"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and use Agility!"
One of the Rangers shouted, while the colleague beside him reminded him, "Bah! Stop yelling. Houndoom used Snatch. The effect of Agility is on Houndoom now."
"Th... This is infuriating!"
At that moment, Beedrill had already used Double Team. The field was filled with the buzzing of countless Beedrill.
The two Rangers exchanged glances, nodded, and shouted, ""Flamethrower!""
The two Arcanine each took responsibility for one side, sweeping Flamethrower across the field in an attempt to eliminate Beedrill's clones.
"Houndoom, [Blightfire Assault]. Beedrill, [Twin Fury]."
Beedrill's speed was astonishing. As long as it seized an opening between Arcanine's Flamethrowers, it could rapidly close in on Arcanine.
Houndoom had it even easier. Its Flash Fire Ability activated, making those flames nothing more than fuel for its advance.
In the blink of an eye, Beedrill had already raced along the gaps left by the flames and rapidly closed in on Arcanine, while Houndoom charged straight into the fire and sprinted directly toward Arcanine.
The two Rangers did not dare show the slightest bit of carelessness. Both of them shouted, ""Extreme Speed!""
Their reaction was fairly timely. A move with guaranteed move priority like Extreme Speed could indeed produce unexpected results at the most critical moments.
But things do not always go as planned…
One of the Arcanine successfully used Extreme Speed to swiftly leave the attack range of Houndoom and Beedrill.
However, the other Arcanine was affected by the intimidating effect of Houndoom's King's Rock. It Flinched in fear, frozen in place. In that brief instant, Houndoom's [Blightfire Assault] had already broken through and sent Arcanine flying.
Beedrill followed up with [Twin Fury]. The move's power continued to increase with each strike. If this continued, Arcanine would not simply become unable to battle. It would very likely be crippled for life.
What surprised Tetsuya, however, was that the Arcanine which had successfully escaped using Extreme Speed immediately opened its mouth and unleashed a Flamethrower, engulfing both Beedrill and the other Arcanine.
"Houndoom!"
Tetsuya only called out once, and Houndoom immediately understood what it needed to do. It rushed straight toward Arcanine.
Arcanine was also quick to react. It immediately unleashed a Fire Blast, then retreated away from Beedrill and the other Arcanine before using Extreme Speed once again to widen the distance between itself and Houndoom.
With a loud "bang," Fire Blast exploded the moment it entered the flames. Arcanine and Beedrill fell at the same time, both unable to battle.
Grinding his teeth in frustration, the Ranger recalled Arcanine. His Arcanine had practically accomplished nothing before being knocked out.
Originally, the other Ranger had used a Fire-type move on his own Arcanine in order to trigger Arcanine's Flash Fire Ability and launch a counterattack. What he had not expected was that Beedrill's attack frequency was simply too fast and its offensive power extraordinary, leaving no opportunity to counterattack at all!
Had Beedrill not insisted on continuing its attack, it would not have been struck by Flamethrower and Fire Blast.
Tetsuya also recalled Beedrill. As an assassin-type Pokémon, Beedrill was unquestionably qualified. However, its weakness was also painfully obvious. A single Flamethrower and a single Fire Blast were enough to knock it out. Although its strengths were outstanding, such poor defensive capacities made it difficult for it to reach the highest level.
In a battle between elites, the moment an opponent seized even the slightest opportunity, they would launch the fiercest possible assault. No one could guarantee that they would not expose even the slightest opening over the course of a battle.
Once such an opening appeared, it was practically enough to declare Beedrill's death sentence!
"Double Team, then Fire Fang."
Arcanine's Extreme Speed was truly troublesome to deal with. Fortunately, Houndoom had used Snatch at the very beginning to steal the Agility Arcanine had intended to use. Now, with Double Team working together, it would definitely be able to catch Arcanine.
As Houndoom ran, seven or eight clones had already appeared, darting back and forth before Arcanine's eyes.
"Use Extreme Speed to break through its clones," One of the Rangers commanded. Arcanine activated Extreme Speed once again.
"Hn." Tetsuya let out a cold snort. They were actually having Arcanine confront Houndoom head-on…
Although Arcanine's physical Attack power was greater than Houndoom's, his Houndoom was far more than just strong offensively.
Just as Arcanine used Extreme Speed to smash through the second clone, all of Houndoom's remaining clones converged together, merging into one. Houndoom was already behind Arcanine, its jaws clamped tightly around Arcanine's neck.
Arcanine let out a cry of agony!
Seeing that Arcanine had already fallen completely into a disadvantage, the lead Ranger threw a Poké Ball. "Phooey! How embarrassing. You can't even handle a little bastard!"
Another Arcanine joined the battle. Both its size and its presence surpassed those of the previous two. Without any unnecessary movement, it charged straight toward Houndoom.
"Need any help?" Catherine asked.
"No need. He's only a little stronger than those two," Tetsuya replied. Since this guy was still working as a Ranger, it meant his strength had not reached the next level. Otherwise, he would have long since joined the ranks of the Investigators.
"Houndoom, fall back first. Use 'Howl'."
At Tetsuya's command, Houndoom released Arcanine, then leaped backward twice to widen the distance.
By then, the lead Ranger's Arcanine had already reached the injured Arcanine's side.
"Three grown men can't even beat one kid… Heh~ What a disgrace. Maybe these Rangers are impostors too," Catherine remarked sarcastically from the side, making all three men even more furious.
Houndoom used [Blazing Howl].
"Arcanine, charge in with Extreme Speed, then use Crunch." The lead Ranger's plan was clear, but he had still miscalculated.
Just as Arcanine approached Houndoom, it was suddenly blocked by an invisible force, unable to advance even a single step.
"Eh? What's going on…?"
Despite all the battles they had experienced, they had never known "Howl" to be capable of harming a Pokémon. It was clearly only a move that increased physical Attack.
"Why aren't you attacking!?" The furious Ranger had nowhere to vent his anger, so he could only shout at the subordinate beside him.
"Lo-Look at my Arcanine. Something's wrong with it."
The Arcanine that had just been bitten by Houndoom kept crying out in pain. It had been poisoned by Houndoom!
Although Houndoom's toxicity was not especially potent, after being poisoned, the wound burned with pain as though it had been scorched by raging flames. Even burns caused by Houndoom's flames would produce the same symptoms.
"What in the world is going on today?"
The Ranger leader had no idea what was happening either. Houndoom had clearly used Fire Fang just now, which should not have dealt much damage to Arcanine. Yet such an abnormal situation had now appeared.
By this time, Houndoom had already finished using [Blazing Howl]. Even the sun seemed to shine a little more intensely.