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The tension was palpable everyone knew a battle was unavoidable.
In one synchronized motion, Poké Balls were drawn. In a cascade of blue light, Pokémon after Pokémon materialized around their Trainers, the clearing bursting into life.
Team Rocket's trio Jessie, James, and Meowth were first to act. They sent out every Pokémon they had, even Wobbuffet and Meowth joining the lineup. Still, their numbers were limited to barely six in total.
On the opposing side, Erika, Misty, and Brock weren't exactly ready for a full-scale confrontation either. Their travels weren't meant for competitive training.
Erika had captured a few new Grass-types recently, but most were still too young for combat.
And with Celebi still unconscious in Erika's arms, she couldn't risk joining the fight herself.
That left the pressure squarely on Misty and Brock.
Even so, against Team Rocket's trio, both former Gym Leaders had the advantage. In terms of power and skill, it wasn't even close unless, of course, the Rockets pulled one of their infamous gadgets out of nowhere.
But the real danger wasn't them.
It was the Iron-Masked Marauder.
It wasn't that his Pokémon were exceptionally strong it was the Dark Balls he wielded, capable of forcibly capturing other Trainers' Pokémon and amplifying them with sinister energy, twisting them into merciless shadows of their former selves.
Ash remembered that weapon all too well. Back at the Dragon's Den, the Marauder had used one to seize control of Lance's Dragonite, nearly destroying everything.
"Be careful," Kai warned Ash sharply. "That man uses something called a Dark Ball. If your Pokémon are hit by it, they'll be turned against you!"
Ash grimaced. "Great… so now I've got to battle and stop my Pokémon from being stolen?!"
Across the field, the Iron-Masked Marauder gave a low, confident chuckle.
Ever since his last defeat, he'd been hunted by the Dragon Masters. He'd long since learned to carry an arsenal of Dark Balls at all times his ticket to escape, survival, and power.
"Let me show you the latest addition to my collection!" he roared. Snatching a Dark Ball from his belt, he hurled it high into the air. "Go—Dark Tyranitar!"
The Dark Ball burst open in a surge of black light.
"ARRRRRRR!!"
From within, a massive Tyranitar emerged, its body radiating malevolent energy, its eyes burning with red fury. The very ground seemed to tremble beneath it.
The corrupted Tyranitar threw back its head and roared a sound that rattled through the forest like thunder. Without warning, it charged up a Hyper Beam, the energy building faster than anyone could react.
"Look out!!" Kai shouted.
The golden beam tore through the air like a cannon blast, forcing everyone to dive aside. The heat was searing. When the explosion cleared, a massive ancient tree had been split clean in half.
The attack didn't stop there it sliced through the terrain, obliterating part of a distant cliff before finally fading.
Ash and the others gaped. "That power… It's insane!"
Even Team Rocket froze in shock. They'd been closest to the blast; the shockwave nearly knocked them off their feet. But when the fear subsided, excitement took over.
"With power like that," Jessie gasped, "we'll definitely crush those twerps!"
"And nab Pikachu while we're at it!" James added eagerly.
They ordered their Pokémon forward, launching their attack against Kai's group. Misty and Brock quickly intercepted, calling out their own Pokémon to meet the charge.
The battle ignited in an instant.
Ash gritted his teeth. "Muk! Bayleef! Go!" he shouted, hurling two Poké Balls.
Beside him, Samuel Oak, still young and not yet a professor, unclipped an old canteen-shaped Poké Ball and twisted it open. "Let's go—Charmeleon!"
His Charmeleon wasn't the strongest, but it had spirit. It snarled at Tyranitar, refusing to back down.
It was almost hard to believe that the calm, scholarly Professor Oak of the future once had such a fierce and hot-headed partner.
Meanwhile, the Marauder wasn't done. He threw two more Dark Balls into the fray. With twin flashes of dark energy, a Dark Sneasel and Dark Scizor emerged beside Tyranitar, their eyes gleaming with crimson hatred.
