The dazzling sunlight shone, making the surroundings grow scorching hot. Mamoswine could not help but retreat, taking shelter in the shade.
Aside from being perfectly suited for Houndoom, sunlight like this also provided considerable advantages for Golurk in battle.
Tetsuya knew there was absolutely no way he could win this battle with only the Pokémon currently fighting. At the critical moment, he would still need Golurk's "sneak attack". Under such intense sunlight, combined with the Bright Powder on its body, it would become a lethal move against that old man!
"Miltank, use Helping Hand. Beedrill, [Twin Fury], target the hostile Weezing. Weezing, use Gyro Ball and Sludge Bomb to disrupt Muk's rhythm. Drapion, prepare to battle Toxicroak. Houndoom, use Flamethrower to stop Arbok. Ditto, Transform into Houndoom."
Tetsuya had mobilized most of his combat power. Although he had six Pokémon against the old man's five, team battles had nothing to do with the number of Pokémon involved. Those Pokémon capable of shaping a team formation all on their own could withstand the combined assault of dozens of Pokémon even by themselves.
Tetsuya had already used Mamoswine's blizzard to break through the Smog, preventing Muk from successfully completing the Poisonous Swamp field. This was already the most crucial step, and it was also why the old man found the situation somewhat unbelievable.
Miltank began using Helping Hand; in this situation, it was like the beating of war drums, it fired up Tetsuya's Pokémon!
Beedrill was the first to beat its wings, shooting forward like an aurora straight toward the hostile Weezing. Weezing was not fast to begin with, and Beedrill quickly left it completely disoriented.
The four-headed Weezing spun its body, its originally blackish-purple body becoming enveloped in a metallic sheen. It then hurled Sludge Bombs one after another, smashing them into Muk's body!
Muk now had no opportunity to continue using Sludge Wave and was forced to use moves to resist. Ordinary resistance could hardly contend with this move from Weezing.
Drapion was currently in a rather unfavorable situation. It had already fought one battle and lost some stamina. Although it was facing another Toxicroak this time, this one was clearly stronger than the previous one.
Under [Blazing Howl] sunny weather, the power of Houndoom's Fire-type moves received the greatest boost. With the blazing sunlight beating down, it was also very easy to start a fire, which was one of Tetsuya's objectives.
The Arbok coiled around the trees could only use them to dodge. As flames raged and the trees caught fire, the Arbok could no longer return to the trees they had originally been coiled around. As this continued, their movements were greatly restricted.
As for Ditto, it Transformed into Houndoom, so naturally its tactics were the same.
As tree after tree burned, the two Arbok were forced to return to the ground, and the Arbok that had originally played the role of surprise attackers also lost their purpose.
In the head-on confrontation between Toxicroak and Drapion, Toxicroak lured Drapion into the Poisonous Swamp. Already low on stamina, Drapion was even less capable of dealing with Toxicroak while it fought on its home field.
Drapion was quickly defeated, and Tetsuya was the first to recall it.
With Toxicroak now free to act, the situation on Tetsuya's side would become severely unbalanced.
Especially for the nearby four-headed Weezing, which was locked in an intense battle with Muk. The two were evenly matched in toxicity, making it difficult to determine a victor for the moment, while Toxicroak would certainly go help Muk immediately, because only Muk could create the field best suited for it.
Toxicroak strode forward, its poisonous hand aimed directly at the four-headed Weezing.
"Golurk, do it…"
Standing beside Golurk, Tetsuya spoke softly. This strike was meant to succeed without fail. Wind surged beneath Golurk's feet as it propelled itself forward, using none other than High Horsepower as it hurtled toward Toxicroak.
With a whoosh, Toxicroak saw Golurk charging straight toward it and was just about to confront when a dazzling light suddenly blinded it!
Toxicroak's vision blurred, leaving it incapable of open its eyes and forcing it to raise a hand to shield them from the light.
It lasted only an instant…
Golurk only needed that instant!
High Horsepower sent Toxicroak flying. With enough power to charge straight through the glacier falls, there were few Pokémon capable of resisting it unless they were defensive Pokémon at the Elite Four level.
However, this Toxicroak was already at the Elite Four level… it was simply in poor condition, and after blocking with both arms, it had not been incapacitated.
However, Golurk certainly would not give it another chance to get back up. Dynamic Punch followed immediately, leaving Toxicroak in a Confused state. It even accidentally struck a nearby Arbok that was dodging a Flamethrower.
In the end, Toxicroak still fell beneath Golurk's fists.
