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Aside from the sickly old man, the whip-wielding woman of the Black Cloud Poaching Group and the burly brute of the Crag Poaching Group also coordinated swiftly with him, joining in the assault on Sato. The woman released a level 62 Manectric, while the brute sent out a level 61 Hitmonlee.
"Sato commanded immediately through telepathy—
'Nidoking, use Earth Power to force Gengar out and block Manectric's Electric attacks.'
'Crobat, use Aerial Ace to drive off Hitmonlee.'
'Roserade, lay Toxic Spikes around us.'
'Kecleon, stay alert for Mismagius and any hidden attacks.'
Seeing the leaders of all three poaching groups send their Pokémon at him simultaneously, Sato only sneered coldly and issued rapid-fire commands via psychic link.
The next second, Nidoking slammed both fists into the ground as a fan-shaped burst of earthen energy surged forward.
While doing so, he positioned his massive body in front of Sato to shield him from Manectric's Thunderbolt and Mismagius's Mystical Fire.
Under the pressure of Nidoking's Earth Power, Gengar immediately canceled its shadow-state and lifted into the air. But the golden earthen pillars were far too dense to dodge.
Unable to escape, it was forced to use Protect to avoid being instantly defeated, and then continued trying to close in on Sato.
Manectric, seeing its Thunderbolt blocked by Nidoking, sprinted at full speed, attempting to approach from Nidoking's right flank.
But under the suppression of Earth Power, neither Gengar nor Manectric could get within ten meters of Sato.
Meanwhile, Crobat intercepted Hitmonlee in midair.
This pseudo Elite-Four level Hitmonlee had clearly undergone advanced training. With its Limber ability fully developed, its arms and legs could stretch several meters, functioning like spring-loaded limbs to amplify its strikes.
Before Crobat could even close in, Hitmonlee snapped out his elongated right arm and fired a Thunder Punch, forcing Crobat back.
Then, crouching low to compress his spring-like legs as much as possible, Hitmonlee launched himself straight toward Sato.
Approaching rapidly midair, he extended both arms and legs toward Sato's head, unleashing a viciously fast and sharp-angle Blaze Kick.
But just as the fiery kick neared its target, the earlier repelled Crobat returned.
This time, Crobat did NOT choose Aerial Ace—instead, he used Gust.
A massive white whirlwind erupted, swallowing Hitmonlee whole. His extended right leg twisted off-course, and the Blaze Kick struck the ground several meters to Sato's left.
Once trapped inside Crobat's whirlwind, Hitmonlee's battle was essentially over. Suspended midair with no foothold, he could not escape without outside help.
On another front, Roserade took advantage of Nidoking and Crobat engaging the enemy to scatter large quantities of Toxic Spikes within a five-meter radius around Sato, preparing for any hidden attacks.
Sure enough—besides the three group leaders, other poachers also released Pokémon to target Sato.
A Sandslash burst out from the ground to Sato's left, claws wide, lunging at him.
Thankfully Sato's awareness was sharp—he immediately rolled aside, avoiding the Crush Claw that would have torn into him.
But Sandslash was not the only underground threat.
Once it had forced Sato out of Nidoking's protection range, a Dugtrio and a Hippowdon, lurking below, combined their power to unleash Sand Tomb.
The ground within several meters of Sato instantly turned into a swirling vortex of sand, dragging both him and Roserade downward.
"Hmph. Courting death, are we? Roserade—use Ingrain to stabilize the sand. If your roots catch them, immediately use Giga Drain."
Unfazed, Sato first had Kecleon fire Water Pulse at the re-emerging Sandslash to push it back, then issued commands to Roserade via telepathy to counter the crisis.
Roserade acted instantly. Using Ingrain, massive roots burst through the shifting sand, locking the swirl in place and binding Dugtrio and Hippowdon beneath the surface.
Then she used those roots as conduits to unleash Giga Drain.
Both the level-50-something Dugtrio and Hippowdon were instantly drained of strength, collapsing into unconsciousness.
At that moment, the opportunistic Mismagius finally made its move.
The sickly elder knew perfectly well that the key to victory was NOT killing Sato.
Sato's vigilance was simply too high; killing him was extremely difficult.
So the elder targeted Roserade instead—the one who had just restored Cradily and Druddigon earlier using Grassy Terrain.
With a flicker of intent, Mismagius fired pale-blue flames—Mystical Fire—straight at Roserade's exposed back.
Because Roserade was using Ingrain, she could not move in time; she could only watch helplessly as the flames descended.
But just before the Mystical Fire struck, four glowing blue tentacles snapped into position behind her—blocking the attack.
At the same moment, a long black tongue lashed out, striking the startled Mismagius.
Sato's psychic detection could track everything happening aboveground. Mismagius's long silence had told him its intentions clearly.
Thus, the moment Mismagius attacked, Sato reacted. He released Tentacruel to shield Roserade and ordered Kecleon to counterattack.
Even though Mismagius was level 65, Kecleon's Lick only startled it—it was nowhere near enough to incapacitate it.
Realizing its ambush had failed and its position exposed, Mismagius immediately attempted to flee and turn invisible again.
But since Sato had chosen to target Mismagius, he would not let it escape.
Just as it flew a short distance, a ghostly crimson eye materialized on its body—locking it in place.
Crobat, having defeated Hitmonlee, arrived just in time. Acting under Sato's telepathic command, he used Mean Look, completely cutting off Mismagius's escape.