Throughout the entire fight between Raticate and Venomoth, Alex struggled to keep his emotions in check. The intensified link between him and Raticate brought on by Mega Evolution was starting to interfere with the battle. Raticate needed to stay focused on pinning Venomoth down and keep up the pressure without giving it any chance to escape.
Ever since Forretress was taken out, sending Frosmoth into a flying rage, Zoroark was sent to help out Arcanine and Raticate to take out Golisopod. Unfortunately, because of the typing and its high defenses, Golisopod was proving to be a powerful opponent. This meant that even with Zoroark's help, it would still take a while to take down.
So, Gardevoir, sensing Alex was in dire straits and Frosmoth in a blind rage, decided to send Raticate to help them out, replacing him with Zoroark instead. Alex received a powerful telepathic message from Gardevoir, urging him to use his Key Stone to trigger Raticate's Mega Evolution. The psychic impulse was strong enough to snap him out of his rage-fueled killing spree and convince him to activate it.
He was just in time, as Frosmoth had nearly become the next Pokémon to die. Acting quickly, he managed to retrieve her before resuming his bombardment against what was left of the swarm.
Once evolved, Raticate charged straight at Venomoth, saving Alex in the process. The connection between them, however, started to negatively affect Raticate. He was suddenly bombarded with a rage so powerful that even his own innate fury paled in comparison.
The anger was cold, brutal, visceral, and overwhelmingly vengeful. He could barely hold onto his sanity in that state. Fortunately, with Gardevoir's guidance, Alex managed to rein in his rage. This, in turn, allowed Raticate to regain enough composure to focus and use his natural talent for spotting openings, eventually managing to seize Venomoth.
Alex immediately took command, directing Raticate with the precision of someone experienced in close-quarters combat, guiding his movements, his grip, and his control over the opponent. Now that Venomoth was finally grounded, paralyzed, and helpless, Alex turned his attention away from the swarm, which numbered fewer than 10 and was already being contained by the water team's Surf bombardment.
Instead, he charged for Venomoth himself, Stormline at the ready. Once he was close enough to guarantee his shots, he opened fire sending a stream of attacks in its general direction. Raticate, having known the plan the entire time, used Quick Attack targeting Brenner while leaving Venomoth for Alex as instructed.
Meanwhile, the fight with the other five Champions continued. Heracross and Scizor teamed up and finally reached the main team, harassing them with evasive maneuvers and combination attacks that began with Feint before the other followed up with a genuine strike. It was ultimately a useless endeavor, as Gardevoir, who was finally back on her feet, countered them with Heal Pulse, negating their damage. She also had the Pokémon attack with guaranteed hits, slowly whittling them down. It would have been more successful for the Champions had they possessed Venomoth's Psychic Noise to solidify their advantage.
Orbeetle, being a primarily tanky Pokémon, was holding off Kommo-o, Togekiss, and Hydreigon all by itself. Even against Hydreigon, its Light Screen and high Special Defense were enough to endure the assault. Of all the ongoing battles, this one was shaping up to be the most drawn out.
Ariados, who was fighting Dusknoir, Ceruledge, and Espeon, was on a losing streak. Its basic strategy was to delay rather than defeat, using its webs to slow them down. Unfortunately for it, Espeon maintained a tactical advantage, using Expanding Force to clear the webs and Psychic to inflict damage. Dusknoir and Ceruledge, meanwhile, kept it away from Espeon with alternating Protect and interceptions.
As for Golisopod, it would sometimes fake an attack, then use Leech Life on another Pokémon to drain their energy and keep itself alive. It was also quite tanky and, with its Water typing, made for a difficult opponent for Arcanine and Clawitzer, while Zoroark could only act as a shield at most.
Overall, with Venomoth occupied, the Champions were having a tough time. As for the swarm, there were barely any left alive after the water team was done with them. What remained were remnants drowning in the lake created by the continuous use of Surf.
Brenner took one look at the shifting tide of battle and knew it was over. The enemy's change in tactics, the effectiveness of their specialized weapon, and his own mismanagement of the swarm had turned the fight beyond recovery. Realizing the battle was lost, he chose to retreat just as Raticate bolted toward him.
