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Faced with Arbok's lightning-fast ambush, Sato found himself at a complete loss. He now realized he had underestimated his opponent, but it was too late for regrets.
All he could do was close his eyes and await his fate.
But just as he thought he was about to be swallowed whole by Arbok's gaping maw, Ditto—disguised as a hat—suddenly sprang into action. It immediately transformed into a Pelipper and used Protect.
In an instant, a translucent green energy shield materialized, blocking Arbok's fangs and thwarting its ambush once again.
"Peliiiii!!"
At that moment, the Shiny Pelipper let out a furious cry, and torrents of water erupted from its body. Utilizing the powerful propulsion from the water, it surged forward with incredible speed.
In the blink of an eye, it had positioned itself between Sato and Arbok.
With a loud thud, Arbok's massive body was once again sent flying by the Shiny Pelipper.
"Well done, Ditto, Pelipper! Press the attack—use Hurricane!"
Sato, having narrowly escaped death once more, wore a grim expression. Without hesitation, he commanded the Shiny Pelipper to seize the advantage and trap Arbok in a storm.
However, despite being hit squarely by Waterfall, Arbok seemed largely unharmed.
Ever since the markings on its chest had changed, its speed had increased drastically. With a phantom-like agility, it evaded Hurricane yet again.
Meanwhile, the Shiny Pelipper had activated its Drizzle ability. Even in the underground space, where Water-type energy was scarce, it managed to generate a raincloud large enough to cover the entire mission hall.
Soon, a light drizzle began falling throughout the hall, covering the floor with a thin layer of water.
The rain immediately hindered Arbok's speed, while at the same time, the Shiny Pelipper became even more agile, gliding effortlessly through the air.
The two effects canceled each other out, finally allowing the Shiny Pelipper—enhanced by the mutated Supreme Sky Splitting Stone—to keep pace with the transformed Arbok.
Arbok had been relying on its abnormal speed to match the Shiny Pelipper. Now that this advantage was gone, it had no chance to launch rapid ambushes on Sato anymore.
Every one of its attacks was intercepted by the Shiny Pelipper.
With Sato's sharp command and Pelipper's advantage in flight and rain, Arbok was forced onto the defensive.
The tide turned further when the Shiny Pelipper landed a direct hit with Ice Beam, leaving Arbok's body stiff and partially frozen.
On the other side of the hall, the Team Rocket members uninvolved in the fight had all backed away to spectate.
Oddly enough, Rondo—Arbok's trainer—didn't look the least bit worried. Instead, his expression was one of excitement.
His eyes flickered between fear and hatred as he watched Arbok.
At this moment, Rondo was deeply shaken by Sato's strength.
He knew exactly how powerful Arbok was. The fact that he had survived the treacherous Viridian Forest and improved so quickly was all thanks to Arbok.
This particular Arbok was no ordinary one. Since its evolution, Rondo had discovered that it possessed three distinct pattern transformations:
Attack Marking – Temporarily boosts attack power significantly.
Defense Marking – Temporarily raises defensive capabilities.
Speed Marking – Temporarily grants a massive speed boost.
With these transformations, Arbok was nearly unstoppable against Pokémon of similar strength, frequently defeating even stronger opponents.
For a long time, Rondo had been grateful to have such a formidable Arbok. He had invested heavily in its training, feeding it only the best food and resources.
But despite his efforts, Arbok remained utterly disloyal. No matter how well Rondo treated it, the serpent showed no signs of allegiance.
As Arbok's power grew, Rondo found himself increasingly unable to control it.
Worse yet, he started to suspect that he was being manipulated by the Pokémon. Whenever he looked into Arbok's eerie, crimson eyes, a murderous impulse would rise within him, clouding his thoughts with violent desires.
More than once, Rondo had woken up in the wilderness, surrounded by mangled corpses. Meanwhile, Arbok would be coiled tightly around him, using his body for warmth.
He—the trainer—now had to live in fear of his own Pokémon.
More than once, Rondo had considered abandoning the treacherous snake.
But he knew that if he ever discarded Arbok, the Pokémon—unrestrained by a PokéBall—would likely hunt him down and devour him. That terrifying thought forced him to abandon the idea.
Of course, Arbok's disloyalty wasn't the only reason Rondo tolerated it.
Rondo was a highly pragmatic man. His ruthless nature had helped him climb the ranks of Team Rocket, but so had his patience.
Even though Arbok refused to obey him, Rondo knew that his entire career had been built on the serpent's strength. Without Arbok, he was nothing.
However, in recent weeks, he had finally made up his mind—he had to get rid of Arbok.
The realization struck when he noticed how badly his health had deteriorated. Sleep eluded him, his mind was constantly foggy, and—most disturbingly—Arbok's gaze grew more and more sinister.
He was certain: if he didn't act soon, Arbok would devour him.
Because of this, Rondo had deliberately avoided taking on the Rookie Competition mission. Instead, he had been secretly planning a way to eliminate the treacherous serpent before accepting the mission.
But yesterday, disaster struck.
The Black Serpent Gang, the organization he had painstakingly built, had been wiped out overnight.
He had originally hoped to use the gang's resources to eliminate Arbok. Now, with his faction obliterated, that plan was nothing more than a fantasy.
Yet now, against all odds, salvation had come.
Rondo had no idea why Arbok had suddenly turned on Sato, but it didn't matter. The important thing was that the damn snake had finally met its match, and from the looks of it, Arbok was on the verge of defeat at the hands of Sato's Shiny Pelipper.
"Yes! That's it! Kill that damn snake! It's about time someone put it in its place!"
Watching Arbok get blasted into the wall by another devastating Hydro Pump, Rondo's face lit up with excitement. For the first time in a long while, he felt relief.
Despite possessing Thunder Fang, Arbok was unable to land a hit on the airborne Pelipper.
And Rock Tomb? That was useless against a Pokémon enhanced by the rare Sky Stone.
Finally, under the relentless assault of the Shiny Pelipper's enhanced Hydro Pump, Arbok—battered and broken—collapsed onto the ground, utterly defeated.