Gul did not keep Gu Yuan waiting long. He brought his group to the vicinity, then immediately began to act according to the battle plan he had set.
"Rhydon, Golem, use Rock Slide together!"
Seeing these humans invade its territory and dare to launch an attack first, Nidoking's rage was instantly ignited.
"Roar!"
Nidoking's roar sounded, and it began to summon the surrounding Senior Rank Pokémon, but no one showed up.
It stomped the ground forcefully, and a stone pillar rose, directly shattering the assault from Rhydon and Golem. Next, Nidoking began to charge. It use Horn Attack, and Nagata absolutely did not dare to let his Pokémon take the hit, only able to continuously maneuver and circle around the Nidoking.
The other two captains, seeing that Nagata had successfully attracted Nidoking's hostility, also sent out their Pokémon to support him.
Normally, the three might engage in petty rivalries for small gains, but when launching an operation, they would cooperate skillfully, maximizing everyone's role. This was not due to any strategic perspective on their part, but rather Gul's authority. Given Gul's personality, the punishment that would follow if the operation failed due to their rivalry would definitely make them regret it.
"Go, Machamp, use Scary Face, then Mega Punch!"
While Nidoking was entangled with Nagata and his men, Gul also released his Ace Rank Machamp. Scary Face, combined with Machamp's Ace Rank aura, managed to shock and suppress Nidoqueen, preventing it from counterattacking immediately.
Machamp charged forward quickly, and with its astonishing physical strength, it reached Nidoqueen in the blink of an eye. Its four arms attacked simultaneously, and the intense pain almost caused Nidoqueen to pass out.
Seeing their mother injured, the Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀ could not hold back and immediately rushed out of the cave, wanting to help. Unfortunately, they ran straight into an ambush by the Poaching Group members who had been waiting. They had not yet experienced any serious battles, and being surrounded by so many people inevitably caused them to panic.
Meanwhile, Nidoking was tied up by Nagata's group and could not break free for a while. Nidoqueen, facing Machamp's assault, would likely lose its ability to battle and collapse soon.
It was at this critical moment that Alakazam and Annihilape struck simultaneously. First, Annihilape burst out of the different dimension, using one punch to crush a Senior Rank Pokémon, and then immediately re-entered the different dimension. Alakazam went directly into the surrounding circle, using Teleport to take the Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀ back to the cave. After advising them via Telepathy to stay safely in the cave, Alakazam used Teleport to rush out again.
Among the people who formed the previous encirclement, there was only one Senior Rank Pokémon. After it was crushed by Annihilape, these individuals were completely unable to stop Alakazam's attack.
"Daring to cause trouble under my nose, you are truly looking for death!"
"Send men to tie up that Alakazam! Under no circumstances let it leave!"
"Machamp, use Mega Kick and finish the fight!"
Seeing someone trying to undermine his interests, Gul became slightly angered. Hearing his command, several Senior Rank members immediately rushed out, preparing to intercept Alakazam and pin it down. Machamp, meanwhile, launched another assault on Nidoqueen. A heavy kick directly caused Nidoqueen to lose its ability to battle and fall.
As those men moved to support, Annihilape appeared again, using one Rage Fist to crush another Senior Rank Pokémon.
"Be careful, the opponent has an Annihilape!"
The men who were initially heading out for support were forced to stop their advance by Annihilape's sudden attack, to avoid becoming one of the victims of its powerful punch.
"Alakazam, use Psychic, then take Annihilape and return."
Receiving the instruction sent by Gu Yuan via Telepathy, Alakazam immediately took action. The focused energy of the Psychic power spread out, quickly crushing the last two Intermediate Rank Pokémon. Then, Alakazam used Teleport and vanished from its spot.
The moment Alakazam reappeared, Annihilape happened to emerge and use Rage Fist to crush yet another Senior Rank Pokémon. Before the others' attacks could even reach them, Alakazam used Teleport to take Annihilape away.
At this point, Gul also commanded Machamp to take over from Nagata, launching the final fierce assault on Nidoking.
"Nagata, you and Hirose go and capture Alakazam, Annihilape, and the trainer behind them for me! I will completely overlook the mistakes you made in this operation!"
"Yes!"
Agreeing to the order, Nagata did not show any joy. Nagata could guess, simply by thinking about it, that this was the person who had defeated his five subordinates alone. Furthermore, the opponent possessed rare Pokémon like Alakazam and Annihilape, raising the difficulty level by several notches. Although his Rhydon had quasi-Ace strength, and Gul had sent another captain to help him, the other captain definitely would not exert his full strength. After all, even if the operation ultimately failed, the blame would not fall on him. Given this, Nagata truly did not feel he had a high chance of success.
Despite his thoughts, Nagata did not dare to refuse. He could only rush out immediately, afraid of completely losing the opponent's trail.
"Golem, use Defense Curl and Rollout to lead the way!"
Following Nagata, Golem immediately transformed into a ball and charged forward, crushing all obstacles in its path. During the pursuit, Nagata constantly monitored the tracks Gu Yuan had left, but he secretly increased his vigilance. With Alakazam present, the opponent would not leave such obvious tracks if it genuinely wanted to escape. The only explanation was that the opponent wanted to set an ambush and launch a sneak attack.
Hirose, in contrast, followed Nagata unhurriedly, while having his Pokémon protect himself. Just as Nagata thought, since the final blame would not fall on him, why bother giving his all? Wouldn't it be better to take it easy? Nagata did not say anything about this, only reminding Rhydon to stay focused.
Suddenly, a figure burst out of a different dimension. First, it used a punch to crush the quasi-Ace Pokémon next to Hirose, and then another punch to kill Hirose!
"Rhydon, use Stone Edge!"
Almost the instant Annihilape attacked, Nagata commanded Rhydon. Nagata had a chance to warn Hirose that the opponent had Alakazam and Annihilape and could launch a beheading strike at any moment. But since someone was so willing to serve as a decoy, how could Nagata refuse? By just keeping the opponent's Annihilape and using Hirose's death to prove the opponent's strength, Nagata could survive this crisis.
The moment Rhydon launched its attack, Alakazam used Ally Switch, and the next second Rhydon vanished from Nagata's sight. Alakazam then used Psychic to directly kill Nagata, and then it vanished from the spot, taking Nagata's and Hirose's possessions with it. Annihilape, thanks to Alakazam's distraction, successfully used Phantom Force to leave.