"Continue, Asthma! Raise the heat!!" the man roared.
Weezing took a deep breath, the toxic gas in its twin heads swirling violently before it exhaled a second Heat Wave, hotter than the last. The blast scorched across the ship's deck, schorching more of Sammy's already burned suit and washing over Tusk in suffocating heat.
Tusk staggered under the suffocating heat, gasping for air, his legs trembling. His steel scaled body steamed, the metal absorbing and trapping the blistering temperature.
"Tusk, try one more time. Use Dragon Claw!" Sammy shouted, shielding his face with his forearm.
Tusk slammed his small feet into the wood, forcing his trembling body to move as purple energy crackled around his claws, but it fizzled before he could swing. His breath hitched, vision blurred. The energy scattered and Tusk collapsed, gasping as he crashed onto the deck with a heavy thud.
Across the battlefield, the bald man laughed under his mask.
"What's wrong, kid? Why won't you fight back? Is your lizard to cooked to fight?!" he taunted.
Tusk's eyes, bloodshot and blazing red, locked on Weezing. They glowed like twin rubies through the steam, wild and unfocused. His breathing was shallow, ears ringing, the world around him warping like a mirage.
Sammy reached for Tusk's Pokéball, expression tight with worry. "Come back, Tusk..." he murmured, pressing the button.
A beam of red light covered Tusk's body ....only to cut out halfway through and flicker out, flickering into nothing.
The Pokéball in Sammy's hand clamped shut, empty.
"What the—?" Sammy stared at the ball in disbelief. "Tusk…?"
The Axew didn't even glance at him. His red eyes never left Weezing, their gaze so intense it made the gas Pokémon flinch midair. For a brief moment, the air itself seemed to hold still.
Tusk inhaled sharply then coughed again, expelling the last of the smoke in his lungs. He forced in one deep breath, then another, and slowly stood tall again.
Before Weezing could recover and unleash another wave of heat, Sammy's instincts kicked in.
"Tusk! Scary Face! Dragon Dance! Then use Dragon Claw!!" Sammy shouted, snapping back into command.
The bald man was just as fast. "Asthma, Levitate and use Will-O-Wisp! Don't let him get close! And once it lands, hit him again with Heat Wave!!"
Tusk bared his teeth and snarled, eyes glowing crimson with blood. Weezing flinched again, fear crept into its faces as the Scary Face landed, chilling it to the core as it gathered eerie purple flames in both heads and launched them at Tusk.
But Tusk had already moved, now a blur of motion. A violet glow wrapped around him as Dragon Dance took hold, sharpening his reflexes, boosting his speed and strength before "Dodge it, Tusk!!" Sammy yelled.
Tusk bolted forward, skimming across the deck in a blur. The wisps missed him by inches, vanishing into the night.
He leapt, bounding up a crate stack with agile steps. Each bounce launched him higher, until he soared through the air, directly at the levitating Weezing.
"Now Dragon Claw!!"
Tusk's claws shimmered, covered in a surge of draconic energy. They grew larger, sharper, pulsing with violent intensity as he twisted in the air. Ready to strike.
But just as the claws were about to hit—
"Aqua Slam." the man said.
A flash of blue cut through the night as Dragonair intercepted.
Its long, serpentine body whipped across the air, tail transforming into a torrent of white aura coated waterfall. Like a crashing wave, it struck Tusk in midair.
CRACK.
Tusk's body slammed into the ship's deck with a thunderous crash, splintering wood beneath him. The entire ship seemed to shudder.
"TUSK!" Sammy shouted, stumbling forward, eyes wide.
The little dragon lay still for a heartbeat. Then, slowly, Tusk's claws twitched as Sammy, Vex and his Eevee got next to Tusk.
"The fuck are you doing!?" Sammy roared, blood trickling down his temple as Weezing and Dragonair floated menacingly at either side of the bald man. The ship groaned beneath them, still trembling from the earlier impact.
The man turned, flashing an irritating grin. "What? I was just protecting my cute little Asthma from that scary dragon…" he said, casually patting his Weezing like a beloved pet. "And anyway did you really think this was a fair fight to begin with?"
Sammy's eyes flicked toward Tusk, who still stood trembling, bruised and barely upright.
"You know what?" Sammy muttered, rising slowly to his feet, voice steadier than expected. "You're right."
Vex clapped its hands together with an echoing crack, a sphere of dark energy forming between its palms before launching skyward. Beside it, a white aura surged up around Eevee fierce, radiant. The bald man stiffened, raising his guard instinctively.
Sammy stepped forward, carefully lifting Tusk into his arms.
"But there's something you need to know," he said coldly.
The man narrowed his eyes and leaned slightly to whisper something to his Pokémon.
"And what's that?" he asked, more cautious now.
Sammy raised his hand, pointing directly at them.
"Vex and Eros alone are more than enough to take you down—"
He stopped mid sentence.
Tusk, trembling from fatigue, suddenly wriggled from Sammy's arms and dropped to the floor, landing between his trainer and the enemy. He stood firm despite the way his knees buckled, despite the shallow, wheezing breaths.
"Tusk?! You're not in your best condition!" Sammy shouted, heart pounding. He fumbled for the Pokéball and clicked the button, red light beaming toward Tusk's small form.
The light wrapped around him then fizzled, again, halfway through.
Tusk didn't even flinch. He just stared back at Sammy with eyes now full of something more than exhaustion: will.
"Why isn't this working?!" Sammy barked, frustration mixing with fear.
Vex and Eros exchanged a glance with Tusk before in perfect sync, they launched their remaining attacks high into the air then, as if by unspoken agreement, returned to their Pokéballs in flashes of red.
"What the hell is going on with you two?" Sammy muttered, taking a step back.
The man chuckled, then raised his arm.
"Hahahaha! Even your own Pokémon are abandoning you!" he bellowed, eyes gleaming with malice. "Just die, you bastard! Dragonair Twister! Asthma, Sludge Bomb! NOW!"
Dragonair let out a piercing roar. Wind exploded into motion around Sammy, forming a spiraling cyclone that cut at his skin like a thousand tiny blades. His coat tore. Blood ran down his arms, his side. He stumbled forward, eyes narrowing through the whirlwind.
Weezing hovered back, building energy in both heads. Then—
"Finish it!"
A glob of seething, purple sludge shot through the spiraling winds, aiming straight for Sammy's chest.
BEEP.
Sammy's Pokégear, strapped tight to his arm, lit up with a sudden chime. The screen flickered to life on its own, displaying Tusk's data.
[Tusk – Level 31]
Sammy blinked, blood dripping from his chin. Then the numbers started jumping one after another, rapid, unrelenting.
Tusk rose to level 32!
Tusk rose to level 33!
Tusk rose to level 34!
Tusk rose to level 35!
Tusk rose to level 36!
Tusk rose to level 37!
Tusk rose to level 38!
Then—
TUSK IS EVOLVING!