Just as the scattered lead shot was about to strike Agatha, a mass of white sludge erupted from her person, enveloping her in a thick, protective cocoon. The pellets embedded themselves harmlessly into the white muck before clattering onto the floor.
"Ah! Murder! Someone's been shot!"
The examinees in the hall panicked instantly. Chaos reigned as they scrambled, crawling and tumbling toward any corner they deemed safe to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
In the confusion, Feng Che slipped into a blind spot and released Froakie.
"Froakie, protect me from the shadows. Don't reveal yourself until I give the command," Feng Che sent the telepathic order.
Agatha let out a cold, rasping laugh. "I felt someone tailing me days ago. I kept silent and acted as bait, and sure enough, I've hooked a big fish."
"Mano! Order your Pokémon to attack, or neither of us is getting out of here!" the bald examiner roared at the Secretary.
Mano, however, remained frozen. His mind was a whirlwind of frantic calculations. If I join an assassination attempt on an Elite Four member and fail, I won't just be going to prison for corruption—I'll be executed for high treason against the League.
Seeing Mano's hesitation, the bald man didn't wait. He threw two Poké Balls, releasing a Nidoking and a Nidoqueen.
Nidoking: Level 45, Green Potential Nidoqueen: Level 46, Green Potential
"To think you'd bring such heavy hitters for a simple assassination," Agatha chuckled, leaning on her cane. "High-Elite rank Nidos... well-trained. You certainly don't look like standard underworld thugs."
Nidoking stood ferocious, characterized by the massive, venomous horn atop its head. Its triangular eyes gleamed with malice, and its rock-hard hide was lined with thick spines from neck to tail. One strike from its powerful tail could snap a telephone pole like a matchstick. Beside it, Nidoqueen was encased in tough blue scales, her massive frame capable of triggering tremors with a single step. Both were powerhouses, capable of learning moves ranging from Ice and Electric to Fighting-type.
"Agatha, don't think we haven't done our homework!" the bald man barked, sweat beading on his forehead despite his bravado. "Your main team was injured in that clash with Lance and hasn't fully recovered. You came to the Guild specifically to find rare herbs to treat them. Without your aces, you're just a toothless tiger!"
"A toothless tiger, you say?" Agatha's eyes glinted. "I'll show you exactly what it means to be an Elite Four 'King'."
She raised her white cane. The carved Arbok suddenly rippled, scales rasping against the wood as the living creature slithered down and landed silently on the floor.
"One Arbok is more than enough for the likes of you. Don't say I'm looking down on you—the truth is, you simply aren't qualified."
Agatha's Arbok blurred, creating a dozen Double Team clones. In a flash, they lunged, coiling around Nidoking and Nidoqueen before the heavy beasts could react. The Nidos turned a deep shade of red as they were constricted, unable to move a muscle.
The bald examiner grew desperate. "Mano! What are you waiting for?! If I go down, you're coming with me! Do you want to rot in a dark hole for the rest of your life? Better to fight now and maybe get shot than to suffer a living death!"
The words finally broke Mano's resolve. His face twisted into a mask of madness, veins popping in his eyes as he tore off his glasses. "Master Agatha... you forced my hand!"
"Fearow, use Drill Run! Persian, Night Slash!"
The Alolan Persian leaped, its sharp claws shredding Agatha's Arbok clones into nothingness, freeing the Nidos. Simultaneously, Fearow transformed into a crimson spiral of wind, corkscrewing toward Agatha.
"Foolish," Agatha said flatly.
She pointed her cane toward the sky. Her Arbok spat a single Poison Sting.
The Fearow let out a pained shriek and plummeted, twitching on the floor. Feng Che's pupils contracted. He had seen the needle strike with surgical precision, entering the Fearow's forehead to paralyze the central nervous system instantly. The Fearow had been spinning at nearly 100 rotations per second, yet the strike was perfect.
Agatha's Arbok is on another level, Feng Che noted.
"Hah! You got lucky, hag!" the bald man shouted. "Nidoking, Fire Punch! Nidoqueen, Thunder Punch!"
