Camerupt felt a threat, a massive threat stemming from biological instinct.
Its massive body actually took half a step back, letting out an uneasy gurgle from its throat.
The Krokorok before its eyes was a completely different concept from the previous one!
A faint, almost imperceptible curve finally appeared at the corner of Ariel's mouth.
His plan had succeeded.
From the moment he let Krokorok leave the team to solo-farm, every step had been within his calculations.
Delaying, exhausting, and feigning weakness—all of it was for this moment of a desperate comeback.
He pulled an entirely pitch-black bead emitting an ominous aura from his pocket and flicked it with his finger.
"Krokorok!"
The Life Orb traced a precise parabola through the air.
Krokorok opened its bloody maw and swallowed it in one gulp.
Instantly, an even more violent surge of energy erupted from within its body. A pale purple aura wrapped around its limbs and tail, pulsating with every heartbeat.
"The time to prove you're the team leader has arrived!"
Ariel's voice wasn't loud, but it reached Krokorok's ears clearly.
"Roar!!!"
Krokorok's response was an even more deafening roar.
Its hind legs suddenly exerted force, and its entire body turned into a dark red afterimage, charging straight at Camerupt!
It was too fast!
Camerupt didn't even have time to condense flames; it could only hastily lift its intact front leg, attempting to use its body weight to block.
But it was useless.
Before absolute power, all struggles are futile.
At the moment of contact, Krokorok's figure made an eerie sidestep, avoiding the clumsy stomp.
Its toothy maw was already aimed at Camerupt's injured leg.
"Bite!"
"Crack!"
The tooth-aching sound of bone fracturing rang out.
There was no scream, because Camerupt's cry of pain was directly strangled in its throat by Krokorok's violent power.
Its already injured leg was snapped off cleanly!
The massive body lost its balance and crashed down to one side.
However, this was only the beginning.
Having landed the hit, Krokorok didn't stop for a second. Its thick tail swept across with the force of ten thousand catties, viciously slamming into Camerupt's abdomen.
"Bang!"
A heavy thud, like a battering ram hitting a city wall.
Camerupt's multi-ton body was actually sent airborne by this strike, tumbling away and crashing heavily into a distant broken wall, causing a violent tremor.
Crushing!
A complete and utter crushing!
Ariel watched this scene quietly, his heart untroubled.
This was the feast he had prepared for Camerupt.
First, use Malamar and Weavile to wear down its stamina and will, then use Frogadier to feign weakness, letting it meet the peak of his team's physical attack—a Krokorok boosted by a Six-stage boost and a Life Orb—at its most exhausted and lax moment!
Camerupt struggled to get up, but the sharp pain in its broken leg and the heavy trauma to its abdomen made every effort futile.
For the first time, fear showed in its eyes.
It didn't understand why the situation had reversed so instantly to this point.
Krokorok wouldn't give it time to think.
It approached step by step with an arrogant swagger, each step making the ground tremble slightly, pounding on Camerupt's heart like a heavy hammer.
It enjoyed this feeling, the pleasure of trampling an opponent who was just recently insufferably arrogant.
"Finish it."
Ariel gave the final command.
Krokorok bared its teeth in a cruel smile.
It raised its front claw high, all its power converging towards that single point.
The ground began to crack beneath its feet.
"Stomping Tantrum!"
Its foot came down.
There was no world-shaking explosion, only an extremely heavy "thud."
A visible shockwave radiated outward from the point of impact. The entire rooftop floor suddenly sank under this destructive blow! Countless cracks instantly tore through the entire platform.
And the hit Camerupt couldn't even let out a final wail; its eyes rolled back, and it completely lost consciousness.
The battle was over.
Krokorok stood beside the fallen Camerupt, slowly raising its head to meet Ariel's gaze, letting out a roar to declare its victory.
It was the true leader of the team!
The dust settled.
Ariel let out a long breath, his chest rising and falling slightly from the tension of the command.
He recalled the exhausted Frogadier; this battle had far exceeded its level.
Only Krokorok remained by his side.
Ariel's gaze swept across the mess toward the other end of the battlefield.
The commotion there was much greater than on his side.
The battle between Laic and the Magma Team's Tabitha had reached a fever pitch.
Boom!
A thick Hydro Pump, like a blue angry dragon, accurately collided with a burst of flames.
Water and fire collided violently, steaming up a large cloud of scalding white mist that instantly enveloped half the field. The piercing "hissing" sound made the already sweltering air even more humid and sticky, like an airtight net.
Ariel narrowed his eyes, peering through the steam to see the situation on the field.
Laic's three Pokémon—Machamp, Crobat, and Gyarados—were all tough characters at the peak of the Superior level. They were currently performing a textbook encirclement of Tabitha's solitary Magmortar.
"Crobat, Supersonic!" Laic's command was clear and calm.
Circling in mid-air, Crobat flapped its wings, emitting a visible ring of chaotic sound waves straight at Magmortar's head.
"Roar!"
Magmortar let out an irritated roar, its arm cannons spraying two fire whips in an attempt to disperse the annoying bat. However, its movement was clearly a beat slow, obviously distracted by the invisible sound waves.
In that moment of hesitation, the opportunity arrived.
"Machamp, Close Combat!"
Machamp, already lurking on the flank, had its four terrifyingly thick arms bulging with knotted muscles and veins. It suddenly stomped, cracking the ground.
Like an out-of-control heavy truck, it charged forward with a speed completely unbefitting its size!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Its four arms turned into countless afterimages—punches, hand chops, and elbow strikes—pouring down on Magmortar's thick body like a torrential rain.
Each strike made a dull sound like a drumbeat, a venting of pure physical power.
Magmortar was beaten back repeatedly, clear fist prints left on its orange-red skin as it let out pained groans.
It wanted to raise its cannons to counterattack, but Machamp's attacks were too dense, one punch after another, giving it no chance to catch its breath.
"Gyarados, Waterfall!"
This was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Gyarados, which had been cruising the edge of the battlefield, locked its fierce eyes on the staggering Magmortar. Its massive body suddenly lunged out of the water vapor, wreathed in a towering wave, and slammed into it with an overbearing, unreasonable posture!
"Rumble!"
This wasn't just a Tackle; it was the impact of a massive volume of water.
Magmortar was like someone hit head-on by a high-speed train. Its massive body was sent flying, crashing heavily into a distant wall, causing the solid alloy wall to dent inward significantly.
Water poured down, extinguishing most of the flames on its body. Only a few stray sparks flickered stubbornly, making it look incredibly pathetic.
Between Gym Leader Level and Superior level, there truly existed an insurmountable gap.
A Gym Leader Level Pokémon could, in theory, easily crush several Superior level ones.
But theory, in the end, is just theory.