The eastern gardens of the estate had been reduced to a cratered, burning wasteland.
Iris gritted her teeth, wiping a streak of dirt from her cheek. Beside her, Honchkrow and Pawniard were panting heavily, their bodies covered in deep, jagged scratches. A few ters away, Kai's Zoroark was forced onto one knee, struggling to hold up its arms against the suffocating pressure bearing down on them.
Standing amidst the wreckage was an armored invader, looking completely unfazed. Beside him lood a terrifying, purple-plated monstrosity.
A Level 46 Drapion.
Despite Iris and Kai throwing everything they had at it, the Advanced-level Pokémon had completely shrugged off their coordinated assaults. The gap between Interdiate and Advanced wasn't just a matter of stats; it was a fundantal difference in energy density and physical resilience.
"Is this the best the League's prodigies can do?" the invader sneered, his voice distorted by his helt. "Pathetic. Drapion, Cross Poison. Gut them."
The Drapion hissed, its massive claws glowing with a sickly, vibrant purple energy as it lunged forward with terrifying speed.
Kai's eyes narrowed into cold, calculating slits. The 'rookie officer' persona was entirely gone from his mind. He slipped his hand into the inner breast pocket of his torn suit jacket, his fingers brushing against an Ultra Ball.
'If I die here, the boss's plans an nothing,' Kai calculated rapidly. 'I have to use it.'
He was a fraction of a second away from releasing his true, Advanced-level partner when the temperature in the garden plumted.
The ground beneath the charging Drapion instantly blackened.
A ten-ter radius of the battlefield was swallowed by an ink-black, artificial shadow. The sheer density of the ghost-type energy made the Drapion uncomfortable.
From the center of the shadow, a pair of glowing red eyes snapped open.
"Haunter, Max Power Shadow Ball!"
Haunter materialized directly beneath the Drapion's blind spot. His hands thrust upward, slamming a massive, hyper-condensed ball of dark purple energy right into the armored underside of the poison-type.
BOOM!
The Drapion shrieked as the explosion launched its heavy body into the air, flipping it backward before it crashed heavily into a shattered stone fountain.
Eric stepped out from the treeline, his hands in his pockets, his expression cool and focused.
"Eric!" Iris gasped, her eyes lighting up with relief.
"Looks like you two are in trouble," Eric said, taking his place beside them. "Need a hand?"
Kai removed his hand from his inner pocket, his polite, strained smile returning. "Your timing is impeccable, Eric. That Drapion's armor is incredibly thick."
"Not anymore. It's off-balance," Eric said, his eyes sharp. "Don't let it recover. Hit it with everything!"
The three prodigies moved in perfect unison.
"Honchkrow, Night Slash! Pawniard, X-Scissor!" Iris commanded.
"Zoroark, Night Slash!" Kai yelled.
"Haunter, Will-O-Wisp, then follow up with Hex!" Eric ordered.
The battlefield exploded into a spectacular, hyped frenzy. Haunter phased through the air, spitting a cluster of ghostly purple flas that successfully inflicted a burn on the recovering Drapion. The mont the burn settled, Honchkrow and Pawniard descended from opposite angles, their blades cloaked in dark and bug-type energy, slicing into the weakened joints of Drapion's armor.
Zoroark followed up imdiately, using the opening to deliver a brutal slash attack that sent the massive scorpion skidding backward.
To finish the combo, Haunter's eyes glowed with a sinister light as he unleashed Hex, amplifying the damage from the burn and dealing a massive wave of ghost-type damage that finally brought the Drapion to its knees.
The three of them stood side-by-side, their Pokémon panting but victorious. It was a flawless, flawlessly executed chain of attacks.
But the invader didn't look panicked. He just started laughing.
"Good. Very good," the armored man chuckled, reaching for his belt. "You forced my Drapion to take a knee. I suppose you've earned the right to see true despair."
He tossed another Poké Ball.
With a sickening, toxic squelch, a Level 47 Muk materialized. The mont it appeared, the air turned genuinely poisonous. A thick, corrosive sludge began to lt the very ground it stood on.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The Drapion, shaking off the burn with a furious screech, slowly stood back up, its eyes burning red with pure rage.
