The man wasted no time after their exchange.
He reached toward his waist and threw out several Poké Balls in rapid succession.
One flash of light appeared after another as powerful Pokémon materialized around him.
He had a Braviary, Sawk, Escavalier, Emboar, and Bouffalant.
Combined with the Hydreigon already hovering above its trainer, the group immediately gave off an oppressive feeling.
Silas and Andra didn't waste any time either.
Several Poké Balls opened almost simultaneously.
Politoed, Poliwrath, and Electivire appeared in front of Silas, already prepared for battle.
Beside them, Andra released Blaziken, Donphan, and Seviper.
The Court member slowly looked over their Pokémon.
Instead of appearing concerned, he smiled.
"What a nice display of Pokémon. They will sell well at auction."
Silas ignored the provocation and immediately activated his scanner.
Hydreigon (M) — Level 69 (Suppressed to 54)
Ability: Levitate
Potential: B+
Moves: Rank A Dark Pulse, Rank A Tri Attack, Rank A Dragon Pulse, Rank A Draco Meteor, Rank A Focus Energy, Rank A Dragon Rage, Rank A Bite, Rank B Headbutt, Rank B Roar, Rank B Crunch, Rank B Slam, Rank B Work Up, Rank B Dragon Rush, Rank B Body Slam, Rank B Hyper Voice, Rank B Assurance, Rank B Astonish, Rank B Belch, Rank B Double Hit, Rank B Earth Power, Rank B Fire Fang, Rank B Ice Fang, Rank B Thunder Fang, Rank B Outrage
Emboar (M) — Level 71 (Suppressed to 54)
Ability: Blaze
Potential: A-
Moves: Rank A Flare Blitz, Rank A Heat Crash, Rank A Brick Break, Rank A Flamethrower, Rank A Rock Slide, Rank A Head Smash, Rank A Arm Thrust, Rank A Wild Charge, Rank B Tackle, Rank B Ember, Rank B Odor Sleuth, Rank B Defense Curl, Rank B Flame Charge, Rank B Smog, Rank B Rollout, Rank B Take Down, Rank B Assurance, Rank B Roar, Rank B Curse, Rank B Superpower, Rank B Magnitude, Rank B Yawn, Rank B Thrash
Silas' expression became more serious.
Emboar and Hydreigon were clearly going to be the biggest problems, but the rest of the team couldn't be underestimated either.
Every Pokémon standing across from them was either near the pseudo elite tier or had already reached it before being suppressed.
That alone said plenty about the man commanding them.
Since arriving on the continent, Silas had encountered many powerful trainers.
This man was arguably the strongest individual trainer he had personally faced so far.
Yet instead of feeling fear, Silas felt excitement l building inside him.
His heart beat a little faster and his focus sharpened as everything slowed down.
After months of being injured, recovering, and slowly rebuilding himself, an opponent like this was exactly the type of battle that reminded Silas why he constantly pursued strength.
His Pokémon immediately sensed their trainer's emotions through their connection.
Their own fighting spirits rose in response.
"Politoed and Poliwrath, use Hydro Pump! Electivire, use Charge Beam!"
All 3 Pokémon attacked simultaneously.
Politoed and Poliwrath opened their mouths as enormous streams of condensed water erupted forward.
Between them, Electivire released a concentrated beam of electrical energy.
The attacks converged on Emboar.
The Court member didn't even have time to give a defensive command but he didn't need to.
Hydreigon reacted on its own in time.
It's 3 mouths opened.
Dark energy gathered inside each one before 3 separate Dark Pulses were fired.
Each blast met one of the incoming attacks.
The resulting explosions shook the area as water, electricity, and dark energy scattered in every direction.
Silas narrowed his eyes.
Hydreigon's combat awareness was excellent.
"Bouffalant, use Head Charge and Stone Edge together!"
Bouffalant lowered its massive head.
Rock type energy gathered around its thick horns as the buffalo Pokémon stamped the ground once before charging.
Its heavy body accelerated surprisingly fast.
The earth trembled beneath each step as it headed directly toward Politoed.
Before Bouffalant could reach its target, another figure entered its path.
Blaziken had intervened but Bouffalant didn't stop and just kept charging on.
Fighting type energy covered one of Blaziken's arms as it prepared Brick Break.
Blaziken swung down hard in a chopping motion and it collided directly with Bouffalant's Head Chargre combination.
BOOM!
The sound of the impact rang throughout the surrounding area.
A shockwave spread outward from the collision.
Blaziken had already been strengthened by Swords Dance, but even with the boost, it couldn't completely overcome Bouffalant's tremendous raw power.
Its feet were forced backward across the ground.
Blaziken slid several feet before finally stopping itself.
Despite losing the contest of strength, it remained standing.
Silas immediately took advantage of Bouffalant's momentary opening.
"Politoed, use Hypnosis! Poliwrath, use Close Combat!"
Politoed positioned itself directly in front of Bouffalant.
The buffalo Pokémon was still recovering from the recoil and impact of Head Charge.
Subtle waves of psychic energy emanated from Politoed. Bouffalant's furious eyes slowly became unfocused and its reactions dulled.
Its head lowered slightly as drowsiness began overtaking its senses.
