"Frogadier—Tailed Beast Cloak."
Frogadier arrived a heartbeat late and froze when it saw Gu Qiu standing calmly in front of Ralts.
Too fast. It had sprinted at full speed and still couldn't keep up.
Behind the trees, Pika-Itachi had already concealed his aura.
He stood less than ten meters behind Kona.
Watching her—cold and calculating.
That woman was strong—undeniably so.
Inside her Poké Balls were presences that even he considered threats.
But that didn't matter.
As a shinobi.
As Uchiha.
He had ninety percent certainty that if she showed killing intent—
He could eliminate her before she released a Pokémon.
Fortunately—
Kona had not.
Otherwise, tomorrow's headlines would read:
Shocking: Ice Elite Four Kona Found Dead in Viridian Forest – Instant Kill.
Frogadier's body erupted as crimson chakra burst outward.
Visible and violent.
Like boiling blood wrapping around him.
His expression twisted slightly.
Control was still imperfect.
Kona's pupils shrank slightly.
"That form…"
She had battled for decades.
Seen countless mutations.
Yet—
This?
Was new.
"Dark-type energy?" she murmured. "No… not corruption."
Blackened Pokémon were different.
Corruption meant hatred, destruction, and soul distortion.
This was raw power.
Explosive.
Untamed.
And dangerous.
Level 21.
Ordinary-tier.
Yet—
Kona felt it.
Barely perceptible, almost negligible—but real.
A trace of threat.
From a Pokémon at this level? Absurd.
"Interesting…"
And just ten days ago, this Frogadier had been a Froakie.
Evolution speed alone was abnormal.
Quality determined ceiling.
High-grade Pokémon usually capped around Level 50, with exceptional cases breaking into the low 60s.
But that was the limit.
Unless there was a quality breakthrough, rare enhancement medicine, or an evolution mutation.
All extremely rare.
Yet this Frogadier had already crossed into Top Grade.
"That's… Frogadier?"
"Forget the weird aura. It's Level 21!"
"We attack together!"
"Houndour! Crunch!"
"Weezing! Sludge!"
"Golbat! Swift!"
Three attacks converged at once.
Gu Qiu's face remained calm.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Instantly, the forest exploded with figures.
One. Ten. Fifty. A hundred.
Frogadiers everywhere.
Not illusions. Not afterimages. Real clones.
Naruto's Shadow Clone was not like Double Team.
Double Team created projections.
Shadow Clone created bodies.
Each was capable of attacking, each sharing chakra.
And Frogadier had inherited Naruto's monstrous chakra reserves.
And regeneration.
Even behind Kona—
Several Frogadiers stood.
She inhaled sharply despite herself.
This wasn't visual trickery.
Her experience confirmed it instantly.
Every clone had presence.
Energy.
Intent.
The Rockets froze.
"What the hell—"
Crunch bit empty air, Sludge struck a disappearing target, and Swift scattered into the trees.
They couldn't identify the original.
The forest had become a battlefield of crimson silhouettes.
Gu Qiu's voice echoed calmly, "Rasengan."
And every clone raised a spiraling sphere of condensed chakra.
The Rockets' expressions finally changed.
Fear—real fear.
Because in that moment—
They understood something.
This was no ordinary trainer—and this was no ordinary Frogadier.
The wind pressure shifted, and leaves tore from branches.
Kona's gaze sharpened.
Now she was no longer observing casually.
She was evaluating.
Seriously.
Because if even one of those spheres landed clean—
At Level 21, it might erase a Level 30 Pokémon.
And that defied conventional growth logic.
In the crimson-lit forest—
The clones stepped forward.
And the Rockets finally realized—
They had chosen the wrong target.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
Claim early access on Patreon: patreon.com/c/LuneWriter
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:
💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter
🔷 200 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.