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The tall, thin Team Illuminati member opened the two Poké Balls in his hand and released two Pokémon.
One was a huge purple cobra with a very conspicuous pattern on its neck, inspiring fear at first glance. Its mouth was open, teeth secreting venom.
—An Arbok with the Intimidate ability.
The other was a creature made of sludge, exuding an unbearable stench.
—A Muk with the Stench ability.
"Kill him," the man said coldly.
He didn't issue any tactical instructions, but Arbok and Muk were obviously skilled in the act of "killing." They had cooperated many times before and immediately used Haze with perfect coordination.
Haze, typically used to dispel stat-boosting moves, now served to cover the field of vision, engulfing the surroundings.
Banette took the opportunity to disappear into the shadows.
Roy immediately called out Vulpix and Squirtle.
"Snowfall—"
Vulpix let out a moan, mobilizing her ice powers.
With the blessing of the snowy environment, Vulpix's ice abilities were enhanced. Given a few seconds, the cold wind would be enough to blow away the Haze created by the two Pokémon.
At that moment, Banette emerged from the shadows ten meters away, holding a Ghost-type energy ball in its hand.
"Shadow Ball!"
"Aura Sphere!"
Lucario blocked the assassin's attack again as the two energy balls collided, creating a powerful gust of wind.
At the same time, several sharp, cutting sounds came from within the Haze. Squirtle reacted quickly, positioning itself in front of Roy with outstretched hands.
Protect—
A light blue energy shield appeared.
It blocked several green venom missiles—Acid attacks from Arbok and Muk.
Roy quickly covered his nose and mouth to avoid inhaling the poisonous gas.
The next moment, an unbearable stench hit him as Muk's figure appeared overhead. The Poison-type launched a Body Slam directly at Roy.
Squirtle reacted swiftly, firing a Water Gun with all its strength. The power far exceeded what would be expected at its level and pushed Muk away.
"Vul—"
Vulpix let out a long cry as her Snowfall activated, influencing Nature Power. The resulting cold wind completely blew the Haze away.
The moment the Haze dissipated, Arbok struck with astonishing speed, its tail sweeping straight toward Roy.
—Iron Tail.
Vulpix quickly exhaled freezing wind, forming an ice wall in front of Roy to block the Iron Tail.
"CRASH—!"
The ice wall shattered, and the fragments flew toward Roy from the impact's force.
Roy raised his hand, and a light blue shield appeared, blocking all the debris.
—A barrier composed of aura power.
Lucario turned back to support, and with a "Rock Smash" knocked Arbok away, but also took a hit from Banette's "Shadow Sneak."
In just a few seconds, these life-or-death exchanges made Roy break out in a cold sweat.
This was combat without the protection of rules—
In all attacks, the first priority was to kill the enemy Trainer.
Between life and death, a Trainer would never be given time or energy to issue commands...
The tactics and team battle systems were arranged long before the fight began, with several preset strategies depending on the situation.
Roy looked up and saw that the tall, thin man was no longer visible, having hidden somewhere.
"During a battle, a Trainer should hide or protect himself..."
Roy learned one more valuable lesson.
He was secretly startled, cold sweat breaking out across his body...
The tall, thin man hiding in the darkness was also filled with astonishment, the surprise in his heart several times greater than Roy's.
The man's decision to hide was purely a fighting habit developed over many years...
In fact, by his prediction, Roy should have died in this first wave of attacks.
This had nothing to do with talent but was a matter of experience.
How could someone sheltered in a greenhouse possibly keep up with the super-fast pace of "real combat"? How could anyone immediately adapt to the cruel reality of "kill the Trainer"?
Roy's reactions and experience were indeed as the man expected—inexperienced and full of flaws. But what he never anticipated was that Roy's three Pokémon would react so quickly, blocking attacks before they landed. Moreover, Roy's own aura power had reached a level capable of generating energy barriers...
"Even his Squirtle's reaction speed is so fast. It seems this isn't innate talent, but the result of some brilliant training method..."
The man made no secret of his jealousy and malice.
"What I enjoy destroying most are geniuses like you who are loved by everyone..."
Seeing Banette, Arbok, and Muk continuing to attack Roy with perfect coordination, and Roy's three Pokémon blocking every attempt, the man sneered and took out another Poké Ball.
