"Troublesome…"
Silas watched the increasingly tense battle and frowned.
As expected, anyone who could stand out among Team Rocket's squad leaders possessed real strength.
"Crawdaunt, use Ice Beam and take out the Sunflora in the back!"
"Sharpedo, assist with Ice Fang!"
Silas kept Umbreon beside him as protection in case of a surprise attack. At the same time, he silently hoped that Murkrow would return quickly.
The commotion of this battle must have already been noticed by Murkrow, who had left earlier. It should be on its way back by now.
Crawdaunt and Sharpedo both used Ice-type moves, targeting the two Sunflora hiding behind the battlefield.
Water and Ice had always gone hand in hand.Most Water-type Pokémon could learn a large number of Ice-type attacks.
A beam of icy-blue light shot out from Crawdaunt's open claws.However, Venusaur stepped forward and blocked the attack with its own body.
Although Ice-type attacks were super effective against Grass-types, Venusaur appeared almost completely unfazed.
This Venusaur clearly had extremely high durability. It had definitely undergone special training to resist Ice-type attacks.
"Breloom! Stop Sharpedo!"
"Use Mach Punch!"
Seeing Sharpedo's speed increasing, the alluring woman immediately realized it possessed the Speed Boost ability, and hurriedly issued commands.
Unfortunately for her, Sharpedo had already mastered its Speed Boost through intense training.
Even while using Aqua Jet, it could freely adjust its direction. With a few quick turns, it easily bypassed Breloom.
Silas had already noticed something earlier.
A faint purple mist lingered around Breloom's body.
That meant its ability was Poison Heal.
Combined with a Toxic Orb, the longer the battle dragged on, the stronger Breloom would become. Therefore, there was no need to fight it directly.
Sharpedo simply ignored it and targeted the other Pokémon.
Opening its terrifying shark jaws, Sharpedo surged forward like a cannonball.
True to its reputation as the tyrant of the sea.
Its target-The two fragile Sunflora at the rear.
"Sunflora!"
The woman's face filled with anxiety.
However, she didn't dare send Breloom away from her side again.After all, she still needed a Pokémon for protection.
Silas' Murkrow still hadn't appeared.
Who knew when it might return to launch a sneak attack?
In addition, Silas' crossbow remained aimed and ready.
Because of these threats, the woman couldn't fight with her full strength.
Breloom had to stay beside her as a guard.
Meanwhile, when Venusaur saw the Sunflora under attack, it immediately abandoned its fight with Crawdaunt and turned back to rescue them.
After all, as long-time teammates, Venusaur clearly understood how important Sunny Day was to its power.
"Venusaur, use Razor Leaf!"
The woman had no choice but to command it to provide support.But this Was exactly what Silas wanted.
Once Venusaur abandoned the front line, Crawdaunt could pursue it relentlessly.
If Venusaur didn't rescue the Sunflora, Sharpedo would easily eliminate them. And without Sunny Day, Venusaur's Chlorophyll ability would lose its advantage.
At that point, it would be completely isolated.
"Crawdaunt! Press the attack!"
"Use Hidden Power (Fire)!"
Crawdaunt immediately fired a blazing orb of energy.
Just moments ago, Venusaur had been suppressing it with Grass-type advantage.
Now it was time for revenge.
Seeing the battle gradually turning one-sided, the alluring woman felt alarm rising in her heart.
At the same time, she had to worry about the unseen Murkrow hiding somewhere nearby.
Sweat formed on her forehead.
She hurriedly spoke in a soft voice.
"Lord Black Sky… I surrender. Please show mercy."
Silas remained unmoved.
At that moment, he suddenly noticed slight movement among the trees nearby.
His eyes lit up.
Murkrow had returned.
He immediately commanded Sharpedo to keep Breloom occupied.
"Murkrow!"
"Use Gust!"
"Murkrow—CAW!"
The black bird burst out of the forest.
With a powerful flap of its wings, two violent gusts shot toward the woman's head.
Silas expected the attack to kill her instantly.But at the last moment ,The woman released another Pokémon.
"Pidgeot!"
"PIIIIDGEOT!"
A majestic giant bird appeared instantly.
With a single powerful wingbeat, it generated two massive gusts of wind.
Murkrow's attack was instantly dispersed.
The woman exhaled in relief, clearly shaken.
Her breathing became heavy.
Because that attack had truly been intended to kill her.
Silas sighed inwardly.
As expected…
She was hiding another Pokémon.
After all, any experienced trainer traveling outside would carry at least one Flying-type scout Pokémon.
Silas had originally assumed her hidden Pokémon would be something around level 20, similar to Breloom. But instead She revealed a Pidgeot.
Since Pidgeot only evolved at level 36, this meant her overall strength was already comparable to Silas'.
On the battlefield:
Crawdaunt
Sharpedo
Venusaur
Pidgeot
All four Pokémon were above level 36.
These were the true deciding forces in the battle.
The woman looked at Silas with interest.
"Well, little brother Black Sky… can we talk properly now?"
Her tone had changed.
She no longer addressed him respectfully.
Instead, it carried a teasing tone.
Silas replied coldly.
"You followed me."
"Then you released sleeping gas."
"And now you want to 'talk properly'?"
The woman looked slightly embarrassed.
"I just wanted to test my partner's strength."
"After all, if you were too weak… you wouldn't deserve to be my teammate."
Her words did spark a small amount of interest in Silas.
Since neither side could easily win this battle anyway, he might as well listen.
Silas gave a faint, mocking smile.
"Cooperation?"
"You mean the so-called alliance the four of us formed earlier?"
His voice carried obvious sarcasm.
After all, verbal agreements could be broken at any time.
Just like the battle they had just fought.
Seeing Silas finally respond, the woman secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Her previously tense body gradually relaxed.
"Of course not."
"That was just a small agreement between the four of us."
She shot him a playful glance.
"You already know those two are twins."
"Then you must also understand something else."
"They are natural partners."
"If we tried to cooperate with them, we'd always remain outsiders."
She paused slightly, her eyes flashing with cunning.
"That's why I want to form a private alliance with you."
"In case those twins decide to betray us."
At this point, she deliberately put on a pitiful expression. But Silas remained completely cold.
Seeing this, the woman finally played her last card.
"If you refuse…"
"I'll simply go cooperate with the twins instead."
She smiled mischievously.
"You wouldn't want to be left all alone… would you?"
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(End of chapter)