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Kael's sharp senses, born from Sobble's body, detected the camera the moment it swept toward him.
He did not care.
The moment he decided to come rescue Basculin, he had already prepared himself to be exposed in front of humans.
Even if the camera captured him now, that only meant a few more people would see him.
Compared with that, he cared far more about the Magnemite floating above his head.
Crackle.
Brilliant blue electricity twisted and coiled over Magnemite's silver-gray body. Electromagnetic force continuously gathered around the horseshoe magnets on either side of it.
Powerful electric energy was quietly building.
Magnemite's level was low, and it lacked significant battle experience. But with both type advantage and field advantage, it had completely held the upper hand against the exhausted Basculin.
Now, facing the newly arrived Water-type Pokémon below, even though it sensed unexpected urgency in Mason's command, its habitual thinking still made it believe that the opponent could not threaten it. It gathered energy at a leisurely pace.
Of course, "leisurely" was only relative.
As a newborn Pokémon that had only recently left the Nursery, Magnemite was already charging electricity as fast as its current strength allowed.
This Thunder Shock needed at least ten seconds of preparation.
And what did ten seconds mean?
A high-speed train could travel five hundred meters.
A Machamp could throw five thousand punches with its four arms.
In any level of Pokémon battle, ten seconds of preparation time was enough to decide the result completely, as long as the opponent was not an idiot.
For someone like Kael, whose combat experience had become absurdly rich, ten seconds was unnecessary.
Even three seconds, even two seconds, would be enough for him to end the battle quickly.
Right now, the only thing separating Magnemite from Kael was a dozen meters of empty space.
Could that stop him?
The answer was obvious.
Kael looked at the Magnemite gathering electricity above him and gave a cold, mocking laugh.
The half of his body that had been floating above the water suddenly sank. With his powerful control over the current, he slipped to the lakebed in an instant.
A height of more than ten meters was not impossible for him at his current level, but it was not exactly simple either. The necessary preparation still had to be made.
In truth, Kael could have done what Basculin had just done. He could have relied on his excellent reaction speed and prediction to accelerate the instant Thunder Shock was released, avoiding the brunt of the damage before looking for a chance to counterattack.
That might have looked a little cooler, but it carried hidden risks.
Kael was far stronger than Magnemite, but he was still a Water-type Pokémon.
Taking a Thunder Shock head-on would not knock him out immediately thanks to his powerful body, but a large amount of damage and pain would still be unavoidable.
Besides, electricity spreads through water extremely quickly and across a very wide range.
If Kael stayed in the water too long, he might fall into a paralyzed state because of Magnemite's current.
That would be bad.
So he chose to attack first.
While Magnemite's move was still in the preparation stage, he would strike directly and interrupt it.
Soft mud and sand pressed against his feet.
Through the layer of lake water above him, Kael locked his gaze onto Magnemite's silver-gray body, which was flashing with electricity.
Then he erupted.
Boom.
A heavy, muffled blast sounded beneath the lake.
Like a depth charge detonating underwater, the muddy sand at the bottom of the lake was thrown high into the water and scattered in every direction.
Kael's small, translucent figure shot upward like a phantom. Amid the wild roar of the shattered current barrier, he surged forward like a high-speed spinning metal bullet.
In the blink of an eye, he broke through the resistance of the lake and burst out of the surface, launching himself into the air.
On the shore, when Mason saw Kael dive beneath the lake, he thought the Sobble had realized the danger and was trying to escape. In a panic, he roared furiously toward Magnemite.
"What are you doing?"
"Hurry up. Don't let that Sobble get away."
The Trainer's urging did not make Magnemite gather electricity faster. Instead, the resistance rising in its heart slowed its efficiency slightly.
And right then, Kael broke through the surface.
Boom.
A tremendous explosion of water erupted across the battlefield.
Under the force of that terrifying impact, countless clear droplets rose high beneath Kael's body, like a strong stem lifting a delicate flower into bloom.
Compared with the lake water from before, the air around him felt far more stagnant as he moved at high speed, resisting his upward charge.
The next second, under the dazzling white light shining from his palm, even the air seemed to be smashed apart, letting out a sharp, painful scream.
Faster.
Higher.
One second, perhaps even less.
In the time it took an ordinary person to blink, Kael crossed the distance between water and sky at a speed Magnemite could not react to at all, flying straight in front of it.
Without the slightest hesitation, his slender arm, dyed in brilliant white light, swept forward.
Boom.
It was as if a small explosion had gone off in midair.
Dense gray-black smoke mixed with blue electric currents scattered outward, bursting open like an expanding thundercloud.
The force of the explosion shoved Kael backward, sending him falling toward the lake.
Compared with the terrifying spectacle of the blast, the injuries he suffered were minimal. Even the abrasions he might have received from the high-speed fall vanished under his skillful control of the impact.
Compared with the basically unharmed Kael, Magnemite was not so lucky.
After taking a direct hit from Kael's optimized Pound, it lost the ability to resist the instant it was struck by the intense pain.
The Thunder Shock that had been brewing inside its body and was about to be completed was completely interrupted.
The backlash from having the move cut off was even more severe. All the electricity it had stored inside its body was emptied and released outward.
For a newly born Pokémon like Magnemite, such a huge amount of electric energy leaking out in such a short time was extremely damaging.
Without ten days to half a month of rest, it probably would not even be able to use the most basic Electric-type moves.
Buzz.
A pained cry echoed through the air.
Magnemite's single eye at the center of its body had already lost its light, becoming dazed and unfocused.
Its silver-gray body looked like a broken piece of scrap metal. Dragging a long trail of gray-black smoke behind it, it drifted weakly downward.
Clang.
Its steel body rolled helplessly to the ground beside its Trainer's feet.
