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At the critical moment, the backup Sato had prepared for Nidoking arrived. Crobat's lightning-fast Cross Poison strike landed squarely on Haxorus's weak point.
Haxorus was already covered in wounds from his battle with Nidoking. Now, struck by Crobat's same-type-attack-bonus Cross Poison on a critical spot, his body simply couldn't take any more. No matter how unwilling he was, he could only collapse.
With Haxorus down, the tide of the battle turned completely.
Freed from Haxorus's restraint, Nidoking swiftly moved to support Whirlipede and Kecleon. A single Thunderbolt and Water Pulse were enough to send Ninjask and Houndoom crashing to the ground.
Immediately after, under Sato's command, the four Pokémon quickly surrounded the four remaining members of the Black Cloud Poaching Group.
Except for Julio, the other three poachers each released a Rapidash and began to flee in panic.
"No! How could this be? How could my Haxorus lose?" Julio stared at his fallen Haxorus, his face a mask of disbelief as he screamed, nearly hysterical.
"Let's go, Boss! That guy's Nidoking is coming!" one of the nearby poachers, seeing Julio still frozen in place, immediately rode his Rapidash over to him and urged frantically.
Hearing his teammate's warning, Julio snapped out of his stupor. He quickly recalled Haxorus into its PokéBall, released a Rapidash of his own, and prepared to make his escape.
"Trying to run? It's not that easy. Crobat, Mean Look!" Seeing the previously arrogant enemies attempting to flee, a cold smile appeared on Sato's face. He immediately commanded Crobat via telepathy to use Mean Look to stop them.
In the next instant, a faint light glowed in Crobat's eyes as it fixed its gaze on the Rapidash carrying the Black Cloud Poachers. Suddenly, an illusory crimson eye materialized on each of the four Rapidash.
Immediately after, no matter how hard the Rapidash tried to accelerate and run, an invisible force seemed to hold them back, preventing them from moving more than a hundred meters away from Crobat.
"Quick! Work together to take down his Crobat! Otherwise, none of us are getting away!" Seeing his Rapidash affected by Mean Look, Julio knew escape was impossible without defeating Crobat. He immediately shouted to his fleeing comrades.
"Ampharos, use Shock Wave on Crobat!" No sooner had he spoken than he released a level 48 Ampharos and ordered her to attack the airborne Crobat.
Simultaneously, the other three poachers released a Golem, a Magneton, and an Electabuzz respectively, commanding them to attack Crobat as well.
Unfortunately, even as these Pokémon launched a fierce combined assault on Crobat, it used Protect to block their first wave of attacks.
And in that time, Nidoking gained the opportunity to pursue. Once all the enemy Pokémon were within his attack range, he immediately used the wide-area attack Earth Power once more.
Pillars of yellowish-brown energy erupted from the ground, accurately striking every single one of the enemy Pokémon.
Soon, accompanied by cries of pain, all the Pokémon belonging to the Black Cloud Poachers lay fallen on the battlefield. Similarly incapacitated were Julio and his three fellow poachers.
The trainers hiding in the vicinity witnessed this and collectively drew a sharp breath, realizing that this particular Black Cloud Poaching Group squad had been completely defeated.
"Successful hunt." Seeing Nidoking wipe out the remaining enemies with a single Earth Power, Sato quickly took out several special handcuffs given to him by the League and used them to cuff the hands of Julio and the others.
At the same time, he confiscated all their PokéBalls to prevent any funny business if they woke up.
"Holy crap, so this guy is a League bounty hunter."
"Those Black Cloud guys are seriously out of luck. Getting caught by the League is a fate worse than death. Those correctional facilities are no place for humans. I was in one once, and I never want to go back."
"This League lackey... should I get some people together to take him out? He probably has a wanted list with my name on it too."
The trainers hiding nearby and watching the battle, some of whom clearly recognized the origin of the handcuffs, felt a surge of killing intent and gritted their teeth, muttering under their breaths.
Sato naturally sensed the hostility from some of the nearby trainers, but he paid it no mind. He even arrogantly made a provocative hand gesture.
The trainers who were clearly targeted by the League flared up with anger at this, but ultimately, none of them chose to be the first to make a move at that moment.
The fact that the news of the powerful Elite-Four level Altaria soon laying an egg could be bought from black market informants meant the League and other bounty hunters must have gotten wind of it too. Therefore, it was likely that League personnel and other bounty hunters were also hiding in the area.
If anyone rushed out now to confront Sato, a bounty hunter who seemed somewhat weakened, those League trainers and bounty hunters hiding in the shadows definitely wouldn't sit idly by and leave this powerful ally to fend for himself.
"Hmph, seems they're all old foxes. Not easy to bait." Sato waited for a long time, but no one came to cause him trouble. He sighed inwardly.
Similarly, he was very clear about his current situation. While it seemed he might be attacked at any moment by trainers in the area who were also League fugitives, he was actually quite safe.
Just as many suspected, there were indeed many League trainers and bounty hunters nearby, waiting for some foolish fugitives to reveal themselves.
This Altaria egg incident had attracted many elusive wanted Pokémon poachers. While the poachers/hunters coveted the egg, the League and bounty hunters equally saw it as a chance to capture these fugitives.
The mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind – at this point, until the very end, no one could say for sure who was the cicada, the mantis, or the oriole.
Afterwards, Sato began taking out Potions and Pokéblocks from his storage gear to heal and replenish Nidoking and the others. He then used his communicator to contact a League official specifically tasked with transporting fugitives.
Soon, several League trainers wearing the uniform of the League's Criminal Investigation Department arrived at Sato's location on their flying mounts. They quickly verified the identities of Julio and the five other Black Cloud Poachers, then took them away.
"With this, I guess I'm a real Bounty Hunter now." Sato looked at a special ID card in his hand, then in the direction where Julio and the others had disappeared, and said with a smile.
This ID card bore no identifying information about Sato. It simply signified one thing: the holder was a Bounty Hunter registered with the League.
Its function was simple: Sato could use this card to collect bounties and League contribution points issued by the League. He could also use it to access the exchange shop specifically set up by the League for bounty hunters.