Once his Pokémon converged on the center of Alaric's formation, Alex retrieved Guzzlord and watched as Goodra, Dragonite, and Tyranitar were taken down one after another.
He had to admit that giving Pokémon armor capable of injecting Potions on demand was a genius idea he had only minimally considered. He didn't want to restrict a Pokémon too much with accessories. Seeing it working quite well for Team Dominion, it was worth talking to Rhea about developing something similar for his own team.
Going with full-body armor, however, was clearly a mistake. As this battle had shown, it reduced a Pokémon's mobility and flexibility. Even adding a turret wasn't worth it. The extra damage was subpar, while the added weight and recoil made it too much of a hindrance. It would be better as a collar, bracelet, or even a ring hidden somewhere less exposed to prevent it from being destroyed too early.
Returning his attention to the fight, Alex stepped forward as his Pokémon turned their attention to Metagross. Gardevoir had specifically sent all of his Dark types to finish it off, with Grim, Hydreigon, Zoroark, and Grimmsnarl leading the assault.
Grimmsnarl opened with Fake Tears, lowering Metagross's Special Defense and setting it up for a full bombardment from the defense team. Zoroark followed up with a devastating Night Daze as a distraction. Then Grim and Hydreigon charged in from the right, with Grim locking Metagross in place using Jaw Lock while Hydreigon followed up with Throat Chop to shut down any sound-based attacks. Together, they held it down and kept it pinned in place for the defense team's barrage.
Metagross struggled futilely as waves of precise single-target special attacks rained down on it, finally ending its life. It was pointless to keep it alive given its loyalty to Alaric, who would no doubt receive the death penalty.
Then Alex's attention shifted as the reinforced doors behind Alaric slid open, revealing an expensive-looking laboratory inside. Banks of computers lined the walls, tangled runs of cables snaked across the floor and ceilings, and a glass containment tank hummed with active readings, all surrounded by dense observational equipment. At the center of it all stood Mewtwo, slowly breaking free from its restraints.
A moment later, Alaric's head abruptly exploded.
Alex shrugged at the sight, unbothered. Sure, there was a significant bounty on Alaric's head, but it was just pocket change at this point given how much the Silver Network was pulling in. He then shifted his attention to the source of the attack, just in time to raise his defenses against an incoming wave of psychic force.
All of his Pokémon, except the Dark types, were blown back as the force rippled through the hallway, tearing up the ceiling, walls, and flooring. The laboratory itself, however, remained intact, likely reinforced with some form of psychic-resistant metal.
The source was unmistakably Mewtwo, unleashed from its restraints.
Its face was covered by a mask, with wires still trailing across its body. Its wild, red eyes made its state clear; it was enraged. Something needed to be done about that before it decided to bring the rest of the facility down on them.
'Gardevoir, restrain it and try to get that mask off,' Alex commanded through his psychic link with Gardevoir, but he received no reply, nor were his Pokémon moving as instructed.
Instead, all hell broke loose as half his Pokémon turned on the others with rabid fury, except for the Psychic, Steel, Dark, Bug, and Ghost types.
Arcanine turned on Ceruledge and bit down with Fire Fang before ramming straight into Raticate. Clawitzer, Altaria, Alcremie, and Togekiss began firing off Dazzling Gleams everywhere, concentrating their attacks on Grim, Hydreigon, Zoroark, and Grimmsnarl, who took evasive maneuvers.
Kommo-o slammed into Dusknoir with Close Combat, only for the blows to phase through harmlessly, before turning around and repeating the attack. Tsareena, the three Maushold, Weezing, both Goodra, and both Rhyperior started bombarding Frosmoth, Espeon, both Chandelure, both Vikavolt, and both Lucario, throwing the defense team's center into chaos.
Gyarados, Milotic, and the six Wishiwashi turned on the Araquanid pair, though the Wishiwashi remained grouped in Schooling Form, keeping the fight to a 3v2. Shiny Lucario, Gallade, Knight, and Urshifu grouped together to subdue Loppuny, Azuking, Seismitoad, Breloom, and Raichu, who had begun an impromptu battle royale.
All the while, Gardevoir and Gothitelle concentrated deeply, fighting to wrest back control from Mewtwo's influence. Rotom, meanwhile, was fully focused on retrieving fainted allies, too distracted to assist elsewhere.