Accepting the loss of his swarm, he retrieved his Champion ranked Pokémon and released them around him in formation. They immediately blocked Raticate's attack with Protect while standing guard warily.
"Get us out of here, Venomoth," he ordered.
"We're just going to leave like that, boss?" his lackeys complained.
"If any of you want to stay and try your luck, be my guest," he offered generously.
That shut them up rather quickly. They had lost all their Pokémon with nothing to show for it, but they also couldn't rely on anyone but Brenner to turn a profit. They certainly couldn't fight this trainer and his small army when even their boss was forced to admit defeat.
Venomoth, even heavily injured and without its wings, began channeling Teleport to flee. Just as the move was about to complete, a pair of Crobats swooped in, with one using Mean Look to cut off their escape while the other raised a Protect barrier to block any counterattack.
"Get that Crobat!" Brenner shouted, sending his Champions to the chase.
Unfortunately for them, the Crobats were only ever trained for three things. Chasing down escaping enemies, preventing their escape, and running away. Thus, they bolted using an Expert ranked Quick Attack, fleeing behind Alex, who was slowly approaching.
"Where do you think you're going?" Alex asked calmly as he walked forward, his Pokémon closing in around him like a pack of predators. "Did you think you could just randomly ambush me and live?"
"What do we do, boss?" a lackey asked.
"Open fire, you idiots!" Brenner replied while picking up Venomoth and running in the opposite direction of the battle.
The lackeys, seeing their boss run, chose to scatter. There was a slim chance they would be able to escape from the island.
Gardevoir didn't allow it, however, as she immediately sent Sable's Pokémon to give chase. As for the Champion ranked Pokémon that were hunting the Crobat pair, she quickly determined the optimal matchups to ensure they were taken down.
Heracross was intercepted by Altaria, Togekiss, and Alcremie, their typings guaranteeing the advantage. Altaria and Togekiss bombarded it with Air Slash, while Alcremie supported them with Dazzling Gleam. Heracross was forced to evade constantly, unable to counterattack without suffering heavily in return.
Scizor was cornered by Arcanine, Kommo-o, and Clawitzer. Arcanine unleashed Heat Wave, Kommo-o absorbed retaliation with Drain Punch, and Clawitzer fired from range with Aura Sphere. Even with evasive maneuvers, it was only a matter of time before Scizor was overwhelmed.
Orbeetle was finally matched with Pokémon capable of dealing significant damage. Ceruledge slashed with Bitter Blade, Zoroark fired Shadow Ball, and Aegislash struck with Night Slash. Every hit cut deep and wore it down fast.
Golisopod remained a tough opponent, which was why Gardevoir requested Rotom's support, using Thunderbolt as the primary means of attack. Meanwhile, Hydreigon and Dusknoir tanked its strikes while keeping it pinned down with Gravity to prevent escape.
Ariados, however, didn't last long. The moment Espeon and Gardevoir herself entered the fight, Psychic Terrain and Expanding Force crushed it outright. Whatever tricks it had up its sleeve didn't matter. It was simply overpowered by overwhelming force and range.
The rest of Alex's Pokémon kept the Crobat couple safe. So long as they had their eyes on Venomoth and its trainer, there was no chance for either of them to escape.
Alex and Raticate, meanwhile, slowly advanced toward their prey. Their minds were still connected, and they had only one goal, letting their ambushers suffer.
Once the pair reached their quarry, Alex took out special magazines that he had never used before. They were loaded with bullets containing moves like Scary Face, Metal Sound, Eerie Impulse, Sweet Scent, Screech, Charm, and Flash, among a myriad of others. These were moves designed with the express purpose of weakening their targets.
Alex had only ever used bullets meant for damage, healing, or incapacitation. He had never had a need for bullets like these before. Still, he kept a few magazines just in case, and today, he found a very good reason to use them. This trainer and Venomoth were still Champion ranked, after all. There was no way he and Raticate could win by themselves.
With the guns loaded, Alex opened fire and emptied both clips, all forty shots aimed at non-essential parts like arms and feet. With both targets thoroughly weakened, Alex looked down coldly on his Pokemon's killers without the slightest hint of emotion.
"Let's have a taste of revenge shall we?"
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