One hit, heavy damage!
"Weavile!"
The old man looked at the shock and regret flashing across Ariel's face, a hint of understanding passing through his cloudy eyes.
This reaction... didn't seem faked.
His shock at the news of Team Rockets coming to Hoenn was genuine, not the panic of an accomplice being exposed.
So, just a wild Trainer with decent strength?
The old man's suspicious heart relaxed slightly.
But the battle wasn't over yet.
"It's not over yet!"
Ariel looked at the struggling Weavile trying to get up, his gaze turning incredibly cold.
He had been played.
This old man never intended to have a fair battle from the start.
Verbal probing and psychological pressure were all part of his combat strategy.
But for Ariel, expressing appropriate surprise and making tactical errors were also part of his own combat strategy!
"Weavile, can you still stand up?"
"Sss!"
Weavile shook its head and pushed off the ground with its claws, shakily standing back up.
A deep wound, visible to the bone, was bleeding at its shoulder blade, but its gaze was even more ferocious than before.
"Good."
Ariel took a deep breath, his mind becoming calmer than ever before.
He couldn't let himself be led by the nose any longer.
He had to seize the initiative!
He quickly scanned the battlefield. Houndoom's Flamethrower had left a large patch of scorched earth, and the rocks had become extremely unstable due to the sudden high temperature.
An opportunity!
"Old gentleman, it's not a good habit to say irrelevant things during a battle."
Ariel's voice turned cold.
Hearing this, the old man laughed instead of getting angry:
"Hehe, all is fair in war. On the battlefield, any means that can achieve victory is a good means."
"Is that so?"
The corner of Ariel's mouth curled into a cold arc. "Then I'll let you see my means as well!"
"Weavile, use Icy Wind on the ground beneath its feet!"
This command took the old man slightly aback.
Not attacking the body, but the ground?
Weavile breathed out a cold current mixed with ice crystals without any hesitation. Instead of blowing towards Houndoom, it precisely covered the scorched earth that had been burned by the flames!
"Sizzle—!"
The collision of extreme heat and extreme cold produced a piercing explosion!
A layer of white frost instantly condensed on the scalding rock surface, and under the intense thermal expansion and contraction, it made an overwhelmed "crack-crack" sound!
Houndoom immediately felt the ground beneath it soften. The solid ground seemed to turn into crumbling biscuits, causing a momentary lag in its proud sense of balance!
"Now!" A brilliant light erupted in Ariel's eyes. "Night Slash!"
"Sss!"
Weavile's figure vanished from the spot!
Enduring the intense pain, it poured all its strength into this strike, turning into a black line difficult for the naked eye to track, charging at the unsteady Houndoom with a determined stance!
"Not good! Quickly dodge—"
The old man's expression changed, and he hurriedly gave an order.
But it was too late!
Weavile's speed was already superior to Houndoom's, and now it was fully prepared, while Houndoom was stiff due to the ground trap.
Victory or defeat was decided in this single instant!
Pshhh!
The extremely sharp claws, carrying an unstoppable momentum, slashed with pinpoint accuracy across Houndoom's relatively fragile belly!
Dire Hit, triggered!
"Awoooo—!!"
Houndoom let out a howl of extreme pain. Its massive body seemed drained of all strength as it fell heavily to the ground, the light in its dark red eyes fading quickly, completely losing its ability to battle.
Type disadvantage, a desperate comeback!
Silence.
Only the rustling of falling volcanic ash and Weavile's heavy breathing remained in the air.
Ariel walked forward expressionlessly, took out a Poké Ball, and recalled the battered Weavile.
"You did well. Get some rest."
He gently patted the Poké Ball, then looked up, staring directly at the old man opposite him.
There was no joy of victory in his eyes, only a cold calm.
"Any more?"
The implication being: didn't you say you had more than one Pokémon?
A flash of astonishment crossed the old man's face, which then turned into deep approval and appreciation.
"Haha... Hahahaha!"
He suddenly burst into loud laughter, his thin body trembling slightly from the laughter, and the cane in his hand became somewhat unsteady.
"Good! Good lad! You have guts! You have schemes! And you have the strength to match!"
The old man laughed for a long time before stopping. He looked at Ariel, his cloudy eyes full of appreciation.
"I haven't seen such an interesting young man in a long time."
He recalled the fallen Houndoom into its ball, and then, slowly and methodically, unfastened another Poké Ball from his waist.
This Poké Ball was different from the previous ones; its surface had obvious traces of time, yet it was polished spotlessly clean.
"Since you still want to play, then I'll play with you a bit more."
The smile on the old man's face vanished, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.
He tossed the Poké Ball high into the air.
"Come out, old partner!"
"Bang!"
The Poké Ball opened in mid-air, and as the red light hit the ground, an indescribable and terrifying heatwave instantly swept across the entire field!
The surrounding air seemed to be ignited, the temperature suddenly rising by over ten degrees, making even breathing feel scalding!
A ferociously powerful Pokémon appeared before Ariel.
It resembled a weasel, with a sturdy and powerful body. Its cream-colored belly and blue back formed a sharp contrast.
And most strikingly, around its neck was a ring of blazing, crimson flames like a volcanic eruption!
Those weren't ordinary flames; they seemed to have a life of their own, and every flicker caused a visible distortion in the space around them!
Typhlosion! The final evolution of the Fire-type starter pokémon from the Johto region!
Ariel's heart tightened suddenly, and an unprecedented sense of crisis enveloped his entire body.
This Typhlosion... was too strong!
Just by standing there, its domineering aura made it difficult for him to breathe.
Instinctively, with trembling hands, he held up his pokédex.
The electronic eye of the pokédex flashed with a red light, followed by a mechanical notification sound.
"Beep."
"Typhlosion, the Volcano pokémon, Level 79..."
The pokédex made a soft sound, and the two glaring numbers on the screen felt like two heavy hammers smashing against Ariel's nerves.
Level 79... Level 79?!
Elite Four Level?!
No, this aptitude, this aura—it even surpassed an ordinary Elite!
Ariel's body completely froze.
His hand holding the Poké Ball stopped in mid-air, the color draining from his face at a visible rate, and his mind went blank.
What was he just thinking?
"Any more?"
He had actually asked an old monster with a Level 79 Typhlosion... "Any more?!"
A chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, making every hair on his body stand on end.
He suddenly felt incredibly fortunate that he had been calm enough earlier. When he was being probed by the old man's words and Weavile was heavily injured, he had chosen to fight back with tactics instead of acting on impulse and attacking the old man directly.
Otherwise... Ariel's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.
He didn't even dare to imagine the consequences.