Chapter 491: Real-Life Ally Switch
Having once witnessed the hard work and sacrifices of the Rangers, Arthur had always held a low opinion of poaching rings. He had originally intended to just mind his own business, but he hadn't expected them to be so persistent in causing trouble. They were even trying to walk all over him.
Could he tolerate this?
He grabbed the captive Krookodile sub-leader. "Go and explain to your Chieftain! Tell him to calm down!"
The great Krookodile Chieftain, having just been hit by a grenade from the sky, was in a full-blown rage and charging straight for them. The sub-leader shook its head so fast it became a blur. You want me to go explain now? Are you trying to get me killed?
But Arthur had no time to argue. After giving the order, he turned and commanded his Pokémon. "Old Flame, fall back and use Dragon Dance! Lina, get airborne and tie up that Talonflame, don't let it escape! Mismagius, Astonish!"
The sub-leader felt a brief moment of glee—it seemed the human was too busy to deal with him. But his joy was short-lived.
Mismagius's Astonish managed to startle one of the Diggersby, while Specter used Protect to block the attacks from the other three ambushers. The next moment, Arthur drew his sword.
This time, I'm really angry.
"Doublade, Fury Cutter!"
Targeting one of the Kabutops, Arthur closed the distance in a few swift, ghost-like strides. The first strike hit the inside of its scythe, knocking its arm aside. His other hand immediately followed up with a second strike to the side of its knee, forcing it to stumble and kneel. Then, he switched hands again, bringing the final, powerful blow down on its wide-open chest.
Three strikes in less than half a second. Two to break its guard, and one straight down the middle. The Kabutops's chest armor cracked and shattered. It was severely wounded in a single move.
The Krookodile watching from the side gasped. This human is that strong?! Was he holding back when he captured me?!
And it wasn't just Arthur's own combat prowess that was terrifying; his commands were just as sharp. "Greninja, evolve and help Mismagius! Little Lapras, Freeze-Dry!"
Greninja, already in sync with his thoughts, had begun its Bond Phenomenon transformation the moment the fight started. Now, its hands and the tip of its tongue were armed with sharp water blades. Without needing to be told, it was already at peak combat readiness. It quickly moved to assist Mismagius in dealing with the two Diggersby.
Meanwhile, Little Lapras was summoned in front of Arthur. It exhaled a blast of icy breath at the kneeling Kabutops with the shattered chest plate. Although the scorching desert sun weakened Ice-type moves, Freeze-Dry's unique dehydrating effect on Water-types still resulted in a super-effective hit. The Kabutops was wounded again.
Parrying a weak counter-attack, Arthur delivered a swift kick, forcing the Kabutops, which had just struggled to its feet, back to its knees. He wouldn't even give it a chance to look him in the eye.
When his anger had ignited the killing intent buried deep within him, Arthur would show these people what true cruelty was. He shot a glance at the Krookodile sub-leader, a cold smile playing on his lips. Then, after a two-second pause, he raised his sword again. "Doublade, Fury Cutter again!"
The Bug-type move Fury Cutter had the effect of increasing its damage with each consecutive hit. Arthur had landed all three strikes in the first round. Now, as he activated it again, the light on the blades grew even more intense. This time, the damage would be nearly double.
The Kabutops in front of him was now powerless to resist. Two more strikes shattered the rest of its chest armor. The final, powerful upward slash sent it flying into the air.
"FLAME!" The Talonflame in the sky shrieked and dove to the rescue, but this was the moment Arthur had been waiting for.
A flash of red light, and the Greninja in front of the Diggersby vanished. Another Poké Ball was thrown, and Greninja reappeared in mid-air, directly in the Talonflame's path. "Water Pulse!"
Arthur's plan was to use the Kabutops as bait. Lina wasn't as fast as Talonflame; if it was determined to escape, she likely couldn't stop it. But this time, Arthur was determined not to let a single one get away.
"FLAME?!" The Talonflame never expected a Greninja to suddenly appear in front of it mid-dive.
The Water Pulse exploded, and the Talonflame was knocked out of the sky by the concussive blast of water.
The Diggersby were still trying to figure out where their opponent had gone when Specter, its Protect having worn off, was already on them with a punch.
The bait, the Kabutops, was not spared either. Another flash of red light. Old Flame, having completed its Dragon Dance in the distance, was recalled and then immediately summoned in front of Arthur.
"ROAR!"
With a furious roar, its Dragon Claw pierced through the Kabutops's shattered chest. Its armor had been completely destroyed by two rounds of Fury Cutter. This blow from Old Flame was the finishing strike.
This wasn't a stadium battle where victory and defeat were the only outcomes. There was no referee to stop them. This Kabutops didn't have enough lives to survive this.
In that moment, all the surrounding Pokémon—the Onix, the Diggersby, the remaining Kabutops, and the Talonflame in the air—were all stunned.
It was too fast. Too brutal. And too unpredictable.
This burst of offense from Arthur, both his individual combat and his team coordination, was flawless. His use of recalls to reposition his Pokémon was masterful, taking spatial displacement to its absolute limit.
The fake Ally Switch: consumes Pokémon's energy, has a cooldown, requires a brief cast time, and the swap positions are relatively fixed.
The real Ally Switch: Poké Ball recall, Poké Ball release. The speed depends only on the trainer's hand speed, and the entire line of sight is the casting range.
The ambushers' trainers were not with them. They were completely at Arthur's mercy.
As the Kabutops's body hit the ground, Arthur flicked his sword, shaking off the blood. A few drops splattered onto the Krookodile sub-leader's face. It just stared blankly and licked them off, not daring to utter a single complaint. Its mind was suddenly crystal clear. Explaining the misunderstanding to its enraged Chieftain no longer seemed like such an impossible task. At least the Chieftain, out of respect for their kinship, probably wouldn't tear it to shreds.
But the human in front of it... the killing intent in his eyes was completely undisguised.
And Arthur's second round of Fury Cutter had also landed perfectly. The energy glowing on his blades now looked like a special effect from a low-budget video game. Fury Cutter was a low-cooldown move, and Doublade was extremely proficient with it.
The Krookodile glanced at the sword in Arthur's hand, took less than a tenth of a second to think, and immediately decided to go and explain things to its Chieftain. It would take the mission. And it would fight anyone who tried to take it from him.
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