Courtney had just crashed down from the sky. Every bone in her body felt as if it had been shattered, and pain coursed through every inch of her. Yet, relying on sheer willpower, she quickly struggled back to her feet and glared grimly at the Steelix staring menacingly at her.
"Damn you, you beast! Come out, Banette! Use Curse on Steelix!"
The next second, she swiftly pulled out a PokeBall and released the level 66 Banette inside.
The moment the Banette opened its crimson eyes, a chilling, malevolent aura erupted from its body. Anyone who sensed it would instinctively feel both fear and revulsion.
However, after hearing Courtney's command, it didn't attack immediately. Instead, it turned its head and gave her a sinister look, clearly intending to stand by and do nothing.
Seeing Banette deliberately refuse to act, Courtney's expression darkened even further. Nevertheless, she forced herself to remain silent and reached toward the PokeBalls on her belt, preparing to release other Pokémon.
At the same moment, Steelix made its move.
Its enormous tail suddenly shone with a dazzling white light before sweeping toward Courtney and the surrounding Team Magma members with overwhelming force.
It was none other than its signature move, Iron Tail.
Steelix was level 69. Although it had yet to reach Elite-Four level, the aura emanating from it showed it wasn't far away. Given a little more time, it would naturally break through.
Its massive body contained terrifying strength in every movement. Anyone struck by that Iron Tail would be fortunate to survive with only severe injuries.
The Team Magma members, seeing the gigantic tail sweeping toward them like a collapsing mountain, turned deathly pale. Terrified, they scattered in every direction, desperately trying to dodge. None of them dared attempt to block it head-on.
Unfortunately, many of them had already been sent flying by Steelix's earlier Dig attack. Although they had survived, most were seriously injured, and some had even broken their legs, making escape impossible.
Courtney herself was among those with a broken leg.
Watching the mountain-like tail descending upon her, despair welled up inside her heart.
Fortunately, her Ninetales was still a peak pseudo Elite-Four Pokémon. Although it had been grazed by Steelix's earlier Dig, it had not lost its ability to fight.
The instant Steelix attacked again, Ninetales threw itself toward Courtney, wrapped its tails around her, and pulled her out of the attack's range just in time.
Meanwhile, the Banette radiating sinister energy saw that Courtney had escaped death. A trace of disappointment flashed through its crimson eyes before it shifted its attention toward Steelix.
Immediately afterward, an eerie fluctuation that shook the soul spread from its body as it obediently began casting Curse on Steelix.
Steelix possessed an enormous, nearly indestructible body, but its soul was no stronger than that of any other living creature.
Moves like Curse, which ignored physical defenses and attacked the soul directly, were precisely Steelix's greatest weakness.
Compared to Steelix's colossal body, Banette looked pitifully small.
Yet the moment Steelix felt Banette's gaze lock onto it, an icy chill surged through its heart.
An overwhelming sense of mortal danger engulfed it.
"ROOOAR!!"
Steelix immediately shifted all of its attention to the floating Banette.
At the same time it fired a blast of Dragon Breath, it also unleashed a deafening sonic roar.
Using Curse required complete concentration.
Although Banette successfully dodged Dragon Breath without interrupting the move, it couldn't avoid the devastating sound attack.
The unbearable noise caused Banette intense agony.
Instinctively, it clutched its ears with both hands. As a result, Curse, which was only halfway complete, was forcibly interrupted.
The backlash from interrupting Curse was terrifying.
The instant the move failed, Banette immediately suffered the consequences.
Numerous holes suddenly tore open across its body.
Dark cursed energy poured out from those openings before wrapping around Banette itself.
The cursed power burned like molten lava.
Banette let out heart-rending screams of agony.
Meanwhile, while Steelix's attention was focused on Banette, the surviving Team Magma members quickly spread out under Courtney's command and the direction of several Team Magma elites, surrounding the Steelix, which had curled itself into a defensive posture.
At Courtney's command, everyone ordered their Pokémon to launch attacks.
Knowing Steelix's physical defense was extraordinarily high, Courtney specifically instructed everyone to use only special attacks.
Within Team Magma, most members carried either Numel or Slugma—two Fire-type Pokémon commonly found throughout Hoenn—and often more than one.
Thus, understanding type advantages well, they all released their Numel, Camerupt, Slugma, and Magcargo simultaneously.
Together, they unleashed waves of Ember, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, and other Fire-type attacks toward Steelix.
Sato was also among those surrounding Steelix, positioned very close to Professor Cozmo.
However, he merely had his Taillow symbolically use Whirlwind before continuing to keep a low profile, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.
At the same time, Courtney released her remaining two Fire-type Pokémon—Camerupt and Magmar.
Both were level 68.
Working together with Ninetales, they repeatedly unleashed Fire Blast at Steelix.
Facing the combined barrage from so many Fire-type Pokémon, even Steelix dared not withstand it head-on.
After taking several direct hits, it immediately buried its head underground and used Dig to retreat beneath the earth.
"A perfect opportunity! Have all the Numel, Camerupt, Geodude, Graveler, and other Ground-type Pokémon use Magnitude together!"
Courtney was not only a Team Magma Admin but also a Pokémon researcher. She knew countless Pokémon moves by heart.
The moment she saw Steelix flee underground to escape the flames, a calculating smile appeared on her face.
She immediately grabbed a loudspeaker and shouted the order.
Although Courtney was ruthless toward enemies, she genuinely cared about her comrades.
Otherwise, she would never have risked entering the cave to rescue them.
Because of this, she enjoyed tremendous prestige within Team Magma.
The moment she gave the command, every Team Magma member obeyed without hesitation.
Nearly fifty Pokémon capable of using Magnitude unleashed the move simultaneously.
Although their levels varied greatly, the combined power they generated was astonishing.
Instantly, the earth within a hundred-meter radius shook violently.
Underground, Steelix suffered immensely.
Even its enormous body couldn't ignore such overwhelming seismic force.
Finally, unable to withstand the massive damage inflicted by the countless overlapping Magnitude attacks, Steelix was forced to burst back out of the ground.
The moment it emerged, Courtney immediately gave another order.
"All Fire-types—attack again!"
Once more, countless Fire-type Pokémon bombarded Steelix with blazing attacks.
There was strength in numbers.
Even ants could kill an elephant.
Already heavily wounded, Steelix could no longer endure another wave of concentrated flames.
Its battered body finally gave out.
Filled with unwillingness, the giant Pokémon collapsed onto the ground.
Yet despite Steelix's defeat, Courtney felt no joy whatsoever. In fact, her expression became even uglier than before.
The battle between Steelix and Team Magma had created far too much commotion.
It had effectively become a beacon, guiding the League forces straight to them.
At that very moment, under the leadership of Flannery's grandfather, Mr. Moore, a League force that outnumbered Team Magma had already completely surrounded Courtney and every remaining Team Magma member.