As I swung my pole toward the man's chest, he pressed the button on his Poké Ball at the last second, releasing a fainted Poison-type Pidgeotto to take the hit instead. The impact sent the unconscious bird tumbling across the ground, and I hesitated for a brief moment, stunned by the unexpected maneuver.
That second of hesitation was all the burned-faced man needed.
With a sudden burst of speed, he dashed toward me and slammed his shoulder into my chest. The force sent me stumbling backward, my grip on the pole loosening as it clattered to the ground. I tried to recover, pushing myself back up, but my footing was still unsteady.
That was when the other man—the one I had struck earlier—crouched down and grabbed the fallen pole. He grinned as he clenched his injured arm, his fingers trembling from the pain.
"Did you fucking have fun with that? Damn, that hurts!" he spat, wincing as he cradled his bruised limb.
I wiped the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand and grinned. "Yeah. I fucking did!"
Without missing a beat, I reached into my inventory and pulled out another steel pole. The burned-faced man's eyes flickered with realization before he lunged, snatching the first pole from his partner. He gripped it tightly and swung it like a sword, aiming straight for my head.
Reacting on instinct, I raised my own pole horizontally, catching his strike just in time. The clash rang out, metal against metal, as I grit my teeth and pushed back against him. Then, with a swift movement, I drove my knee into his gut, forcing him to stumble.
The masked man charged forward, mimicking the same shoulder tackle that had knocked me down earlier. But unlike before, I was ready for him.
"Let's see if those novels were right," I muttered under my breath.
I let him come at me full force, pretending to be caught off guard—then, at the last second, I twisted my body and struck his knee with everything I had.
A sickening crack echoed through the air.
The masked man collapsed, letting out an agonized scream as he clutched his now-buckling leg. I smirked.
"Guess they were!" I laughed, stepping back just in time to dodge a sudden stab from the burned-faced man. His eyes were wild—a dangerous mix of horror and killing intent.
I took a few quick steps back, creating space to assess the situation.
The masked man was writhing on the ground, his hands clenching his ruined knee as he sobbed in pain. The burned-faced man, though still standing, was visibly shaken. He was furious about Golem's defeat, but there was something else in his expression—doubt. He was starting to realize that he might not win this fight.
Then my eyes darted to Aria and Oddy's battle against Feraligatr.
Aria was teleporting the massive lizard ten feet into the air every time it hit the ground, trying to wear it down. But it wasn't working—the damn thing just kept getting back up. It was a relentless force, unfazed by the repeated drops.
Can they hold on until Skyla gets back with help?
Was sending Rotom with her a mistake?
The doubts crept into my mind, gnawing at me. But I shook them off.
First, take down this guy. Then, deal with that oversized lizard.
I tightened my grip on the pole and dashed forward, swinging hard from the side. The burned-faced man planted his own pole into the ground, using it as a shield to absorb the impact. The force of my attack buried his pole into the soil, momentarily trapping it.
But instead of retrieving it, he abandoned the weapon entirely.
His right hook came out of nowhere.
I barely had time to react, throwing up my arm just in time to block the punch—but the impact sent a sharp pain shooting up my forearm, forcing me to drop my pole in the process.
He grinned and went for another strike.
I retaliated with a quick kick, forcing him back just long enough for me to grab the pole he had abandoned in the soil. I spun it around and swung again, but before I could land the hit, his fist crashed into my ribs.
Pain exploded in my side. For a brief second, my vision blurred, and I nearly collapsed from the sheer force of the punch. I gritted my teeth, forcing the bile back down my throat.
Not now! Stay standing!!
Ignoring the searing pain, I used my elbow to smash into his jaw. His head snapped back, and he staggered several steps, barely keeping himself upright. I could see the struggle in his body—the way he fought to resist the urge to collapse.
But I wasn't giving him the chance to recover.
I clenched the pole in both hands, ignoring the ache in my ribs. With a deep breath, I raised it high over my head, mustering every ounce of strength left in my battered body.
And then, with a roar from the depths of my lungs, I brought it crashing down onto his skull.
"GO TO FUCKING SLEEP, YOU BURNED OLD BASTARD!!!"
The impact was devastating. His body went limp, his knees buckling as he crumpled onto the dirt.
Silence followed.
I exhaled, panting heavily as I looked down at him. He wasn't dead, but he was out cold.
Two down.
Now, there was only one more fight left.
I turned my gaze toward Feraligatr.
Aria held onto Feraligatr, spamming Teleport to keep it in check while Oddy relentlessly drained its health with Giga Drain. The tactic was working—Feraligatr's movements were growing slower—but I knew it was only a matter of time before Aria tired out. And once Feraligatr caught on to the pattern, we were finished.
