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"Please be very careful, Mr. Tyler. If I'm not mistaken, those two are both B-rank Pokémon hunters wanted by the League."
"The bucktoothed one is called Pipon—codename Mad Rat. The fat one's name is Fizz—codename Old Boar. They're both extremely cunning Pokémon hunters who've been on the run for over a year since their League wanted posters came out."
"Also, Mad Rat and Old Boar are merely subordinates of someone else. Their boss is an A-rank Pokémon hunter wanted by the League, a man named Hook, codename Fierce Tiger. It's said that even when he was first listed as wanted, he already possessed the power of a top-tier pseudo Elite-Four trainer."
When Roxanne heard Sato's words, she quickly nodded, pulling back the unwilling Flannery while whispering to him the background details of the two men—the bucktoothed one and the fat one.
Roxanne was an avid reader with an excellent memory. She read every issue of the League Weekly News.
So, while she hadn't recognized the two hunters right away, after some time she finally recalled seeing their photos and profiles in an old issue's "Wanted" section.
"Pokémon hunters, huh? So that means there's an even bigger boss behind them… then I can't afford to drag this out."
Sato's expression turned grim. He nodded slightly to Roxanne, deep in thought.
"Kid, trying to play the hero, are you? Don't overestimate yourself."
"Swalot, use Body Slam! Stop those two girls!"
"Come out, Arbok—move in and use Glare!"
The bucktoothed man sneered coldly as soon as he realized Sato's intentions. Without hesitation, he commanded his Swalot and a newly-released level 47 Arbok to attack.
"Yeah, that's right! Don't let them run—leave the tasty treats here for us!"
"Breloom, use Bullet Seed!"
"Shiftry, use Hurricane to block those two brats!"
The fat man clearly didn't plan on letting Flannery and Roxanne escape either, immediately ordering his two Pokémon to attack.
As their voices fell, their Pokémon sprang into action.
Swalot's jelly-like body compressed, rippling like a coiled spring before it suddenly rebounded with explosive force, leaping a great distance into the air.
But just as it was about to soar over Sato's head, the Cloyster before him unleashed a massive jet of high-pressure water—its Hydro Pump struck with tremendous force, knocking Swalot straight out of the air.
Boosted by the rainy weather, the Water-type move hit for devastating damage. Swalot was sent crashing down, grievously injured, and a follow-up of five piercing Icicle Spears immediately finished it off, rendering it unconscious.
While Cloyster's attention was fixed on Swalot, Arbok slithered rapidly along the ground, its blood-red eyes flashing with a sinister glow.
Tentacruel tried to intercept it with its tentacles, but unfortunately made eye contact with Arbok's glaring eyes. Its body stiffened in paralysis for an instant—long enough for Arbok to slip past its defense.
But Tentacruel and Cloyster weren't the last line of defense.
Pikachu's eyes went cold. In an instant, a torrent of electricity as thick as a bucket shot from his body, striking Arbok squarely.
Pikachu was holding the Mutated Thunder Orb, and under its powerful enhancement—even though he was nine levels lower—his Thunderbolt hit with overwhelming force, instantly knocking Arbok out cold.
The serpent didn't even have time to scream before it fell to the ground, its entire body blackened from the strike.
Meanwhile, the Breloom—having partially recovered from its earlier wounds thanks to its Poison Heal—moved to the side, opened its mouth wide, and prepared to unleash Bullet Seed at the fleeing girls.
But before it could fire, the Kecleon hiding invisibly on a tree behind it flashed icy blue, its body changing color as a beam of freezing light shot forth.
A sudden Ice Beam pierced through the trunk, striking Breloom from behind and freezing half its body. The ambush left it completely incapacitated.
Shiftry was the last to break through Sato's defensive line of Cloyster, Tentacruel, Pikachu, and Kecleon. Using the trees to boost its movement, it darted forward and quickly caught up to Flannery and Roxanne.
Just as it prepared to flap its fan-like hands and unleash Hurricane, two rapidly spinning Water Pulses shot from opposite directions, their slicing trails cutting through several trees as they flew.
Seeing their sheer destructive power, Shiftry froze—there was no way it could take those head-on. It immediately dodged.
Yet the twin Water Pulses seemed almost alive, tracking its movements and rapidly closing in.
Desperate, Shiftry whipped up a small tornado with Hurricane to counter, but the spinning water spheres ripped straight through it and slammed hard into its body.
With a loud boom, Shiftry was sent flying, crashing into the rain-soaked ground.
At that moment, a ball water glowing with blue light shot from a nearby puddle—another attack fired at blinding speed.
Though the attack wasn't heavy on its own, the stream splashed across Shiftry's body, activating the effect of Soak. Its Grass-type body turned water-blue.
A heartbeat later, a Starmie perched atop a nearby branch fired a bolt of electricity—a thick, arm-sized Thunderbolt that struck Shiftry dead-on.
Normally, that might have been a mere nuisance, but now—transformed into a Water-type—Shiftry let out a scream of unbearable pain as the current surged through it.
Before the sparks faded, a Lanturn leapt out from the puddle that had launched the Soak, releasing another thick Thunderbolt.
Though Shiftry had decent offensive stats, its defenses were paper-thin—barely sixty on both sides. Taking two consecutive Thunderbolts after becoming Water-type left it no chance to recover. It collapsed, unconscious.
In just a few minutes, all four Pokémon belonging to the bucktoothed and fat hunters were defeated one after another by Sato's team working in perfect coordination.
"This road's blocked. Do either of you still want to fight?"
Sato smiled faintly as he faced the two hunters, both now pale with despair.
As he spoke, Kecleon, Squirtle, Starmie, and Lanturn gathered back at his side, their eyes—along with Pikachu's—glinting with cold, dangerous intent as they stared down the trembling Pokémon hunters.