"Have you decided how you want to die?!"
Red looked coldly at the two remaining poachers.
"You showed up pretty fast… too bad our second guy didn't run into you, otherwise—"
Before the boss could finish—
Red casually lifted the half-dead poacher in his hand.
"You mean him?"
He tossed the man aside like trash.
"Just surrender."
"Surrender? Heh—don't forget, that kid is still in my hands!"
Red glanced at Gary, who was still being held by Golem, and sighed.
"How many times have I told you? In wild battles, the most important thing is protecting yourself."
"Once the trainer is captured , everything is over."
Gary lowered his head.
"Sorry, Master… I didn't expect them to be this strong and still use sneak attacks."
Seeing Red and Gary chatting as if he didn't exist—
The poacher boss's face twisted in anger.
"You dare ignore me?!"
"Golem! Tear—"
Before he could finish—
Red had already given a command.
Pokémon that had been lying in wait moved instantly.
A thunderclap exploded across the sky!
The deafening roar swallowed all other sounds.
The drizzle summoned earlier by Wartortle suddenly intensified—
Turning into a raging storm!
The sudden torrential rain and violent winds made it nearly impossible to even keep one's eyes open.
"How is the rain this heavy?!"
High above, Castform had transformed into its Rain Form—
Doing everything it could to control the storm.
Within the downpour—
A shadow burst forward.
Poliwrath, hidden for a long time, suddenly appeared in front of Houndoom.
On its back—
Mudkip was already prepared .
With Swift Swim and the cover of the storm blocking vision and scent—
Houndoom didn't even realize when they had closed in.
Two heavy punches slammed directly into its vulnerable abdomen!
With type advantage and rain amplification—
Houndoom was instantly defeated!
So fast it didn't even have time to whimper.
At the same time—
Within the storm, Pikachu suddenly heard Red 's voice:
"Use Thunder at full power—Castform will guide you!"
Pikachu immediately gathered electricity.
A bolt of lightning crashed down!
Castform, high in the air, strained to help lock onto the target.
After the thunder struck—
Fearow collapsed to the ground, charred black.
Just as it struggled to stand—
A brown figure dropped from the sky!
Larvitar condensed a massive sharp rock midair and smashed down together with it!
The impact blasted a crater into the ground—
Fearow was crushed into it, completely unable to battle.
Afterward, Larvitar casually sat on the rock, pulled out a lollipop from who-knows-where, and posed with a cold expression—
Trying to look like a ruthless powerhouse.
But in the pouring rain—
Even though it had learned to swim under Red 's "guidance,"
Its Rock-type instincts made it hate water.
Its cool expression instantly collapsed as it shook off the rain in annoyance.
Under the storm's overwhelming boost—
Most of Red 's Pokémon were massively strengthened.
Meanwhile, the enemy—
Had their vision and movement hindered , and even their attacks weakened due to the overwhelming Water-type energy suppressing other attributes.
The only downside—
Castform couldn't maintain such extreme weather for long.
After all, its level was still low—this was already pushing its limits.
But even this level of weather control—
Was just the beginning for Red .
Because true mastery—
Was creating different environments for different Pokémon within the same battlefield.
A level said to have only been achieved by the founder of Songzao Gym—
A Champion-level Trainer, even among Champions considered monstrously powerful.
All of this—
Happened in an instant.
With the storm's amplification, Red easily defeated an opponent stronger than himself.
Meanwhile—
The poacher boss, finally regaining his senses, roared :
"Golem! Rip that kid's arms off! Let's see if that so-called Gym Leader cares about his disciple!"
But—
There was no response.
At first, he thought the storm was too loud.
Then—
A dark green figure slowly emerged from the rain.
"Tyranitar?!"
The boss's face filled with shock.
Its massive body was covered in armor harder than steel—
Every scar a mark of battle.
The storm battered it—
Yet it stood unmoved.
But what truly terrified the boss—
Was what stood beside it.
Gary.
And—
Golem, already collapsed in the rain.
"To defeat Golem this quickly… what level is this Tyranitar?! Gym level? Quasi-Elite Four? Or… Elite Four level?!"
Cold fear spread through him.
"Wasn't the intel saying the Songzao Gym Leader just inherited the position and had no Pokémon left?! Where did this Tyranitar come from?!"
Then realization hit.
"Damn those League power struggles…!"
He understood—
They had been used as expendable pawns.
"Damn it… damn it!!"
But then—
His expression turned ruthless.
"I just obtained the legendary Dark Poké Balls… as long as I survive, I can rise again elsewhere!"
He pulled out two black Poké Balls.
"Survival comes first!"
The balls flickered with Red energy.
At that moment—
Castform could no longer maintain the storm.
The rain gradually subsided.
Red finally saw the battlefield clearly.
Houndoom and Fearow—defeated.
Golem—down.
Gary—safe.
"Good job, Tyranitar."
But then—
His gaze locked onto the black Poké Balls.
The Red lightning within them… the eerie aura—
His expression changed instantly.
Because he recognized them.
He had seen them before—
In the anime.
And they were anything but good.
[Dark Poké Ball (Purple): Forces a Pokémon to unleash its maximum power, but the Pokémon will die after the battle.]
These were the same Dark Balls used by Bisharp's (Bishas) Team Rocket leader in the Johto movie.
Red never expected them to appear here.
"Tyranitar—watch out for those Poké Balls!"
But the boss had no intention of targeting Tyranitar.
His target—
Was the already defeated Golem.
The Dark Poké Ball struck—
Golem's eyes snapped open—
Now glowing blood- Red .
Its aura surged violently—
Jumping from Elite level straight to Quasi-Elite Four level!
Red frowned deeply.
"You think forcing a Golem to that level is enough to defeat Tyranitar?"
"Of course not… even Dark Poké Balls can't do that…"
"But they're enough to help me escape!"
"Golem—Self-Destruct!"
Red 's expression changed drastically.
"This lunatic!"
The next second—
A terrifying explosion shook the entire forest.
A mushroom cloud slowly rose into the sky.
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