She could only teleport it short distances—ten feet at most—because of its sheer weight. Nearly 200 pounds of raw, raging power. We need a real plan. Now!
"Aria, let it go! Oddy, cover us for a second, will you?" I shouted.
Oddy shot me a look that practically screamed, How the hell am I supposed to hold this thing off?!
Despite that, Aria gave one final Teleport, sending Feraligatr away before leaping toward me. Her tiny, exhausted body clung to my arm as she breathed heavily, her eyes scanning the battlefield.
She noticed the two men—one rolling on the ground, sobbing over his nearly broken leg, the other lying unconscious, his Golem shattered into pieces alongside his skull. A small smile flickered across her face, but it was short-lived. She turned her gaze to me, feeling that I wasn't done yet.
I held her close and sprinted toward a tree—not the biggest one in the area, but still large compared to the others around it. As soon as we reached it, she collapsed onto her knees, panting from all of the teleporting she did. But the moment she saw the look on my face, she understood exactly what I was about to ask.
Her expression twisted in disbelief.
"Aria, I know it's ridiculous," I admitted, kneeling beside her, "but it's our only chance. We either wait for Skyla who looks like taking her time or we handle that thing ourselves before getting killed—using this!"
I darted to the other side of the tree, yanking out a water bottle from the inventory and pouring it around the base to soften the ground. Then, I pulled out my last tent pole, wedging it beneath the roots like a makeshift crowbar.
Aria's breath steadied as she stared at the tree, realization dawning in her eyes. Slowly, she rose to her feet, her small hands clenching into fists. She knew what she needed to do.
Meanwhile, Oddy was barely hanging on, dodging Feraligatr's relentless attacks. Crunch,Liquidation,Hydro Pump—it was throwing everything it had at him, its patience wearing thin. Then, suddenly, its eyes flashed red as the circles colored red and purple appeared around it.
Outrage
The moment it activated, Feraligatr lost all sense of strategy. Now, it was nothing but a rampaging force of destruction.
Oddy tried to keep his distance, sprinting up the beast's scaly body and landing a desperate Giga Drain on it. It barely reacted. Instead, it swung wildly at the tiny Grass-type, nearly crushing him under its foot.
We were running out of time.
"Aria, now!" I shouted.
She clenched her teeth, then shut her eyes, focusing everything she had. The air around her shimmered as a surge of ghostly, fairy, and psychic energy swirled to life, coating the tree in a brilliant colored aura.
I pushed against the tent pole with every ounce of strength in my body. My muscles burned, my hands trembled, but I forced the tree to move.
"Come on...!" I gritted my teeth as the roots began to strain.
Aria screamed, her energy flaring like a violet wildfire. The tree quivered—then groaned.
Oddy, seeing our plan, also gave it everything he had. He scrambled back up Feraligatr, forcing the beast to slam its own fist into its face. It didn't even flinch, still blinded by Outrage, still thrashing, still coming straight for the kill.
We just needed a few more seconds!
With a final, desperate cry, both Aria and I unleashed what we had.
As the tree finally began to lift, Aria's body ignited with a brilliant, shifting light—colors swirling like a living rainbow. The radiance spread outward, blinding everything around us, forcing me to squint against the overwhelming glow.
I let out a breathless chuckle, my arms trembling from exertion. "Finally..." I murmured with a weary smile.
Then, gripping the pole once more, I pushed down with every ounce of strength left in me."YOU TOOK YOUR SWEET TIME, HUH, ARIA?!" I shouted, laughing as adrenaline surged through my veins.
The tree wrenched free from the ground with a sharp crack, launching into the air. Its massive trunk spun wildly, branches snapping off as it ascended, twisting and turning like a giant wooden spear.
Feraligatr sensed it.
It knew that if it didn't stop this, it was over.
With a deafening roar, the beast lunged forward, eyes wild with desperation. Its muscles tensed, claws bared, teeth flashing in the light of Aria's transformation.
The radiant glow around her intensified, her form shifting as her body grew taller, more defined. The small, childlike frame of a Ralts gave way to elegant, flowing limbs. The colors of her light coalesced into soft blues and whites as her red horns gleamed like polished red gems.
Aria was evolving.
Her battle cry rang out, fierce and unwavering, as she lifted her newly formed longer arms—and, with all the force she could muster, hurled the spinning tree straight at Feraligatr.
The tree whistled through the air, gaining speed like a falling meteor.
Feraligatr let out one last, furious roar, muscles coiling as it charged forward to meet its fate head-on.
But I was already grinning as I collapsed onto my back, breathless and exhausted, staring up at the swirling dust and shattered battlefield around me.
It's over
*BOOM*