Gardevoir immediately launched a full triple bombardment assault, drenching the Elites on the opponent's side in a continuous deluge of energy. All 50 of Alex's Pokémon contributed to the damage, striking with their full force.
The wave they threw out, composed mostly of Surf, Earthquake, and Dazzling Gleam, was met with a coordinated defensive counterbombardment. The attacks were neutralized, overpowered, then cleanly deflected through a simple Protect rotation.
It was clear Alex's side was losing. Despite having more Champions, they were outnumbered 2 to 1 on Elites and simply couldn't overwhelm their opponent.
Gardevoir, sensing the shifting momentum, ordered a simple Protect rotation to fend off the attacks, choosing to weather the storm given the disadvantage. Briefly, she considered forcing a chaotic melee, then shook her head. If the enemy reorganized their Elites into 3 to 1 matchups against the Champions, they would be overwhelmed and begin to collapse. Overall, they may have bitten off more than they could chew.
'Is this how my opponents usually feel?' Alex asked himself as he watched the battle.
More often than not, he held the numerical advantage in his fights, even if he didn't field the highest number of top-ranked Pokémon. Now the situation was reversed, and he needed to find a way to even the playing field.
He considered using Stormline to open fire from the flank, but since they were outnumbered, he could easily see the enemy forcing a melee engagement to hunt him down. That would leave him needing to be rescued, lowering their advantage even further.
Suddenly, the guards, workers, and staff of the mansion opened fire from the windows, roof, and entrance, adding to the damage raining down on Alex's forces. Feint and Phantom Force rounds began pelting their defensive formation, forcing it to contract under the pressure. They were starting to be overwhelmed, which meant Alex had no choice but to take drastic measures.
"Gardevoir, split the Champions and have them attack from one flank. Force a melee," Alex ordered.
Gardevoir didn't hesitate, even though she disagreed with the orders. She relayed the command at once, sending Grim, Knight, Raticate, Arcanine, Hydreigon, Kommo-o, Clawitzer, Togekiss, Altaria, Alcremie, Frosmoth, Dusknoir, and Ceruledge peeling off to the left. They circled wide before driving straight into the enemy's flank.
As expected, the opposing formation split to intercept them, committing their own three Champions along with nearly half their total force to meet the charge. That left Alex's main formation facing only slightly superior numbers, but they were still being pushed back under the added gunfire from the mansion.
Grim, Knight, and Hydreigon took to the skies, aiming to dive-bomb the Elites who had split off, but they were intercepted by Pelipper, Mantine, and Jumpluff, along with covering fire from the gunmen on the mansion rooftop. It wasn't much of a challenge for them, but their efficiency dropped as they were forced to take evasive maneuvers.
Raticate, Arcanine, and Ceruledge blitzed forward to sow chaos, only to be met head-on by the enemy's three Champions, Samurott, Seismitoad, and Panpour. Their fight might have been an easy win given their Speed advantage, but they were forced to exercise caution due to the unfavorable type matchups.
Kommo-o, Togekiss, and Dusknoir followed suit but were immediately swarmed by nearly a dozen Elites. Each was surrounded in an instant, forced to endure alternating Protect rotations and concentrated single-target attacks.
Clawitzer, Altaria, Alcremie, and Frosmoth held the rear to prevent flanking maneuvers but were effectively pinned down, doing their best to fend off nearly two dozen additional Elites taking potshots at them and the other Champions.
Overall, it wasn't looking good for them, despite their overwhelming power. As Gardevoir had anticipated, their Champions were being contained through sheer numbers in a chaotic melee that showcased advanced applications of formation combat.
Whoever this drug lord was, he was nothing like the pushovers from Team Dominion who had sidelined their Pokémon. He excelled in the same formation-based tactics as Alex and had even greater numbers to leverage.
Alex nodded, watching the battlefield shift exactly as he had commanded, and noted with satisfaction that his enemies were responding just as he had expected. All that remained was for him to make his move and exploit the opening he had been waiting for.
He cloaked himself in Dark type energy and slipped out of the formation, circling to the right along the unguarded flank of the main enemy line. Then he drew out Stormline and opened fire, quickly taking down half a dozen Elite ranked Pokémon in rapid succession.
