Hearing Lance's plan, the others exchanged glances and nodded.
At this point, they had no better options. All they could do was put their faith in this one shot.
Without delay, Clair was the first to act.
"Charizard, aim for the Poké Ball in his hand use Flamethrower!"
Earlier, to avoid being seized by the black energy, her Charizard had flown to the edge of the battlefield. Now, with the command given, it swooped back in, flames charging in its mouth, diving straight for the Iron-Masked Marauder!
At the same time, Lance released an Aerodactyl, ordering it to attack from the flank.
Kai nodded to Gardevoir, and in the next instant, she teleported to the back of the mechanical spider.
With their Pokémon now converging from multiple angles, all of them bypassed the corrupted Dragonite making a direct assault on the Iron-Masked Marauder!
"Trying to win by numbers? How naïve!"
The Iron-Masked Marauder remained calm. From inside his coat, he pulled out three more Dark Balls and, with a flick of his wrist, unleashed a surge of black light three Pokémon materialized, eyes glowing ominously.
"My loyal servants of darkness eliminate them all!!"
All this time, Kai had been closely observing the Marauder.
Earlier, from a distance, he hadn't clearly seen how the Dark Balls were used. But now, face to face, Kai finally understood the Dark Balls were actually embedded into the front of the Iron-Masked Marauder's red spiked vest, like decorative buttons.
When inactive, they were no larger than jacket studs, hanging neatly in place. When in use, the Marauder simply plucked one off and expanded it to full size.
Visibly, he had six Dark Balls on display and with each use, another "button" disappeared. Now, only two remained.
Kai's gaze shifted to the waist pouch the Marauder carried.
Someone like him, calculating and cruel, almost certainly carried extra Dark Balls in reserve.
As the black light faded, three Pokémon emerged: Houndoom, Ursaring, and Beedrill.
While Kai was already familiar with Beedrill, his eyes lingered on the other two.
Houndoom resembled a sleek black devil dog with two curved horns, sharp claws, and bone-like ridges running down its back. Its tail, thin and pointed, curled like that of a demon.
It was said that Houndoom's design had been inspired by the mythical black dog of European folklore a hellhound said to be an omen of death.
Ursaring, on the other hand, resembled a massive brown bear. Its chest bore a distinctive yellow ring, with thick tufts of fur at its shoulders like natural shoulder pads. Its appearance wasn't all that different from a grizzly bear from Earth.
Despite being a common species in Johto, these Pokémon now had eyes glowing with black energy clear signs of mental domination and immense power amplification!
As soon as they appeared, the corrupted Pokémon moved in to intercept Kai's and the others' Pokémon.
The battlefield erupted into chaos. Seven Pokémon tangled together, clashing with fierce and uncontrolled energy. Neither side could gain a clear upper hand.
It was clear the Dark Balls had significantly enhanced these Pokémon's abilities. And with Dark Dragonite still guarding the core, Kai's group couldn't even get close to the Iron-Masked Marauder.
But as the battle dragged on, Kai noticed something interesting.
For all his swagger, the Marauder wasn't giving any commands to his Pokémon. He just let them fight on their own.
He had no coordination, no type-matching strategies, and no tactical switching. He was simply relying on brute force and intimidation to crush his enemies.
Clair glanced at Lance, concern in her eyes.
"What now? Do we keep pushing?"
Lance exhaled sharply, then nodded with resolve.
"We have to. Just look at his jacket the Dark Balls are nearly depleted. He's almost out of backup. This is our chance!"
With that, Lance threw out two more Poké Balls, his expression steely as he faced down the Iron-Masked Marauder.
'I will defeat him. I will get Dragonite back. And I will protect the Dragon's Sanctuary!'
Beside him, Clair, his cousin and fellow Dragon Trainer, was equally determined. Whether it was to defend the sanctuary or help Lance reclaim his partner, she had no hesitation. She, too, sent out two more Pokémon.
As blue light flared, four more powerful Pokémon joined the battle. With their reinforcements, the tide began to turn.
Seeing this, the Iron-Masked Marauder's face finally darkened.
Lance was right he was running low. Aside from the six Dark Balls attached to his vest, he only had two or three more spares in his pouch.
But if he could capture a few of their strongest Pokémon and turn them against their Trainers… the battle would shift decisively.
Compared to controlling wild Pokémon, taking these Trainers' best Pokémon would yield far greater power.
"Hmph… you'll see. You're all going to lose. And your Pokémon, all of them, will become the tools of my ambition!"
With both sides now going all in, Kai understood it had truly come to a do-or-die moment. Neither side was willing to back down.
Turning to Sabrina, he gave a subtle signal for her to hold back. Then, Kai pulled out two more Poké Balls.
"Venusaur! Scyther! Join the fight!"
With a flash of blue, his two trusted Pokémon entered the fray.
Now with the full team deployed, Kai and the others' Pokémon surged forward, surrounding the Iron-Masked Marauder's corrupted forces. With every Trainer going all out, the valley shook with the sheer intensity of the battle.
The Iron-Masked Marauder responded by releasing the final two Dark Balls from his vest his last two Pokémon.
As they emerged, the power balance was briefly restored.
But then, amid the chaos, a massive explosion erupted from the centre of the battlefield. Smoke engulfed everything, obscuring vision.
At that moment, the Marauder's eyes flashed with malice. He pointed straight at Clair.
"Dark Dragonite! Attack that woman!"
Dragonite immediately broke from its previous engagement, wings flaring as it zeroed in on Clair.
It all happened too fast within seconds, Dragonite was right in front of her.
Kai had just ordered Gengar to protect her from the shadows, when—
To his surprise, Clair didn't panic.
Her expression was calm; she gracefully dodged the attack. With surprising agility, she leapt onto a tree, bounding across branches like a seasoned ninja.
Dragonite gave chase, but Clair evaded each strike with smooth, practised movement.
'Aside from Sabrina… this is the first time I've seen a normal human dodge a Pokémon's attack like that!'
If you're enjoying this story, make sure to check out my New Work "Marvel: The Ultimate Superman!" (It's on Alt account with same name)
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