Even Alex wasn't spared. Ditto transformed and lunged at him, trying to strangle him, but Aegislash intercepted it, knocking it away and pinning it down while Alex tried to make sense of the situation.
He turned toward the source of the chaos and saw Mewtwo standing there with a smirk on its face. The air around it trembled with raw psychic pressure, warping the light in thin, unstable ripples.
Rage bubbled up in Alex's mind, pushing past his usual tactical calm. That little shit had a beating coming, and no amount of restraint or excuses was going to save it. He took off, rushing toward Mewtwo, who didn't even consider him a threat, still locked in its psychic battle with Gardevoir and Gothitelle while maintaining control over half of Alex's Pokémon.
Mewtwo lazily waved a hand at him as he closed the distance, sending out a pulse of psychic force to shove him back. Alex coated himself in Dark type energy and pushed through it, ignoring the strain.
Mewtwo's eyes narrowed, reassessing him, before it escalated to a full-power Psychic. The impact hit harder this time, but Alex held firm, the attack only shaving off layers of his energy coating. Even with Dark typing countering Psychic perfectly, the two-rank gap between them still mattered. This meant Alex would, without a doubt, lose to Mewtwo in an all-out fight, and no amount of expertise in Dark type energy would matter.
Sensing him pressing forward, Mewtwo poured more energy into a wide, crushing wave meant to push back everything in its path, the same kind that had scattered his Pokémon earlier. Alex forced his way through it, Dark energy flaring thicker around him with every step. His rage burned hotter, muscles tight and primed, charging like a freight train.
Mewtwo finally took him seriously and focused its full attention on Alex with careful thought. Instead of Psychic, it launched Aura Sphere, a guaranteed hit that would pierce Dark type defenses and likely kill him in one blow.
But it forgot Alex wasn't alone.
Arcanine blitzed in with Extreme Speed, intercepting the attack without command and taking it head-on. He was blasted away, fainting on impact, but he bought Alex the opening he needed to slip past.
Mewtwo tried to recover, but it was already too late. Alex was in range.
He drove his fist forward, flooding it with as much Dark energy as he could control. The impact shattered through Mewtwo's multiple Psychic defenses and landed cleanly on its chest, though the result was underwhelming. Even with all his momentum, Mewtwo was still Master rank, with exceptional physical stats for the average Pokémon. It barely budged as a result.
Mewtwo's mouth curled into a smirk as it retaliated with a punch of its own, confident it could kill him in a single hit. Before it could land, however, Raticate shot in with Quick Attack, slamming into its face and tearing through the mask and exposed wiring. Mewtwo staggered, the force of Mega Raticate's blow sending it skidding back into the laboratory.
It tried to rise, but froze when it finally saw Alex properly. He was walking forward, calm yet his eyes burning with rage, his Pokémon fanning out behind him with furious expressions. On his own, he might not have been a threat, but with them, he was a force to be reckoned with. For the first time, doubt flickered in Mewtwo's mind.
It didn't get time to think further as Grim took off, followed by Hydreigon without command. Mewtwo tried to respond with Aura Sphere, but Grimmsnarl appeared in its path and used Torment, cutting off repeat moves and canceling the attack.
It switched to Ancient Power, only for Togekiss to intercept it with Imprison, sealing that move as well. Before it could think of a different move, Taunt landed, locking it out of most of its arsenal and leaving Psystrike as its only option.
In desperation, it fired Psystrike at Alex, only for Zoroark to intercept it and shrug off the hit. This left it completely out of viable Pokémon moves beyond relying on its own mastery of psychic energy.
In a final attempt to survive, it exploded with raw psychic energy, but with Grim and Hydreigon leading the charge, the blast was neutralized, leaving Alex and his Pokémon completely unharmed. Finally, the pair closed in, pinned Mewtwo down, and hammered it relentlessly, steadily wearing down its vitality.
When Alex finally reached them, he mounted Mewtwo and started raining down punches on its face. At first, they barely did anything.
Then Alcremie's Decorate and Raticate's Screech landed, and everything shifted. His strikes grew heavier, more painful, each one landing with more force than the last. Despite being weaker, despite being human, despite everything, Alex overpowered Mewtwo until it finally lost consciousness, its body giving out under the combined damage and strain.
Alex stood, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and commanded, "Clean up."
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