"You actually dared to come to Kalos." Silas raised his wrist, revealing the Key Stone embedded there. "Girl, give her a real show."
"Kang!"
Kangaskhan responded to Silas's call. At the same time, Phione inside her pouch received a surge of enhancement.
Mega Evolution energy gathered above Phione's head, forming a delicate little crown that looked seventy to eighty percent similar to the Sea Crown.
Phione was not a baby Kangaskhan and could not completely control the boost brought by Mega Evolution, yet it achieved a similar result through another method.
Mega Kangaskhan, or rather Mega Phione, made its dazzling entrance.
"Damn it!" Hunter J glared furiously. "So it was you all along. Take this!"
In the next second, Hunter J pulled out her gun and fired a strange beam of light.
The beam struck the ground where Mega Kangaskhan had just been standing. Grass and plants instantly turned to stone.
It was a petrification gun.
One of the pieces of black technology Hunter J possessed in the Pokémon anime of Silas's previous life.
Its performance in the show had been terrifying. Once hit, even Legendary Pokémon could not resist and would be sealed into stone statues.
"Everyone be careful. Do not get hit by that gun."
Silas warned them and immediately gave Kangaskhan an order. "Kangaskhan, use Mega Punch. And knock Salamence down for me."
"Tch. You actually dodged it." Hunter J shot him a hateful look.
The petrification gun was new technology developed by the Hunter's Union. Its internal structure was unstable. At this stage, it required a cooldown period after each use.
The sneak attack had failed. Now she had no choice but to stall for time. She threw out two Poké Balls in quick succession.
"Drapion, Ariados. Use Pin Missile and String Shot."
The scorpion like Pokémon opened its mouth and fired a dense barrage of needles.
Its target was not the Pokémon in front, but Silas standing behind Kangaskhan.
To Hunter J, attacking a human was no different from attacking a Pokémon. She was utterly selfish and would use any means necessary to achieve her goal.
"Riolu, we're helping too." Korrina directed Riolu to rapidly punch the air, creating waves of vacuum force that knocked down part of the incoming needles.
However, Riolu's strength was still insufficient to block all of Drapion's attacks.
At that moment, Mienshao in the rear moved.
Its long sleeves danced in the wind as it stood like a martial arts master.
With its arms folded before its chest, it stirred the surrounding air. Pale streams of aura flowed around its body.
Then it spread its arms. The currents formed an invisible barrier that collided head on with the remaining needles.
Several muffled sounds rang out. The countless spikes were shattered by the airflow, not even brushing the edge of Silas's clothes.
After blocking the attack, Mienshao immediately followed up with another move.
It guided the aura within its body and slowly pushed out a sphere of energy. The Aura Sphere shot forward and struck Drapion before it could dodge.
The large body was blasted back several meters and slammed into the rock wall behind, leaving a shallow crater.
Drapion curled up in pain, its scorpion tail twitching weakly. It was clearly badly injured by that Aura Sphere.
"So amazing!"
Korrina could not help clapping and cheering. "Mienshao, you're incredible."
Riolu traced the path of the Aura Sphere in the air with its hands, clearly taking Mienshao as its role model.
"Phion Phion!"
Phione giggled and summoned a large mass of seawater that drowned the sticky threads, preventing them from approaching Kangaskhan.
Mega Kangaskhan smiled gently at the sight, the maternal warmth on her face fading as she strode forward toward Salamence.
Her sandbag sized fist surged with tremendous force, cutting through the air with a roaring sound as it smashed into Salamence's side.
"DRAAAaaa!"
Salamence let out a heart wrenching scream. Its massive body was sent flying like a kite with a snapped string, crashing heavily into the rock wall beside Hunter J. The shattered stones splashed over her.
"Phion!"
(Mama Kangaskhan is awesome. So strong. Let's beat the bad guys together.)
Whatever else could be said, Phione had clearly learned the art of praising from Minccino.
With it cheering from the side, it truly felt like the more they fought, the more energized they became.
At the same time, Siebold and Mienshao finished off the other opponents.
Mega Blastoise fired one large and two smaller Water Pulses at Ariados. The layered waves crashed one after another, their power stacking continuously.
Ariados' body was slammed into the ground. Its legs twitched weakly before it lost the ability to battle.
Mienshao took advantage of Drapion not yet recovering. It flashed to the side and gathered aura once more.
Another Aura Sphere flew out, sending Drapion high into the air.
Two loud explosions echoed as Drapion crashed back down.
After taking two Aura Spheres in succession, Drapion struggled to rise and counterattack.
But Mega Blastoise struck from a distance with a Dragon Pulse. The attack tore across Drapion's body. Its large frame swayed before collapsing heavily to the ground, completely unable to continue.
In just a few short minutes, two of Hunter J's three main Pokémon had been defeated.
The remaining Salamence was barely holding on. There was no way it could survive further attacks from three powerful opponents.
Hunter J glanced at her unconscious Pokémon and made a swift decision. She leapt onto Salamence's back.
"We're leaving, Salamence."
"Tch. Decisive, aren't you." Silas clicked his tongue. The moment her Pokémon fell, she chose to retreat without hesitation.
But could she really escape?
Above the cliff, Pyroar had been waiting for a long time.
Its crimson mane flowed in the wind like a blazing inferno. Fire type energy gathered in its throat, already locked onto the Salamence within close range.
Hunter J caught sight of the fiery red figure atop the cliff from the corner of her eye. Her face changed dramatically.
In its current condition, Salamence could not possibly withstand even one Flamethrower.
"Damn it." She cursed aloud and reached for the petrification gun at her waist. "Go to hell."
The gun was still warm from its previous use, but she had no time to worry. She raised it and pulled the trigger at Pyroar.
At the same moment, Pyroar opened its mouth wide and unleashed a massive Fire Blast in the shape of a blazing character.
The flames devoured the petrification beam and surged back into the barrel. The extreme heat rushed inward.
The weapon had already been unstable. Now, assaulted from within, it could no longer endure.
A sharp electrical screech came from inside the gun. The metal casing turned red hot as the internal energy detonated violently.
"No!"
Hunter J screamed in terror. It was too late to dodge.
The petrification energy exploded outward, striking Salamence's wings first. Stone spread rapidly.
The wings hardened, then Salamence's entire body, and finally Hunter J herself were turned into stone statues.
Human and Pokémon together lost control and fell from the cliff, crashing down toward a cluster of reefs in the shallow sea below.
Silas and the others rushed over at once, but all they found were shattered gray fragments scattered across the rocks.
The rest had been swept away by the rising waves, leaving not a single trace.
Hunter J, who had captured and stole countless Pokémon and destroyed who knew how many families, met her end on an unnamed beach somewhere in Kalos.
With her death, the remaining fragments of the Hunter's Union dissolved. For a long time to come, people would not have to worry about their Pokémon being stolen.
"Thank you today, Siebold."
"It was my responsibility."
"Big Brother…" Korrina called softly.
"Of course, Korrina helped a lot too. When you come to my ranch, I'll cook for you myself."
"Mhm. I'll go back and bring Grandpa along."
(End of Chapter)