The room shook as the two giants charged. Fire erupted from Nidoking's fist, while Nidoqueen's arm crackled with golden electricity, the sound mimicking a thousand chirping birds.
"You underestimate me!" Agatha slammed her cane down.
The white sludge—a hidden Muk—surged forward, forming a massive shield. The punches landed with a wet thud, sinking into the mire. The Nidos found their arms trapped, unable to pull back.
"Nidoking, Flamethrower! Nidoqueen, Ice Beam!"
"Muk, stop playing. Swallow them," Agatha commanded, bored of the cat-and-mouse game.
The Muk's body swelled to gargantuan proportions, drowning the Nidoking and Nidoqueen in a sea of toxic sludge.
"Now! Beedrill, Fell Stinger!" the bald man sneered, revealing his ace in the hole.
A Beedrill, hidden in the rafters, turned into a streak of golden light, aiming straight for Agatha's heart. Agatha didn't flinch; she simply tapped her cane twice, preparing to order Gengar to strike from her shadow.
But another voice beat her to it.
"Now, Froakie! Throw the frubbles at the Beedrill!"
Feng Che had seized the moment. He didn't need to save her—he knew she was safe—but he needed to make an impression.
Just as the Beedrill was about to strike, a mass of white, sticky foam slammed into it from the side, pinning the assassin insect to the wall. Agatha paused, her cane hovering an inch above the floor. She looked toward Feng Che and offered a small, knowing smile.
"Thank you, little friend."
Buzz-buzz-buzz!
The Beedrill struggled against the wall, but Agatha's Arbok slithered up and ended it with a single, venomous strike to the head.
"The Beedrill Assassins!" Agatha's face turned grave.
The Beedrill Assassins... the same ones who went after Yue, Feng Che realized. He remembered the lore: the group was eventually wiped out by the combined force of the Kanto Elite Four, and their specialized breeding techniques for Beedrill eventually fell into Agatha's hands.
The bald man, seeing his plan ruined, glared at Feng Che with pure hatred. "I'll remember you, brat!"
He reached for a smoke grenade, but felt something cold and scaly slide across his back. Sss...
"How... when did it...?" the man stammered. Agatha's Arbok had moved so fast even Feng Che's psychic-enhanced vision had barely caught the trail. It sank its fangs into the man's carotid artery. He collapsed, seizing as the neurotoxin hit his bloodstream.
"I've wanted to root out your nest for a long time," Agatha said as her shadow expanded, swallowing the bald man whole.
Suddenly, she turned her gaze toward the "Nurse Joy" standing near Feng Che. "And here is another little mouse."
She smiled thinly. "Exquisite makeup. You almost fooled me. But your breathing became too rapid when you saw your comrade fall. You're a bit lacking in the basics, aren't you?"
"Basics? He failed his mission; he deserves to die," the "Nurse Joy" said, her voice dropping an octave. "Elite Agatha, I've long looked forward to this. My code name is Queen Bee."
She held four Poké Balls between her fingers and slammed them into the ground. A massive cloud of thick smoke filled the room.
"Tch! A diversion!" Agatha coughed. By the time the smoke cleared, Queen Bee was gone. "Let her run. I have enough live witnesses to squeeze the location of their base out of them."
As the haze dissipated, Agatha saw Mano—the corrupt Secretary—pinned to the ground, constricted tightly by a massive Arbok.
"Forgive me, Master Agatha," Feng Che said, stepping forward. "I saw him trying to flee in the chaos and acted instinctively."
Feng Che had deliberately used his Arbok to establish a connection. He knew that in the lore, Agatha's successor was required to master Arbok-based techniques, specifically her signature "Deadly Makeup" style.
"Well done," Agatha nodded, looking at the Arbok with a glimmer of appreciation. "A productive day. One Guild mole and a core member of the Assassins."
"Elite Agatha! Are you unharmed?!" President Kaneda came rushing into the room, face pale with fright.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
⭐ Read chapters early on Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/Bagga_10 ⭐
BONUS CHAPTER REWARDS
• Every 20 reviews = 1 bonus chapter
• Every 50 Power Stones = 1 bonus chapter
Your support directly unlocks more content and faster releases.