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The best chance to escape had been cut off by Altaria. Shadow was naturally furious, yet fear spread through his heart just as quickly. He knew very well that if he failed to get away now, total defeat awaited him.
"Come out, Weavile—use Taunt on Claydol!"
"Manectric, Thunderbolt!"
"Mienshao, Aura Sphere!"
Opportunity knocks but once. Seeing that Altaria had successfully interrupted Claydol's Teleport, the others immediately realized that this was the moment to go all out. The leaders of the three poaching groups all sent out their Pokémon to attack.
In the next instant, under Shadow's furious gaze, the sickly old man's Weavile successfully used Taunt on Claydol, instantly disrupting the Teleport it had been preparing.
At the same time, the whip-wielding woman's Manectric and the burly man's Mienshao launched their fierce attacks together—both aimed squarely at Shadow, the lone wolf.
"Damn it! Ambipom, use Protect!"
"Whoever wants it—take it!"
Seeing this, Shadow knew his plan had completely failed. He was a decisive man; while ordering Ambipom to use Protect to shield him, he viciously hurled the Pokémon Egg in his hand toward the nearby area.
"Quick! Weavile, grab the Pokémon Egg!"
The leaders of the three poaching groups immediately abandoned Shadow and turned to snatch the Egg instead. Among them, the sickly old man's level-63 Weavile was clearly the fastest, and under his urging, it rapidly closed in.
"Dream on! Manectric, use Flamethrower on Weavile!"
"Mienshao, Aura Sphere!"
Seeing the Egg about to fall into Weavile's hands, the whip-wielding woman and the burly man refused to allow it. They instantly commanded their Pokémon to launch a joint attack.
Both Manectric's Flamethrower and Mienshao's Aura Sphere were deadly, super-effective moves that could one-shot Weavile. Naturally, Weavile dared not take them head-on. It immediately halted and used Protect to block.
"Damn it! You lot, hold them off! Dusknoir, Mismagius, go help Weavile seize the Pokémon Egg!"
Seeing Weavile stopped at the last moment, the sickly old man's face darkened. He immediately issued orders to five subordinates and two Pokémon.
"Hmph. Let's join forces and kill this old bastard first—then fight it out for the Egg. How about it?"
"Fine by me! I've hated that old geezer for a long time. Boys, kill them!"
The whip-wielding woman and the burly man spoke one after the other, instantly forming a temporary alliance and directing their remaining subordinates against the Malevolent Ghost Poachers.
In an instant, lured by the Pokémon Egg, the three major poaching groups—who had just been fighting side by side—descended into brutal infighting.
On the other side, Shadow saw that he had successfully diverted their attention with the Egg and finally let out a breath of relief. He quietly retreated with his Pokémon and watched coldly from a distance.
However, although the poachers no longer pursued him, Onix, Sableye, Cradily, and Druddigon—Altaria's four generals—had firmly fixed their hatred on him.
They had clearly seen Shadow gravely injure their Leader. Now, their only desire was to tear him to pieces.
Shadow had originally planned to look for another chance to snatch the Egg, but when Onix and the others came after him, he dared not linger. He immediately fled toward the exit with his Pokémon.
Naturally, Onix and the others would not let him go. The slowest among them, Cradily and Druddigon, stayed behind to guard Altaria, while Onix—able to ignore terrain—and Sableye relentlessly pursued Shadow.
At the same time, Sato swiftly arrived with his Pokémon before the Altaria that the other poachers had momentarily forgotten, placing himself protectively in front of her.
After laying the Egg, Altaria's body was already extremely weak. Having also endured repeated, powerful Ice-type attacks from Shadow's Froslass, even with the physique of a powerful Elite-Four level Dragon-type Pokémon, she was now barely clinging to life.
At Roserade's pleading, Sato naturally could not stand by and watch her die. He immediately took out a bottle of high-grade thawing medicine and a bottle of high-grade healing medicine and fed them to Altaria.
"Dragon-type Pokémon really are tough… injuries this severe, yet she didn't die right away. Incredible."
"Roserade, hurry—use Grassy Terrain and Aromatherapy to heal Altaria."
Seeing Altaria's fading life force rapidly recover after taking the medicines, Sato was deeply shocked by the tenacious vitality of Dragon-types. At the same time, he used telepathy to instruct Roserade to treat her.
Seeing her leader improving, Roserade immediately used Grassy Terrain and Aromatherapy to heal Altaria.
While Roserade was busy healing, Sato quickly surveyed the extremely luxurious nest nearby. He had noticed its treasures long ago.
In the notes given to him by Drake, the Dragon-type Elite Four, it was recorded that among the precious items capable of shortening the growth period of Dragon-type Pokémon, Dragonblood Ginseng and Dragonbone Fruit were the most suitable for promoting the development of young Dragon-types.
A single Dragonblood Ginseng could shorten a Dragon-type Pokémon's growth by at least one year, while Dragonbone Fruit was even more effective, reducing it by two years.
These items—normally priceless and unavailable on the open market—were piled up in heaps inside this enormous nest.
Sato even discovered several Dragon Crystals, treasures that would make countless Dragon-specialist Trainers fight each other to the death.
Dragon Crystals were formed from the condensed essence of dragon blood when powerful Dragon-type Pokémon died naturally. They were priceless legacies left for the next generation, treasures specifically meant to improve the physique of young Dragon-types.
After using them, a young Dragon-type's bloodline would strengthen, its aptitude would improve, and there was even a chance to inherit memories left behind by the deceased Dragon-type, allowing it to comprehend new moves.
When Sato saw them, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He couldn't help but think that this Altaria was obscenely rich.
Taking advantage of Altaria being unconscious and everyone else focused on fighting over the Egg, Sato cleverly dispatched Kecleon, handing it a spatial storage device and having it quietly collect the precious resources.
"I saved your life—taking a little of your stuff is only fair. Since you managed to gather so much, you'll surely find even more in the future."
Watching Kecleon skillfully pack the treasures from the nest into the storage device, Sato glanced at the still-unconscious Altaria and thought with immense satisfaction.