Daylight slanted through the broken window, outlining countless pillars of floating dust in the air.
A strange, burnt smell permeated the room, traces of the walls and floor scorched after the Dark Pulse energy went out of control.
In the small square, Ariel's gaze shifted from the two deep, peeling craters on the wall back to the figure disguised as a human Trainer.
No, not a figure.
It was Zoroark.
His mind raced, reassembling, deconstructing, and analyzing everything that had happened in that lightning-fast moment.
It had a terrifying level of 57, yet it couldn't even land a single basic Dark Pulse on its target.
Was that reasonable?
It was highly unreasonable.
For a wild Pokémon to cultivate itself to this level, its talent and combat experience should have been tempered through thousands of battles.
But this one was like a player who had put all their talent points in the wrong place; it was fully decked out in god-tier gear but only capable of basic attacks, and an outline master at that.
A comical image even surfaced in Ariel's mind:
This Zoroark in the wild, firing a Dark Pulse at a sluggish Slowpoke, only for the beam to wobble off into the sky, scaring a few feathers off a passing Pidgey.
Thinking of this, Ariel almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.
No wonder.
No wonder it had to disguise itself as a Trainer and command other Pokémon in battle.
This wasn't just compensating for a lack of strength; this was playing to its strengths and avoiding its weaknesses to the absolute extreme!
It knew exactly where its shortcoming lay—a pathetic skill accuracy.
So, it simply gave up on the fields it wasn't good at and instead poured its energy into raising "enforcers."
Using human intelligence to command Pokémon in battle was the very core of being a Trainer.
And it, a Pokémon, had perfectly mastered this system.
Clever, far too clever.
This level of intelligence had completely exceeded the scope of ordinary Pokémon; it was more like a human soul wearing a Pokémon's skin.
But a new question popped up.
Levels don't lie.
Level 57 meant its aptitude was at least Gym Leader Level, and it might even be touching the threshold of an Quasi-Elite.
With such high aptitude, how could its combat talent be this poor?
It was like a natural-born athlete who was also a natural-born weakling; it was a paradox in itself.
Unless...
Ariel's pupils suddenly constricted as an answer so bold it made his heart jump surfaced.
Its talent wasn't in combat at all!
It was disguise! It was Illusion!
This Zoroark had likely developed its "Illusion" ability to an unimaginable level.
All of its talent and potential had been poured into how to transform and disguise itself perfectly.
To the point that its talent for combat had been compressed to almost nothing.
It could vividly Mimic every subtle movement of a human, perfectly hide its presence, and even learn human language and logic.
Using such an ability for combat was a complete waste of a godsend!
In an instant, the way Ariel looked at Zoroark changed.
It was no longer the look one gave an enemy, nor the look one gave an ordinary Pokémon.
It was the kind of look a collector gives a peerless treasure, or a general gives a once-in-a-century genius.
Burning and undisguised.
Capture it!
He had to capture it!
The value of such a Pokémon could not be measured by combat power alone.
Perfect disguise, perfect infiltration—what did that mean?
It meant infinite possibilities! Having it disguise itself as a member of a rival organization to steal intelligence, or having it sneak into a location to scout the situation...
Its utility was far greater than that of an Elite Four Level combat Pokémon!
Zoroark keenly caught the change in Ariel's eyes.
That naked, intensely possessive gaze made the black and red mane on its back bristle slightly.
A very faint growl escaped its throat, and the wariness in its crimson eyes was being eroded bit by bit by a deeper emotion called unease.
Its intuition was screaming in alarm, a hundred times more intense than when it was facing the pincer attack from Greninja and Weavile just now.
It seemed its intuition was right! This man before it was extremely dangerous!
It subconsciously scanned its surroundings, and its heart suddenly sank.
The two Pokémon it had smashed into the wall with brute force were gone!
Greninja and Weavile had vanished without a trace at some point.
The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, with only the sound of dust settling.
Only then did it realize that, without noticing, it had lost control over its surroundings.
It was isolated.
Just then, Ariel spoke, his voice steady, as if discussing something commonplace.
"Did you disguise yourself as a Trainer to compensate for your lack of strength?"
Zoroark didn't answer immediately, only staring at him fixedly with its red eyes.
Ariel didn't care about its silence and continued:
"In that case, you could have just quietly been a Trainer. Why attack humans?"
This question seemed to touch a nerve in Zoroark.
It suddenly let out a short sneer, filled with deep mockery and disdain.
"What of it?"
It spoke, and what came out was perfectly articulated human language, its tone even more standard and fluent than that of many humans.
"Don't you humans also hurt and capture wild Pokémon as you please?"
Zoroark took a step forward, revealing a bit of fox-like cunning.
"As a Pokémon, can't I do the same?"
Its voice suddenly rose, carrying a questioning tone.
"Or are you going to use that ridiculous human double standard to condemn me?"
The series of rhetorical questions came like rapid fire, each one forceful and resonant.
It seemed to enjoy the feeling of using human logic to refute a human, its eyes sparkling with intelligence and irony.
It had anticipated Ariel's reaction—perhaps anger, perhaps shock, or perhaps being at a loss for words.
However, to its complete surprise...
Ariel actually laughed after hearing it.
It wasn't a cold laugh, nor a laugh of extreme anger, but a heartfelt laugh filled with appreciation and amusement.
The laughter echoed in the quiet square, causing all the follow-up arguments Zoroark had prepared to get stuck in its throat.
It didn't understand why this human would react this way.
Then, it heard Ariel say in a voice that was almost a whisper, yet crystal clear:
"I think we'll be a perfect match."
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