Eric's eyes narrowed. The suffocating pressure of two Advanced-level monsters simultaneously pressing down on them made his lungs burn. Haunter floated backward, his playful grin vanishing entirely.
The situation had turned a lot worse for them.
anwhile, on the northern balconies of the estate, a different kind of battle was taking place.
"Sebastian! The dust! The dust is getting on my cape!" Alister Nashville shrieked, cowering behind an overturned marble table.
"I am acutely aware of the dust, Young Master," Sebastian replied smoothly.
The elderly, monotone butler stood perfectly straight, calmly dusting off his white gloves. Beside him stood a regal, incredibly sharp-looking Gallade.
An Ancient Kingdom grunt on a Skarmory dove from the sky, unleashing a barrage of Air Cutters.
Sebastian didn't even blink. He gave a microscopic nod.
The Gallade vanished. In a flash of blurring green and white light, the Advanced-level psychic-type reappeared above the Skarmory, bringing down its bladed arms in an elegant, devastating Psycho Cut that swatted the tal bird out of the sky like a pesky fly.
"Ah! Excellent assist, Sebastian!" Alister yelled, striking a dynamic pose from his crouched position. "My sheer heroic aura is clearly disorienting them, allowing you to strike their blind spots! Keep it up! We make an unstoppable team!"
"Of course, Young Master," Sebastian sighed, his soul dying a little more with each passing second. "Please remain in hiding. Your 'heroic aura' is far too bright for the naked eye."
On the rocky plateau overlooking the ocean, the air was hot, rippling with intense distortion.
Blaire stood with one hand on her hip, blowing a pink bubble.
In front of her, the armored invader was shaking violently. His Aggron, the very beast that had threatened Belle monts ago, was currently embedded head-first into a cliffside, completely unconscious, its heavy steel armor glowing red-hot and partially lted.
Blaire's Charizard stood tall, letting out a low, rumbling growl. Despite being on a similar level, he barely broke a sweat, completely mopping the floor with the invader in a matter of minutes.
"That's it?" Blaire asked, her voice dripping with boredom. "I have to say, I am a bit disappointed. I was expecting more after hearing the old man talk so seriously about you guys."
The invader stumbled backwards, "M-Monster..."
"Big Sis Blaire is the strongest!" Belle cheered from the sidelines, Captain Sparky and Sparkles nodding fiercely in agreent.
But before they could relax, the sky above them darkened unnaturally.
A massive, suffocating pressure slamd into the plateau, cracking the stone beneath Blaire's combat boots. The sheer weight of the aura made Charizard bare its fangs and take a defensive stance in front of its trainer.
A second armored figure dropped from the sky, landing heavily on the plateau.
He was clad in sleeker, obsidian-black armor, with gold trimmings. And hovering behind him was a massive, terrifyingly fierce Aerodactyl, its eyes glowing with ancient, bloodthirsty malice.
Blaire looked cool as ever, but she did take out a Pokedex to check its data.
---
Pokémon: Aerodactyl
Level: 53
Type: Rock/Flying
Potential: S
---
A true Pseudo-King, unlike the Aggron, who had barely stepped into the level.
The new commander stepped forward, looking at the defeated Aggron with disgust. "You embarrass the Kingdom," he spat at the trembling grunt. He then turned his gaze to Blaire.
"You talk too much, girl," the commander sneered. "Let's see how loud you bark when my Aerodactyl tears that lizard's wings off."
The pressure on the plateau was imnse. The overwhelming, ancient rock-type aura of the Aerodactyl clashed violently with Charizard's fiery presence. The air itself felt like it was tearing apart.
But Blaire didn't cower. She didn't take a single step back.
She popped her bubblegum with a loud, sharp snap. She reached up, slowly lowered her dark sunglasses slightly to expose her fierce, burning eyes, and cracked her knuckles.
"Two on one?" Blaire smirked, her fiery, punk nature blazing to life. "Good. I was just starting to get bored. Co on, then. Show what a fossil can do."
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