The battlefield descended into chaos. Despite all their experience, Ash and his friends were clearly at a disadvantage their Pokémon were powerful, but the Dark Pokémon fought with unnatural aggression.
And Tyranitar… its Hyper Beam fired again and again, unrestrained by the usual cooldown. It was like a living weapon.
Kai narrowed his eyes. This couldn't continue. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a Poké Ball.
If they could take Tyranitar down, the tide would turn but one mistake could mean losing a Pokémon to the Dark Ball.
There was only one Pokémon he could trust completely for a fight like this.
"Gardevoir," Kai called, "it's your turn."
Gardevoir appeared gracefully, its form glowing softly amid the darkness. With its Teleport ability, it could stay one step ahead of the Marauder's capture attempts.
"Gardevoir, distract it!"
A wave of psychic energy surged forward but Tyranitar didn't budge. The Marauder smirked from his cockpit. "Useless."
"Use Psychic!" Kai commanded again.
This time, the impact was visible Tyranitar staggered back several paces, snarling. Its eyes glowed, and in a burst of fury, it unleashed another devastating Hyper Beam directly at Gardevoir.
But Gardevoir vanished in an instant, reappearing unharmed several meters away. The beam instead ripped through the forest, pulverizing trees and stone alike, leaving a deep trench in the earth.
Kai clenched his jaw. "At this rate, he'll burn down the entire forest…"
"Gengar!" he called. "Use Hypnosis!"
From his shadow, Gengar emerged, eyes flashing as ripples of hypnotic energy radiated outward. But Tyranitar didn't falter the Dark Ball's influence shielded its mind completely.
"Tch… figures," Kai muttered.
Inside his armored mech, the Iron-Masked Marauder's laughter echoed.
The Dark Ball's power varied depending on the Pokémon's natural strength but Tyranitar's compatibility had exceeded his expectations.
"This one… this one's perfection," he whispered, eyes glinting behind his visor. "If I can control more like it… I'll be unstoppable."
But his moment of triumph didn't last.
Across the battlefield, Team Rocket's trio had already been defeated by Misty and Brock. Seeing their inevitable loss, they did what they did best ran for it.
Their retreat instantly shifted the balance. Misty and Brock turned their Pokémon toward the main fight, helping Ash and Samuel Oak take down the Dark Sneasel and Dark Scizor.
With those two fallen, everyone focused their attacks on Tyranitar. Even its monstrous power began to buckle under the combined assault.
The Marauder growled and reached toward the spare Dark Balls on his belt ready to escalate.
But Samuel Oak had been watching him closely. "He's about to use another Dark Ball!" he shouted. "Everyone, watch out!"
The warning made them all freeze and turn toward the armored Rocket commander.
Kai quickly assessed the situation. "This fight's going nowhere," he said tightly. "Celebi's our priority—we need to fall back."
Ash hesitated, but he knew Kai was right. "Alright, everyone—retreat!"
Together, they bolted for the trees.
With Team Rocket gone and Tyranitar's bulk too slow to pursue, their escape was swift. In moments, the forest swallowed them.
The Iron-Masked Marauder watched their silhouettes vanish into the trees—but made no move to follow.
From a nearby bush, the Rocket trio cautiously peeked out.
"Sir Marauder," James said with a nervous grin, "you really showed them! Sent those brats running for good!"
The Marauder didn't even look at him. He'd heard about these three buffoons before, pathetic, clumsy, utterly unreliable, and now he saw every word was true.
He scoffed under his breath. "Worthless."
Jessie forced a shaky laugh. "Uh… aren't you going after them? If you wait any longer, they'll get away…"
The Iron-Masked Marauder smirked beneath his helmet.
"You don't understand," he said coldly. "Catching prey, especially one as rare as Celebi, isn't about speed. The hunt is what makes it satisfying."
He turned his gaze toward the forest, eyes gleaming with dark anticipation.
"The chase," he murmured, "is the real thrill."
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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