Waves of heat rolled across the battlefield, the air distorting from the extreme temperatures.
Laic's three Pokémon—Machamp, Crobat, and Gyarados—were already in a perilous situation.
Gyarados roared as it conjured a towering wave, but before the water could even touch Magmortar, it was evaporated by the terrifying heat into a vast expanse of Mist, making the visibility on the battlefield even murkier.
Machamp's four arms moved like afterimages, each punch carrying ten thousand catties of force, but when they struck Magmortar, it felt like hitting red-hot iron. A scorched smell drifted from its fists, and it retreated repeatedly in pain.
Crobat was in even worse shape; the speed it took pride in was greatly compromised by the turbulent hot air currents, and a single moment of carelessness would lead to its wings being scorched by the searing air.
The situation had tilted completely in Tabitha's favor.
He clutched his chest, gasping heavily, his face flushed with a sickly red and twisted with savage pleasure.
Sacrificing Magmortar's future in exchange for this crushing power was worth it!
As long as the mission could be completed, everything was worth it!
He wanted to watch Laic, to watch this arrogant fellow's face fill with despair!
However, on Laic's face, which was slightly blackened by the smoke, there was no despair; instead, the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a smirk.
It wasn't a bitter smile, nor was it self-mockery.
It was a kind of... pity, as if he were looking at an idiot.
"Has he gone mad?"
Tabitha's heart skipped a beat as the thought instinctively surfaced.
In this situation, how could he still smile?
Laic ignored his astonishment and simply raised his hand, nonchalantly brushing aside the messy, sweat-soaked hair hanging over his forehead. His movements were so suave it was as if he weren't in a life-or-death struggle, but preparing to strike up a conversation in a bar.
His voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly pierced through the explosive roar of the flames.
"Hey, ugly thing, you're so focused on what's in front of you. Don't you feel... a bit of a chill behind your back?"
Tabitha's pupils suddenly constricted!
A chill?
On this battlefield roasted like a furnace by Magmortar's flames, how could there possibly be any chill!
Unless... a thought that made his entire body turn cold surged into his mind.
Stiffly, inch by inch, he turned his neck.
Behind him, at some unknown point, a dark shadow had appeared.
It was a Krokorok, but its half-squinted eyes held a level of ferocity and cunning that was completely disproportionate to its size.
It lay there quietly, crouched less than three meters behind Tabitha, its four claws sunk deep into the scalding earth, as if it felt nothing from the surrounding high temperatures.
Its presence was like the only freezing point in this flaming hell.
A faint voice seemed to ring right against his ear, carrying a hint of playfulness and a trace of cold judgment.
"Checkmate."
It was that masked guy!!
Boom!
Tabitha's mind went blank!
How was it possible!
How could he have dealt with his Camerupt so quickly? That was a peak Superior level Pokémon, only one step away from the Gym Leader Level! This kid, what kind of monster was he!
He couldn't figure it out, and he didn't have time to think anymore.
Because in the moment he was dazed, that Krokorok, which had been crouching silently, moved!
Its bloody maw, filled with terrifyingly sharp teeth, opened to its limit in an instant. With a gust of rank wind, it bit down viciously toward his neck!
No!
Tabitha's survival instinct exploded at this moment, and he violently twisted his body to one side.
However, Ariel's target had never been his life.
Before issuing the attack command, Ariel had already given Krokorok the most precise instruction—cripple him, but don't kill him.
Killing Tabitha was simple.
But the consequences would be severe.
A Gym Leader Level Magmortar, lost its Trainer's restraint and in a berserk state from drugs, would turn this place into a literal crematorium. No one would survive.
Therefore, the optimal solution wasn't a kill, but to force a retreat.
Make him hurt, make him afraid, make him realize that if he kept fighting, the one to die would be himself!
*Squelch!*
The tooth-grinding sound of tearing flesh rang out.
Krokorok's fangs missed Tabitha's neck, but they clamped down on the left arm he had thrust forward in his desperate dodge!
"Aaaahhh—!!!"
A shrill, inhuman scream tore through the entire battlefield.
Tabitha watched helplessly as his left arm was ripped clean off from the shoulder!
Blood sprayed out like a fountain, splashing onto the scorched ground and instantly evaporating from the high heat, leaving behind a dark red stain.
Agony! Heart-wrenching agony!
But even more terrifying than the pain was the frigid cold spreading from the stump of his arm!
A dense surge of Dark-type energy, like maggots in bone, frantically invaded his body through the wound.
At the site of his severed arm, the flesh rapidly turned black and necrotic, and this black energy was spreading toward half of his body at a visible speed!
Beneath his skin, it felt as if countless black insects were wriggling; everywhere they passed, life was severed!
With just one Bite, half of Tabitha's life was gone!
This single Bite was incredibly precise.
If Krokorok's control over Dark-type energy had deviated by even the slightest margin—a bit more, and Tabitha would have been eroded into a desiccated corpse;
A bit less, and it wouldn't have posed the fatal threat necessary to force his retreat.
But Krokorok had perfectly executed Ariel's command.