At the Pokémon Center in White Moon Town, the lights burned brightly through the night. Gym Leader Pryce, the Psychic-type Elite Four Will, and several high-ranking League investigators had gathered for an emergency response to the events unfolding in Ilex Forest.
Klein's battle against the hunters in the forest had drawn serious attention. The Johto League was growing increasingly frustrated—wherever the Sandstorm Elite went, chaos seemed to follow. The Cinnabar Island and Seafoam Islands incidents were still fresh in everyone's minds, and now, Ilex Forest had been dragged into the mix.
Local Officer Jennies provided reports from young trainers who had witnessed the hunters pursuing Celebi, giving Will and the others a general understanding of the situation inside the forest.
"The battle in Ilex Forest is still ongoing. Those Will-O-Wisps are likely Delphox's teleportation markers," Will noted, using Xatu's psychic abilities to scan the battlefield. He then turned to Pryce. "Should we move in to assist?"
Before Pryce could answer, an official Johto League directive arrived.
The League higher-ups ordered their forces to remain at the Pokémon Center and observe the situation—they were not to enter the battlefield prematurely and risk interfering with Klein's tactical maneuvers.
—
"When are you planning to send backup for our teacher?"
A voice came from the emergency room doorway.
Blue, having just left Brooke's side, was stunned to see the League officers doing nothing.
These young trainers were students from the Kanto division, which explained why they referred to the Sandstorm Elite as their teacher.
Pryce sighed and shook his head. "We don't fully understand the battlefield conditions. With psychic barriers and sensory fields in place, barging in unprepared would disrupt Klein's tactics."
As an experienced tactical master, Pryce could already tell that Klein had a specific strategy in play. For now, it was best to observe rather than act recklessly.
Just then, the Pokémon Center doors slid open, and a man with a mechanical arm strode inside. Lucas had arrived.
"If the Johto League knows what's happening out there but refuses to act, I have to say—that's pretty suspicious," Lucas remarked.
Pryce frowned. "What are you suggesting?"
"I just saw someone in the forest who looked an awful lot like Koga, the Poison-type Elite Four. And it looked like he was ambushing Klein."
Silence fell over the room.
The League officers exchanged uneasy glances, but Pryce's reaction was swift.
"Koga was sent north to investigate Team Rocket. If you're accusing an Elite Four member without solid proof, can you handle the consequences?"
Lucas narrowed his eyes for a moment, then smirked.
"Maybe I was mistaken, then."
—
With Swampert now in play, Blake Hall's expression darkened.
In the air, Celebi spun gracefully, summoning a storm of razor-sharp leaves. A violent Leaf Storm swept across the battlefield.
As a high-ranking leader of Team Dim Sun, Blake had extensive battle experience. He immediately used his control device to issue precise commands to Celebi.
The forest came alive.
Vines burst from the ground, lunging at Swampert from all directions.
But Swampert didn't move.
A chilling aura radiated from its body. The moment it threw a punch, an overwhelming Ice Punch erupted, unleashing a blizzard of frozen petals into the air.
The razor-sharp ice shards shredded the incoming vines, creating a scene of eerie, frozen beauty.
Then—Swampert slammed its fist into the ground.
A shockwave of icicle spears erupted outward, freezing everything in its path.
Celebi's body stiffened—it had been frozen solid.
Seeing his ace Pokémon neutralized so quickly, Blake's brow furrowed. In a flash of light, a Tangrowth appeared before him.
The battlefield shifted.
Countless vines and grassy terrain spread rapidly across the land, creating an ocean of greenery beneath their feet.
This Tangrowth was Blake's most powerful Pokémon, much like Bisharp was to Heath.
Unlike ordinary Tangrowth, this one had mastered a secret technique from Alola—Grassy Terrain.
Under this field effect, all allied Pokémon continuously regenerated health.
Wrapped in layers of rejuvenating grass, Celebi's wounds began healing instantly. At the same time, Tangrowth's tentacle-like vines lashed out violently.
Swampert remained still.
Its frost-coated fist tightened.
With a single swing of an Ice Blade, the advancing grassy field was cleaved apart, preventing it from creeping any closer.
Despite lacking agility, Swampert's raw strength and area control were overwhelming.
Even with six layers of Curse stacked, the battle was still incredibly difficult for Blake.
Blake's thoughts raced. A prolonged battle was not an option.
He activated his communicator.
"Regroup. If we fight separately, he'll just pick us off one by one."
—
While Blake was holding his ground, Ice was in serious trouble.
Lucario, having maxed out its Calm Mind stacks, had expanded its aura field to an absurd degree.
The air itself shimmered as countless orbs of sand materialized, launching at Ice's Pokémon.
Froslass and Frosmoth frantically dodged, but each explosion of sand obscured their vision.
In that brief moment of confusion—
Lucario appeared right in front of them.
Its glowing eyes pulsed with energy.
A moment later, both Ice's Pokémon were caught in a powerful psychic illusion, turning on each other in a brutal clash.
"This is ridiculous!" Ice cursed.
A fully boosted Calm Mind Lucario was nothing short of a monster.
At this rate, Ice would be completely wiped out.
Unlike Blake, Ice was the weakest among the four. Worse, Lucario was in a bad mood.
It had suffered multiple setbacks in recent battles, barely scraping by against Arbok earlier.
Now, faced with an opponent it could fully dominate, it wasn't holding back at all.
Realizing he had no choice, Ice summoned his Glaceon.
A blinding blizzard erupted as it unleashed an Aurora Veil, trying to break through the sandstorm and reach Blake's position.
But just as Lucario moved to intercept, Froslass fired a beam of energy, blocking its path.
—
At the heart of the battlefield, Koga faced off against Scizor, which advanced relentlessly.
Gengar unleashed a Thunderbolt, but the Swords Dance-boosted air currents around Scizor sliced the attack apart effortlessly.
Koga narrowed his eyes.
Klein's Scizor wasn't just powerful—it was a nightmare in close combat.
Realizing this fight would be a mistake, Koga prepared to retreat.
But just as he made his move—
The ground beneath Scizor suddenly turned blood-red.
The earth itself bubbled like molten lava, releasing waves of boiling, poisonous liquid.
Scizor's aura sliced through the toxin, but its metallic armor began to corrode slightly.
Scizor was poisoned.
A Steel-type Pokémon, poisoned?
Klein's eyes sharpened.
Even without direct vision, Delphox's psychic senses kept him aware of the battle.
There was only one possible answer.
A Pokémon that could poison even Steel-types…
Was Koga using that?
The battle was far from over.
(To be continued…)
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