This Pokémon hadn't yet reached the level of his main team—it was merely a novice Pokémon—but it would be more than enough to deal with a human.
"Go, Beedrill!"
Beedrill flapped its wings, used Quick Attack, and charged toward Roy.
Fully focused, Roy immediately noticed the new aura signature that had suddenly joined the battle.
Without directing any of his Pokémon to intercept, Roy said coldly: "Weavile, Ice Punch!"
Weavile, who had been silently observing from the forest, heard the order and rushed out immediately. It blocked Beedrill's path and repelled its Poison Jab with an Ice Punch.
"Why do wild Pokémon listen to him?" The man was stunned.
He had naturally noticed wild Pokémon in the forest, but wild Pokémon typically just observe fights between humans and never intervene.
"Wait..."
"So that's how he found me," the man realized. "Through intelligence from wild Pokémon? I only hid from humans and didn't consider the movements of wild Pokémon." It explained why the nearby Pokémon populations had been so active lately.
All these unexpected developments made the situation completely spiral out of the man's control. A freshman who had never experienced real combat before was proving remarkably difficult to deal with, giving him an ominous feeling.
Meanwhile, Lucario, Vulpix, and Squirtle had adapted to their opponents' attack rhythm and maintained their defensive formation, giving Roy time to calmly analyze the situation.
"The distress call has been sent, and the examiners will arrive soon."
"The opponent's Pokémon aren't high-level—they're on par with mine."
"If this were a regulated Pokémon battle, I'd be confident of victory, but in this no-rules combat, I'm struggling..."
"I just need to delay and wait for the examiner to arrive..."
"No, that's wrong." Roy immediately rejected his wishful thinking. "I can't let others determine my fate. If the enemy has called for reinforcements who arrive before the examiners, I'll be cornered. I must resolve this quickly."
"I need to end this with my own hands!"
For the first time in his life, genuine killing intent emerged within Roy. He gathered all his aura power and channeled it toward Lucario.
The aura fusion power manifested again!
Explosive energy surged from Lucario's body as it bathed in the power, its combat potential soaring.
Lucario, with all attributes enhanced, faced Banette again. A "Power-Up Punch" broke through the opponent's Shadow Ball. With a quick dodge to close the distance, another Power-Up Punch knocked Banette into the air!
"Finish it!" Roy commanded coldly.
Lucario's palm gathered energy for an Aura Sphere, but instead of launching it, Lucario held the sphere and lunged toward Banette!
The Aura Sphere, combining the power of both Roy and Lucario, would certainly kill the defensively weak Banette if it connected.
But at that moment, a red laser beam struck Banette first.
Banette transformed into red energy and vanished.
The Aura Sphere passed through empty air.
"What—?!" Roy was startled.
The red light that recalled Banette was familiar to him—no, to every Trainer—because it was the recall beam from a Poké Ball.
Using a Poké Ball's recall function to avoid damage?
Was this even allowed?
This evasion method seemed even more unbelievable than Ash's infamous dodging techniques.
However, the Team Illuminati member's move to recall Banette had completely exposed his position.
Lucario's fists glowed with electricity as he struck them together, skillfully activating the "Electric" battle condition.
Immediately, it rushed toward the tall, thin man.
The Poké Ball in the man's hand opened automatically, and Banette emerged once more to face its enemy.
But Banette couldn't match Lucario before, let alone the fully buffed Lucario it faced now.
Banette activated "Protect" in front of its Trainer, intending to block Lucario's third "Power-Up Punch."
However, the protective barrier immediately cracked.
Lucario broke through the defense with devastating force, knocking Banette into its Trainer's arms.
"Force Palm!" Roy commanded flatly.
Aura power exploded from Lucario's elbow like rocket exhaust, and an incredibly powerful palm strike hit Banette, who had sacrificed itself to protect its master. The impact sent both Pokémon and Trainer flying backward, breaking through three tree trunks before finally stopping.
Banette fell into a near-death state. Before losing consciousness completely, it cast a mournful look at its Trainer.
The Team Illuminati member's spine was completely broken. He spat out a pool of blood, his life in critical condition.
Seeing their Trainer in such a miserable state, Arbok and Muk reacted completely differently from Banette. The two Pokémon glanced at each other briefly, then turned and fled without hesitation.
The battle was over.