Zeraora's Speed stat was an absurd 143.
Ignoring Mega Evolutions, it seemed that only Electrode and a handful of other Pokémon could surpass it.
And unlike Electrode, which had practically poured all of its racial talent into speed, Zeraora was a Mythical Pokémon.
Its offensive power was just as ridiculous!
Wild bolts of electricity gathered between Zeraora's palms, its face filled with its usual arrogant confidence.
Run?
Fine.
I'll even give you ten seconds.
The instant Zeraora's palms touched the ground—
The lightning found an outlet.
It surged violently into the earth.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The ground shattered beneath the advancing current as thunderous crackles of electricity raced relentlessly after the fleeing Amino!
Plasma Fists was Zeraora's signature move.
Its trump card.
With a power of 100, it also possessed a special effect that transformed all Normal-type moves into Electric-type moves.
If Amino were struck by this attack in his already weakened state, then no matter how thick his health bar was, there was no guarantee he would survive!
"BOOM!"
A muffled explosion rang out.
Amino's enormous body was instantly overtaken by the lightning that pursued him like a shadow.
The moment his figure became visible again, his body was already turning into charred blackness from the top down.
Clearly, Zeraora had shown no mercy!
Su Bai walked toward the motionless Amino, shaking his head as he spoke.
"Did you really think I couldn't tell you were looking for a chance to escape?"
"I never believed an Apostle-level sub-beast would obediently answer every question I asked…"
Just as Su Bai drew closer to Amino—
Rock's tense voice suddenly came from atop Charizard.
"Watch out!"
At the same time, an overwhelming sense of danger suddenly surged through Su Bai's heart.
The next instant, a destructive wave of energy erupted from Amino's charred body.
His already massive frame suddenly began swelling like a balloon.
At the same time, Amino's voice rang out, filled with hatred.
"Damn you…"
"I'll remember all of you!"
"I'll… come back!!!"
Accompanied by Amino's desperate, crazed roar—
His body, swollen to its absolute limit, exploded!
"These Sub-beasts…"
"Are they all fucking members of a suicide squad?!"
"Defensive positions!"
Su Bai's expression changed dramatically as he cursed.
Marlene had done the exact same thing before!
The moment things didn't go their way, they blew themselves up.
It was like the rot at the top had spread all the way down!
Did every single one of these sub-beasts come with a self-destruct skill?!
"BOOM!!!"
A terrifying explosion erupted from Amino's body.
But unlike Marlene's forced self-destruction, this explosion was completely different.
Amino was simply on another level compared to Marlene.
Under his control, the force of the explosion split into two directions.
One surged toward Su Bai.
The other—
Toward Charizard in midair!
Two terrifying, highly concentrated shells of Death Energy shot toward Su Bai and Charizard.
"ROAR!!!"
The usually quiet, arrogant feline suddenly let out a thunderous roar.
Zeraora had just released Plasma Fists, and electricity still coiled around its entire body.
In an instant, it moved almost like teleportation, throwing itself in front of Su Bai.
A barrier covered in countless arcs of electricity appeared, shielding both it and Su Bai!
At the same time, Charizard spread its enormous wings as wide as possible, protecting Rock behind it.
A transparent barrier appeared as well.
As Pokémon granted to Su Bai by the system, his partners had been equipped with an extremely comprehensive arsenal of abilities.
How could a defensive move like Protect possibly be missing?
The two concentrated blasts of Death Energy slammed violently into the protective barriers.
The collision triggered another terrifying explosion!
Every bit of vegetation in front of Su Bai and Rock was instantly obliterated.
The earth itself was swept away by the tremendous shockwave, carving a massive swath through the battlefield.
Sand and dust erupted in every direction.
Amid the flying debris—
A gigantic mushroom cloud rose before the power station.
Through the storm of sand and dust, Su Bai stood behind Zeraora, narrowing his eyes as he stared toward the center of Amino's self-destruction.
He had absolute confidence in Zeraora's Protect.
There was no way he believed this self-destruction could break through it!
Protect was a move specifically designed for defense.
Unless the incoming force was an entire energy tier above it, breaking through it was far easier said than done.
Even though Amino's self-destruction had placed considerable pressure on the barrier, it was still nowhere near enough to break through.
"Amino is the kind of sinister bastard who would never willingly sacrifice himself…"
Su Bai's body, enhanced by his Super Rookie Trainer physique, displayed its usefulness at this moment.
The sheer amount of dust and debris kicked up by Amino's explosion was enough to blind an ordinary person.
But Su Bai could still see through the storm.
And what he saw made his expression change.
Amino's enormous body had been completely reduced to ash.
Yet through the swirling dust, Su Bai could vaguely make out something else.
A huge, magnificent black flower…
Was blooming.
Within its rapidly expanding petals was a strange-looking embryo.
Then—
The entire flower suddenly seemed to come alive.
It turned toward a particular direction.
"Pfft!"
A faint sound came from the flower.
The embryo shot out like it had been fitted with a rocket booster, instantly reaching a terrifying speed.
It was more than ten times faster than Amino had been when fleeing on all fours!
"Fuck!"
"Of course this bastard didn't actually intend to die here!"
Su Bai's expression instantly darkened.
That bastard had actually hidden another trick!
The aftermath of the explosion had yet to dissipate.
Neither Charizard nor Zeraora had finished maintaining Protect.
At this moment, neither Pokémon had the opportunity to launch another attack!
"Too late!"
Su Bai shifted his body, preparing to charge straight into the sandstorm and intercept the fleeing embryo.
But he knew that with the embryo moving at such a terrifying speed, stopping it would be incredibly difficult even for him.
Still—
He had to try.
Just as Su Bai planted one foot firmly on the ground and prepared to launch himself forward—
An enraged cry suddenly erupted from inside the power station behind him.
"WHOOOAAAH!!!"
The roar exploded like thunder.
And it actually brought thunder with it!
The previously clear sky suddenly darkened.
Clouds gathered overhead in an instant.
A gigantic bolt of lightning tore across the sky.
And before Su Bai's disbelieving eyes—
A bolt of lightning descended straight from the heavens, striking Amino's fleeing embryo with pinpoint accuracy!
Almost instantly—
The last shred of hope Amino had placed in his escape was annihilated.
He had poured every remaining ounce of his power into fleeing.
But under the terrifying heat of that lightning, the embryo was instantly vaporized into nothingness.
The mighty Sub-beast.
One of the strongest beings among the sub-beasts.
The Tenth Apostle—
Amino.
Just like that, he vanished without leaving behind even the slightest trace of a corpse.
He didn't even have the chance to make another sound.
As thunder continued to rumble across the sky, raindrops the size of beans began pouring down.
In an instant, the rain washed over the devastated battlefield.
The dust and sand were quickly beaten back to the ground.
Rock slowly lifted his head from atop Charizard's back.
He stared in stunned disbelief at the enormous bird hovering above the power station, its wings spread wide as it let out an enraged cry.
"What…"
"What the hell is that?!"