"Mud!"
The earth trembled as the Mudsdale charged forward. As they gathered their power, the three Mudsdale were like three dump trucks driving side by side, blocking the entire path—anything that appeared in front of them would be sent flying without mercy.
Guzzlord had only just managed to stand up, and before it could even turn its massive body to look in the direction of its enemies, the three Mudsdale slammed into it head-on with full force, producing three dull, heavy impacts.
Having no time to react at all, Guzzlord was knocked down yet again. Its enormous body collapsed forward and smashed into the ground once more, causing the already circular pit beneath it to expand even further.
"G-Guzz…"
Guzzlord felt like it was unbelievably unlucky. Lying flat in the pit, it didn't even want to move anymore—maybe it should just starve itself to death right here.
Originally, it had been happily stuffing itself full of food in its own exclusive territory. Who knew why it had suddenly been dragged into this unfamiliar place?
Being hungry, it had simply eaten its way forward. Just a moment ago, a group of tiny creatures had even delivered energy right to its doorstep. Before it could properly thank them, it was knocked over by something out of nowhere.
When it finally tried to get up and see what was going on, it got knocked over again.
Is there no justice in this world?!
Dump trucks aren't supposed to drive side by side—don't you people understand traffic rules?!
Mudsdale Number Three: "Mud? Mud?"
(What's wrong with it? Did we kick its head too hard and mess it up?)
Mudsdale Number Two: "Mud… Mud?"
(Possible. So… should we keep going?)
Mudsdale Number One: "Mud~"
(We'll listen to Silas.)
The three Mudsdale turned their heads together and waited for Silas's next instruction.
At this moment, even Silas was a little confused.
Weren't Ultra Beasts supposed to be extremely ferocious?
Why did this Guzzlord seem… kind of strange? Its whole body was radiating a sense of grievance and resentment.
If someone didn't know any better, they might even think it had been bullied.
Sure enough, Ultra Beasts really couldn't be judged by common sense. Fine—better beat it into submission first.
Just as Silas was about to take action, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.
Cracks spread rapidly across the earth, and two massive pincers burst up from underground, smashing toward the three Mudsdale brothers. Guzzlord was extremely vindictive, after all.
At the same time, its other two claws grabbed chunks of soil from the surroundings and stuffed them into its mouth, converting the earth into energy to support the movement of its enormous body.
Faced with Guzzlord's shameless sneak attack, the Mudsdale reacted quickly.
Their thick, horseshoe-like hooves became wrapped in Fighting-type energy. With two sharp bang bang sounds, all three Mudsdale unleashed Double Kick simultaneously.
Two of them forcefully blocked Guzzlord's pincers, while the third kicked Guzzlord squarely in the body, sending it staggering backward.
"Mudsdale, come back!" Silas called them back as he threw another Poké Ball, summoning Kangaskhan once again.
With the Mudsdale's current strength, they could at best fight Guzzlord to a stalemate—they had no chance of actually winning.
Once the battle dragged into a war of attrition, the Mudsdale would inevitably be defeated.
To avoid falling into such a dangerous situation, Silas chose to send out Kangaskhan.
The Key Stone on his wrist burst into brilliant, seven-colored radiance, resonating with Kangaskhan in response.
"Answer my call—Mega Evolve! Kangaskhan!"
"KAAANG!"
Kangaskhan roared as the Mega Evolution light merged into its body, releasing its most primal power.
"Phio… Phio!"
(Let's beat up the bad guy, let's beat up the bad guy together!)
Phione waved its tiny fists inside Kangaskhan's pouch, eager to jump out and fight the villain.
It was immediately pressed back inside by Mega Kangaskhan with one hand—having only just been born a few days ago, beating up bad guys was definitely not its job yet.
"GUUUZZ!"
Guzzlord, having climbed back to its feet, let out a furious roar. The sound was accompanied by a foul, putrid wind, and stomach acid capable of corroding anything sprayed out violently, splattering everywhere.
