Chapter 333: The Unlucky Black-Robed Man
"ROAR!"
Seeing the black-robed man meet him head-on instead of dodging, the Charizard grew even angrier. It tucked its wings to accelerate, while simultaneously unleashing a scorching stream of flames from its mouth, painting the entire sky red.
"Good Fire-type power!"
The black-robed man licked his lips, getting more excited.
It was clear that this Charizard was much stronger than his Skarmory.
"Claydol, block the flames with Psychic."
"Skarmory, charge in and close the distance."
"Stoutland, Rock Tomb!"
The black-robed man issued a series of commands.
His Claydol's psychic power was immense; blocking a Flamethrower was no trouble.
Stoutland let out a long howl, forming several rock projectiles around its body and launching them at the Charizard with a whistling sound.
As a Fire/Flying dual-type, Charizard was 4x weak to Rock. If those hit, the consequences would be dire.
The only pity was his Skarmory. As a newly captured Pokémon, although it reluctantly obeyed, it had absolutely no trust in its trainer.
So, before the Flamethrower was blocked by Claydol, Skarmory, valuing its own life above all else, didn't dare to charge in and close the distance.
In the end, the Charizard used its superior flying skills to dodge the Rock Tomb attack.
The black-robed man's plan had failed at the last step!
At the same time, the Charizard realized how tricky this opponent was, especially since he was using numbers to his advantage. It was at a severe disadvantage.
And so, the Charizard retreated urgently while letting out a series of roars, calling for backup.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
From Sky Dragon Mountain, answering roars echoed back.
Before long, several orange figures shot into the sky, flying towards the aerial battlefield.
"Useless thing! Wasting my perfect opportunity. Just wait until we get back, I'll deal with you then!"
The black-robed man's face changed, and he was furious, cursing the Skarmory for being useless.
If Skarmory hadn't dropped the ball at the critical moment, that Charizard would have been heavily injured by now.
But this was a problem trainers had to face. While adult Pokémon offered immediate combat power, they were often unruly, self-preservationist, and self-centered.
Such Pokémon wouldn't easily acknowledge a trainer even if forcibly captured. They couldn't be compared to Pokémon raised from a young age, let alone obey commands absolutely.
This Skarmory was a spineless one the black-robed man had only managed to catch after raiding several Skarmory nests.
The truly tough ones would rather die than submit.
"Skarm~"
Skarmory trembled. Remembering the black-robed man's methods, the fear in its eyes deepened.
"Looks like we have to fight!"
Watching the rapidly approaching Charizard flock, the black-robed man looked resigned.
Charizard were too fast; he couldn't outrun them.
In that case, he could only fight.
"Come out, my warriors."
The black-robed man threw two more Pokéballs, and Stoutland dropped from Skarmory's back to the ground.
"Gig-a-lith!"
With a roar, a Pokémon made of five massive rocks appeared. Its body was covered in sharp, orange crystals. There was a crystal in the center of its chest and back, one on each side of its jaw, and a line of orange crystal running from the top of its head down to its chin.
This Pokémon was Gigalith!
With Gigalith's appearance, a sandstorm capable of blocking out the sun suddenly formed in the previously calm mountains, howling wildly.
Gigalith hid within the sandstorm, eyeing its opponents in the sky with eerie eyes.
From the other Pokéball, a steel mole burst out—an Excadrill!
This black-robed man also ran a Sandstorm team!
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
Dragon roars filled the air as the battle began.
Terrifying flames and hurricanes swept down from the sky, while rock projectiles, psychic waves, and even flashes of electricity shot up from the ground. The two sides were locked in a fierce struggle.
The black-robed man was not to be trifled with, but there were powerful beings among the Charizard as well.
While the ordinary Charizard could only attack from a distance with fire and wind, one particularly strong Charizard disdained ranged attacks. Using Dragon Claw and Dragon Rush, it charged straight into the sandstorm, ramming its way through. At one point, it pressured the black-robed man's Excadrill so much it could barely breathe, only avoiding defeat thanks to Gigalith's cover.
"Basalt took this path too? Can someone tell me how the hell he got past the Charizard right under their noses?"
The black-robed man was furious and completely baffled.
Dozens of kilometers away, Basalt was leisurely following the Rapidash herd, harvesting Blazewort roots as he went.
Fortunately, Rapidash weren't aggressive Pokémon. Although Basalt had been following them for a while, he hadn't drawn their ire. Both sides coexisted peacefully, and the journey was uneventful.
"Huh? Seems like a fight broke out over there?"
Although it was far away, fire and lightning were very conspicuous, so the commotion alerted both Basalt and the Rapidash.
"Looks like it's coming from Sky Dragon Mountain. Did someone trespass and get discovered by the Charizard clan, starting a fight?"
Basalt scratched his cheek, speculating. "The fight's been going on for a while. The intruder must be strong, and really stubborn!"
"But... what does that have to do with me?"
Basalt shrugged and went back to bending over, looking for Blazewort roots.
...
Sky Dragon Mountain.
The battle between the black-robed man and the Charizard clan lasted for nearly ten minutes, finally ending with the black-robed man's retreat.
Although the five Charizard were all injured, their leader was just too fierce. The black-robed man felt immense pressure.
He wasn't willing to fight to the death against the Charizard, and he wasn't sure he could win anyway.
In that case, running was the only option.
Under the black-robed man's command, his Pokémon fought a retreating battle, slowly withdrawing from Sky Dragon Mountain's territory.
Having repelled the strong enemy, the Charizard didn't pursue. They just let out a series of roars, declaring their presence to the surrounding area.
Repelling the intruder and guarding their territory and airspace was the best outcome.
If they pushed their luck, it would mean a fight to the death.
Because they could sense that the black-robed man hadn't gone all out.
"F**K!"
After retreating from the entrance, the black-robed man finally couldn't help but curse.
"Skarm~"
The Skarmory on the ground cried out miserably. It was the weakest of the black-robed man's team and weak to Fire, so it was heavily injured and needed help urgently.
"If you hadn't ruined my plan, I wouldn't be in this mess. You deserve to die!"
Murderous intent filled the black-robed man's eyes, scaring Skarmory half to death.
But in the end, he didn't kill it. It still had value.
A Pro-level utility Pokémon with no backbone wasn't easy to find.
Finding a cave to rest for a bit, the black-robed man learned his lesson this time. He planned to have Excadrill dig a tunnel to advance, avoiding the Charizard's sight.
But unfortunately, the sky suddenly opened up, and a light drizzle began to fall. Before long, it turned into a torrential downpour.
The rain came quickly and left quickly, stopping after less than ten minutes.
But seeing this, the black-robed man froze.
Because the sudden heavy rain would wash away any lingering scent Basalt had left.
And just like that, Basalt's trail was cold!
"FK! FK! F**K!"
The black-robed man raged, roaring in fury, but it was useless.
Looking at the mountains of the Ashkule volcanic region, his expression shifted as he considered his options.
He really only had two paths now.
One was to enter the Ashkule region immediately after the rain and conduct a carpet search for Basalt, seeing if he could find any trace.
The second was to lie in wait at the northern entrance, waiting to ambush Basalt when he returned north.
Although he wanted to get Larvitar immediately, after much thought, the black-robed man finally chose to wait in ambush.
Because the Ashkule volcanic region was too vast. Searching it would be too time-consuming and exhausting.
Crucially, who knew if there were even more powerful and terrifying Pokémon deeper inside?
Sneaking around searching was too inefficient, and searching openly was too dangerous.
The black-robed man could only pray silently in his heart: "Basalt, oh Basalt, hurry back!"
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