"Hey, kid, how did you figure us out?"
The tall, broad man's fierce face flickered with a trace of doubt, but it quickly faded, replaced by a mocking gleam as his eyes roamed up and down Sieg.
His tone dripped with contempt, as if Sieg was already nothing more than prey in their snare.
Sieg's expression didn't shift in the slightest, his ink-black pupils glinting with a cold, distant light.
To be fair, the two had picked a decent ambush spot, the entrance to the desert, with dried, gnarled trees standing thick in the area, offering plenty of cover.
Unfortunately for them, their disguise work was utterly amateurish.
If it had been some random League trainers, perhaps the ruse would have worked. But Sieg had drifted across the seas on a pirate ship, and under Metako's guidance, he had weathered countless storms.
What he had learned from Metako was far more than just Pokémon care. Disguise techniques, tracking, infiltration, wilderness survival, all were part of his training.
"Enough chatter, just finish him off. Once this job's done, we leave immediately," the other figure, a striking woman, said coldly, her disdain entirely unconcealed.
"Interesting. From the sound of it, you're not just some simple black-market thugs," Sieg murmured, catching details from their words.
They were just like him on the surface, League trainers in the open, but underneeth, they occasionally took on shady jobs.
Like ambushing lone trainers in the wilderness.
Almost simultaneously, both sides drew their Poké Balls, but Sieg had one more piece hidden in play, a Murkrow concealed in the darkness.
In an instant, a shadow flickered. The broad man's neck split open with a crimson line, his head rolling away like a kicked ball.
He hadn't even gotten his Poké Ball into play before being taken out. In a wild battle, there was no room for fairness.
The woman, startled and terrified, released her Pokémon at once, throwing up a Protect.
Sieg could tell immediately, unlike regular League personnel, these shady people, even if individually weak, reacted far faster in emergencies.
A Venomoth and a Skuntank emerged. Their level was higher than Murkrow's but still far lower than Crawdaunt's.
By Sieg's judgment, they were likely around level twenty-five or twenty-six.
"Umbreon, Shadow Ball!"
A cruel glint flashed in Sieg's eyes, his lips curling into a mocking smile.
The woman, standing inside her shimmering barrier, now looked far less confident. She had thought this was a rookie League trainer with little combat experience.
Never did she expect that the boy would be far more ruthless in combat than she was, decisive and merciless.
"Damn it! Useless! Killed in one cheap shot!" she cursed at her fallen partner without restraint.
Her two-on-one advantage had flipped instantly, now she was being pushed back step by step.
Sieg had no intention of letting her breathe. "Murkrow, Tailwind for the whole team. Umbreon, keep up the Shadow Balls. Crawdaunt, Aqua Jet, full force."
At his command, his Pokémon moved perfectly in sync, each executing their assigned decisively.
"Venomoth, Light Screen!" the woman ordered, sensing danger.
But Sieg's Pokémon had already anticipated such tactics. Even without direct orders, they could adjust instantly.
One Light Screen could only shield one side, it couldn't shield two Pokémon.
Murkrow and Crawdaunt exchanged a glance, instantly changing their attack angles, splitting left and right to strike in unison.
A faint breeze swirled around Sieg's Pokémon, the Tailwind boosting their speed.
The woman's skills weren't bad, after the Light Screen went up, she immediately countered, "Venomoth, Psybeam to block that Shadow Ball! Skuntank, Acid Bomb!"
Their teamwork wasn't perfect, but there was some coordination.
Sieg moved back as he fought, widening the distance from her Pokémon while maneuvering into a better position.
He knew that in a wild battle, even a major advantage could be overturned if the trainer was taken out with one hit.
Especially against shady people like them, they played without restraint.
That meant he had to be even more cautious, leaving no opening whatsoever.
Sure enough, the woman's patience frayed. "Damn it, this brat's slippery like a turtle! Doesn't fight like a League trainer at all!"
Her plan to assassinate the trainer outright had failed, and she decided to stop pretending.
"Come out, Haunter! Hypnosis!"
From her own shadow, a Haunter emerged. It had been hiding the entire time, waiting for Sieg to relax so it could sneak close and take him out.
But Sieg, even while dominating the battle, hadn't shown the slightest carelessness.
"Murkrow, Gust! Crawdaunt, Razor Shell on the Venomoth first," Sieg ordered coldly, eyes narrowing at the hidden card she'd just played.
Umbreon, in a few swift bounds, intercepted the Hypnosis for her teammates, succumbing to sleep in their place.
"Murkrow, Drill Peck! Crawdaunt, Aqua Jet! Sharpedo, guard my side!"
Sieg's commands came like hammer blows. Murkrow and Crawdaunt pressed the assault, hammering the enemy's defenses until the battle tilted heavily in Sieg's favor.
"Haunter, what are you doing? Damn you, get back here!" the woman's shout rang out, but her Haunter had already abandoned her, fleeing toward the depths of the desert.
Seeing her attention falter, Sieg got that sweet hit in. Venomoth went down moments later.
His Pokémon closed in, forming a tightening circle around the exhausted Skuntank and its pale-faced trainer.
Despair washed over the woman's face. She hadn't expected her own Pokémon to abandon her in a fight like this.
A flicker of regret crossed her mind. Her first two Pokémon had been raised from the moment they were hatchlings, loyal to the core.
But Haunter? She'd caught it midway, already in its twenties. She'd kept it only because it was rare, not because of any bond.
And now, that selfishness had come back to bite her.
"Wait! This is a misunderstanding! It was all that bastard's idea! I was forced, deceived... I never meant to offend you!" she stammered, fear trembling in her voice like a candle's wavering flame.
Step by step, she backed away until she felt the rough bark of a dead tree against her spine.
Cornered, she pressed herself against it as if it could protect her.
"Spare me… please…" her voice cracked.
Then, as if struck by a sudden idea, she slowly raised her hands to her chest, undoing the buttons of her top one by one, tugging the fabric open.
"As long as you spare me, I'll serve you however you wish. I'll be yours, in every way," she whispered, forcing a sultry smile, her long legs parting in a deliberate, provocative pose.
Under the silver moonlight, her legs seemed to gleam like polished ivory.
"Let's see if I can make you fall for me, boy," she thought, certain that someone his age could never resist such temptation.