"Houndoom, Dark Pulse!"

  After entering and capturing their first Magcargo, Sato and Rose seemed ter some kind of switch—from that point on, they began running into Magcargo and Slugma much more frequently.

  As a result, battles became more frequent.

  Most of the fights were handled entirely by Houndoom, with Carvanha or Pupitar only stepping in when absolutely necessary.

  Sato had to admit—pared to his other Pokémon, Houndoom had been ieam for the shortest time, and its average battle record wasn't particurly impressive.

  However, at the same time, its progress was the most rapid and obvious.

  inally, Houndoom was meant to be the leader of its pack. But now, it was traveling alongside Sato, throwing itself into every sitle.

  After defeating another Low Elite Magcargo, Sato and Rose finally came across their sed Peak Elite Magcargo.

  Stillness.

  Even after witnessing its rades fall before its eyes, this Magcargo's expression did not ge in the slightest.

  Yet—it stood there motionless, right in the middle of the road, its fme-like body markings glowing an even deeper red!

  "Mag~"

  A pink bubble floated gently toward Houndoom—both Sato and his Pokémhis move immediately.

  Yawn!

  "Pop!"

  As the bubble burst, Houndoom was instantly overe with drowsiness. Its subscious whispered—just one more hit and I sleep…

  "Houndoom, Nasty Plot, then use Rest!"

  A red glow fshed across Houndoom's body, boosting its iy before it voluntarily fell asleep, rest all of its lost stamina!

  "Houndoom, Sleep Talk!"

  Magcargo suddenly raised its body high and smmed down, sending a wave of earth-colored energy surging outward.

  Move: Earth Power! However—Houndoom remained oblivious.

  Sleep Talk activated, and in the moment, Houndoom transformed into a bck blur, lunging at Magcargo, ign Earth Power pletely!"

  Move: Thunder Fang!

  "Maaaaag~"

  Magcargo, caught pletely off guard, was bitten harshly on its soft neck, causing it to scream in pain! Its "posure" shattered instantly!

  "Houndoom, Sleep Talk again!"

  Sato pressed the offensive advantage.

  Unfortunately, this time Sleep Talk randomly triggered Odor Sleuth, which had no effe this battle.

  Now fully alert, Magcargo retaliated immediately—it bsted Lava Plume at cle, sending Houndoom flying.

  Even with Fire-type resistance, Houndoom still took signifit damage due to its fragile defenses.

  Realizing that tricks wouldn't work anymore, Magcargo abandoned using Yawn—instead, it relentlessly spammed Rock Slide, trying to crush Houndoom!

  Unfortunately, Magcargo's Rock Slide was pletely different from Pupitar's scattered rock attastead of small stones raining down, massive boulders crashed down, making it much easier to dodge!

  Taking advantage of the boost from Nasty Plot, Houndoom timed its attack perfectly, nding two secutive Dark Pulse strikes, leaving Magcargo on the verge of colpse.

  Finally—capture successful!

  ----

  After seg the seagcargo, Sato stood quietly, waiting as Rose healed Houndoom.

  Ohe treatment was finished, Sato sent out Carvanha, preparing to clear out weaker oppos in the area.

  Half an hour ter, the two tinued moving uphill.

  Houndoom had used up most of its stamina in secutive battles, so Sato recalled it to rest, letting Carvanha take point.

  If needed, Pupitar would ehe fight to ensure plete trol.

  "No matter how many times I see it, a fish floating through the air just seems unbelievable," Rose said, watg Carvanha dart through the air at high speed, her face filled with curiosity.

  Carvanha used Aqua Jet to stay airborne, much like a shark swimming through the o—it had to keep moving stantly, or it would fall to the ground.

  However, after mastering Whirlpool, Carvanha had learned how to Aqua Jet seamlessly into Whirlpool, allowing it to hover in midair when needed.

  Sato remained silent. Only he and Carvanha knew how much effort it had taken to overe its terrain limitations.

  Because of this, Carvanha's overall progress had slowed, dropping it to the lowest-ranked member of the team. But—it was all worth it.

  As long as it tiraining and improving its bat skills, Carvanha would soon catch up—perhaps even surpass the others!

  ----

  After successfully capturing two Magcargo, it seemed that their luck had run out.

  Nearly an hour passed, and they only entered a few scattered Slugma, which Carvanha easily defeated.

  Sato g the sky and turo Rose.

  "Let's head back. The Magcargo are probably going back to their dens to sleep."

  Rose was just as knowledgeable about Pokémon habits—the moment she noticed the temperature dropping, she khe Magcargo would sooreat into their dens. Searg further would be a waste of time.

  "Meganium, we're ting on you!"

  "Houndoom, you too!"

  With their ride Pokémon, they began making their way back down.

  However—just as they reached the halfoint, a massive explosioed from the western side of the mountain!

  Sato and Rose exged gnces before immediately rushing toward the source—the area where one of the other teams had been expl!

  The closer they got, the more frequent the explosions became. If this wasn't caused by deliberate bomb use, then this Pokémon battle had to be terrifying!

  A few mier, they turned a er and finally spotted Land Cir—but in front of them stood a mountain-sized Magcargo, relentlessly ung attacks.

  Normally, Magcargo barely reached oer i, but this o had to be at least three, maybe close to four meters tall—a true behemoth!

  Before Lance, Charizard stood at the ter, fnked by Gyarados and Dragonair, w together to ter the giant Magcargo's onsught.

  But calling it an "attack" was aatement—Gyarados and Dragonair were mostly on defense, while only Charizard could occasionally retaliate—and even then, it barely did any damage!

  "Cir!"

  Rose suddenly gasped softly.

  Sato turoward her voice—Cir was half-carried, half-dragged by Lance. Blood dripped from her fiips, and it looked like she could colpse at any moment.

  "Rose! Cir got hit by A Power on the shoulder—take care of her! Sato, help out!"

  "Got it!"

  Sato immediately sent out Zoroark and Gengar, drawing enemy fire so Lance could safely hand Cir over to Rose.

  Rose quickly carried Cir to safety, her face serious as she begaing her wound.

  Sato's arrival relieved some of the pressure on Lance, but her Gengar nor Zoroark could deal any real damage to Magcargo.

  Ihan two minutes, both of their Protect moves had already been used up.

  The giant Magcargo's strength was far beyond what they had imagined!

  "Zoroark, Nasty Plot! Gengar, Curse!"

  Sato made a bold move, anding Gengar to use Curse—but the effect was greatly reduced!

  The differen power levels was overwhelming—Gengar was only Mid Elite, while this Magcargo was at least Mid Pseudo-Elite Four.

  Whether in raw power or status effects, the differen strength weakened Curse signifitly.

  The damage was likely only a quarter of its inal effect!