Pits were eaten into the ground wherever it landed—even metal could be corroded. If that stuff got on a body, the result would be chunks dissolving everywhere.
Mega Kangaskhan nimbly dodged the attack, while Silas mounted one of the Mudsdale and retreated to a safe distance.
The tacit understanding between him and Kangaskhan often required no words at all—they could instantly grasp each other's intentions.
Just like now: as soon as Silas spoke, Mega Kangaskhan slapped forward with a powerful palm strike.
"Fake Out!"
Struck from both sides, Guzzlord's head buzzed violently. Its massive body swayed unsteadily as it fell into a flinching state.
"Keep it going—Power-Up Punch!" Silas immediately followed up with another command. "Let's see whether our fists are harder, or its bones are."
"Kang~!"
(It's all coming back… it's all coming back!)
Mega Kangaskhan rushed forward, its fists the size of sandbags, pounding into Guzzlord again and again.
At first, Guzzlord thought the opponent was just scratching an itch. But after taking several punches, its expression instantly changed, and it let out pig-slaughter-like screams of agony.
"Guzz—ah! Guzz—ah…"
(I was wrong! I was wrong! Stop hitting me, it hurts, it hurts!)
Each punch was stronger than the last—this was Mega Kangaskhan, and it truly lived up to the hype.
-＜(￣﹌￣)＞
Mega Kangaskhan's attack power soared to an astonishing 13,000 points. Guzzlord was beaten back step by step, with no opportunity to replenish its energy.
With such a disparity between the two sides, the outcome was already decided.
"Finish it—Mega Punch!"
Noticing that Guzzlord had literally been beaten swollen by the barrage, Silas delivered the final verdict.
"KAAAANG!"
Kangaskhan let out a thunderous roar, concentrating all of its power into its right fist.
A 1.5× Same-Type Attack Bonus, stacked on top of multiple boosts from Power-Up Punch.
Even Arceus would have to take a slap from this.
With a deafening boom, Guzzlord's massive body was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing back into the circular pit and kicking up towering clouds of dust.
"Guzz…"
Inside the pit, Guzzlord lay completely limp, its eyes spinning in circles as it entered a near-death state.
"Powerful Trainer, please use this Beast Ball to capture Guzzlord."
As Kangaskhan and the others were fighting, a voice came from the helicopter that had been hovering in midair the entire time, and a special Poké Ball was tossed down toward Silas.
He raised his hand and caught it steadily.
This was a special kind of Poké Ball, roughly the same size as a standard one.
The upper half was a darker color, while the lower half was lighter. Its metallic shell reflected dazzling light under illumination, like a brilliant gemstone.
On the outside of the ball were four claw-like structures on the top and bottom, seemingly designed for a special purpose.
This was a Beast Ball, specifically designed to capture and transport Ultra Beasts.
Silas forcefully threw it into the deep pit, and Guzzlord was drawn inside.
Nearby, Kangaskhan clenched its fists threateningly—if it dared to jump out, it would get bang bang two punches to the face.
One shake… two shakes… ding! Capture successful!
Guzzlord was utterly terrified.
A person leapt down from the silver-white helicopter and quickly walked over to Silas, extending a hand as they introduced themselves.
"Hello! Powerful Trainer, I am Dia, squad captain of the Ultra Rangers."
"Thank you for stopping Guzzlord. On behalf of the Ultra Rangers, I offer you our highest respect."
"Huh? Aren't you the Defense Force?" Silas asked in surprise.
If he remembered correctly, the special organization responsible for repelling Ultra Beasts in Alola was called the Ultra Rangers.
And the Beast Ball was a special Poké Ball jointly developed by the Aether Foundation to capture Ultra Beasts.
Sensing that something was off, Silas pressed further. "Then where are Island Kahuna Hala and Professor Kukui? Aren't they here?"
Dia shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either of them.
"Hiss—"
Silas felt an ominous sense of unease creeping up on him.
Could it be that, just like Ash in the anime… he had crossed into a parallel world?
(End of Chapter)