With no worries in his mind, Drapion charged straight toward the Venusaur.
His pincers and jaws began to burn with flames.
Triple Fire Fang!
Without caring about the other Venusaur, he aimed directly at the male, who seemed to be the stronger of the two.
Fsssss...
The fire from his pincers sliced through the air with a hissing burn.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The three attacks were launched with a slight time difference between each.
"Saur!!" screamed the struck Venusaur in pain.
The difference in timing was no accident—Drapion aimed to hit the same spot over and over again.
Although Drapion already had an imposing body, he still looked much smaller next to this gigantic Venusaur.
All the attacks landed on his legs, thick as pillars.
While they weren't critical hits, they drastically reduced Venusaur's mobility.
The female, upon seeing her partner being attacked, quickly lashed out with her thick vine whips, as wide as thighs, at Drapion.
But she didn't notice that, at the moment of the attack, a dark shadow silently appeared behind her.
And without knowing why, her vines began to move with great difficulty, as if trapped in a swamp.
In midair, Slowking unleashed his psychic power, clearly blocking the female's attacks with telekinesis.
Behind her, Gengar let out a sinister laugh. His fists were covered in fine frost as he struck Venusaur's legs.
The ice, as if infectious, spread along her limbs.
The Venusaur let out a shriek of pain and turned sharply. Just then, Gengar stared directly at her, hypnotic waves radiating from his eyes. Upon meeting his gaze without thinking, the Venusaur fell under the effect of Hypnosis.
Seeing the hypnosis work, Gengar grinned even more devilishly and intensified the hypnotic attack.
The Venusaur began to stagger, her heavy eyelids slowly closing.
Then, from above, Slowking delivered the finishing touch.
A small, slow-moving bubble floated gently toward her face...
Yawn!—in combination with Gengar's Hypnosis.
Pof!
The massive body of the Venusaur gently collapsed to the ground.
Her breathing slowed, even accompanied by soft snores.
Seeing that the Hypnosis had worked, Gengar didn't stop. His eyes turned deep red, and a black-red shadow was drawn from the sleeping Venusaur's body and absorbed into his own.
Dream Eater!
Meanwhile, Drapion and the male Venusaur were locked in a brutal, blow-for-blow battle.
With the support of multiple moves from Florges, Drapion not only held firm but even began identifying weak points in Venusaur's body as he adapted to his fighting style.
When he had an opportunity, he targeted those weak points and unleashed devastating attacks, exploiting his Sniper ability to the fullest.
Florges, with every movement of her arms, released crystalline fairy energy, swiftly alternating her type between Fairy and Grass.
She combined Disarming Voice with Moonblast, making the male Venusaur feel a sweet yet contradictory pain.
His partner remained fast asleep, and their enemies kept inflicting damage.
The male Venusaur began shaking his body violently. The giant flower on his back vibrated, unleashing a flurry of petals across the battlefield.
Petal Dance!
He was in a full frenzy.
Cain ordered a retreat. Drapion quickly pulled back and took a defensive stance.
At the same time, Slowking and Florges began firing off long-range attacks one after another.
Florges brought her hands together in front of her chest, then opened them suddenly. A beam of lunar light pierced through the dense forest. Even though it was daytime, the tenderness of the moon could be felt.
Though, for the Venusaur, that "tenderness" probably didn't feel so kind.
Drapion took the first hit from Petal Dance, ensuring that Venusaur would not escape the move's side effects.
Thanks to Slowking's psychic powers, Drapion was pulled from the battlefield just in time.
Losing his target and suffering from the disorientation caused by Petal Dance, the male Venusaur was nearly incapacitated.
Once the move ended, the male Venusaur was nearly out of energy.
Drapion charged once more, and using Triple Fire Fang, struck directly at his weak points, activating his ability and dealing double Fire-type damage, finally taking down this Elite-level Venusaur.
Meanwhile, the tremor caused by the male Venusaur's fall slowly awakened the female.
But it was already too late.
While she had slept, Gengar had drained her with Dream Eater, consuming both her mental and physical strength.
She had just woken up, but couldn't even rise to her feet before stumbling and falling again.
Her eyes showed disbelief.
How could she be so weak after just closing her eyes for a moment?
Sometimes, a blink is enough for ten minutes to pass. Or, in the worst case, an entire lifetime.
Without giving her a chance to resist, Gengar used Hypnosis again, and the Venusaur fell back into slumber.
Her gentle snores filled the air once more.
But this time, she wouldn't wake so easily.
Slowking slowly descended from the air and stood beside Cain.
With his help, Cain appeared in front of the two Venusaur in the blink of an eye.
Only seeing them this close could one truly grasp their immense size.
Without hesitation, he threw two Poké Balls and tried to capture them.
It had to be said: their remaining energy and endurance were still considerable.
He had to throw five Poké Balls before he finally succeeded in fully capturing the two Elite-level Venusaur.
Once he had captured them, the rest of the group—the Ivysaur, Bulbasaur, and a few smaller Venusaur—showed panic in their expressions and began retreating deeper into the forest.
But their path was blocked by Aggron and Blaziken, who had already been positioned by Cain as the rearguard.
In an instant, all these Pokémon became lambs ready for slaughter.
Cain's sharp gaze soon spotted a Bulbasaur among the group that had a slightly different color.
With evident interest, he slowly approached.
To them, Cain was like a demon drawing near.
Their two powerful leaders had been defeated—something that had never happened before in their group.
Gengar appeared beside Cain and, at his signal, used Scary Face on all the Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and smaller Venusaur, with those black-and-white eyes that were the most terrifying part of his face.
(End of chapter)