Hearing Nidoran♂'s words to continue forwad, Nidoran♀ nodded, gave her companion one last deep look, and quickly caught up with the rest of the group.
"Nido…~"
Nidoran♂ watched her departing figure, letting out a pained groan. But his eyes weren't filled with fear.
Lord Aven had told them: if they were injured during battle, they should stay put and wait for treatment.
Nidoran♂ trusted Lord Aven's healing abilities deeply. So now, he obediently lay down on the ground to rest, waiting for the battle to end.
"They're coming up! Keep attacking! Keep attacking!" the hunters shouted loudly.
But just as the shouts fell, the ground suddenly began to tremble, causing the hunters to look around in confusion.
Then, not far from them, a crack suddenly split open the solid stone pavement.
"The rockbed is breaking!"
The hunters' eyes widened. The ground of Keystone Town had been paved with reinforced stone to defend against underground attacks!
But now, a crack had actually formed in that sturdy rockbed—clearly, the enemy was launching an attack from below!
The crack spread out like a spider web, and then—
RUMBLE—
With a thunderous roar, a massive, spinning drill burst out from underground!
A heavily built Rhydon suddenly erupted from the ground!
"RRHHHYYY!"
Rhydon let out a deafening roar, surveying its surroundings with a sharp gaze.
Moments later, a brown-furred head popped out of the tunnel—it was a Raticate, agilely leaping into the air!
Raticates were natural burrowers, and though they couldn't break through the sturdy rockbed on their own, they could follow after Rhydon through the path it had opened.
Right behind this Raticate, more Raticate and Rattata scurried out of the tunnel and charged toward the beast hunters.
"It's a Rhydon and Raticates!"
"Quick! Block that tunnel! Don't let more Raticate into the city!"
The hunters cried out in panic. By now, many magical beasts had gathered, quickly swarming toward Rhydon and the Raticate.
"RHYY!!"
Rhydon was incredibly excited.
Seeing enemies rush toward it, it stomped the ground hard—
A shockwave burst forward, sending a swath of magical beasts flying!
Then, with wild howls all around, Rhydon charged again, power surging around its fists as it launched a mighty Rock Smash, blasting away the foes in its path.
Its gaze scanned rapidly and soon locked onto the distant city gate.
Aven had given it one task—enter the city and blast open the gate!
"That Rhydon is so strong!"
"It's an advanced-tier beast! A advanced-tier beast! Block it, now!"
The beast hunters screamed, but their mid-tier beasts stood no chance against an advanced-tier one like Rhydon.
"RRHHHYYY!" "Get out of my way!"
Rhydon bellowed as sharp stones suddenly formed around its body.
They shot forward like bullets, piercing through the enemies and clearing a path straight to the city wall!
HOWL!
Suddenly, another roar rang out—
A hulking Skuntank charged in from the distance and slammed into Rhydon with brute force.
BOOM!
Rhydon felt a terrifying force crash into its body, knocking it back several steps.
"RHY!!"
It regained its footing and looked at the Skuntank with excitement.
It could sense that this Skuntank was also an advanced-tier Pokémon.
"RRHHHYYY!"
With a roar, Rhydon charged again, its body glowing with white light as it used Take Down, slamming into the Skuntank with full force.
This Skuntank was clearly larger than normal. Seeing Rhydon charge, it also braced itself and rushed forward head-on!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The two Pokémon collided fiercely, locked in an intense struggle of strength!
Meanwhile, the Raticates had clashed with the magical beasts under the beast hunters' command.
Soon, the tunnel entrance was sealed shut—Rhydon used Rock Smash to collapse it completely.
…
"ROOAAR!"
At the frontlines—
The Nidoking leader had advanced quickly, arriving at the city gate in no time.
Its poison horn glowed with energy as it launched a powerful Poison Jab at the gate, causing it to shake violently.
The other Nidoking and Nidoqueen followed closely, repeatedly slamming into the gate with brute force.
CRACK!
Soon, a loud snapping sound echoed—the gate shattered open!
The Nidoking tribe poured into the city in a flood.
"ROAAAR!!"
The Nidoking leader let out a mighty roar, energy surging in its mouth as it launched a Sludge Bomb!
Its strength as a quasi-king-tier Pokémon was overwhelming.
The Eastern Branch Gilded Fang Merchant Guild had only managed to raise two advanced-tier beasts with their immense wealth.
With no better options, they had one advanced-tier beast hold the line while swarms of magical beasts attacked the Nidoking leader in a war of attrition.
"Damn it! We can't hold them at all!"
"How did Fruitvale Village manage to tame the Nidoking tribe?!"
President Reagan looked grim.
A quasi-king-tier Nidoking was a weapon of war!
Fortunately, the GIlded Fang Merchant Guild still had many tamed magical beasts.
At this point, they no longer cared about property damage—they deployed all their stock into the battle!
With their sheer numbers, they barely managed to pin down the Nidoking leader at the city gate, supporting the defense with waves of arrow fire.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The other city walls were also shaking.
The Nidorino and Nidorina stuck outside the gate could not force their way in, so they began attacking the surrounding walls.
With their relentless assault, the walls began to crumble, and the beast hunters stationed above were forced to retreat in a hurry.
"RHY!!"
The battle between Rhydon and Skuntank continued.
The longer it fought, the more excited Rhydon became. Its fists surged with Rock Slide energy as it hammered the Skuntank like a blacksmith forging steel.
With the use of Ancient Power, Rhydon's stats increased across the board, and it grew fiercer with each clash.
Eventually, Skuntank could no longer hold its ground and began to fall back.
Seeing this, Rhydon glanced at the city wall and saw that the Nidoking leader had already breached the gate.
It slapped its own head as if remembering its mission, then turned and charged toward the gate, blasting away magical beasts in its path.
"Lord Reagan, we can't hold them off! Not against both Rhydon and the Nidoking!"
The assistant's face turned pale as more and more beasts fell.
If all of Keystone Town's forces had been here—supported by walls and siege weapons—they might have held off the Nidoking tribe.
But most of their strength had been sent south to stop Fruitvale Village.
There was no way they could hold the eastern front now.
"We retreat. Fall back to the south!"
Reagan clenched his teeth and gave the command.
He then mounted his Mightyena, and with his personal guards, began retreating south, completely abandoning the eastern gate.
"ROAR!"
At the gate, Rhydon and the Nidoking leader regrouped.
With their inside-outside coordination, the surrounding magical beasts were quickly repelled, and the Nidoking tribe surged into the city!
The eastern gate had officially fallen.
Without the shelter of the walls, the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild had no chance of stopping the Nidoking tribe.
ROAR!
The Nidoking leader's eyes swept over the battlefield and soon spotted the fleeing beast hunters.
It let out another roar and launched a Sludge Bomb at those still retreating on the wall.
The explosion hit a magical beast hunter and his Pokémon head-on.
A corrosive hiss filled the air, and the screams of pain were gut-wrenching.
The Nidoking tribe had deliberately chosen to attack from the east to target the \ hunters directly.
Now that they had broken through, the Nidoking, leading its kin, began a relentless assault on the hunters—venting all their rage!
(End of Chapter)