Slowking's explosive offensive was like a war trumpet signaling the start of the assault.
The Honchkrow flying in the sky was already wrapped in a layer of sky-blue energy, diving straight down toward the ground.
Logan stared in shock at the fallen Houndoom, who could barely get back up.
Without giving him time to react, Gengar emerged from the shadows beside Houndoom.
If you're wounded...!
Then I'll definitely finish you off!
Logan finally snapped back to try to save him, ordering Weezing to intervene. If Houndoom was knocked out now, what followed would be even harder.
But Weezing has never been a fast or agile Pokémon—it lacked the speed needed for an urgent rescue.
Meanwhile, Gengar was already standing right in front of Houndoom.
Letting out a sinister laugh, Gengar gathered an enormous dark ball in his hands; the energy it held was immeasurable.
And Slowking, who had just finished his explosive attack, didn't stop either, fully trusting Gengar to deal with Houndoom as he launched a psychic wave at the oncoming Weezing.
On the other hand, Nidoqueen wanted to rush in to help, but Florges' attack completely blocked her path.
And Drapion, as if unconcerned for his own life, clung to her with all his strength, even abandoning the containment of Nidoking.
The message was clear: I'd rather take the hit, but I won't let you leave to support.
Feraligatr, next to Logan, was extremely anxious, but could do nothing.
Because the Honchkrow descending from the sky had yet to reveal its target.
Have you ever heard of a descending attack from the sky?
Well, it's not a martial art... it's a battle technique.
The pressure of the Sky Attack move was truly terrifying.
Meanwhile, in the forest, confrontation had also begun.
Weavile and Shiftry had already been moving at high speed through the trees, occasionally exchanging blows as they tested each other.
But now the battlefield situation had changed drastically, and Shiftry was the only Pokémon on Logan's team with notable speed.
When it tried to return to help, that was exactly when Weavile began intensifying its offense.
Ever since joining Cain, Weavile hadn't feared any rival in terms of speed.
It planted itself directly in Shiftry's retreat path.
The two Pokémon entered close combat.
Direct hits—no holding back.
Weavile didn't use many evasive techniques, simply focusing Ice Punch in both hands, and occasionally using Icy Wind to lower Shiftry's speed while causing considerable damage.
Shiftry was being completely countered by Weavile.
It wanted to help but had no way to escape.
It suspected that if it tried to force a retreat, it wouldn't even reach Houndoom before being defeated under Weavile's claws.
To better contain Shiftry, Weavile formed a small whirlwind of snow and ice around itself.
The move Blizzard began to slowly spread from its body until it enveloped that portion of the forest completely.
In just a few seconds, the leaves and trunks were already covered in frost.
Weavile had achieved impressive mastery in controlling Ice-type energy during this time.
Both Honchkrow and Weavile, though they hadn't had many chances to fight recently, had never stopped training and perfecting their energy control.
That's why, once in combat, they could unleash such power.
Obviously, on the other side, Honchkrow was also gathering strength with determination; after such a long charge, its Sky Attack was in no way inferior to Weavile's Blizzard.
It might seem like a lot of time had passed, but in reality, it had only been a few seconds.
Gengar had already finished condensing Shadow Ball into a massive sphere.
With both hands raised above his head, the ball was larger than he was, and it hovered dangerously close to Houndoom.
The latter still hadn't recovered from Slowking's psychic blast.
Everything was spinning, and the surrounding energy felt overwhelming.
Even though Ghost-type moves only deal half damage to Houndoom, it all depends on how massive the offensive is.
Additionally, Gengar had once again activated the Sniper ability.
Does Cain not know the weaknesses of a Pokémon like Houndoom?
Even when Logan desperately tried to intervene, Gengar didn't hesitate for a second and hurled the fully charged Shadow Ball straight at the downed Houndoom.
BOOM!
Crack, crack...
A massive crater appeared in front of Gengar.
And Houndoom lay motionless inside.
Tongue out, eyes rolled back—clearly unable to continue—and it was even unclear whether he was still alive.
The Shadow Ball charged for so long had surpassed all limits.
Houndoom was knocked out!
Logan never imagined that his strongest Pokémon, the one he trusted most to face Slowking, would be the first to fall.
Given the power Slowking had already displayed earlier, it was clear his level was entirely Elite.
But it was still hard to believe that another trainer in the League had a Pokémon of that caliber.
Let alone a Slowking capable of using Miracle Eye.
Logan was barely able to process what was happening when Cain launched his next attack.
With Houndoom no longer a target, Gengar sank back into the shadows—not without flashing a sinister grin at Logan.
Slowking now turned his gaze to Weezing.
A Poison-type Pokémon against a Psychic-type Pokémon, with a disadvantage in level and power... it had no chance.
The only question was: how long could Weezing hold out against a psychic offensive of that magnitude?
At the same time, Honchkrow continued its descent without pause.
Under Cain's orders, it didn't aim directly at Logan.
Although Honchkrow didn't attack him, as long as Gengar didn't reappear, Feraligatr was completely tethered, not daring to leave his trainer's side.
And now the situation had become a six versus four, with all of Cain's Pokémon clearly superior in level.
Logan had experience in survival and battle in the wild, but at the end of the day, he was a Pokémon hunter, used to fighting wild Pokémon. His Pokémon weren't trained to deal with skilled trainers, nor did he know how to counter stealth attacks.
That's why Feraligatr was so frustrated.
He had strength—but couldn't use it!
The battlefield suddenly became clear.
Honchkrow's sacred mantle shone even more intensely and dove straight toward Nidoking, who was near Drapion.
Nidoking didn't understand anything.
Weren't you supposed to attack the trainer?
Why did I end up as the scapegoat?
Realizing Honchkrow was heading for Nidoking, Drapion grabbed both his arms with his pincers, struggling to prevent him from moving an inch.
But the struggle was strange: one wanted to back away, the other wouldn't let him.
Nidoqueen, on the other side, also noticed Honchkrow had changed targets, and upon seeing she couldn't help Houndoom, ran back.
Constantly trying to assist everywhere is a fatal mistake in team combat.
She completely ignored Florges' presence.
An angry Florges... is absolutely terrifying.
(End of chapter)