Awooo—!
Behind the Gloom were the Mightyena, who, under Sutter's command, had circled around to chase the fleeing knights.
"Mightyena, stop those other Mightyena packs!"
Hill ordered his own advanced level Mightyena forward.
It had reached the strength of an advanced-level Pokémon and was far faster than the others.
As it blocked the enemy pack, it roared and launched Dark Pulse—but the opposing Mightyena dodged skillfully.
A brutal, chaotic skirmish broke out instantly.
Hill's Mightyena focused on disrupting the enemy packs, preventing them from completing their pursuit.
Watching the battle unfold, Paul exhaled slowly.
So far, their magical beasts had successfully delayed the enemy forces.
…
BOOM BOOM BOOM—!
But before he could finish breathing, the ground beneath him trembled violently.
"Captain Paul, get out of there—now!"
Hill shouted.
Just as his voice echoed out, a Rhydon burst from underground with terrifying force!
It immediately used Bulldoze, unleashing a massive shockwave that blasted everything nearby into the air!
Zzzzzzzt—!!
Electricity crackled wildly as the surrounding Luxray launched Thunderbolts.
But the attacks had no effect—Rhydon shrugged them off, the electric currents bouncing harmlessly off its scales.
"RHYYYDONNN!!!"
It let out a mighty roar—letting all know, the real battle…
had just begun.
Rhydon let out a deafening roar as Rock-type energy surged around its body.
Moments later, sharp stone blades began to form around it. With a powerful swing of its arm, they shot forward in a deadly barrage.
Rhydon had no goodwill toward the knights who had dared to attack Fruitvale Village. When it attacked, it held absolutely nothing back.
If Paul and Hill were hit by those stone blades, the result would be fatal—death or serious injury was inevitable!
Zzzzt!
The surrounding Luxray continuously released streams of electricity to intercept the incoming stone blades.
Though Electric-type moves had little effect on the Ground-type Rhydon, they were still enough to disrupt the attacks' trajectory.
But Rhydon didn't care at all that its attack had been blocked.
Its gaze locked onto Paul and Hill in the distance—and it charged forward, using Tackle.
Seeing this, the Luxray turned pale. Though they wanted to dodge, they were forced to stay put and counter with Tackles of their own.
BOOM!
There was no contest. The Luxray were sent flying—the difference in raw strength was far too great.
"Damn it! That Rhydon is targeting us specifically!"
Paul's face twisted with rage as he slammed his fist into the ground.
"Captain Paul, dodge—now!"
Hill's urgent shout rang out.
Paul looked up to see a flurry of leaves sweeping toward him—a Razor Leaf attack.
At the last second, his Luxray burst forward, wrapped in electricity, and blocked the incoming leaves with a surge of energy.
Looking up, Paul realized that the Torterra had silently arrived in front of him—and attacked without hesitation.
Thankfully, his Luxray returned just in time and intercepted the blow.
But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the Torterra launched another wave of leaves, forcing the Luxray into a desperate defense once more.
…
Elsewhere, Aven stood quietly behind the Vileplume.
His eyes were calm as he watched Rhydon and Torterra rampage through the enemy lines.
Their aggressive attack pattern was clearly ordered by him.
Aven wanted the battle ended quickly.
Against Ground-types like Rhydon and Torterra, Electric-types like Luxray posed no real threat.
The only issue was that both of his Pokémon were relatively slow, giving Luxray a chance to play a hit-and-run game, constantly intercepting them.
However, once Rhydon and Torterra set their sights on Paul, the Luxray were forced into direct combat—and that was a battle they could not win.
At that point, only the Luxray leader could barely hold its ground. The others were being blasted away one by one by Rhydon's fierce strikes.
Aven knew—mercy toward the enemy is cruelty to your own.
If the fight could end now, there was no reason to keep "talking" and put his allies at greater risk.
…
Above the battlefield, Jorah led the Yanma in attacking the Pelipper, while frequently glancing down at the ground battle.
Watching Rhydon and Torterra's brutal assault, he nodded to himself.
It was clear now—their lord was not blindly merciful.
To follow someone who showed kindness to his own and no mercy to enemies—that was truly reassuring.
