Moltres was a pseudo-champion, Abomasnow at the peak of the Elite level, while Salamence, Regirock, and Blaziken were all late-stage Elites. The sudden appearance of this force instantly caught the Celestrian and Gallian teams off guard.
Phil's ace, Chandelure, was severely injured by Moltres. The fact that it hadn't been instantly knocked out was proof of this Pokémon's exceptional strength.
Meanwhile, Abomasnow and Blaziken teamed up to defeat Hydreigon, which was second only to Chandelure in power.
Regirock took down Lickilicky.
As for Salamence, its attacks were wide-ranged and didn't directly knock out any opponent. However, it inflicted significant damage on five Pokémon, worsening their already existing injuries.
So now, these five Pokémon had little fighting capability left.
But this wasn't the end—it was just the beginning.
The sudden assault from Moltres and the other four Pokémon served as a signal.
Pierce and the others, who had been lying in wait nearby, immediately released their own Pokémon as soon as the five Pokémon struck.
They launched a surprise attack on the Celestrian and Gallian teams from behind.
"Dragonite, Dragon Rush!" shouted Asher.
"Typhlosion, Fire Blast!" Ember coldly commanded.
"Glalie, Ice Beam!" Rowan ordered.
"Golem, Earth Power!" Pierce roared.
At this moment, the trainers from Celestria and Gallia were still in a state of shock and fury. They couldn't understand how Sophia and her team still had such powerful Pokémon in reserve.
The sudden turn of events left them no time to react.
And just then, the attacks from Pierce and the other three had already arrived.
At the same time, Sophia's eyes gleamed with intensity as she roared:
"Everyone, attack together—NOW!"
"NO!!!"
Phil, sensing the incoming assault from behind, let out a furious roar—his voice filled with rage, but even more so, with unwillingness.
BOOM!!!!
Caught in the pincer attack, a massive explosion engulfed the battlefield. Shockwaves like hurricanes swept outward, and the already shattered ground trembled as if wailing in despair.
Winning the first battle doesn't mean victory—winning the last one does.
To deceive Phil and his allies, Sophia had fought for a full hour and a half before finally unleashing the other team's Pokémon. Along the way, they had even lost several of their own Pokémon in battle.
It was precisely because a few of their Pokémon had fallen that the Celestrian and Gallian teams felt the battle was already in the bag, convinced they had the Volkarians cornered.
To lure in the prey, the bait had to be costly.
The fallen Pokémon were Sophia's bait.
And this bait had indeed been far too heavy a price—because among the lost Pokémon was one of her own.
A companion as dear as family… now gone forever.
The one who killed it was a Celestrian, but one could also say it was Sophia, the trainer herself.
From a strategic standpoint, Sophia's decision was correct. But from a personal, emotional perspective, the weight of it was almost unbearable.
The violent explosions lasted a full three to four minutes, thick smoke enveloping the center of the battlefield.
Asher's Dragonite and Salamence flapped their wings, dispersing the smoke before them.
While the others remained on guard, their gazes fixed ahead.
As the smoke cleared, what came into view were Pokémon lying in pools of blood—and the lifeless bodies of the trainers from Celestria and Gallia.
Under such a devastating ambush, even if the Celestrian and Gallian trainers had their Pokémon to protect them, it was of no use.
"Hahaha! We wiped them all out!" Asher grinned wildly.
This battle had been an absolute victory for their side.
But compared to the triumphant mood of Asher and his three companions, the five from Volkaria were far less jubilant.
Sophia knelt before a fallen Kabutops, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm the one who got you killed..." she whispered, her hands trembling as they traced over its body—now riddled with wounds.
Anton and the other three were no different. Each had lost a cherished partner, and now they stood there, hollow-eyed, looking completely dazed and defeated.
There was no joy of victory on their faces—only grief.
Grief, as they say, is contagious. The raw sorrow radiating from the five of them seeped into Pierce and the others.
At the very least, Asher couldn't laugh anymore. Not out of sympathy, but because the mood had shifted so heavily that even he knew it'd be heartless to keep celebrating.
'Huh? Where's Rowan?'
Asher suddenly realized his companion was missing.
A quick scan of the battlefield revealed the answer—Rowan was already looting the corpses.
'Holy shit, this guy works fast!'
Rowan: 'Ooooh, good stuff! This is good too! Damn, treasure! Mine—all mine!!'
He was practically giddy.
Why had they killed the trainers from Celestria and Gallia? Sure, they were enemies—but more importantly, they had loot.
Now that they were all dead, and the Volkarians were too grief-stricken to care, someone had to do the dirty work of stripping the battlefield clean.
While doing so, he also recalled the surviving Pokémon into their Poké Balls.
The two nations had fielded nineteen Elite-level Pokémon in total, and now only eight remained alive—and every one of them was critically injured.
Meanwhile, Gengar floated in the air, devouring the scattered souls with gluttonous delight.
The souls of Elite-level Pokémon? Incredibly nourishing.
Especially that Peak Elite-level Chandelure—a fellow Ghost-type, and an expert in devouring souls.
Thus, the energy within its own soul was abundant, and of very high quality.
After Gengar swallowed it, its aura began to fluctuate violently, and its chubby body swelled up like a balloon.
"Gengar!"
Pierce's expression turned tense—if something happened to Gengar, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Julian.
"Is it… going to explode?"
Ember's eyes widened as she watched Gengar's body inflate to three or four times its original size, instinctively covering her mouth.
Julian, riding on Dragonite, returned to the scene, initially feeling quite pleased that the battle was over—until he spotted a large, white, ball-like object below.
Looking more closely, it seemed familiar. Looking even closer—'damn, that's my chubby Gengar!'
'What the hell did it eat to have such a massive amount of energy inside it?!'
Julian didn't have time for questions or scolding. He immediately shouted:
"Gengar—MEGA EVOLVE!"
A surge of multicolored light engulfed Gengar, transforming it into Mega Gengar.
After Mega Evolution, Gengar's level jumped from 70 to 75—though that was secondary right now.
"Expel the excess energy. NOW." Julian's voice was ice-cold.
With Mega Evolution, Mega Gengar's internal energy was somewhat stabilized, but Julian couldn't keep it in that state forever.
Realizing that its trainer was furious, Mega Gengar obediently channeled the surplus energy into a dimensional space through its specially constructed body.
As the Mega Evolution dissolved, Gengar's body shrank back to normal… but its aura was still skyrocketing.
A minute later, Gengar's level stabilized at 75.
And just like that, Julian had gained another mid-stage Elite Pokémon.
*****
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