Facing the woman not far away, Shiro did not relax in the slightest.
Even though she wore a long dress that clearly was not suited for intense movement, her actions were barely affected at all.
Moreover, the woman named Bella had a belt of Poké Balls hanging at her waist, yet she still had not released a single Pokémon... Could it be that the Pokémon inside had already been released beforehand, and all of them were Psychic or Ghost types hiding nearby?
Shiro could not be sure. He could only tell Haunter to stay alert.
The goal of this close-range confrontation was to save the hostage. At the very least, he had to guarantee the safety of the person in the enemy's hands.
As for Hunter A in his own hands, the man was basically crippled already. Broken arms and legs. Even if he really handed him back, it would not matter. What worried him was the possibility that the enemy would go all out at the last moment and drag both hostages into the fight.
When the two of them were still five meters apart, Bella stopped and said in a low voice, "Give Alfred's Pokémon back to him."
"..."
Shiro did not move. He stopped as well.
Seeing that, Bella's bloodshot eyes widened and she suddenly roared like a wild beast, "Give Alfred's Pokémon back to him!"
"Then let Anna go first," Shiro demanded.
Without hesitation, Bella threw the little girl aside.
Shiro quickly estimated the distance. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Poké Balls he had confiscated earlier while secretly using his psychic power to destroy their switches.
Ever since he had been attacked by Kabu back in Galar, he had carefully studied the structure of Poké Balls. As long as the switch was damaged, the Poké Ball could no longer be opened manually.
One by one, the damaged Poké Balls were stuffed back onto Hunter A's belt. Five in total.
"Give him to me..." Bella lowered her head halfway, her voice hoarse and aged like an old woman in her seventies or eighties.
Shiro did not answer. He slowly shifted his steps toward the little girl lying on the ground.
"Give him to me!"
Another furious roar erupted. At the same time, Bella bent forward slightly and instantly vanished from where she stood.
Shiro instinctively grabbed the hilt of his knife as his pupils shrank sharply.
Under the observation of his psychic power, the woman moved in a zigzag at terrifying speed. Wherever she passed, streaks of electricity remained behind.
An ordinary person would not even be able to see her figure clearly.
Quick Attack!
She had used a move!
There was no time to think about why a human could use Pokémon moves. Shiro immediately threw away Hunter A and kicked him hard, sending him flying several meters away.
The rapidly moving Bella immediately changed direction and rushed toward Hunter A.
Shiro quickly scooped up Anna with one hand and retreated down the grassy slope while shouting.
"Corviknight, Quick Attack! Drakloak, Phantom Force!"
The moment the two people on the ground separated, Corviknight and Drakloak, which had been waiting in the air, dove down at the same time.
Blue ghostly light flickered, then a streak of gray lightning shot straight toward Bella and Hunter A.
If an ordinary human took that attack head-on, they would definitely die.
But Bella's arm suddenly glowed with gray-white light. With a swing of her arm, she struck the incoming Corviknight directly.
The huge Corviknight was actually blasted backward by the small woman's punch. It spun through the air before barely stabilizing itself.
"Hammer Arm?" Shiro cried out in shock as countless guesses flashed through his mind.
Was she some specially trained superhuman? Or a modified human?
Or was that woman actually a Pokémon...
Mew?
Impossible!
If she really was a Pokémon, then she was probably a Ditto.
While he was still thinking, Drakloak emerged from behind Bella with Phantom Force. Its translucent tail glowed blue as it swung with full force.
Bang!
A dull collision rang out as Drakloak's tail slammed against a pair of deep orange giant hands before instantly recoiling.
Bella's arms had become enormously thick, resembling the arms of a sumo wrestler. After taking the hit, her body began rippling and twisting like liquid while her face gradually blurred.
Her voice also became strange and distorted.
"You... It was you... You hurt Alfred, my Alfred… It was you!"
She was a Pokémon...
Ditto!
Shiro waved his hand and shouted.
"Corviknight, Air Slash and Air Cutter! Drakloak, Dragon Pulse!"
Black feathers drifted through the air as compressed currents formed into blades sharp enough to split the sky apart. Dragon energy gathered with overwhelming force before erupting toward the ground.
Violent winds surged. Sharp slashes arrived first, followed immediately by a thick pillar of energy from another direction.
Bzzzzng!
The sound of a giant bell being violently struck echoed repeatedly. A razor-sharp Psycho Cut suddenly slashed out from the dust cloud at incredible speed.
Shiro reacted quickly and recalled Corviknight just before it was hit.
As the dust dispersed, a massive blue-green bell was revealed within.
[Name: Bronzong (Ditto)
Type: Steel/Psychic
Level: 66 (Champion)
Ability: Levitate
Held Item: None
Moves Mastered: Block, Tackle, Confusion, Confuse Ray, Weather Ball, Payback, Sunny Day, Imprison, Psybeam, Psychic, Psycho Cut...
Status: Enraged]
A Champion-level Ditto!
While shocked, Shiro quickly commanded.
"Drakloak, Shadow Collapse!"
Ghost-type attacks were super effective against Psychic types. Even though this Bronzong transformed by Ditto had extremely high stamina and defense, as long as it got hit a few more times...
Before he could finish thinking, another Psycho Cut slashed directly toward him.
The Ditto Bronzong completely ignored the nearby Drakloak and chose to attack the trainer, Shiro!
Shiro hurriedly rolled to the side several times in succession. The place where he had been standing was instantly carved open into a deep trench.
"My Alfred!"
Bronzong shouted as countless ghostly shadows continuously struck its body. The bell shook violently, causing its voice to become long and trembling as well.
"Keep attacking!" Shiro called out.
Drakloak did not hesitate at all and immediately began preparing another move.
Meanwhile, Bronzong suddenly leaped slightly and smashed heavily into the ground. Energy spread deep underground as the surrounding rocks began breaking apart.
Rock Tomb!
Shiro's expression darkened as he pulled out another Poké Ball.
"Bewear!"
A tall and sturdy figure stepped in front of him.
Huge rocks several meters tall rained down like a storm. The doll-like Bewear continuously swung its arms, smashing apart the incoming boulders.
But its movements still could not keep up with the speed of the falling rocks. In the end, it could only cross its arms and forcibly block the remaining stones head-on.
"Bewear..."
Covered in dust, Bewear looked exhausted.
After all, this was a move used by a Champion-level Bronzong. With a gap of nearly two major ranks between them, even with type advantage against it, Bewear still suffered serious injuries after enduring the attack directly.
"Come back and rest for now."
Shiro took a deep breath and recalled Bewear.
In his arms, Anna's short black hair was a mess. Her pale face remained motionless, and her eyes were tightly shut. She had already lost consciousness.
Bzzzzng!
In the distance, Drakloak unleashed another full-power combined attack.
Bronzong's body rang loudly once again.
But for some unknown reason, even after taking two full-power attacks and being hit by moves that had type advantage, Bronzong still had not suffered any effective damage.
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