The sky above the Williams estate was clear, the suffocating spatial tear having vanished completely alongside Seth Williams and the Black Knight.
But down on the ground, the war was not over.
The Ancient Kingdom operatives had received the transmission: the primary objective was secured. However, knowing that the League's main reinforcements had still not breached the island's jamming fields, a few of the more bloodthirsty commanders made a tactical decision.
They had a window of a few minutes. Why not finish the secondary objective and wipe out Kanto's future foundation?
In the ruined garden maze, Red and Green were panting heavily. They had just managed to take down a Advanced-level commander, their Pokémon pushed to the absolute brink of exhaustion.
Charizard's tail flame flickered weakly, and Venusaur was barely keeping its heavy vines elevated.
Before they could even catch their breath, a deafening crash echoed from the adjacent courtyard.
A veteran chaperone, a Pseudo-Elite hired by one of the aristocratic families, was thrown brutally through a stone archway, his body rolling limply across the grass.
His Magnezone crashed down right beside him, completely unconscious, its steel body heavily dented.
Stepping through the shattered archway was an Ancient Kingdom invader clad in heavy, spiked armor. The aura he radiated was vastly different from the commander Red and Green had just defeated.
This was a Pseudo-Elite.
"Useless bodyguards," the invader spat, stepping over the unconscious chaperone.
His eyes locked onto Red and Green. "But it seems I've stumbled upon a much better prize. The Pallet Town prodigy, Red. I have read about you." He tossed a Poké Ball.
With a terrifying, guttural roar, a massive, bipedal rhinoceros covered in thick, rock-like armor materialized. Red checked its data on his Pokedex.
---
Pokémon: Rhyperior
Gender: Male
Level: 51
Type: Ground/Rock
Potential: S+
---
A Level 51 Pseudo-King.
The crushing pressure of its ground-type energy immediately forced Venusaur and Charizard to take a step back. The gap in power was insurmountable, especially with both starters running on fumes.
"Green," Red said, his voice dropping into a serious, deadpan tone. "Get ready to run."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Green muttered, taking out a Smoke Ball.
"Rhyperior, Rock Wrecker. Crush them into paste," the invader ordered lazily. Rhyperior raised its massive arms, a colossal boulder of condensed rock-type energy forming above its head.
But before the beast could throw the devastating attack, the sky above them lit up in a blinding, fiery orange.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A literal meteor of fire crashed down from the sky, slamming directly into the center of the garden with the force of a tactical missile.
The shockwave shattered the surrounding hedges and completely blew away Rhyperior's Rock Wrecker, forcing the massive Pseudo-King to stagger backward to maintain its footing.
A ring of fire surrounded the perimeter of the crater, with three figures standing in the middle.
Blaire, Charizard, and Belle, who was held up by Blaire.
(Note: In scenes like these, always assume that the Pokemon is protecting the trainer from taking any damage.)
Despite her wearing sunglasses, anyone who saw Blaire right now could tell that she was pissed.
The agonising grief that burned in her chest had mutated into pure, unadulterated rage.
She needed to blow off some steam. And what better punching bags than the scumbags responsible for tearing her family apart?
"Everything that is going to happen from here on out..." Blaire whispered, her voice vibrating with a terrifying, lethal coldness. She slowly raised her hand to her spiked collar. "Is just me blowing off some steam."
She pressed the Key Stone.
"Charizard!"
A blinding, prismatic pillar of light erupted from her partner, swallowing the massive fire-type.
ROOOOOOOOAR!
The light shattered, revealing the jagged wings and aerodynamic form of Mega Charizard Y.
Instantly, the weather shifted. Drought activated with terrifying force. The moisture in the air evaporated in a millisecond, the ambient fire-type energy skyrocketing and warped the very space around them.
Red pulled the brim of his cap down, shielding his eyes from the blinding sunlight.
'So this was the source of that fiery energy,' Red thought, his competitive spirit flaring.
Green smirked, lowering her hands from her face. "The punk hottie... she's so badass."
