"Ooo~"
The wind howled like a ghost's wail, carrying sand into the gym and lashing against Eldon's face.
Without needing a word, Dyson quickly pulled out a large gray cloak and draped it over the gym leader.
Eldon scanned the area outside. A group of yellow-cloaked figures darted past the entrance.
"They're—" Dyson began, but before he could finish, the gym leader had already thrown a Poké Ball.
In a flash of light, a towering, four-armed Pokémon with pale blue skin appeared: Machamp.
"Machamp! Kill these filthy dogs!" Eldon's voice rang clear in Dyson's ears.
Out on the street, Machamp, possessing Gym-level strength, made quick work of the feeble humans. It didn't even need to use any moves. With brute strength alone, it grabbed each of the yellow-cloaked figures in its path and crushed their throats like twigs.
In just a few seconds, lifeless bodies lay sprawled in front of the gym entrance.
Dyson swallowed hard, his heart pounding. Then, Eldon's chilling voice whispered beside him.
"Dyson, clean up the bodies. There's a bigger one over there—I'll take care of it myself."
With that, Eldon, draped in his gray cloak, leaped forward alongside Machamp, heading straight for the massive Rhyperior in the distance.
...
Behind the rock-armored beast, Allister—still mounted on his Dusclops—narrowed his eyes.
"Someone's coming," he muttered.
"Someone?" Shiro frowned. "Can you be more specific?"
"A Gym-level trainer," Allister said, his voice suddenly tense. "And he has a Gym-level Machamp."
'A Gym-level Pokémon?' Shiro was taken aback. He couldn't immediately guess who it might be.
If it were someone from Macro Cosmos they wouldn't be alone. There would be a large group of uniformed personnel, making them easy to recognize.
If it were hunters looking to exploit the chaos… that didn't add up either. A trainer at that level wouldn't bother with something so low-profit and inefficient.
'A Fighting-type Machamp... Could it be the Stow-on-Side Gym Leader?' Shiro considered. 'Maybe he sent his Pokémon ahead as a warning?'
Before he could make sense of it, Allister called out, "They're almost here! Less than twenty meters! He's going to attack!"
Shiro didn't wait another second. It didn't matter who it was. If they were approaching with hostile intent, they were the enemy.
"Fall back! Cover the other sides!" Shiro commanded his teammates. Then, he ordered his Pokémon, "Rhyperior, use Rock Tomb!"
Marvin and the others quickly retreated, while Shiro also moved back to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Machamp, being a Fighting-type, had a natural advantage over Rhyperior's Rock typing. And Rock-type moves would only deal half damage to it.
However, Shiro wasn't aiming for damage. Rock Tomb had another effect: it slowed the target down. With the ongoing sandstorm already hindering movement, this would further slow the enemy down.
Shiro's biggest concern was the opponent using superior mobility to outmaneuver his Pokémon. After all, Rhyperior wasn't exactly quick-witted. It couldn't respond smoothly or adjust its attacks on the fly like other Pokémon.
"Rhhhaaay!"
With a bellow, Rhyperior slammed the ground. The earth rumbled as massive rocks rose and crashed down around the incoming Machamp.
The four-armed fighter dodged every one of them with swift, practiced steps, untouched by the falling stone. But even so, it was now trapped inside the rocky terrain. The infused ground energy began to weigh it down, draining its speed.
Standing at the edge of the stone field, Eldon gave a sharp command.
"Machamp! Use Brick Break! Smash through all of the rocks!"
"Machaaamp!" the Pokémon roared as its muscles bulged. Years of training had hardened its body like stone. It gathered power in an instant, its right hand glowing with a deep reddish-brown light.
With one solid strike, it shattered the first boulder in its path, then charged forward.
Shiro couldn't see clearly through the sandstorm, but he could tell from the sounds what was happening. His opponent was trying to break through by brute force.
He quickly ordered, "Rhyperior! Use Bulldoze!"
Following the command, Rhyperior lifted its heavy foot and slammed it down. Its massive body followed, shaking the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The crashing impact quickly spread discomfort to Machamp. Combined with the slowing effect of the attack, Machamp's speed dropped further.
But Eldon didn't care about any of that. All he wanted was to take down this oversized beast as fast as possible. He shouted again,
"Machamp! Close Combat! Knock it out in one hit!"
Even as Rhyperior was still stomping, Machamp suddenly surged forward. It shook off the tremors in a few quick steps and closed the gap.
Close Combat was a powerful Fighting-type move. It sacrificed defense for an all-out offensive, aiming to overpower the target in one strike.
Its power was especially deadly against Rhyperior, who was weak to Fighting-type moves. The damage would be immense. But Shiro never planned to let his Pokémon face Machamp head-on, not with such a disadvantage in type and speed.
This was a wild battle. There were no rules out here.
"Drakloak."
With his low call, Drakloak burst from his shadow like a ghostly serpent. It moved with eerie grace, cutting through the sandstorm.
Thanks to the cover of sand and its natural stealth, Machamp hadn't noticed it at all. Its focus was still locked on the massive beast in front of it, waiting to deliver the final blow.
"Draaak!"
It wasn't until the roar rang in its ears that Machamp turned its head. Just two meters away, it saw Drakloak rushing in from the side.
Before it could react, Drakloak—its body wrapped in pulsing Dragon energy—slammed into it.
The Dragon Rush landed clean. Machamp was launched off its feet, hurled into the air, and slammed into the rubble.
From behind, Eldon couldn't see anything through the sand and rocks. He frowned, wondering why Machamp hadn't taken Rhyperior down yet. There was no sound of a giant beast falling.
His doubt only grew when Machamp crawled out from the rubble in front of him. It was struggling, badly hurt, dragging itself with all four arms.
Eldon's face fell as he saw the bloodied state of his Pokémon. He turned to run, but something stopped him in his tracks.
Staring him down, eyes narrowed in silence, was Drakloak.
"Elite-level—"
The gym leader didn't finish the sentence. A thin, threadlike shadow wrapped around his mouth and froze his limbs in place.
As the rumbling from Rhyperior's steps grew louder, Eldon shut his eyes in despair.
He couldn't understand it. How could a group of ragtag wild trainers command an Elite-level Drakloak?
With that kind of power, why wouldn't they just join Macro Cosmos and live comfortably? Why waste it all out here in the wild...
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