctantly nodded in agreement.
With Scyther now focusing on charging up its power, Ryan took out another Poké Ball and taunted Ursaring:
"Hey, big bear, want to try another round?"
Already seething with rage, Ursaring couldn't tolerate such provocation. It raised its claws and charged at Ryan.
Aron rushed over to help but was stopped by Ryan.
"You can't take much more damage. Use Harden to raise your defense."
After instructing Aron, Ryan threw the Poké Ball at Ursaring again. The bear was briefly confined, allowing Ryan to widen the distance between them.
Once Ursaring broke free again, Ryan hurled another Sticky Orb.
The effect was even weaker than before, only slowing Ursaring's movements for a moment, but it bought Ryan just enough time to narrowly dodge another attack.
"Roar!!"
Being restrained for the third time, Ursaring's rage reached its peak. It no longer cared about anything else—its only goal was to crush the human in front of it.
Even when Scyther finished gathering energy and launched a series of attacks, Ursaring ignored it and continued charging at Ryan.
Seeing the gap between them close rapidly, Ryan threw yet another Poké Ball. But this time, Ursaring was ready.
It grabbed the Poké Ball before it could open and crushed it in its paw.
"What?! You can do that?"
With no other options, Ryan ran over to Aron's side.
"Aron, use Rock Tomb!"
Aron hurled a few boulders at Ursaring, slightly delaying its advance.
But once Ursaring smashed through the rocks, it closed in on Ryan, and Aron had to take the hit, standing in front of its trainer once more.
"We can't just be a punching bag. Headbutt it, Aron!"
"Coco!"
Aron charged forward, leaping into the air and slamming into Ursaring's belly.
Ursaring staggered back a few steps, but it quickly regained its balance and swung its claw down with incredible force.
"Boom!"
The powerful strike slammed Aron into the ground, causing cracks to form in the earth beneath it.
Aron struggled to get back up but was too injured, eventually losing consciousness and fainting.
"That wasn't Slash—it's Brick Break, a Fighting-type move!"
Seeing Aron knocked out despite its boosted defense, Ryan finally realized that Ursaring had used Brick Break, dealing quadruple damage to Aron.
"How did it even learn that move?"
Before Ryan could think further, Ursaring's massive claw came down again.
This time, Ryan had no other means of escape. Fortunately, Scyther reacted quickly, once again intercepting the blow.
But Scyther, being a high-attack, low-defense Pokémon, was already severely weakened from the previous hits. It could barely stand.
"Scyther, can you still fight? If not, we'll retreat."
Ryan had prepared multiple escape plans, and if Scyther couldn't continue, he was confident they could still make a run for it.
"Swish!!"
Scyther nodded resolutely. As long as it had even a shred of strength left, it wouldn't retreat.
Ryan knew Scyther's stubborn nature well, so he said:
"Alright, then let's go all out! Ursaring has taken a lot of damage too—it won't last much longer."
Looking at the panting Ursaring, its body covered in wounds, Ryan believed they still had a chance to win.
Scyther had already used Fury Cutter twice, and if the next hit connected, it would be strong enough to finish Ursaring off.
"We'll gamble it all on this final strike. Go, Scyther! Use Fury Cutter and end it!"
Scyther dashed forward, its scythe-like arms gleaming with a cold, deadly light.
Ursaring swung its massive claw in retaliation, aiming directly for Scyther.
Determined to land the hit, Scyther didn't dodge. It took the attack head-on, slashing down with all its might at the same time.
"Roar!"
"Swish!"
With a powerful collision, Scyther was sent flying, crashing into a tree and losing consciousness.
But Ursaring, too, collapsed to the ground, no longer moving.
"This time… it's really over, right?"
Ryan's eyes stayed fixed on the fallen Ursaring. He had used every trick in the book, and if it didn't stay down this time, he'd have no choice but to flee.
"Roar!"
But the worst-case scenario came true—the Ursaring struggled to its feet once again, stumbling as it made its way toward Ryan.
"What kind of grudge do you have against me? You're this injured and still coming for me. Guess I have no choice but to make a run for it."
Just as Ryan was about to recall his Pokémon and escape, a purple blur suddenly spun toward Ursaring, striking its head hard.
The impact knocked the already weakened Ursaring to the ground one more time, raising a cloud of dust.
When the dust settled, Ursaring was finally still, and a small, purple figure gleefully bounced on its belly.
"Bouncee! Bouncee!"
"Wait… is that Bounsweet?!"