The nameless old man sneered. "Hmph! What a odious brat. I hope your good luck continues…"
What Tetsuya found strange was that although Toxicroak had been incapacitated, the old man did not recall it into its Poké Ball, instead leaving it collapsed in the Poisonous Swamp.
Tetsuya had now broken open the situation and was completely suppressing the old man's Pokémon. However, seeing how calm the old man remained, Tetsuya could not shake a faint sense of unease. He kept feeling that these Pokémon's capacities went far beyond than this…
Whether it was the Toxicroak he had defeated or the Pokémon still fighting, all of them "looked" very weak, as though they had only recently recovered from a serious illness. Their moves were often half a beat slow, which was precisely why Tetsuya had been able to seize these opportunities.
After successfully launching its surprise attack, Golurk returned to Tetsuya's side. After all, it was his guarantee for escaping, so nothing could be allowed to go wrong. Teleport took too much time; in battles of this level, gaining that much "time" would mean a sacrifice had been made…
The battle once again fell into a stalemate.
Beedrill's [Twin Fury] had indeed caused Weezing considerable trouble, but Weezing also had plenty of moves with which to respond, like surrounding itself with Poison Gas.
Beedrill's toxicity was still no match for these monsters. Several times it charged into the Poison Gas, only to be knocked back out by Weezing's Sludge Bomb. Now Beedrill was instead on the defensive.
Hidden within the Poison Gas, Weezing continuously used moves to attack Beedrill.
Although Beedrill was extremely fast and these moves could not injure it, what difference was there between a Beedrill that could not attack and a useless Pokémon? If this continued, its weakness in stamina would gradually become apparent, and in the end, there would still be no way out.
The old man's Muk also revealed its specialty. At first, the four-headed Weezing's moves had indeed been very effective, and Muk had suffered considerably as a result…
However, after being reminded by the old man, Muk directly used Acid Armor, merging its body with the Poisonous Swamp on the ground. No matter how the four-headed Weezing's moves struck the Poisonous Swamp, they merely caused ripples to spread across its surface!
Tetsuya quickly sensed that something was wrong and had Weezing stop attacking.
Under the assault of Poison-type moves, the Poisonous Swamp's range had expanded even faster.
What Tetsuya had feared most had still happened…
Muk was now in an invincible position, and the four-headed Weezing could only barely respond to Muk's sudden attacks whenever it emerged.
After extensive training, Arbok could also move through the Poisonous Swamp. Although they could not move as freely as they did among the trees, they had at least gained a foothold and could exchange moves with Houndoom and Ditto within it.
The change in the battle forced Tetsuya to consider his next plan.
There was currently nothing he could do about Muk. The two Arbok could also hide within the Poisonous Swamp, but at least Houndoom and Ditto had them tied down, preventing them from playing much of a role.
Therefore, the only Pokémon he could deal with now was Weezing.
Beedrill's speed while dodging moves was growing slower and slower, clearly showing that its stamina was rapidly declining. If he did not take action soon, it would quickly be defeated by this Weezing.
Hidden within the Poison Gas, Weezing unleashed moves without restraint. Like this, even Golurk's Bright Powder could not play a role, which was truly troublesome.
With only the Pokémon currently on the field, it would be difficult for Tetsuya to gain any further advantage. Moreover, the battle was already underway, and there was no turning back. If he wanted to escape, he could only wait until the battle ended, unless he abandoned these Pokémon and fled for his life alone.
If he recalled all of his Pokémon at once right now, the old man's Pokémon would swarm him, and he would undoubtedly lose his little life.
As for abandoning these Pokémon now and fleeing alone… that was equally impossible!
These Pokémon were the culmination of all his efforts across two lifetimes. Moreover, he was already on the verge of reaching the level he had possessed in his previous life. Giving up now was absolutely impossible.
Even if he had to fight down to his very last Pokémon, he would keep battling!
Tetsuya gritted his teeth, thinking that he had to tear this old bastard to pieces, dig out the poison sacs of all his Pokémon, and use them to potentiate Drapion and Spinarak's toxicity.
The opening now lay with Weezing and its Poison Gas.
There was no other way…
Tetsuya quietly said a few words to Mamoswine and Golurk. At a time like this, he would use any means necessary. As long as he won, then so be it if that made him a scumbag.
Without betraying any sign of its intentions, Mamoswine unleashed Icy Wind toward Weezing's position. The Poison Gas was instantly blown away, stripping Weezing of its barrier and exposing it.
At that moment, Golurk repeated the same "tactic". A dazzling beam of light shone into Weezing's eyes, forcing it to close them. However, Weezing had four pairs of eyes, and the other two pairs could still determine what was happening. Yet what appeared before those two pairs of eyes was Beedrill fluttering everywhere.