One hit.
Only one hit.
The Magnemite that had shone so brightly just moments ago had completely lost the ability to battle under Kael's fierce assault.
At that moment, Mason was still frozen in the same roaring posture from before.
"Uh."
A meaningless whimper slipped from his wide-open mouth.
The shocking scene in front of him was like a basin of cold water poured over his head, instantly extinguishing the burning fire of desire that had been surging in his heart.
"Damn it."
As if he had just watched a winning lottery ticket worth ten million slip through his fingers, Mason stood on the shore and cursed with every vicious word he could think of, filled with unwillingness and resentment.
Was he cursing Kael, who floated on the water in front of him?
Was he cursing the unconscious Magnemite lying beside his feet?
Or was he cursing the game itself?
No one knew.
And no one wanted to know.
The weak, useless barking of a loser was the most worthless thing in the world.
Although Mason knew he had already lost his chance to capture the Sobble in front of him, he still clung to the naive stubbornness unique to players and threw a Poké Ball toward Kael with bitter unwillingness.
Whoosh.
Under the game system's guidance, the red-and-white Poké Ball spun rapidly through the air, flying accurately toward Kael.
The result was naturally nothing more than wishful thinking.
Smack.
A crisp collision rang across the surface of the Poké Ball.
Kael swung his tail cleanly and easily knocking away the Poké Ball filled with resentment and defeat, sending it splashing into the distant lake.
His gaze shifted slightly. In his clear blue eyes, Mason's miserable, disgraceful figure on the shore was reflected, and his stare was filled with dense contempt and disgust.
Could this despicable human Trainer only capture Pokémon through underhanded tricks?
As someone who also possessed a human soul, Kael could not help looking down on Mason at that moment.
He even felt sorry for Magnemite for having become that man's Pokémon.
It had followed the wrong Trainer.
"Sigh."
Kael let out a soft sigh.
Then he opened his mouth slightly toward Mason on the shore.
He planned to teach this scheming human a small lesson.
Splash.
A surging stream of water roared toward Mason, swallowing his figure in the blink of an eye.
Kael had no intention of ending his life. He still had that much reason.
After all, he was currently inside a marine park supervised and controlled by humans. If he truly killed a human here, the punishment he would face would probably not be as simple as what had happened two days ago.
Paying with his own life was not impossible.
Because of that, he deliberately controlled the impact of the water stream, keeping it at a level that would not destroy a human body, but would still make the other party feel intense pain.
Unexpectedly, however, the instant the rushing water struck Mason on the shore, the figure in the fishing outfit burst apart like foam, turning into countless dim white motes of light that drifted through the air. Then, under the pull of some unknown force, they were absorbed into a place no one could see.
"A player?"
Kael tilted his head slightly and muttered to himself in surprise.
The scene that had happened to that Trainer was almost exactly the same as when he attacked the player Wendy in Moltenwood Forest.
"No wonder."
Kael fell into thought.
Only players, beings who did not truly take the game world seriously, would act so shamelessly and underhandedly in front of a camera without the slightest concern.
...
At the same time.
In a quiet villa district in the real world.
Click.
Inside a spacious room, a coffin-shaped full-dive virtual immersion device slowly opened.
The slightly overweight figure of a middle-aged man was revealed inside.
Without saying a word, Mason slowly rose and sat up from the device.
He was suppressing the violent emotions in his heart that were on the verge of erupting completely.
Although his behavior did not look especially agitated, his face was dark and gloomy, as if covered by storm clouds.
His hand clenched tightly around the hard outer shell of the device, his knuckles turning white.
All of it silently revealed just how turbulent his heart truly was.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
Finally, he could no longer control himself.
Crash. Bang.
"Aaaaaah."
The sound of objects smashing onto the floor mixed with furious roars, echoing through the empty room.
There was one perfect phrase for this behavior.
Impotent rage.
...
Back in the game.
At the Bibarel Cup Fishing Tournament venue, the entire place had already descended into chaos.
Crystal stood stiffly with the microphone in her hand, her eyes unfocused. Clearly, she had not yet recovered from the sudden change that had taken place on the field.
Her blank eyes stared toward the lakeside. Her pale lips opened and closed, and the instinct of a reporter made her subconsciously broadcast the situation to the camera.
"We can see that Sobble has defeated Magnemite and released a stream of water toward Contestant Mason."
Her trembling words revealed the deep panic and fear in her heart.
Only after Mason was completely swallowed by the stream of water Kael had released did the mental defenses of this beautiful reporter, who could be considered extremely dedicated in a certain sense, finally collapse.
"Aaaaaah!"
A high-pitched scream suddenly rang across the venue.
The next second, the live broadcast feed was urgently cut.
The television screen switched to the two hosts inside the studio.
"Uh."
"It seems something has happened at the scene."
"We'll go to a short commercial break first, then return to this tense and exciting fishing tournament."
The unprecedented emergency left the two hosts flustered and panicked.
Almost instinctively, they read straight from the script prepared earlier, making their handling of the situation look shockingly unprofessional.
The contestants of the Bibarel Cup Fishing Tournament were mostly professional Trainers. Although their skill levels varied, some high and some low, their response to the sudden situation of a wild Pokémon attacking a human was naturally far calmer than that of an ordinary person like Crystal.
Click.
Click.
Poké Balls spun open one after another, making a series of crisp sounds.
For a time, red light filled the venue.
One Pokémon after another appeared along the shore, guarding their Trainers.
Kael, who had already lost any desire to fight, naturally had no intention of wasting his strength battling these Pokémon.
He merely turned his head and cast a cold glance over them.
Then, carrying Basculin's unconscious body with him, he sank into the deep, dark waters of the lake.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
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