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"Hitmonlee!"
"Aggron!"
Both Pokémon collapsed simultaneously, losing their ability to battle. Bruno hurried over to Hitmonlee, checking its condition.
Realizing it had only fainted, he let out a sigh of relief before recalling it into its PokéBall.
On the other side, Nishiyama stood frozen in disbelief beside his fallen Aggron. However, a crazed look soon returned to his face as he withdrew Aggron and then pulled out five more PokéBalls, throwing them wildly.
Four beams of light flashed as four Forretress, each with a hard shell surrounding an unknown red core, appeared around the cavern. The last PokéBall released a massive Skarmory, which landed behind Nishiyama.
"This is bad! Nishiyama's about to lose it again! Leader Kuro! We need to get out of here now, or we'll get caught in the blast!" Kyra's expression turned to pure terror as he immediately realized what Nishiyama was planning upon seeing the Forretress. He shouted urgently at Kuro.
"Damn it! There are still important research results here! We can't just abandon them! Nishiyama! Recall your Forretress immediately!" Kuro roared in anger, turning to berate Nishiyama.
"Hahaha! Don't worry, don't worry! There won't be any pain! In just a moment, nothing will be left!" Nishiyama cackled maniacally before shouting, "Forretress! Explosion!"
As Nishiyama let out another crazed laugh, the four Forretress began glowing white, preparing to detonate. Meanwhile, Nishiyama himself leaped onto Skarmory, which swiftly took off, heading toward a passageway—one that likely led outside.
"Shit! We have to run!" Kuro cursed when he saw the Forretress start glowing. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he quickly recalled his Gengar and Ursaring before sprinting toward the exit—only to be stopped by Liam.
"What's the point of running now? Didn't you plant explosives inside the volcano? Even without them, just one of those Forretress exploding would cause the volcano to erupt. As long as you're still on this island, none of us are escaping alive," Liam stated coldly.
Kuro froze for a moment before realizing the truth. Quickly, he pulled out a PokéBall and tossed it. A Kadabra appeared by his side.
"If you hadn't said anything, I almost forgot. The explosives were just a bluff to threaten that old man—who would actually plant a time bomb at their own doorstep? But these four Forretress? Consider them my parting gift. Enjoy your trip to hell! Kadabra! Teleport!"
"Kada!"
With Kuro's command, Kadabra pressed its hands together, releasing a strange light that instantly enveloped both Kuro and Kyra. With a whoosh, the two vanished into thin air.
The cavern was suddenly silent, leaving only Liam, Bruno, a group of unconscious grunts lying against the walls... and the four glowing Forretress on the verge of detonating.
"What do we do?!"
Bruno approached, his face tense as he stared at the Forretress, unsure of how to stop them.
Liam shook his head, his expression grim. The Explosion attack had already been triggered—if even one of the Forretress was hit, it would detonate immediately.
Unable to think of a way to stop them, Liam felt a deep sense of regret. If these explosions triggered the volcano's eruption, the entire island's inhabitants would be doomed.
Clenching his teeth, he reached for a PokéBall on his belt, ready to make one final desperate attempt.
Just then, Lance calmly stepped past Liam, holding a PokéBall. Without hesitation, he tossed it, releasing a small, adorable Horsea.
The little Horsea had no idea what was happening and turned around to look at its trainer in confusion.
"Hiss~~~"
As soon as Horsea appeared, the four glowing Forretress suddenly deflated like punctured balloons, emitting a hissing sound. Within seconds, they reverted to their normal forms, their bodies turning redder from suppressed energy (though they were red to begin with).
Despite their efforts, they could no longer activate Explosion.
Liam and Bruno stood frozen, their jaws dropping in shock.
"…!! Damp! Your Horsea's Ability is Damp! Oh my god!" Liam gasped, staring at the oblivious little Pokémon in astonishment. He could hardly believe that this tiny creature had just saved them all.
"Damp? Oh, you mean Pokémon Abilities, right? That's something Professor Oak theorized—each Pokémon has unique natural talents. Oh, so my Horsea's Ability is called Damp? That's the first time I've heard of it," Lance said, crouching down to pick up Horsea and playfully poking its cheek.
"Yeah, it's Horsea's Hidden Ability—very rare. As long as it's active, no Pokémon in the vicinity can use explosive moves. Damn, we really lucked out!" Liam explained, still in shock.
"So that's why! I remember battling someone with a Koffing before, and for some reason, it couldn't use Self-Destruct. There were a few other times like that, too. Turns out, it was all because of this little guy," Lance recalled, suddenly understanding.
"This Horsea just saved a lot of lives tonight. But we can't leave these Forretress here like this. We should knock them out first. Lance, have your Charizard take care of them—Fire-type moves have a natural advantage against them," Liam suggested, eyeing the struggling Forretress.
"Got it. Charizard! Flamethrower!"
"Roar!!"
With Lance's command, Charizard opened its mouth and released a torrent of flames, engulfing the Forretress. When the fire cleared, one had already fainted, while the remaining three were barely holding on.
"Huh? Only one went down? Is Charizard not strong enough?" Lance frowned, puzzled.
"Char…" Charizard lowered its head, looking slightly offended.
"No, your Charizard's Fire-type attacks deal massive damage to them. It's just that these three Forretress probably have Sturdy, an Ability that prevents them from being knocked out in one hit. Just hit them one more time, and they'll go down," Liam explained with a smile.
Still skeptical, Lance gave the command: "Charizard, use the weakest Ember possible."
"Roar…"
Charizard, looking a bit reluctant, held back as much as it could and blew out three tiny embers. The small sparks floated down onto the remaining Forretress, and with a soft plop, they collapsed instantly.
Lance: "… Pokémon abilities are really something else." He finally accepted the reality of it all, shaking his head in awe.
"Alright, enough marveling. Judging by the time, the police should be here soon. Lance, gather all their research data—it might be useful later. Bruno, help me secure these guys so they don't escape when they wake up."
"Got it, but we don't have any rope," Bruno noted.
Liam paused, then suddenly smirked mischievously. He released his Onix and had it loosen the soil on the ground. Once the earth was soft enough, they buried the unconscious poachers up to their necks, leaving only their heads exposed.
Even if they woke up, they wouldn't be going anywhere. Bruno could only watch, eyebrows twitching.
Meanwhile, Lance finished downloading all the research data from the computers before deleting everything else. Before leaving, he had Charizard burn the remaining equipment to ash with another Flamethrower.
Seeing this, Liam asked, puzzled, "Why'd you destroy everything?"
Lance blinked and replied, "Isn't that what they always do in movies? Copy all the data, then wipe everything else out. Did I do something wrong?"
Liam: "…Nope. Well done. The organization needs more people like you. Alright, let's go."
Though he hadn't originally planned to destroy the equipment, it didn't make much difference to him. Whether or not Blaine would be upset later wasn't his concern. The three of them quickly left the scene.
Minutes later, they hid by the roadside and watched as a convoy of police cars stormed into the Cinnabar Gym. Seeing this, they finally turned away, leaving without a trace.