That was all Poliwrath needed.
It rushed forward with its fists glowed with Fighting type energy.
The first punch smashed directly into Bouffalant's head. Then came another and Poliwrath kept stringing .
Poliwrath unleashed a relentless flurry of Close Combat blows, hammering Bouffalant from close range before finishing the combination with one decisive punch.
Bouffalant was knocked away and its large body crashed hesvily into the ground.
For a second, it remained there but then it slowly forced itself upright.
Silas could tell that Blaziken had real strength and a high battle IQ. It's movements were too fluid.
Bouffalant were known for being incredibly tough Pokémon, and this one was no exception.
Despite the punishment it had just endured, it shook its head, regained its senses, and released a low, defiant growl.
The Court member immediately retaliated.
"Emboar, use Flare Blitz! Braviary, use Brave Bird! Sawk, use Close Combat!"
3 Pokémon attacked together.
Flames erupted around Emboar's massive body as it charged toward Silas' group.
Braviary climbed higher before folding its wings and diving like a missile, Flying type energy surrounding its body.
Sawk rushed forward from another angle, fists already prepared for close combat.
Silas smirked.
The man possessed the advantage.
That much was obvious.
But he wasn't unbeatable.
Silas' eyes glowed faintly as he used his psychic abilities to rapidly issue commands directly into his Pokémon's minds.
There was no need to waste time shouting every instruction.
The moment Emboar entered striking distance, Politoed and Poliwrath reacted.
2 Hydro Pumps erupted simultaneously.
The concentrated blasts of water struck Emboar head-on.
Steam exploded outward as the Hydro Pumps collided with Flare Blitz.
The water overwhelmed the surrounding flames and forcibly repelled Emboar, diffusing the attack before it could connect.
Sawk used the exchange as cover.
It slipped into Poliwrath's blind spot and attacked with Close Combat.
However, Poliwrath didn't rely entirely on its eyes.
Its psychic sensing immediately detected the approaching threat.
Poliwrath spun around and countered with its own Close Combat.
The 2 Fighting types exchanged furious blows.
Fists collided with fists.
Their bodies shifted around each other as both attempted to break through the other's defense.
Neither managed to gain a decisive advantage.
Despite the ferocity of the exchange, no meaningful damage was done.
Unfortunately, Braviary proved more cunning than Silas expected.
It had initially appeared to be diving toward Politoed.
At the final moment, however, Braviary sharply redirected itself.
Its true target was Andra's Seviper.
Brave Bird struck cleanly.
The sudden change caught Silas off guard.
Before he could properly react, another threat appeared.
A dense orb of multicolored energy seemed to materialize beside Silas and his Pokémon.
Silas barely had time to register it before the orb detonated.
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed the area.
Silas and Andra were thrown on the ground.
Several of their Pokémon were knocked down alongside them while the others managed to evade the blast.
Waves of pain pulsed throughout Silas' body as he pushed himself back up.
The Court member laughed from a distance.
"Hahaha! That's 2 times that you have avoided killer moves. You must tell me your secret."
His smile widened.
"Let's see if the third time's the charm."
Hydreigon's 3 mouths opened again.
"Donphan, use Rollout!"
Donphan sprung into action and rolled rapidly at Hydreigon.
It's attack speed was surprisingly greater than Hydreigon and it crashed into it before the devastating attack could be launched.
"Blaziken, use Blaze Kick!"
Blaziken launched itself like a rocket to right above Hydreigon but before the attack could land, Sawk countered using Cross Chop.
The 2 fighting types clashed fiercely but Sawk repelled Blaziken.
The flames at its wrists roared to life and ignited its fists. This double Fire Punch was met by Sawk's own Fire Punch but he made the mistake of thinking he could match Blaziken's power with a fire type move.
Fire Punch was a move practically made for a pokemon like Blaziken.
Hydriegon roared in fury when it steadied itself.
Silas realized that it was an extremely stubborn pokemon, it had kept the charged power for its deadly attack.
This time, the dark flame blast rushed out without warning.
Multiple explosions followed. Hydreigon's firepower among pseudo legendaries was among the best.
Donphan and Seviper jumped forward and used Protrct together. Although a combined barrier is much stronger than a singular one, this one was made in haste.
Sure enough, Pokémon still took massive damage but they desperately tried to remain standing.
Dark flames continued dancing across their bodies. Donphan cried out in pain while Seviper released a furious hiss.
Andra realized that keeping them on the battlefield would accomplish nothing and likely get them killed.
She raised their Poké Balls.
"Return!"
Both Pokémon disappeared into red light as Andra's expression changed completely.
"Haha, I guess they couldn't handle this level of fighting. It's gold that you understand your place compared to me. You know, if you are willing to join me…"
Andra almost threw up in disgust when she heard the man talking like this. She unfortunately had received this same pitch more than once.
She abruptly interrupted the man, much to his anger.
"Remember that you asked for this and that never in a million years could you ever be with someone like me. Nobody wants a creepy old bag of bones."
Silas roared with laughter and the man seethed in rage.
As if to back up her big mouth, Andra strode forward andthrew out a Poké Ball.
A giant red centipede Pokémon appeared. Thick armor covered its enormous segmented body along with sharp horns.