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It was an utterly exaggerated scene—seven Pokémon that had mastered Hyper Beam unleashed the move simultaneously. In an instant, beams of various thickness shot out from around Liam like Star Destroyer cannons, blasting toward the Black Ape at incredible speed.
"Electabuzz! Ampharos! Use Light Screen repeatedly!"
Faced with the seven Hyper Beams rushing toward them, the Black Ape looked grim. Realizing there was no time to dodge, he immediately gave commands to Ampharos and Electabuzz.
"Raaah!!"
"Hmph!"
Upon receiving the order, both Pokémon swiftly spread their arms. Invisible walls of light rapidly formed on their hands before being thrust forward.
Then, without hesitation, they began forming second barriers. It was obvious—they knew two Light Screens wouldn't be enough to block all the incoming beams.
"BOOM!!!"
At the moment the barriers were deployed, the Hyper Beams crashed into them. The impact caused a series of explosions. The first pair of Light Screens shattered instantly, and the remaining Hyper Beams surged forward.
In the blink of an eye, they reached Ampharos and Electabuzz, whose second screens weren't fully formed yet. With another thunderous explosion, black smoke billowed out.
The two Electric-type Pokémon, now scorched black, were blown away and crashed hard into the grass. Electabuzz twitched for a moment before going limp, while Ampharos shakily pushed itself up again.
Liam stared coldly at the scorched area in front of him. Despite the successful hit, he didn't relax his guard in the slightest.
The blast site was now engulfed in thick smoke. Liam couldn't see what was happening inside, but he knew one thing for certain—the Black Ape wouldn't go down from just one round of attacks. The fact that he hadn't shown himself yet meant he was up to something. There was no evidence, but Liam's instincts screamed that things were far from over.
Truth be told, this round of attacks wasn't especially powerful. Hyper Beam is a special attack move, and only Pokémon with high Special Attack stats can unleash its true might. But looking at Liam's lineup, none of them specialized in Special Attacks.
Only a few Pokemon in his lineup could actually bring out the full power of Hyper Beam, and even then, Electabuzz and Ampharos had just used two Light Screens, reducing the impact.
That's the only reason Ampharos still had fight left in it, unlike Electabuzz, who was already down for the count.
"Rooaar!"
The black smoke continued to swirl. This time, Liam didn't need to say anything—Aerodactyl flapped its wings and blew the smoke away, revealing a scene that surprised Liam just a little.
The Black Ape stood there, looking somewhat disheveled, dust covering his clothes but otherwise unharmed. He wore a look of exaggerated disappointment as he stared at Liam.
"Sigh… So uncooperative. And here I was, all set with a trap waiting for you to walk right into it. You've really let this poor uncle down."
Liam sneered at his words and pointed at the three spherical objects sparking with electricity in front of the Black Ape.
"Those three Voltorb are your trap? How pathetic. I'm almost embarrassed for you. You might want to bring something more dangerous next time… Oh wait, never mind—there won't be a next time. Because today, I'm finishing this. Long-range attackers, go!"
As soon as Liam gave the command, a flurry of ranged attacks shot out. Garchomp and Arbok unleashed Dragon Rage, Arcanine and Nidoking used Flamethrower, Scyther fired a Vacuum Wave, Onix launched a Flash Cannon, and Aerodactyl roared out another Hyper Beam. In a flash, the attacks sliced through the air, hurtling straight toward the Black Ape.
The three Voltorb standing in front of the Black Ape—unpredictable Pokémon that were always seconds away from self-destructing—had Liam on edge. That's why he hadn't sent his Pokémon in close for melee combat. Better to stay safe than risk getting caught in a blast.
"Hahaha! Gotcha! Voltorb! Mirror Coat! I knew you'd go for ranged special attacks! You're finished!"
As the barrage closed in, the Black Ape's grin twisted wickedly. He barked out the order with a triumphant gleam in his eyes, already envisioning Liam's Pokémon being taken down by their own attacks.
"BZZZT!"
The three Voltorb let out shrill screeches as a shimmering violet energy cloaked their round bodies. They launched themselves into the incoming attacks, and with a series of deafening blasts, the Voltorb were thrown backward, rolling on the ground in pain.
But the real horror followed—each of the intercepted special attacks reversed direction with even greater speed and force, heading straight back toward Liam and his team.
Mirror Coat—a Psychic-type move that reflects special attacks with double the force, but only if the Pokémon survives the initial hit.
"Protect! Dammit! You despicable scumbag! Do you not care about your Pokémon's safety at all?!"
Seeing the rebounding attacks coming for them, Liam immediately ordered his team to use Protect. Barriers of shimmering energy sprang up in front of his Pokémon just in time to block the incoming barrage. All the reflected attacks were neutralized.
Then Liam turned to the now-frozen Black Ape, his expression seething with fury.
"You've got some nerve. Sacrificing your own Pokémon just to pull off a cheap trick."
"...No way… How can they all use Protect?! And earlier… they all used Hyper Beam at the same time too! What the hell kind of training have you done?!"
The Black Ape gawked at Liam and his unscathed Pokémon, utterly dumbfounded, completely ignoring Liam's outrage.
Liam narrowed his eyes. "That's all you've got to say?"
The Black Ape's pupils shrank at Liam's sharp tone. Then, as if switching masks, he plastered on another sleazy grin. He knew he couldn't win in his current state. Without a word, he pulled out his PokeBalls and recalled all of his remaining Pokémon.
"So, you're surrendering? Smart move. I'm always nice to prisoners."
Liam raised an eyebrow.
"Heh, who said anything about surrendering? Honestly, I didn't expect you to bring this many Pokémon with you—let alone ones that are all this strong. The intel team from the organization really dropped the ball again… Seems like we'll need to reevaluate your strength. I'll give you this one, Liam—you win today. But be thankful I didn't bring my main team. Don't worry though, we will meet again. Next time, I'll show you my real power… So for now… farewell!"
Still grinning shamelessly, the Black Ape turned around and bolted, his long legs moving shockingly fast.
Liam blinked, momentarily stunned by the sudden retreat. Then his expression darkened, and he jumped onto Arcanine's back, quickly returning his team to their PokeBalls. Arcanine darted off in pursuit.
"Stop right there! If you've got a pair of balls, don't run!"
"Pfft, if you've got guts, then don't chase me! Go, Forretress—Spikes!"
"Foorreeet!"
Arcanine's speed quickly closed the gap, but just before it could catch up, the Black Ape released a Forretress. The moment it appeared, Forretress began spinning rapidly, hurling a shower of sharp Spikes that completely blocked Arcanine's path.
Seeing the field covered in spikes, Arcanine skidded to a halt just outside the hazardous zone. Staring at the spikes, then back at the rapidly disappearing Black Ape, Arcanine could only sigh in resignation.