Just as Weezing prepared to use a move to resist…
Then came a tremendous "bang". Golurk's surprise attack succeeded once again, sending Weezing flying.
Immediately afterward came Beedrill's storm-like barrage of attacks. Weezing's defenses were broken through by Tetsuya, and it collapsed into the Poisonous Swamp.
The old man's face turned livid after being caught by Tetsuya's surprise attack yet again. It was not because Weezing had been incapacitated, but because despite his battle experience, he had actually been outmaneuvered by this boi twice.
It was utterly humiliating and unbearably shameful!
All he wanted now was to finish Tetsuya off as quickly as possible and erase this shameful experience.
At this point, Tetsuya's own four-headed Weezing had also been struck repeatedly by Muk and suffered considerable injuries, so Tetsuya ordered it to retreat.
"Miltank, use your milk to help the Weezing recover its stamina." Tetsuya gave the command. Fortunately, the four-headed Weezing had not yet been incapacitated. With Miltank there, it could still recover some stamina.
Unfortunately, there was no opportunity for Beedrill to drink milk; Tetsuya could not afford to do without Beedrill at such a critical moment.
Now freed from its battle, Beedrill circled above the Poisonous Swamp. More than twenty Beedrill would certainly give Muk plenty to keep busy with.
Although Sludge Bomb was powerful, it could only eliminate one clone at a time, so Tetsuya could safely focus on helping the four-headed Weezing recover. After all, he still needed the Weezing to execute the final "ultimate move".
---◓---
After drinking Miltank milk, Weezing recovered some of its stamina. There were now only three Pokémon left on the opposing side, and all of them were concentrated within the Poisonous Swamp.
They had also lost a great deal of energy after fighting for so long, making this the perfect opportunity to use, the now named, [Fume Cataclysm].
Moreover, the weather was currently sunny, so Houndoom, as well as Ditto Transformed into Houndoom, would receive a much greater boost to their flames than usual.
Most importantly, the trees on both sides had now all been set ablaze.
This was something Tetsuya had planned from the very beginning. Once the gas was detonated, the entire area covered by the burning trees would be caught in the blast, and its power would be unprecedented!
Even if the opposing three Pokémon hid within the Poisonous Swamp, there would be nowhere for them to escape.
"Concentrate all your power and use Poison Gas. Mamoswine, prepare Icy Wind. This time, make absolutely sure nothing goes wrong."
With no other burdens to worry about, the four-headed Weezing concentrated all its energy and spewed out thick Poison Gas, which quickly formed a pitch-black cloud.
The old man also became cautious, unsure of what Tetsuya was planning.
At last, Weezing expelled all of its Poison Gas. Mamoswine's Icy Wind was many times more powerful than Weezing's, and under Mamoswine's control, it flowed with remarkable ease, carrying the gas rolling forward.
"Beedrill, retreat!"
Beedrill was the only Pokémon currently within the attack range, so Tetsuya quickly ordered it to retreat to a safe distance, until the Poison Gas shrouded the entire area above the Poisonous Swamp.
"Houndoom, Ditto… Flamethrower!" Tetsuya shouted.
The old man's expression remained unchanged, but Tetsuya's tactics were genuinely astonishing. It was difficult to believe that someone so young could employ such ruthless maneuvers.
Everything, from the very beginning, had been part of Tetsuya's calculations.
The flames on the trees on both sides spread to the Poison Gas, while Houndoom and HounDittoom unleashed Flamethrower at that exact moment. Flames converged from three directions.
The Poison Gas rapidly expanded…
…Boooooom!!!
A deafening explosion erupted, followed immediately by billowing smoke that soared into the sky.
'It worked!'
Tetsuya could not suppress his excitement. Although he had used many despicable methods, he did not care about any of that for the sake of victory.
Now he only had to wait for the thick smoke to clear and finish off the old man. Then all of the Pokémon's bodies would belong to him, and Drapion and Spinarak's toxicity would rise to another level.
The thick smoke gradually dispersed, and the old man could already be seen faintly through it…
However, there was now another enormous figure beside him!
Tetsuya felt a faint sense of unease, thinking that he could not allow greed to get the better of him and that it would be better to reach a safe place as soon as possible.
Just as he was preparing to retreat…
He heard only one command: "Solar Beam."
A massive beam of white light blasted toward him, dispersing the thick smoke. Houndoom, Ditto, and Miltank at the very front were struck head-on by Solar Beam and collapsed on the spot, incapacitated!
Tetsuya had no choice but to recall all three Pokémon. He couldn't help but sharply catch his breath a couple of times.
What kind of monster had appeared on the other side now…