Huxley looked at the Quasi-Master Level Iron Valiant, then turned to Priest-4 standing beside him. "The information you gave me was wrong," he said slowly. "What should we do now?"
"He only has one Quasi-Master Level Pokémon, his Iron Valiant. Don't hold anything back. Use every ability you have," Priest-4 answered coldly. There was no turning back now. They had already gone too far to retreat.
As he spoke, Priest-4 pulled several Poké Balls from his belt and threw them out one after another.
"Go, Throh!" "Go, Scyther!" "Go, Skarmory!"
On the other side, Huxley took out only one Poké Ball and threw it forward. "Go, Salamence."
Reserve Priest-4's backup Pokémon stayed where it was; he did not send it out.
This meant Priest-4's side now had seven Champion-level Pokémon in the field, and with Latios counted, eight in total. Jacob's side had only one Quasi-Master Level Iron Valiant.
Because Jacob was hiding his true identity, he could not use his Gigantamax Pokémon, his Darkrai, or his Zekrom. He could only fight with Iron Valiant and the rest of his team.
So all of Jacob's hope rested on Iron Valiant. He looked at his partner, unable to hide his worry.
Iron Valiant had only just reached the Quasi-Master Level, and Jacob did not know exactly how strong it had become. It might be able to fight one or two Champion-level Pokémon, but facing eight at once would be extremely difficult.
Among them were a Champion-level Deoxys, a Champion-level Latios, and a Champion-level Galarian Moltres.
"Iron Valiant, use Dazzling Gleam!"
Jacob's voice rang out across the field. Facing so many opponents at once, he had chosen Dazzling Gleam, a move that could strike every enemy at the same time.
A brilliant light burst from Iron Valiant's body as Fairy-type energy poured out, shining in many colors and lighting up the whole field.
The wave of Fairy energy spread outward like a shockwave, sweeping over every Pokémon standing there.
"Deoxys, use Recover!" Priest-4 shouted. Deoxys's injuries closed almost instantly, and within a few seconds it looked nearly as healthy as before.
"Throh, use Wide Guard!" Priest-4 gave the order without hesitation, showing just how sharp his thinking was. Wide Guard could protect an entire team from a move that hit multiple targets at once.
Even so, Throh alone was not strong enough to stop Dazzling Gleam completely. It could only weaken the attack, but that was all Priest-4 needed.
His plan was simple: let every Pokémon survive Iron Valiant's first strike, then answer with a full counterattack. If all of them attacked together, they could badly wound Iron Valiant in a single turn.
"Scyther, use Dual Wingbeat!" "Espeon, use Psychic!" "Moltres, use Incinerate!" "Skarmory, use Tackle!"
Of these four Pokémon, Espeon and Galarian Moltres attacked from a distance with special moves, while Scyther and Skarmory rushed in to strike directly.
Scyther's Dual Wingbeat was more dangerous than it looked, since it hit twice in a row. Neither hit was very strong on its own, but both could trigger Scyther's Technician ability, and with the added power of the Flying-type same-type bonus, the move became quite fearsome.
Skarmory's Tackle was just as dangerous in its own way. The move grows stronger the higher the user's Defense stat is, and Skarmory's Defense was among the best of any Pokémon, making its Tackle far more powerful than it seemed.
Scyther and Skarmory came at Iron Valiant from both sides, wings beating hard as they closed the distance.
Fighting-type energy glowed around Skarmory as it spread its silver wings, gleaming under the moonlight, and flew straight at Iron Valiant. At the same moment, Scyther's twin scythes lit up with Flying-type energy as it slashed toward its target.
Facing all four attackers, Iron Valiant stayed perfectly calm. It shifted its right arm slightly, and its long blade split into two shorter ones.
Holding a short blade in each hand, Iron Valiant moved with astonishing speed and power. It stepped forward first to meet Skarmory, blocking its Tackle with the twin blades.
At that exact moment, Scyther's scythes came slashing in as well. Instead of blocking both attacks, Iron Valiant made a surprising choice — it let Skarmory's Tackle land on its own body so it could close the gap and strike Scyther first with both blades.
Its plan was clear: focus all its strength on knocking out one opponent before the others could react.
Its blades flashed with a faint purple light. Even though Iron Valiant had just reached the Quasi-Master Level, it was still far stronger than the Champion-level Scyther.
In speed, strength, and raw energy, Iron Valiant completely outmatched its opponent. All that could be heard was the sharp sound of blades cutting through flesh.
In a single instant, Scyther was left covered in deep wounds, badly hurt from just one exchange.
One strike. That was all it took to bring Scyther down to the edge of defeat.
Watching this, Jacob finally understood how Meyer's Swampert had once overwhelmed him so completely in the past.
At the same time, Galarian Moltres's Incinerate and Espeon's Psychic struck Iron Valiant, leaving it with some damage of its own.
"Iron Valiant, use Drain Punch!" Jacob called out. If Iron Valiant wanted to win this fight, Drain Punch was its best option.
Drain Punch not only damaged the opponent but also restored some of Iron Valiant's own HP, helping it hold on longer in a battle against so many enemies.
Hearing the command, Iron Valiant did not hesitate. Fighting-type energy surged through its arms and into its blades as it turned and rushed toward Skarmory.
Seeing this, Priest-4 grew more anxious and quickly shouted new orders. "Skarmory, use Protect!"
"Deoxys, use Zen Headbutt! Go help Skarmory, now!" After giving the order, he turned to Huxley. "Where is your Salamence? Have it attack as well!"
Since the battle began, Huxley had only sent out Salamence without giving it a single command to attack.
"I only have two Flying-type Pokémon, Salamence and Moltres. I need to keep at least one ready in case we have to escape," Huxley replied calmly.
Priest-4 took a slow breath, holding back his anger, and stared at Huxley with a cold, hard look. "Have Salamence attack now, and I will double your reward."
Huxley met his gaze, breathed out slowly, and finally nodded. "Fine. You're the boss."