At this point, the Pokémon on both sides were locked in a fierce battle, with each side having its advantages and disadvantages. After all, again, Aoi Maiko had already lost two of her main Pokémon, and her strongest remaining ones were Sceptile and Torterra.
Unfortunately, Torterra had been poisoned, greatly reducing its combat capacities. Gloom, which specialized in curing status conditions, had limited combat power and was being held back by Tetsuya's Houndoom, making it difficult to move forward. The poisoned Torterra could only fight Drapion to a standstill.
Sceptile and Golurk darted between the trees, turning the forest into Sceptile's home field. Golurk was ambushed from time to time, and in just over ten minutes, it had been slashed seven or eight times by Sceptile's Leaf Blade. Its body suffered considerable damage, and it was knocked straight to the ground.
'Expected from an Elite Four level Pokémon… Golurk is still not quite there yet.' Tetsuya was secretly alarmed. If this continued, even if he defeated all of Maiko's other Pokémon, as long as this Sceptile remained, there would be nothing he could do against it.
Golurk lay on the ground, and Tetsuya was notably anxious. He could faintly see the six layers of energy covering Golurk's body, while the seventh layer was only about the size of a bowl.
"Gol-!"
Suddenly, dark clouds drifted over and obscured the bright moonlight!
The entire forest seemed to turn into hell, without the slightest trace of light. Both Tetsuya and Maiko had no choice but to turn on their flashlights. In a battle like this, no one could feel safe.
The instant the flashlights lit up, Golurk stood perfectly upright. It let out a long, hollow roar that echoed into the distance.
At this moment, Golurk seemed to have awakened… whether from unwillingness or as a release.
"Eh…?"
'This is impossible!'
Tetsuya could hardly believe it. Ever since Golurk had become covered by the sixth layer of energy, no matter how hard it trained, the seventh layer had remained stagnant.
But looking at Golurk standing there now, the seventh layer had completely covered its body!
In its fury, Golurk directly destroyed dozens of trees. High Horsepower combined with Fire Punch, making it resemble a meteorite falling from the sky and crashing toward Sceptile on the ground!
"Sceptile, ruuun!"
Maiko was experienced enough to immediately sense the danger. Sceptile used all its power to flee toward an area with trees.
With just one more step, Sceptile would have entered the forest, but Golurk caught up and smashed into its back.
Booooom!!!
With a tremendous crash, the ground caved in more than a meter deep, and flames surged skyward from the crater. However, Golurk now seemed completely insane, spamming Fire Punch as it smashed Sceptile inside the crater. Nothing could be seen clearly through the flames anymore.
"T-This monster…" Maiko's face had already turned pale, and a sense of crisis was rising within her heart.
---◓---
After an unknown amount of time, the flames died out and the dust settled. Golurk lay unconscious in the crater, while the seventh layer of energy that had just covered its entire body had receded again, leaving only a bowl-sized patch on its chest.
Tetsuya recalled Golurk.
Sceptile, meanwhile, had already been reduced to a pile of charcoal, killed in the crater by the rampaging Golurk…
"Y-You… What… My Sceptile!"
Maiko's heart was bleeding. Sceptile was her third main Pokémon. How could she accept it dying just like that? With this, surviving had become even more difficult for her!
Tetsuya was also in a state of utter astonishment. He had never expected Golurk's seventh layer of energy, once completely unleashed, to have such terrific power that it could completely overpower an Elite Four level Pokémon…
However, he could not understand why the energy had now receded again.
Golurk had just been in a frenzied state, which meant it still lacked the ability to control this kind of energy. Maybe that was why the spread of its energy had stagnated.
How to release Golurk's seventh layer of energy left Tetsuya deeply troubled…
---◓---
Sceptile was dead. Maiko now had only Torterra, Gloom, and Meganium left on the field. Golurk on his side had also been incapacitated, and for the moment, it would still be difficult to overcome these three Pokémon.
At this moment, Maiko was staring intently at the changes in the battle on the field, and Tetsuya saw his opportunity…
"…Spinarak, go."
Spinarak instantly disappeared from Tetsuya's shoulder, using String Shot to move between the trees. It quickly and silently reached the tree behind Maiko and fired a purple Poison Sting.
Maiko was completely unaware, but the Pokémon inside her sleeve not.
A green whirlwind flew out from her sleeve and successfully neutralized the Poison Sting.
Only after hearing the sound of the moves colliding did Maiko react, and the Pokémon inside her sleeve finally appeared.
Cherubi!
It was indeed a small Pokémon with a keen ability to sense danger. Since Maiko had such confidence in it, its capacities naturally could not be underestimated.
At this moment, Cherubi was completely focused on facing Spinarak's attacks…
Tetsuya felt that the opportunity had arrived!
Again…
Maiko was completely focused on the battle, while the Pokémon protecting her had also been drawn out. Maiko was now completely exposed before him, allowing him to end this quickly.
After all, if he could "use" her remaining Pokémon himself, they would represent another enormous fortune. Even if he could not utilize them himself, Pokémon like these could fetch astronomical prices if he encountered someone who recognized their value.
He also had to deal with Maiko before Ezaki found him. No matter what, he absolutely could not allow Maiko to fall into the League's hands!
Tetsuya used Teleport and instantly appeared not far behind Maiko.
Cherubi was now completely preoccupied with the battle. Although Spinarak was only a tiny Pokémon, there was no pattern whatsoever to its attacks, darting forward and backward, up and down. Cherubi's primary responsibility was Maiko's safety, so it could not fight without restraint.
No one noticed Tetsuya's instantaneous arrival…
"Sludge Bomb."
Tetsuya recited the command in his mind. His shadow suddenly stretched, and a Sludge Bomb was hurled out!
There was not the slightest warning. Everything was utterly silent…
Splash…
"Aaaaah!"
Suddenly, a heart-wrenching scream rang out. Maiko's back was blasted open, and she collapsed!
Aoi Maiko's pupils bulged, completely unaware of what had happened…
Just like that, she silently fell to the ground. Perhaps even after reaching the underworld or the Ghost World, she would still want to ask what had happened…
The purpose of a "sneak attack" was to kill with a single hit. Otherwise, it had no meaning.
'One down…'
Maiko collapsed, and Cherubi immediately lost all composure. It no longer cared that Spinarak's Poison Sting struck its body and rushed toward Maiko. At this moment, its heart was filled with incomparable guilt. After all, this had happened because of its failure to fulfill its duty.
At this point, Ditto, Houndoom, Drapion, and Weezing, together with Miltank providing support, had completely surrounded the poisoned Torterra, Meganium, and Gloom.
Torterra, now the strongest of the three, was already on its last legs…
Coupled with Maiko's death, Meganium and Gloom had also lost their fighting spirit.
Now it was time for Tetsuya to step in.