Roy watched as Guzzlord lumbered toward him with heavy, deliberate steps. Each footfall echoed through the passage, and Roy knew there would be no reasoning with this creature.
The malice and murderous intent radiating from Guzzlord grew stronger with each passing moment. Roy didn't need his aura abilities to sense it—the threat was almost tangible in the air around him.
Guzzlord's enormous maw gaped wider and wider as it closed the distance. In the dim firelight, Roy could make out the yellow patterns that ringed the creature's mouth. Despite the danger, he couldn't help but notice the strange, almost exotic appearance of those markings.
"Lucario, Mimikyu, get ready!" Roy called out.
Following his trainer's command, Lucario instantly mobilized the energy it had been gathering and distributed it throughout its body. With explosive speed, Lucario launched forward, leaving behind a sonic boom cloud. Only a blur of sparks and afterimages remained visible as Lucario executed Quick Attack.
In the next instant, Lucario leaped from the ground without pause. The flames dancing between its paws intensified several times over. With undiminished momentum, Lucario descended from above, aiming a Fire Punch directly at Guzzlord's eye region.
However, because Guzzlord's massive mouth was already so close to Lucario, the Ultra Beast made no attempt to evade the incoming attack. Instead, it simply opened its maw wider, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth that it aimed at Lucario's comparatively petite body, preparing to bite down with crushing force.
The situation presented Lucario with a grim choice: either abort the attack and retreat, or commit to the strike and accept the inevitable counterattack from Guzzlord's merciless jaws.
Roy recalled the reports he'd read—some witnesses claimed to have seen Guzzlord devouring entire mountains and swallowing buildings whole. This reputation as the "Junkivore Pokémon" was well-earned, and its teeth were not to be underestimated.
In that split second, Roy's order reached Lucario's ears.
"Pull back!"
Trusting his trainer completely, Lucario immediately withdrew its attack without hesitation. Using Quick Attack once more, the Fighting-type Pokémon put distance between itself and Guzzlord.
At that very moment, Mimikyu—who had quietly concealed itself in the shadows—materialized behind Guzzlord without warning.
Mimikyu wasted no time, especially after hearing all those strange sounds from the creature. The Ghost-type's fury reached its peak, and it delivered a powerful Shadow Ball as a greeting gift to the intruder.
Guzzlord's teeth snapped shut on empty air with a metallic 'clang' that made anyone listening wince. But the sound seemed to have no effect on Guzzlord whatsoever.
Suddenly, Guzzlord sensed a bone-chilling cold approaching from behind at incredible speed. It wanted to turn and identify the source, but instinctively knew there wasn't enough time.
So instead, Guzzlord simply raised its tail and swept it sideways with tremendous force, sending whatever was behind it crashing into the passage wall.
Iron Tail connected with devastating effect.
"Boom!"
The Shadow Ball that Mimikyu had launched never reached Guzzlord's body. The Ultra Beast's tail struck it mercilessly, slamming it against the wall and ending any hope of landing the attack.
The impact was massive. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling of the entire passage, and the resulting cloud of dirt forced Roy to shield his eyes, fanning the air in front of his face.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Tapu Koko, who had been exploring other passages in the opposite half of the cave system, naturally felt the vibration that shook the entire cavern.
"Koko-ko?"
What's happening?
The guardian deity raised its masked face and looked in the direction it had come from. The sound seemed to originate from where Roy and the others were. Had they encountered something dangerous?
Tapu Koko's electrical web covered only the surface area—when it came to the internal structure of the Cave, the guardian had been essentially blind since entering.
After a moment's hesitation, Tapu Koko glanced at the unexplored passage ahead, feeling somewhat reluctant to leave it uninvestigated.
"Koko!"
Alright, I'll go back and check on them once I'm done here!
Poor Roy would have to manage without help for now.
The dust cloud posed little problem for Lucario and Mimikyu, who were both accustomed to harsh conditions.
The same applied to Guzzlord, of course.
So within the swirling sand and dust, Roy's uncontrollable coughing completely gave away his position.
Taking advantage of its massive body, Guzzlord extended one of its pincer-like appendages, reaching out to grab Roy around the waist.
However, Guzzlord's sheer size also exposed its weaknesses—every movement it made was highly conspicuous and easy to track.
This allowed Lucario and Mimikyu, both Pokémon with exceptional observational skills, to read its intentions at a glance.
Seeing Guzzlord dare to target his trainer, Lucario's rage instantly maxed out.
The flames in Lucario's paws had been extinguished during the previous exchange, plunging the entire passage into darkness once more.
Lucario charged up another Fire Punch, remaining vigilant while preparing to attack, terrified that Guzzlord might snatch its trainer away.
However, due to the obstructed line of sight and the pincer that appeared seemingly from nowhere, Lucario didn't dare act rashly for the moment.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Roy's throat burned with inhaled dust. The coughing made his throat raw and parched, but the irritation wouldn't stop.
"Mimi!"
Just as Lucario was still deciding where to strike, Mimikyu's distinctive cry rang out from somewhere ahead of Lucario's position.
Lucario immediately understood what Mimikyu was communicating. No longer holding back, it stomped hard against the ground and charged toward the sound's source with its augmented fist ready.
Darkness might pose a significant challenge for Roy—a human accustomed to light and modern lighting tools.
But for Mimikyu, originally a wild Pokémon that had made quite a name for itself in the wilderness, navigating darkness was no great difficulty.
When it came to perceiving things in the dark, the most important factor wasn't "seeing" but rather understanding the "environment."
Use everything available to locate the target, and it becomes visible.
Mimikyu helped Lucario determine Guzzlord's position using sound.
At the moment of that cry, Mimikyu was already moving to Guzzlord's back through Shadow Sneak.
Lucario responded with perfect coordination, delivering its powerful blow.
In an instant, Lucario positioned itself at Guzzlord's eye level.
Lucario believed the eyes were its opponent's weakness.