Tetsuya and Catherine merely continued fanning the flames from the other side of the forest, but even after the fire had continued burning for an entire night, they still had not seen any Shadow Team members come to investigate the situation. Tetsuya was already very clear about what was happening over there.
The fire burned for another full day and night. The withered portion of the forest had already been completely consumed, and now the flames had spread into that small remaining portion with unwithereed trees.
At this point, Mamoswine and the others were already exhausted to the point of collapse.
"That's enough. We'll all rest tonight. Tomorrow, something even more important will probably happen."
---◓---
After distributing the cooked beef to the Pokémon to eat, they were all recalled into their Poké Balls to rest.
Now the fire was already impossible to stop, and the entire forest was practically about to be completely consumed.
On the morning of the new day, Tetsuya gazed at the raging flames, wondering what the situation on Raven's side was like. Ideally, they would all die so they could leave this island.
"Have Skarmory and Honchkrow guard the airspace. If anyone wants to escape through the air, kill them immediately."
After Tetsuya finished speaking, Catherine sent out Skarmory and Honchkrow. Just as they were preparing to fly, they saw a Pidgeot flying upward. On top was a short man wearing a lab coat and glasses, who appeared to be the Professor on this island.
"Do it!"
Catherine signaled Skarmory and Honchkrow to intercept and kill him, but just as they were about to move, an Aerodactyl suddenly flew up from behind. With one wing strike, it sent that Professor flying away. Then with one bite from its massive jaws, Pidgeot's head was bitten off as it fell to the ground.
"…What is going on?" Catherine was somewhat unable to understand.
"Hmph, just one of Raven's mind games. This actually saves us the trouble of watching the skies. It seems they are already on the verge of collapse. Internal chaos must have already erupted, forcing Raven to use murder as a deterrent. We can make our move very soon," Tetsuya said.
---◓---
"Did you all see that? This is the fate of deserters! No matter who you are, you must fight until the very end. Our Shadow Team has 'no' deserters!"
Raven roared. Having not closed his eyes for two days and two nights, he was already overdrawing his vitality.
After two days and two nights of battle, more than half of the twenty-plus members he had trained were already dead or injured. Nearly all of the Shadow Team's Pokémon had gone onto the battlefield at least once, and more than half of them had already died as well.
Although the number of wild Pokémon they had killed was more than ten times their own losses, the number of Pokémon throughout the entire forest was enormous. How could this handful of Shadow Team members possibly resist them!?
At this point, the entire Shadow Team had already reached the brink of collapse. Even the Breeders had been dragged up to act as Trainers commanding Pokémon in battle. That Professor from just now had attempted to escape using a Pidgeot, only to become the sacrificial victim Raven used to stabilize morale.
At this moment, Raven had no strategy left besides resisting. All these sudden changes had come far too abruptly… so abruptly that he was somewhat at a loss!
"You! Why haven't the fifty people training in the forest come here to seek refuge!!?" Raven asked the Shadows beside him. In truth, he was merely seeking mental comfort. If all fifty people were here, then perhaps this Pokémon tide could actually be resisted.
"Fuhn! With a Pokémon tide of such terrifying scale, how many people could possibly survive? Stop hoping. They're definitely all dead!" Said the sub-island admin of the Sinnoh region, who served as Raven's assistant.
"That shouldn't be possible… it shouldn't be possible! Tetsuya is exceptionally strong, although there was no way to resist it, protecting himself should still have… been… possible!" As Raven spoke, he directly collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion.
The sub-island admin shook his head and said, "Help him inside to rest. We'll continue fighting…"
Raven had already collapsed from exhaustion. Only ten Shadows remained, and even including the Breeders who had been forced into the role, there were only twenty people total. Even those twenty still had to rest in shifts.
---◓---
After Raven killed one Professor, nobody dared to entertain thoughts of escape anymore.
The great fire continued spreading and burned for another day. The entire forest was about to be swallowed whole.
Taking advantage of the cover of night, Tetsuya and Catherine rode Golurk and Skarmory through the sky.
At night, Raven had already replaced the original Island admin from Sinnoh. He no longer possessed any combat power. All six of his Pokémon had died in the Pokémon tide, which meant only Raven alone could continue commanding the battle.
Of the ten people fighting during the daytime, six had already fainted due to stamina exhaustion. Now everyone on Shadow Island was living in fear, and even more people had already lost hope of survival.
By the light of the fire, only Raven alone remained with five Shadows resisting the endless "army" of Pokémon.
The primary combat power still came from Raven's Pokémon. However, the Pokémon had now become even more frenzied because that small remaining section of forest they depended on for survival had also been swallowed by the flames. All food was gone, so naturally their target became the Shadow Team's base. Furthermore, behind them was the great fire, leaving the Pokémon with no other choice.
"Defend the Shadow Team's base to the death!"
---◓---
Raven roared, causing Tetsuya to feel somewhat puzzled. If Raven were merely fighting to protect his current position, Tetsuya could still understand it. But risking his life for the Shadow Team,… 'Was this really Raven?'
After spending several decades within the Shadows, Raven had long since treated the Shadow Team as his own home.
"We'll check again tomorrow morning. Raven won't have any problem enduring through one night," Tetsuya said.
"This person really is desperately fighting. If we attack rashly, we definitely won't gain any advantage," Catherine said.
"Mm, people who no longer care about their lives are the most terrifying."
---◓---
Raven's roar also boosted morale and created a brief surge of momentum, but in the end, they were merely at the end of their strength. Three days of battle had already completely exhausted the Shadow Team's combat power.
Late at night, Catherine had already fallen deeply asleep.
Tetsuya alone walked to a concealed location.
"…Come out, Gengar."
Gengar emerged from Tetsuya's shadow, blending together with the night. Only when it opened its mouth could its white teeth be seen.
"Go to the Shadow Team's base and absorb the vitality of the sleeping people. Don't let the ones fighting outside discover you. Drain them dry!"
After Tetsuya finished speaking, Gengar nodded and floated away.
"It's about to end…"
Tetsuya looked at the star-filled sky and let out a long breath. People whose bodies had collapsed from exhaustion would definitely be in a deep sleeping state right now, leaving their guard at its weakest. Once Gengar made its move, success was guaranteed.
Only two hours later, Gengar once again appeared before Tetsuya.
"It's finished?" Tetsuya said calmly.
Gengar nodded and returned to Tetsuya's shadow. After returning to the tent area, Catherine was drenched in sweat and trembling all over.
'Perhaps only in dreams do you understand fear.' Tetsuya lay down beside her. Tomorrow, it would be time to bring everything to an end.
---◓---
After an entire night of battle, the five Shadows beside Raven collapsed one after another before his eyes.
By dawn, only Raven remained, fighting alone…
Raven's energy had already reached its limit. He rushed into the room, only to find corpses as dry as husks.
It nearly made Raven feel as if the sky itself had collapsed.
"H-How… how could this happen…?"
When he ran to the Researchers' dormitory, he saw the exact same scene there as well…