"Kak!"
Golbat thrashed wildly. It had been a long time since it had experienced such an unrestrained battle. Over the years, its trainer had grown older, and those blood-soaked battles of survival had become rare.
Now, faced with these ruthless, battle-hardened opponents, Golbat realized—its once razor-sharp fangs had dulled.
Another relentless assault crashed down on it—Night Slash, Shadow Ball, Shadow Punch. The brutal onslaught left Golbat limp and powerless. Its wings were nearly broken. Blood trickled from its ears, nose, and eyes.
Sato stepped forward to finish it off. But just as he moved, a powerful gust of wind rushed toward him. There was no time to dodge. His instincts kicked in, and he raised his right arm to shield himself.
"PAH!"
A heavy, vicious lash slammed into him. Sato's entire body was flung backward. He instinctively curled himself mid-air to minimize further injury, but the force sent him rolling across the ground.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the enemy's new Pokémon.
Victreebel!
Sato tumbled several times before stopping. His body ached all over—bruises, scrapes, internal damage. But the worst injury was the direct hit to his right arm.
It was broken.
"Zoro!"
Zoroark roared in fury. A Night Daze erupted from its body, sending shockwaves across the battlefield. Victreebel's vines recoiled, forced back by the sheer power of the attack.
"Kehehe!"
Haunter materialized beside Sato, eyes darting around in vigilance. But its first concern was its trainer. It hovered closer, watching him anxiously.
"You're ruthless for a kid." The older man gritted his teeth in anger. "At first, I thought it'd be a waste to kill you… but now, I've changed my mind."
He withdrew the badly injured Golbat back into its Poké Ball. The man's face darkened. His rage boiled over.
"Tch! Would you have spared me if I had acted naïve?" Sato scoffed coldly.
His right hand remained tucked behind his back. Dark Energy surged through his fractured bone, forcing rapid cell regeneration.
Sato knew the consequences. If the bone healed incorrectly, he'd have to break it again and reset it.
But none of that mattered now.
This was a fight to the death.
He lifted his right arm forward. It was still weak—but functional.
The older man's face twisted with anger. Being mocked by a child only made his humiliation worse.
"Vreee!"
Suddenly, Victreebel let out a pained shriek. A dark aura coiled around its body.
It had been cursed.
"Dark Pulse! Shadow Ball!"
Sato lunged forward. Haunter's Curse had successfully taken hold—now was the perfect moment to strike!
"Venomoth, use Confusion!"
The man released his fourth Pokémon.
A Venomoth.
Among Bug-types, Venomoth was considered a top-tier predator.
"You won't stop this!"
Sato whispered under his breath. Dark Energy surged beneath his feet.
Venomoth flapped its violet wings, releasing a powerful psychic wave.
The air trembled.
For a brief moment, an invisible force field expanded outward, targeting everything in its range.
But… it had no effect.
Except for Haunter, who hesitated slightly, Sato and Zoroark weren't affected at all.
"A Dark-type?! But then… why isn't it affecting you?" The older man's expression twisted in shock.
Psychic Pokémon were incredibly rare.
Even having a Venomoth that could use Confusion was something most trainers could only dream of.
But it was useless!
"Take a guess!" Sato sneered, his entire body accelerating once more. In an instant, he was in front of Venomoth, a gleaming dagger silently appearing in his hand.
Slash!
Venomoth plummeted to the ground, struggling frantically. However, there was no visible wound—only a deep gash across its left wing, throwing off its balance and rendering it unable to fly.
"Raaah!"
Victreebel let out a terrified cry. Its extended vine whip trembled as it desperately tried to pull out the dagger embedded in its abdomen. But the more it struggled, the weaker it became!
"Night Slash!"
A black blur streaked forward—Zoroark, who had been closely following Sato's movements. The moment the command was given, it locked onto Victreebel's dagger. It could feel the dense, concentrated Dark Energy coursing through the blade!
For it, that energy was a precious source of nourishment. But for Victreebel, it was a lethal poison!
Thud!
Zoroark pushed the dagger deeper, until the hilt was fully embedded into Victreebel's body.
"AAARGH!"
The middle-aged man was completely enraged—but at the same time, he felt a creeping sense of fear. He had been completely caught off guard by Sato's sheer ruthlessness. The terrifying thing wasn't just the strength of his Pokémon—it was the trainer himself.
In this battle, Sato was the primary combatant. Zoroark and Haunter had become his support. In a single strike, Sato had neutralized two Pokémon—crippling Venomoth's wing and gutting Victreebel entirely!
"Raaah!"
Victreebel howled in agony once again as the effects of Curse activated.
The middle-aged man's rage was now shifting into full-blown panic. He had only brought five Pokémon with him today.
Starmie, Crobat, Victreebel, Venomoth… and now, he realized—he had only one left.
How… how did my Pokémon lose so easily?!
For a brief moment, his mind blanked out. He was an experienced Elite-level trainer, while the boy before him only had two Pokémon that had barely reached Elite rank!
"No… you're the real monster here!"
The middle-aged man completely abandoned his remaining Pokémon—ignoring Venomoth, still writhing in pain on the ground, and Victreebel, whose bloodied body lay motionless.
"Ursaring! EARTHQUAKE! BURY THEM ALIVE!"
"GRROOOOAHH!"
A deafening roar echoed through the underground facility as the massive Ursaring blocked the exit tunnel. The man turned and bolted—fleeing without hesitation.
"Rooooaaar!"
For a moment, Ursaring hesitated. It glanced at its fallen teammates, then at its escaping trainer. Slowly, its expression twisted with fury.
Ursaring had been with the man since the beginning. It had followed him through countless battles. And now—when things got tough—he was abandoning them all?
Still, its body moved on instinct. Obey the command.
Obey the trainer.
"ROOOOAHH!"
Ursaring roared once more, slamming both fists into the ground with devastating force. A wave of seismic energy rippled outward, causing the entire underground structure to tremble violently.
At that moment, Sato knew—staying behind meant certain death.
"RUN! NOW!"
Haunter took the lead. The earthquake's tremors had no effect on its intangible body. It effortlessly swatted aside any debris that fell from above.
"Zoroark!"
Without hesitation, Zoroark lifted Sato onto its back. Its strong legs shifted from bipedal to quadrupedal stance, allowing it to sprint at full speed, minimizing the effects of the unstable terrain.
The facility was collapsing.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the supposedly sturdy concrete walls. Large sections of the ceiling caved in, bringing entire slabs of debris crashing down.
Sato cursed under his breath. Damn it! If they wanted to frame Team Rocket, they should've at least built this place properly! Now their shoddy construction might actually get me killed!
More and more sections of the facility began caving in. The domino effect of collapsing structures left less and less space to maneuver.
Haunter barely managed to deflect the largest falling debris, while Zoroark's speed was the only thing keeping them alive.
But at this rate, it was only a matter of time.
We're trapped.
"This isn't good… we won't make it out like this!"
"Hu!"