Having just broken through to elite level, Honchkrow was naturally in an extremely excited state. It had been kept as Sieg's trump card all this time, hidden away even during the fight for Raikou's blood, so deep down it had been craving a battle desperately.
With a loud screech, it shot toward the sky at breakneck speed. A faint blue glow ignited across its feathers as it descended like a phoenix.
Brave Bird, descending from the heavens!
Honchkrow's trajectory left behind a trail of pale blue afterglow, like a cannonball hurtling down.
"BOOM!!!"
"Sunflora, use Protect, quick!"
Rose screamed at the top of her lungs, completely abandoning her usual seductive and alluring image.
When the smoke cleared, Rose's previously tense expression instantly darkened. Both level-30-something Sunflora had used Protect simultaneously, yet they still couldn't withstand this single strike from Honchkrow.
"How could this be... it shouldn't have..."
Rose was utterly perplexed. Her suspicious gaze secretly probed toward Honchkrow, only to discover that the energy waves emanating from it were no weaker than her Venusaur's, it was also an elite-level Pokémon.
"Elite level! I didn't notice before... It was hidden so well!"
Rose practically ground out those words through clenched teeth. The information asymmetry had caused her to misjudge its strength.
Sieg just smiled faintly. This was precisely one of the reasons he had Honchkrow constantly conceal its energy fluctuations.
There was no time for sentiment, because another fight was still raging intensely. Sharpedo's entire body was wrapped in surging torrents of water, using its Speed Boost ability and the momentum from Aqua Jet to charge at Breloom.
At the same time, its shark maw gathered Ice-type energy, wisps of pale green frost mist rising as it approached Breloom and chomped down!
The abyssal shark mouth bit down with incomparable pressure. Moreover, Breloom's level hadn't even reached elite level, so naturally it couldn't hold out for long. Its body was soon covered in bite wounds.
Especially the two massive tear wounds on its legs, filled with ice shards. A powerful frostbite sensation swept through its entire body.
"Breloom, Stun Spore!"
Breloom made its final stand, shaking its tail to scatter golden, glittering powder.
Sieg's eyes flickered slightly. He commanded Honchkrow to blow away the powder while having Umbreon secretly absorb a little into its body.
The tide of battle shifted in mere seconds. In that short time, only Pidgeot struggling in the air and Venusaur still absorbing and digesting the drug's effects remained on the field.
As for Breloom and the two Sunflora, they all lay on the ground, their fates unknown.
But correspondingly, his own Pokémon had also consumed considerable stamina, especially Honchkrow.
It had already expended tremendous energy carrying Sieg in flight from the New Mauville forest for several hours.
On top of that, it had to maintain Tailwind for the entire team from the start of battle. In the past, when it only provided support, it could barely manage. But now it also had to serve as the main attacker.
Especially after using a powerful attack like Brave Bird, all these factors stacked up meant Honchkrow's stamina had probably reached its limit.
However, even so, Sieg still held the advantage.
"Crawdaunt, Swords Dance. Boost yourself quickly."
"Sharpedo, use Ice Beam and try to shoot down Pidgeot."
"Honchkrow, come back and recover some stamina for now."
Sieg noticed that the opponent's Venusaur was about to wake up. The aura rising from its body was climbing steadily, now similar to a level 50 Pokémon.
Precisely because of this, Sieg quickly commanded his Pokémon to adjust their condition to face the brutal battle ahead.
Crawdaunt performed its somewhat familiar war dance, though this time it was noticeably more intense than before.
Just then.
Having completed its energy absorption, Venusaur finally stood up. Its already oversized frame seemed to undergo a second growth spurt, suddenly shooting up another significant height.
"Umbreon, use Synchronize to transfer the paralysis status to Venusaur!"
Sieg commanded instantly.
Paralysis lowered a Pokémon's speed. Currently, there was still some residual effect from the two Sunflora's Sunny Day, and Venusaur's Chlorophyll ability hadn't completely faded.
"Prepare to die! Venusaur, Petal Dance! Pidgeot, use Twister!"
Rose's face twisted with a crazed smile.
Hearing these two familiar moves again, Sieg instantly recalled that tornado storm battle on the beach.
A combination attack!
Countless petals floated into the air, swept up by Pidgeot's Twister, forming a floral storm just like last time.
"Looks like I'll have to use that move!"
Sieg glanced at Honchkrow, whose stamina had recovered slightly, and said in a low voice, "Use Snatch on Crawdaunt and Sharpedo!"
That's right, the same Snatch tactic he'd used to defeat Kikuta at the abandoned power plant. This was currently the strongest strategy Sieg could deploy.
Elite-level Honchkrow, through Snatch, stole Crawdaunt's Swords Dance boost and Sharpedo's Speed Boost state, combined with its own Tailwind and its massive base 125 Attack stat.
Honchkrow transformed into a killing machine once more.
However, this time it had to be a quick decisive battle. Although Snatch could bring countless boosts, each additional one rapidly drained stamina.
The burden from so many stat boosts, if sustained too long, might cause irreversible damage.
"Honchkrow, Brave Bird! Charge straight into the storm!" Sieg's emotionless, cold voice rang out.
Honchkrow transformed into a pale blue phoenix once more, diving headfirst into the floral storm.
In just a few seconds, the petals filling the sky ignited one by one with blue flames, ultimately burning away completely.
The instigator of it all, Honchkrow, was now rushing toward Venusaur at an exaggerated speed. Pidgeot in the air tried to intercept, but even with its incredible reaction speed, it couldn't keep up with Honchkrow's flight velocity.
In that moment, a brilliant blue meteor streaked across the sky.
"Venu...saur!!!"
Venusaur tried once more to summon more petals from the flower on its back, but the petals that swept forth ignited again with eerie blue flames.
Finally, under its despairing gaze,
Honchkrow crashed down with devastating force!
The entire battlefield fell silent. Rose looked utterly incredulous. She never imagined that even after taking the drug, sacrificing potential to forcibly increase its strength, Venusaur still couldn't withstand the attack.
The already exhausted Pidgeot was simultaneously hit by Crawdaunt's Ice Beam. Its entire body froze into a massive ice chunk and plummeted from the sky.
Seeing this scene, Rose's hair stood on end, her heart pounding frantically with unprecedented nervousness.
At this moment, she had no Pokémon left, she was just a defenseless, powerless woman.
"No... no, Black Sky! Pls spare this me! I'll be your servant, your slave, let you enjoy every pleasure. I'll brand myself with your mark!"
Rose's face turned ashen. She seemed to have anticipated her fate. The formerly proud woman actually began begging for mercy.
She actively removed her combat suit, then quickly unbuttoned her blouse, revealing her ample bosom that would make anyone salivate, exuding an indescribable, alluring temptation.
Hers appearance did surprise Sieg slightly. She truly was a woman who could bend and adapt.
And truly a woman full of charm.
But also a dangerous woman covered in thorns!
Sieg said nothing, just sneered coldly. But this expression seemed to restore a thread of rationality to Rose.
"No... Black Sky, you can't kill me! Otherwise Viper won't leave you alone! I'm his woman! He'll come for revenge, you can't withstand an Elite Four level expert."
"As long as you spare my life, I can..."
Rose desperately played her final card, panicking. Unfortunately, before she could finish speaking, an energy wave shot forth.
The seductive woman who'd been lying half-clothed on the ground was instantly decapitated, her head flying against a nearby tree.