…
Awooo~!
From afar, Hill's Mightyena howled in distress as it saw its master in danger.
Abandoning its mission to block pursuers, it bolted back toward Hill.
Watching this, Sutter gave the retreating Mightyena a deep look and smiled faintly. Then he turned and led his pack toward the fleeing knights.
…
At the coast, all of Marina City's remaining knights had gathered.
In front of them was a cliff, and below it, the vast blue ocean.
They stared anxiously at the ongoing air battle between Yanma and Pelipper, wondering how Paul and Hill were faring.
Suddenly, a dark mass appeared in the distance.
"Mightyena—it's the Mightyena!"
"There's no time—everyone, jump! Jump into the sea!"
The knight adjutant's face turned pale and shouted the command.
SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!
One after another, the knights leaped off the cliff into the sea.
Living by the sea, this wasn't a problem for them.
As they hit the water, orange shapes rose from below—Buizel!
They resembled otters, with yellow flotation rings around their necks, blue fins on their forearms, two black stripes under their eyes, and twin tails behind.
The Buizel quickly inflated their flotation rings and gathered the knights together.
Drifting amid floating logs and planks—clearly pre-arranged by the Knight Order—this was their final escape plan.
"Captain Paul… please survive…"
The knight adjutant looked back one last time—then dove in with a huge splash.
…
Awooo!
Mightyena came charging to the cliff's edge—but it was already too late.
Reaching the edge, Sutter saw the knights clinging to planks and being carried farther and farther from shore.
"Damn it! They jumped!"
He clenched his fists in frustration.
Even though he'd rushed here at full speed, he was a step too late.
Worse, it was clear that the knights had been prepared.
Those Buizel and floating logs had been left as a last resort.
Still, escaping by sea wasn't easy—food, water, direction, and dangerous sea magical beasts awaited them.
…
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Back on the battlefield, the fighting raged on.
Rhydon tore through the Luxray ranks.
Explosions of stone and energy erupted everywhere as Luxray were sent flying.
On Torterra's side, even advanced-level Luxray were beginning to falter, panting as they tried to hold the line.
Awooo!
At that moment, Hill's Mightyena returned.
But it didn't charge into battle. Instead, it rushed to Hill's side.
"Captain Paul—let's go!"
Hill leapt onto Mightyena's back and shouted to Paul.
Paul hesitated—but Hill shouted again:
"If we stay, we'll just drag them down!"
Finally, Paul gritted his teeth and jumped onto Mightyena's back.
The Mightyena charged toward the coastline—but not toward the supply point, where many other Mightyena waited.
That way would mean certain death.
Even though Hill's Mightyena was advanced-tier, carrying two riders meant it couldn't face an entire Mightyena pack alone!
…
"Trying to run?"
In the air, Jorah snorted and ordered the Yanma to pursue.
The Pelipper leader tried to stop them—but they were far too slow.
In a head-on fight, they could manage. But in a chase, their plump bodies were no match.
Bzzzt!
Yanma flew like lightning.
Some even had the Speed Boost ability. Even without it, they were top-tier in speed.
Jorah's Yanma had already activated Speed Boost, and its velocity was now in full effect—quickly gaining on Mightyena.
Mightyena heard the buzz closing in, gritted its teeth, and forced its body to run even faster.
But carrying two people… it was still no match.
…
Hill looked back at the closing swarm, bit his lip—and suddenly pulled out a small vial.
He smashed it open, pouring its purple liquid onto Mightyena's back.
Zzzzt—!!
A sizzling sound erupted.
The liquid corroded its fur, and the Mightyena let out a painful growl.
"What are you doing?!" Paul shouted in horror.
That purple liquid was clearly toxic. Why was Hill poisoning his own Pokémon?
Hill didn't answer. He just kept pouring.
Soon, Mightyena's body glowed purple, and toxic blotches appeared—it had clearly been poisoned!
ROAR!!
Through clenched teeth, Mightyena let out a fierce, primal roar.
Then—its body suddenly exploded forward with speed.
Far faster than before, it darted toward the distant coastline!
The Yanma, which had almost caught up, were left behind—soon they could only see a distant silhouette!
(End of Chapter)