Fire + Dark type Rover used Iron Tail on Normal type Tobe Kakeru!
It's super effective!
...Okay, just kidding.
It wasn't actually Iron Tail, just a simple swipe of that big, black, furry tail.
There's no Pokémon move special effects.
But even so, it was definitely not something an ordinary person could withstand.
Thud-
A dull, sickening impact sound echoed.
Tobe Kakeru was sent flying like a baseball hit for a home run.
He slammed hard into the cafeteria ceiling.
After breaking through a large hole, he ultimately became a shooting star on the horizon.
Team Rocket Trio: We're familiar with this!
Inside the cafeteria, most students hadn't managed to evacuate yet.
After all, the doors were only so big, so how could thousands of people rush out all at once?
A stampede was imminent.
Fubuki, blood still dripping from her head, quickly used her telekinesis to lift the fallen students into the air.
Hayama Hayato, Miura Yumiko, and others who were usually close to Tobe Kakeru stared in horror, their eyes wide.
Even though living in this era meant they should be accustomed to the existence of monsters-
The impact of seeing it on the news through a screen was completely different from witnessing it firsthand.
Especially when the person killed was someone they interacted with daily!
At that moment, Genos charged forward, delivering a high axe kick to Rover's calf.
The giant black dog didn't budge an inch.
'This guy! Its defense is incredible!'
A flicker of astonishment passed through Genos's eyes.
Although his strength had greatly diminished after losing his cyborg body and becoming human again, forcing him to start training from scratch-
Only his physical abilities had weakened, while his combat experience remained intact.
He had fought Dragon-level monsters alongside Lott many times before.
But even among Dragon-level, this dog was on a completely different tier.
Sniff sniff~
However, whether it simply didn't regard Genos and Saeko as a threat or was attracted by something else.
Rover lifted its head, sniffed the air with its dog nose, then turned and walked towards the kitchen.
Right towards where Erina was.
"D-Don't come any closer..."
Seeing those six-eyed dog eyes getting closer and closer, Erina fell to the ground and kept shrinking back until she was backed into a corner, where she had nowhere left to retreat, and cried out in despair.
"Stay away from me, aaaah-!"
"Save... save Erina! Please! Hurry, save her!"
Alice scrambled up from the ground, grabbing Lott's sleeve and crying out.
Her relationship with Erina was similar to Miku and Nino's.
Although they bickered constantly, they genuinely cared deeply for each other.
"Calm down, it's fine."
Lott took hold of Alice's wrist, making her release his arm.
He walked leisurely towards Rover while opening the Universe Chat Room.
[Lott: @Cynthia, Cabbage, start a video call] (T/N: From what I found, Cynthia's name in Japanese can also be translated as Cabbage in Chinese, so Chinese people usually called Cynthia Cabbage.)
Planet Pokémon.
Pokémon League's Headquarters.
Cynthia, who was in a meeting with various Champions, Elite Four's members, and the League Chairman, was momentarily stunned upon receiving the message.
"What's wrong, Cynthia?"
Noticing Cynthia's change in expression, League Chairman Gurkinn glanced over and asked.
"Chairman, it's from Lott. Can I take it?"
Hearing that name, the faces of the various Champions changed dramatically.
Gurkinn was no exception, quickly nodding in agreement.
The reason he had summoned so many League Champions for this meeting was to discuss how to respond if their planet faced an invasion by alien monsters like Boros or Frieza.
And Lott was also on that list.
Unless absolutely necessary, Gurkinn certainly didn't want to offend Lott.
Once the video call connected, Cynthia's stunningly beautiful face appeared on Lott's chat screen.
[Lott: Cabbage, is there a way to catch a Pokémon without a Poké Ball?]
Lott's first sentence left Cynthia utterly bewildered.
'Ca-Cabbage?'
'Is he calling me that?'
'Forget it, now's not the time to think about that.'
A question like this naturally couldn't stump a Champion like Cynthia. Without a second's hesitation, she replied:
[Yes, if you don't have a Poké Ball, you can first try to get the Pokémon's attention, make them let their guard down around you, then build a friendship with them, win them over with love. Actually, Poké Balls are just a tool for storing Pokémon, and the most important thing is love.]
"Love?"
Hearing this slightly idealistic answer, Lott blinked twice.
'Hmm... Let's give it a try.'
Back on Cynthia's end, the various League Champions and the Chairman all crowded around to watch.
Cynthia's close friend, Kalos League Champion Diantha, asked curiously:
"Does Planet Terra have Pokémon too?"
"Everyone, wait a moment, I'll project the video."
Cynthia raised a hand to signal.
It was fine with close friends like Diantha and Caitlin.
But when she saw Steven, Wallace, and the others crowding in-
Cynthia almost couldn't resist kicking them.
'Don't get so close!'
Immediately after, the top-tier fighters of the Planet Pokémon saw.
In the video, Lott walked up to a monster the size of Kyogre, with six eyes on its face and covered in black fur.
"Mommy!!!"
Wallace jolted and threw himself into Steven's arms.
"Do muscular people have something wrong with their brains?"
Lorelei was also stunned, her mouth agape for a good while before she managed to comment sarcastically, then glanced sideways at Bruno.
Cynthia herself was speechless.
It was true that cases of gaining a wild Pokémon's recognition and catching it without a Poké Ball weren't rare in the Pokémon World…
'But, but this was a bit beyond the scope, wasn't it?!'
Using love to win over worked quite well on good-tempered Pokémon like Oddish or Chansey.
But who used it on short-tempered ones like Kyurem or Eternatus?
Kyurem would protest: It's a slander! My temper is pretty good, okay?
"Tch tch tch~ Doggy, come here~ Good boy, good boy~"
Back at the Shuchi'in Academy's cafeteria, Lott had already walked up to the terrified, crying Erina. Looking up at Rover, he made 'tsk tsk' sounds as if possessed by the spirit of a dog-whisperer.
The girls behind him, like Chika, the Nakano Sisters, and others, couldn't help but make faces of disbelief.
'What is he doing?'
The next second, everyone saw.
Rover opened its massive mouth.
With a chomp, it bit down on Lott from above, enclosing his entire upper body, including his head, in its mouth.
Erina, whose legs were still too weak to stand, opened her mouth even wider than before.
But before she could scream-
They saw Lott's right hand extend out from between the giant dog's fangs and stroke the fur near its mouth.
"Good, good, good~ Very good, very..."
His right hand instantly clenched into a fist.
The huge difference in size was like a grasshopper attacking a tiger.
"Good boy!"
Lott suddenly raised his voice and threw a powerful hook punch.
Boom-!
Rover, which is as large as a mammoth, was sent flying backward.
The wall on the right side of the cafeteria completely collapsed under the strain.
The distant gymnasium was dented by Rover crashing into it.
"Screw winning it over with love! Beating it into submission is much easier!"
Lott lifted his sleeve to wipe the saliva off his face and cursed.
Cynthia: "..."
Lance: "..."
Steven: "..."
They never thought Lott could win over such a monster with love in the first place.