The Pseudo-Elite invader took a step back, genuine fear flashing behind his visor. "Primal Regression?! Rhyperior, Stone Edge! Take it out now!"
"Incinerate it," Blaire commanded, her voice devoid of all mercy. Mega Charizard Y didn't dodge. Resonating perfectly with Blaire's intense, murderous emotions, he opened his jaws and unleashed a Solar Beam. Because of the extreme sunlight, there was zero charge time.
The beam of pure solar energy was the size of a tree trunk. It hit the incoming jagged stones, instantly vaporizing them into dust, and continued straight through, slamming directly into Rhyperior's chest.
"RHYYY!" the beast roared in agony. Being four times weak to Grass-type moves, the Pseudo-King's armor shattered like glass, and it was sent flying backward, crashing into the invader and sending them both tumbling through the ruins of the garden.
"Yay! Big sis Blaire and Char-Char are the strongest!" Belle shouted from Blaire's arms
They didn't get back up.
Blaire didn't even watch them land. She immediately hopped onto Mega Charizard Y's back, her eyes scanning the rest of the estate for more targets. She was going to make every single operative on this island pay.
On the other side of the estate, Eric was currently fighting for his life. Haunter and Kai's Zoroark were panting heavily, barely managing to dodge another hyper-condensed Shadow Ball from the aristocratic woman's Mismagius.
After she took command of her, even though Mismagius was close to defeat, Eric and Kai couldn't get a single hit in.
Despite pushing his Ghost-type energy to the absolute limit, Haunter's Shadow Domain was crumbling.
The woman invader hadn't even broken a sweat. She stood with her arms crossed, watching them with the same cynical, bored expression.
"You have spirit, I'll give you that," she said, her voice dripping with condescension. "But raw effort cannot overcome the natural order of the world. Mismagius, end this. Phantom Force."
Mismagius giggled, its form beginning to fade into the spectral plane to deliver the final, lethal blow.
Eric gritted his teeth, preparing to command a desperate, point-blank Hex. But suddenly, the black communicator on the woman's wrist beeped sharply. She paused, lifting her arm. A string of encrypted text flashed across the small screen.
"Primary target secured. League Teleportation Wards breached. Elites incoming. Evacuate immediately.*
The woman clicked her tongue, her cynical expression twisting into a scowl.
"Tch. The League finally woke up," she muttered.
"Mismagius, halt," she commanded.
The spectral witch reappeared beside her, looking disappointed. The woman reached to her belt and recalled the rest of her Advanced-level Pokémon that had been systematically dismantling Sebastian's defenses.
She pulled a glowing spatial stone from her pocket and looked back at Eric, Iris, and Kai.
"You live today, children," she said coldly, ignoring the fact that she didn't look much older than them, and crushed the stone in her hand. A localised spatial tear ripped open behind her. "Enjoy the League's hollow peace while it lasts. The true war has only just begun."
She stepped backward into the void, and the tear snapped shut, leaving the battlefield eerily silent.
Eric collapsed onto the ground, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Haunter fell out of the air, exhausted, his form returning to its normal state as the Shadow Domain dissipated.
"We... survived," Iris breathed, her hands shaking slightly as she recalled her battered Pawniard.
Kai adjusted his posture, hiding the glint of relief in his eyes. He had almost been forced to blow his cover. "It seems we did."
Just seconds after the invaders vanished, the sky above the Williams estate erupted in a series of blinding flashes.
VWOOSH! VWOOSH! VWOOSH!
Massive teleportation circles created by psychic-type Pokemon opened across the island. From the teleportation circles stepped figures radiating overwhelming, absolute power.
The Vanguard of the Kanto League Police, flanked by Elite-level trainers from the major aristocratic families, had finally arrived.
Among them was Lance, riding atop a massive, terrifying Dragonite, his red cape billowing in the wind.
At the forefront of the group stood Agatha, alongside a Gengar with a darker hue of purple than normal.
They had arrived to secure the island.
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