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"Rooarr!!"
Garchomp spread its massive sand wings and let out a thunderous roar toward Nishiyama and the struggling Aggron.
"W-What is this monster?! How did it turn into that?! I don't believe it! Aggron! Use Hyper Beam with full force!!"
Nishiyama had completely lost his earlier composure. His face was filled with terror as he stared at the newly evolved Garchomp. This phenomenon, far beyond his comprehension, was violently shaking his mental state.
Already a bit unhinged, Nishiyama was instantly pushed over the edge—his frightened expression quickly morphed into a familiar look of utter madness.
"Grrraaa!!"
Aggron, barely managing to get back on its feet, opened its mouth and roared. A golden energy beam rapidly gathered in its maw before launching forward in a straight line as a massive Hyper Beam aimed at Garchomp.
"Hmph! Aggron's Hyper Beam? That damage is hardly worth boasting about. Garchomp, use Dragon Claw!"
Aggron was the textbook example of a heavily armored, physically powerful Pokémon, but even its full-strength Hyper Beam wasn't expected to cause significant damage. Knowing this, Liam sneered as the golden beam came flying and shouted toward Garchomp.
"Rooarr!"
Blue-violet Dragon-type energy rapidly gathered on Garchomp's fin-blades, transforming them into even longer and sharper scythes. Facing the oncoming Hyper Beam, Garchomp didn't even try to dodge. With a low growl, it raised both of its bladed fins and stomped forward, firmly blocking the attack in front of it.
"Impossible! It's a monster! Go, Forretress and Skarmory! Return, Aggron!"
Seeing Garchomp tank Aggron's Hyper Beam with an unbothered look, Nishiyama cursed under his breath and quickly pulled out three PokeBalls, releasing two Forretress and one Skarmory.
Then, grabbing an empty PokeBall, he recalled the still-blasting Aggron in a beam of red light. Swiftly, he jumped onto Skarmory's back and shouted down at the two Forretress on the ground:
"Forretress! Use Explosion! Now!!"
"Tress!!"
At Nishiyama's command, both Forretress began glowing with a blinding white light—they were initiating Explosion.
"W-Wait! Lord Nishiyama! We're still here!! Run!!"
The four hunters nearby paled as soon as they saw the Forretress starting to glow. Their leader shouted at Nishiyama in panic, but realizing Nishiyama wasn't responding, he immediately turned and bolted with the others in tow.
"Hmph, just some small fry—who cares whether you live or die. Skarmory, we're retreating too! See you around, brat! I'll remember this grudge!"
Nishiyama glanced briefly at the fleeing hunters, completely indifferent. Then, turning to Skarmory, he gave the order. With that, Skarmory took to the skies, carrying Nishiyama.
As he soared above, Nishiyama cast a hateful glare and shouted down at Liam.
Liam smirked at Nishiyama's familiar tactic and called out loudly:
"Who allowed you to leave? This time, you're not getting away! Garchomp, use Dual Chop! Then follow up with Sand Veil defense!"
"Rooarr!!"
The moment Liam gave the command, Garchomp turned into a blur of light and dashed toward the Forretress. Dragon-type energy swirled around its bladed fins, and it slashed each Forretress twice in rapid succession.
The two Pokémon instantly lost consciousness, their eyes spiraling as they collapsed to the ground, battered and cracked. A white light flared up suddenly from their bodies—it was the triggered Explosion.
"Grrr…"
But a moment later, Garchomp's sand wings spread wide, conjuring a swirling veil of sand that engulfed both Forretress entirely. Two muffled booms followed, and the massive sand pile they were buried in briefly bulged before settling down into complete silence.
"Impossible! Damn you! Skarmory, get us out of here, now!"
Nishiyama was dumbfounded. He never imagined the Explosion would be neutralized just like that. His face twisted in hatred again, but panic quickly overtook him. Knowing he couldn't stay, he slapped Skarmory's back, urging it to flee.
"Skaa!!"
Skarmory, already airborne, banked sharply and flapped its wings hard, trying to escape into the distance.
"Trying to run? A speed contest? My Garchomp's never lost to anyone in that department! Go, Garchomp! Stop them!"
Watching Nishiyama's panicked retreat, Liam shouted to Garchomp. After all, if even two Forretress could be handled this easily, Liam was a little curious—what other tricks did Nishiyama think he had left?
...Clearly, Liam was overthinking it.
"ROAR!!"
Garchomp crouched low, then launched itself from the ground with explosive force. Its sand wings and sharp fin-blades opened wide as it reached extreme speeds. In almost no time at all, it had caught up to the fleeing Skarmory in midair.
With a flash of light, Garchomp reappeared directly in Skarmory's path. The startled Skarmory flailed its wings to halt mid-air, panicking. It quickly turned, trying to escape in another direction.
"Rooarr!!"
But Garchomp gave it no chance. With a low growl, multiple sand tendrils burst from the edges of its sand-wings like massive serpents. In the blink of an eye, they wrapped around both Nishiyama and Skarmory, cocooning them into a massive sand sphere midair, which then plummeted to the ground with a heavy thud.
"Pffft! Gah—Let me out, you bastard!! If you've got guts, let's fight again! Pffft!!"
Now both Nishiyama and Skarmory were bound tightly together by flowing sand, only their heads poking out. When they hit the ground, Nishiyama ended up with a mouth and nose full of sand. As soon as they landed, he started spitting and shouting at Liam, trying to look tough.
"Rooarr!"
Having finished its task, Garchomp gently descended beside Liam, affectionately rubbing its now-larger head against his face.
"Haha, well done. Your sand control is even better now. Keep working hard."
Liam reached up and patted Garchomp's head with a proud smile. Satisfaction filled his gaze.
But at that moment, Liam hadn't noticed Delia behind him. She stood wide-eyed in astonishment, watching Liam and Garchomp, clearly impressed by their strength.
Then, regaining her composure, a sudden resolve lit up in her eyes.
Just as Liam was praising Garchomp, a strange sound came from the nearby forest, followed by the sound of rustling footsteps.
Liam furrowed his brow and looked toward the forest, suspecting it might be more members of the hunting party.
But when he saw the five people charging out of the woods, his face relaxed into a knowing smile. He lightly patted Garchomp, who nodded back. In a flash of light, Garchomp reverted to its previous, normal form.
As Garchomp transformed, the sand that had tightly bound Nishiyama and Skarmory instantly collapsed into streams, crumbling and flowing away across the ground.