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Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
The light on the antenna atop Lanturn's head quickly dimmed. Its massive body swayed, then finally collapsed powerlessly, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Damn brat."
Shelly watched the fallen Lanturn, her face filled with astonishment.
Her Pokémon were being defeated one by one.
Toxicroak had been pinned to a tree by Greninja's "Water Shuriken" and couldn't move, while Mightyena had been completely knocked out by Weavile's "Ice Punch."
Sharpedo and Walrein were also scarred and battered by Metagross's steel body, having lost their ability to battle.
A total defeat.
Although, to her, these Pokémon were merely tools that could be replenished at any time.
But losing so thoroughly was hard for anyone to take.
Shelly's chest heaved violently. As an Executive of Team Aqua, being defeated by a few brats—wouldn't that make the other Executives laugh their heads off if word got out?
Retreat?
No, she couldn't just leave with her tail between her legs.
At the very least, she had to make that high-and-mighty woman pay the price!
On the battlefield, the dust raised by the battle had not yet fully dispersed, and Shelly's figure appeared and disappeared within the swirling haze.
Taking advantage of this momentary concealment, she quietly reached for the last Poké Ball at her waist.
It was a pitch-black Shadow Ball, carved with eerie patterns.
"Come out, my little cutie."
She whispered, her voice so gentle it was hair-raising.
"Go, tear that pretty face to shreds for me."
In the dust, an almost imperceptible black shadow detached itself silently and merged into the shadows of the forest.
Cynthia was smiling as she looked at her Garchomp, gently stroking its rough skin, feeling genuinely proud of its victory.
She was completely unaware that a lethal danger was quietly approaching from a complete blind spot.
It was a Crobat.
It had been lurking nearby, suppressing all its presence, just like a cold stone.
Now, it had received its master's command.
Its four thin wings vibrated at an extremely high frequency, yet it didn't make a single sound.
Its target was the blonde woman who had her back to it, completely defenseless.
The angle of this strike was extremely tricky.
It happened to be in the blind spot of Steven and his Metagross.
And Cynthia herself was still immersed in the satisfying victory just moments ago.
"X-Scissor!"
Shelly's voice roared in her heart.
Crobat's speed erupted in an instant, its two pairs of wings crossing like the sharpest pair of scissors, carrying a ghostly purple toxic light, aiming straight for Cynthia's nape!
However, at that critical moment.
Ariel, who was in the middle of recalling his Pokémon, suddenly stiffened.
Possessing Psychic abilities, his perception was incomparable to that of ordinary people.
A strong, indescribable sense of crisis pierced his brain like an Icicle Spear!
He had caught onto this attack!
At this moment, his Psychic powers were screaming warnings at him.
Danger! Extreme danger!
His gaze instinctively turned toward the source of the sense of crisis—Cynthia!
Save her, or not?
This thought flashed through his mind.
Meddle in other people's business? Expose himself?
But possessing Psychic powers, he would inevitably show it in every aspect of battle; it was basically impossible to hide.
Besides, the woman couldn't die here, at least not in front of him.
Ariel made his decision almost immediately!
There was no time to think, no time to shout, and even less time to send out a Pokémon.
He could only rely on himself!
"Confusion!"
Ariel's eyes were instantly flooded with a ghostly blue light, and an invisible mental force erupted from between his brows.
He did not choose to attack the ghost-like Crobat.
He knew that with his half-baked Psychic abilities, it was impossible to block the opponent's attack.
His target was Cynthia!
That Confusion had no aggression; it was like a hand that gently pushed Cynthia on her back.
Just that one push.
Just that one moment.
Cynthia's body uncontrollably stumbled half a step to the left.
The shrill sound of air being torn apart passed right by her earlobe.
Hiss—
A few strands of severed blonde hair drifted slowly through the air.
Cynthia's body froze.
She could clearly feel that a cold current, carrying the scent of death, had just grazed her neck.
She slowly turned her head and saw the Crobat that had missed its strike, circling in the air, as well as the toxic light flickering on its wings.
She also saw, not far away, the boy named Ariel, who was covering his nose, with bright red blood constantly gushing out from between his fingers.
His face was pale as paper, and his body was swaying, as if he could fall at any moment.
And his eyes were looking at her, with a complex expression.
The air froze at this moment.
Dead silence.
You could hear a pin drop in the forest.
Then came a Roar that tore through the air.
It wasn't a Pokémon's Roar, but more like a Dragon Rage from the depths of hell; every syllable contained a violence that wanted to crush everything.
Garchomp's eyes had turned crimson at some unknown point.
It didn't even glance at Cynthia; its vertical pupils were locked onto the Crobat circling in the air, and the woman in the distance.
In its world, the Trainer was everything; any existence that dared to threaten its Trainer had only one outcome.
Death.
No commands, no tactics, only the most primitive, purest killing intent.
Boom—!
The ground trembled slightly, the earth beneath Garchomp's feet cracked inch by inch, and its massive body turned into a dark blue afterimage that the naked eye couldn't track, instantly vanishing from its spot.
The next second, it appeared directly above Crobat.
Time seemed to have been deliberately slowed down.
Ariel's vision was a bit blurry, and the warmth and metallic, fishy taste in his nasal cavity made him feel nauseous, but he still forced himself to lift his head.
He saw it.
He saw Garchomp's Dragon Claw, shimmering with a verdant luster, tracing several lethal trajectories in the air; the air was torn apart by the sharp claws, emitting a shrill, mournful cry.
It wasn't any flashy move, just the simplest claw strike, yet it was fast to the extreme, violent to the extreme.
"Crack—!"
A shrill, miserable scream tore through the sky; Crobat's ghost-like speed seemed so ridiculous in the face of absolute power.
Its wings were instantly snapped, and its body, like a kite with broken strings, was smashed fiercely into the ground by an invincible force.
The earth let out a dull, mournful cry.
A huge crater appeared before everyone's eyes, soil and stones flying, dust swirling.
At the bottom of the crater, that Crobat, which had been so fierce just moments ago, was now completely mangled, no longer making a sound.
One hit.
Just one hit.