Ariel immediately realized something was wrong.
How could that pervert have such powerful movement techniques?
Even if he were a hidden master, he had been tied up by Ariel; how could he appear here completely unscathed?
The time, location, and logic simply didn't add up.
Thoughts flashed through his mind like sparks of electricity.
Just as Ariel was racking his brains, trying to find even a shred of a reasonable explanation for this absurd reality, something even more shocking—terrifying, even—happened.
The "man" with the sleazy middle-aged face moved.
There was no warning.
He simply twisted his body, which was pinned down by Greninja and Weavile.
The movement was so slight it was almost negligible, yet it erupted with unimaginable power.
Greninja and Weavile were struck as if by an invisible, massive force. The Water Shuriken and ice blades restraining the man instantly shattered into a shower of light.
Immediately after, the "man's" figure blurred.
Fast!
Extremely fast!
Ariel's dynamic vision couldn't even fully capture his movements; he could only see two afterimages striking the chests and abdomens of his two ace Pokémon cleanly from the left and right.
Bang! Bang!
Two dull, heart-stopping thuds rang out almost simultaneously.
Greninja and Weavile, two powerful Pokémon known for their speed and skill, didn't even have time to let out a cry of pain. Like sandbags hit head-on by a speeding truck, their bodies curled like shrimp as they were sent flying.
Boom—!
The brick wall at the edge of the small square was smashed into two depressions, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading wildly from the points of impact!
Debris and dust fell, covering their motionless bodies.
One punch, one kick.
An instant kill.
Ariel's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
At this moment, he felt his worldview suffer an unprecedented shock.
His mind went blank, all capacity for thought utterly destroyed by the violent and surreal scene before him.
What on earth was going on?
A human, with bare hands... sent two battle-hardened Pokémon flying?
How is this even possible?!
Is this some kind of sick joke!
However, the next scene resolved all of Ariel's doubts and confusion in an instant.
The "man" who had just landed the blow began to undergo a bizarre transformation under the cold moonlight.
His silhouette became blurred and distorted, like a television screen with a bad signal.
The sleazy mustache, the messy hair, the ill-fitting clothes... everything dissolved and peeled away like a melting wax statue.
In their place stood a vigorous, elegant body full of wild charm.
Black fur as smooth as silk, and a long, fluffy dark-red mane like a burning flame that reached all the way down its back.
A pair of crimson eyes glinted with cunning and danger in the night, and its slender limbs were filled with explosive power.
Zoroark!
Ariel's heart tightened.
So that's it.
It wasn't some perverted uncle, nor was it some hidden human master.
From the very beginning, it was this Zoroark using its transformation ability to play everyone for a fool!
Almost instinctively, Ariel raised the pokédex in his hand and pointed it at the tall, fox-like Pokémon.
A cold electronic voice sounded.
"Beep, Zoroark, the Illusion Fox Pokémon, Dark-type, Level: 57, ability: Illusion (When it enters battle, it takes the appearance of the last Pokémon in its party)..."
Ariel no longer had the heart to listen to the rest of the pokédex information.
Level 57!
This number was like a heavy hammer slamming into his heart.
A Gym Leader Level Zoroark!
It was a full 7 levels higher than his current highest-level ace, Gyarados!
This was practically a crushing gap.
No wonder... no wonder its movement was so bizarre, and its speed was so fast that even Greninja couldn't hope to match it.
No wonder it could knock out his two main forces with a single blow.
Everything made sense now.
But a new question arose.
Ariel's gaze fell on the Zoroark, remembering how it had just transformed into a human and its commanding posture...
A Pokémon acting as a Trainer?
Commanding other Pokémon in battle?
What kind of ridiculous setup was this? It was simply unheard of!
But at this moment, there was no time for him to delve into the absurdity.
Ariel's expression instantly became serious to the extreme, every cell in his body screaming of danger.
This Zoroark was definitely the most dangerous wild Pokémon he had encountered since his transmigration, without exception!
Those crimson eyes locked onto Ariel, the malice swirling within them almost turning into something physical.
Zoroark opened its mouth, and a highly concentrated dark-purple Energy Ball coalesced at an alarming speed.
Dark Pulse!
"Malamar, Protect!"
Ariel's command blurted out.
An energy barrier instantly unfolded in front of Ariel, shielding him firmly.
However, an unexpected scene occurred.
The Dark Pulse carrying terrifying energy whistled out of Zoroark's mouth... and then, in an extremely bizarre arc, it grazed the edge of the Protect barrier and flew past, slamming heavily into a nearby building.
Boom!
The building was blown to pieces, stones flying everywhere.
Ariel: "?"
He maintained his defensive posture, not reacting for a moment.
Was it a miscalculation on his part? Was the target of the attack not him in the first place?
But immediately afterward, the Zoroark let out a very human-like "tch," pawed the ground impatiently, and a hint of frustration appeared in its eyes.
From the looks of it, it seemed like this kind of thing was a common occurrence for it.
Before Ariel could figure it out, Zoroark opened its mouth again.
Another Dark Pulse!
This time, the Energy Ball gathered even faster, and its momentum was even grander.
Ariel's heart tightened as he focused all his attention.
Swoosh—!
The dark-purple Energy Ball shot out again with a whistle that tore through the air... then, it traced a parabola even more ridiculous than the last one, soaring straight into the sky, drawing a brilliant arc before finally disappearing into the distant horizon like a strange shooting star.
"..."
In the small square, the night wind blew, swirling a few fallen leaves, and the atmosphere fell into a bizarre silence.
Ariel watched this scene, watching the Zoroark irritably shake its fluffy red hair again, and the expression on his face slowly shifted from extreme gravity to something peculiar.
In his mind, an absurd yet seemingly perfectly reasonable guess began to take shape.
This Zoroark, with a level as high as 57 and strength enough to send his two main forces flying...
Could it be...
That it's extremely bad at fighting?
Once this thought emerged, it could no longer be suppressed.
Thinking back to its previous behavior of disguising itself as a human Trainer...
A Pokémon with great power but absolutely no idea how to use it, who instead envied and tried to Mimic human Trainers commanding battles?
Ariel's gaze became increasingly subtle.
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