"What the fuck?" the leader of Team Narcis shouted, spinning toward his men. "Shoot him! Take him down! Don't let him fire that damn gun!"
He drew his pistols from his waist and opened fire on Alex, followed immediately by the men at the entrance, who shouted orders as they turned their weapons and joined in. The men inside the mansion did the same.
In an instant, Alex was bombarded by thousands of rounds aimed at him and his immediate vicinity. Unlike his Pokémon, however, he was a much smaller target and far more agile on his feet. With his Champion ranked strength, years of training in battle-royale–style combat, and adrenaline-fueled focus, he danced.
He weaved through the courtyard, dodging bullets, explosions, and attacks from Elite ranked Pokémon. All the while, he kept his aim locked on the open flank of the main enemy formation, which was losing numbers faster than his own team, finally giving them a solid advantage in the battle.
Gardevoir, noticing the dwindling attacks and bullets fired their way, seized the chance to compound their advantage. She ordered the Pokémon under her with stronger Special Attack stats, like the Vikavolt pair, Lucario pair, Goodra pair, and Chandelure pair, to focus fire on individual targets distracted by the chaotic melee, shifting their focus from defense to sharpshooting.
The Vikavolt pair used Charge, aiming at Samurott, which was dealing the most damage to Arcanine, and waited for their opportunity. Once Arcanine disengaged after landing a Thunder Fang, the pair immediately fired Zap Cannon, sending twin yellow energy beams straight at Samurott. The attacks, enhanced by Charge and max Special Attack, dealt massive damage, knocking out the Pokémon that had been fending off Arcanine's assault.
Meanwhile, the Lucario pair unleashed a barrage of Aura Spheres targeting Panpour. Panpour managed to use Protect against the first pair of orange energy spheres but was forced to tank every other subsequent hit while fending off Raticate, leaving openings that were quickly exploited, eventually knocking Panpour out.
The Goodra pair focused on Seismitoad, striking with precise long-range Power Whips. Though not Grass type themselves and needing multiple hits due to the distance and the chaos of the battlefield, just a few successful strikes were enough to inflict devastating damage thanks to Seismitoad's extreme weakness to Grass type attacks.
Lastly, the Chandelure pair launched Fire Blast after Fire Blast at any Grass type Pokémon in the chaotic melee that had its back turned, unable to react with Protect in time. Among those assigned to deal focused damage, they proved the most devastating, as the majority of the enemy forces were either Water or Grass types.
The advantage Alex gained from his reckless flanking, which had weakened the main formation while reducing the attacks coming from the mansion, snowballed into an opportunity Gardevoir seized. She dealt significant damage to the chaotic melee, giving their Champions the breathing room they needed to maximize their threat. Now, all that remained was for the Champions to take control of the fight and sweep the opposition, dragging more of the defenders into the chaotic melee until no Pokémon were left on their side.
Everything was going exactly as Alex had envisioned, except he hadn't anticipated the drug lord's wife ambushing his main defensive line from behind.
A Champion ranked Tropius with a woman riding on its back dove straight for the rear of the formation. The woman then released the rest of her Pokémon. A Champion ranked Abomasnow and Ferrothorn jumped into the fray, followed by half a dozen Elite ranked Grass type Pokémon, throwing Gardevoir's formation into disarray.
Chaos erupted as Alex's forces were suddenly dragged into a melee, leaving them vulnerable to focused attacks from the enemy's main formation, which still had the numbers to knock out Alex's Pokémon in droves. Immediately, a dozen Pokémon fell, retrieved by Rotom before death, after losing the rhythm of their Protect formation and leaving them exposed to the bombardment from the enemy's main line.
At that moment, Alex realized he had overextended, completely forgetting about the backup that was on its way. He had been too focused on evening out the playing field to have noticed they were exposing their rear to an ambush. Now, they were being taken down faster than they could manage to recover with defeat in plain sight, almost inevitable.
Fortunately, he had brought along a brand-new secret weapon that he had casually requested from Rhea. He hadn't planned on using it from the start, as it was still untested, but now was as good a time as any.
"Rotom! Activate the Mauler!" Alex commanded.
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