All the streets closest to the town out of Pyrite Town have been divided into battlefields by Liu Ge.
Most of the civilians inside have long since evacuated, taking almost everything they could, many even took the entire windows with them, making numerous low-rise buildings resemble ruins.
The members of the Shadow Team were somewhat puzzled upon arrival, wondering why this place looked like it had been abandoned for a long time.
Did a big battle occur here between the Quicksand Team and the Evil Dog Team?
But swiftly, they lost the opportunity to ponder further.
The Rainbow Team members hidden within various buildings saw their prey fall into the trap and suddenly launched an attack on them!
"Bombers! Release!"
The roar came from overhead.
Shadow Team members instinctively looked up, only to see countless Poison-type Pokémon led by Stunky popping up from the rooftops on both sides of the street.
"Sss!"
Numerous Poison-type Pokémon hissed, hurling Poison Gas Bullets at the Shadow Team members and Shadow Pokémon on the street!
Bang, bang, bang!
Globules of dark violet smoke exploded and quickly spread in all directions.
"Dark Wave!"
"Dark Assault!"
The Shadow Team members immediately released numerous Shadow Pokémon to retaliate, some unleashing pitch-black air waves, some climbing the walls heading towards the rooftops, and others flapping wings as they lunged forward.
While the Shadow Pokémon battled, the members calmly donned gas masks.
The protective suits they wore were sufficient to defend against most levels of gas and poison, ensuring that they remained unharmed even when hit directly by poisonous liquid.
"Release the second and third batches of Pokémon!"
The Shadow Team leaders shouted, with more team members crazily throwing Pokeballs, releasing a heap of Shadow Pokémon again.
They always relied on overwhelming numbers to crush opponents, no matter how strong the opponent's capabilities, deploying ten times, even twenty times the number of Shadow Pokémon would defeat any adversary.
But just as their fierce environment blew the gas away, a flash of fire lit up amidst the haze.
"Get down!!!"
A desperate shout echoed among the Shadow Team members.
The next moment.
Boom—!!
Blazing flames spread from the street to the corner, like a fire dragon roaring skyward, the dark storm that had just arisen was nothing under the gas explosion, numerous Shadow Pokémon and Shadow Team members were blasted into the air!
Even though the explosion lasted only an instant, the destruction caused was spectacular, the street was scorched as if baptized by missiles, many high walls of houses collapsed and shattered, exposing sturdy load-bearing columns and steel inside, thick smoke and dust drifted through the air.
"Retreat!"
From the rooftop, Rainbow Team members used Pokeballs to recall their Pokémon affected by the explosion or injured due to Shadow Pokémon attacks, without pursuing further, seizing the chaos below to retreat with a group of Poison-type Pokémon.
Everyone knew well that this explosion was not enough to take down the well-equipped Shadow Team members, and Shadow Pokémon, having lost the feeling of pain, would pursue tenaciously no matter how seriously injured.
Indeed.
As the smoke lingered.
Numerous Shadow Pokémon leapt out from the smoke, rushing towards rooftop buildings on the street, yet helplessly coming up empty.
A couple were relatively slow and quickly chased after them.
"Get them back quickly!"
A Shadow Team member trying to call back the Pokémon stood amid the dust, yet those Shadow Pokémon vanished as if devoured.
"Count the numbers! Is anyone injured?"
"Yes!"
"How many Pokémon have been lost?"
"Still checking!"
"This Rainbow Team..."
The Shadow Team leader brushed off the dust, frowning as he tried to contact the commander, only to find their special internal frequency also disconnected, "big problem!"
"Should we retreat? Join up with other squads?"
A Shadow Team member suggested, mentioning their squad responsible for suppressing the Rainbow Team consisted of more than 300 members, with 200 managing the surface, and 100 managing underground.
Fortunately, the team was spread out enough so the explosion didn't affect everyone.
Unfortunately, the center of the explosion had a few injuries, also causing significant losses to Shadow Pokémon—even though they weren't afraid of pain, there was a limit, and fainting was inevitable.
"No, keep advancing!"
The Shadow Team leader glanced at the person and rejected the proposal.
Not only would it be embarrassing to cower and merge with others at the appearance of such a minor incident, but they hadn't been pushed to such an extent yet, with substantial reserves of Shadow Pokémon still intact.
"Directly head to their headquarters building! I don't believe it's empty!"
"Yes!"
Shadow Team members continued forward, albeit more cautious than when they first entered, they also realized the necessity of using drones to confirm whether any ambushers existed on rooftops.
---
In a concealed location.
Baimu contemplated, reviewing the footage transmitted via miniature cameras.
"It appears that the third generation of Shadow Pokémon still hasn't addressed the issue where prolonged battle leads to rampage." Leo commented from the side,
Shadow Pokémon possess extreme aggression due to shut emotions, and if not recalled promptly, they will rampage against Trainers.
Even the Shadow Team doesn't dare to deploy them recklessly, relying solely on themselves for reconnaissance, and the like.
"Then let's use this opportunity to bomb them good!"
He whispered.
Pokémon with the trait of dampness don't simply nullify explosions by standing there, it requires the air to become moist, necessitating prolonged presence of Pokémon with dampness traits.
The nature of Shadow Pokémon prevents them from maintaining the field, meaning the Shadow Team cannot defend against bombardments.
With those words finished.
From afar, a burst of fiery light and the tremors shaking buildings were heard.
It seems the second trap—Gravelers and Golems' Self-destruct and Big Explosion stone formation—had been triggered, unknown whether it hit the mark.
"The underground forces should have already been in position, leave it to us, ensuring these guys arrive without any return." Leo proceeded towards the Rainbow Team's Underground City.
Unlike the surface, underground was semi-enclosed; blocking the exit meant Shadow Team couldn't even think about leaving, Leo would teach them a lesson.
On the surface, while other communication means remained, Baimu couldn't help playing guerilla warfare with them to prevent the Shadow Team from summoning more members.
Delaying as much as possible was essential, ensuring Pyrite Town's remaining forces were reduced to the utmost by the Shadow Team.
"To which position have they advanced?"
"Two streets away!"
Otsuka's voice reached Baimu's ears.
"Good."
Baimu stood up, looking towards Ayana and the others behind, "It's time for us to perform, remember to retreat if injured; never force yourselves, we don't have to fight them to the death."
"Understood!"
The group responded in unison.
On the other side.
Across other territories within Pyrite Town, Liu Ge, Flop, and others shuttled around, gathering all undercover members of the Rescue Organization, arranging times for a rising revolt.
The group hurried, their brows laced with urgency.
At the moment.
A convoy was coming from the northwest direction of Pyrite Town, less than five kilometers away, reaching a higher ground where they could even see the flames erupting within Pyrite Town.
"Looks like we must hurry."
A man with silver-blue hair stood atop a vehicle, lowering his binoculars, "Captain Genji, I'll go ahead!"
"Alright!"
Inside the car, Genji held a pipe, nodding slightly.
In the midst of speaking.
A flash of white light gleamed, Da Wu stood atop a Shiny Metagross, rapidly advancing towards the direction of Pyrite Town.