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Aside from the special Onix, the other three wild Pokémon were equally troublesome. Among them, the most lethal threat to the Malevolent Ghost Poaching Group was a level 68 Sableye.
Although Sableye's base stats were not high, its dual Ghost/Dark typing made it immune to all super-effective attacks except Fairy-type moves.
As a Ghost-type Pokémon, Sableye moved unpredictably in this dim, shadow-filled cavern. Any moment, it could reappear behind an enemy and launch a surprise attack.
With its Prankster ability and its arsenal of eerie and disruptive status moves, Sableye drove the poachers mad—especially when it used Fake Out and Foul Play in combination. It became their worst nightmare.
Because of it, two members of the Malevolent Ghost Group had already collapsed from its sneak attacks, their fates uncertain.
However, the Malevolent Ghost Group were not easily dealt with either—especially the frail-looking, sickly old man leading them. He was sly, vicious, and full of cunning tricks.
Under his command, the Malevolent Ghosts fought with exceptional coordination. Using curse-type attacks from their Ghost-type Pokémon, they managed to severely injure both the Cradily and the Druddigon, two wild Pokémon at pseudo Elite Four strength.
The old man then used one of his own teammates as bait, allowing his level 63 Dusknoir to use Foresight and Brick Break to seriously damage Sableye, forcing it to retreat into the shadows to heal with Recover.
As a result, only the special Onix was left holding the poachers back, enduring the curse attacks through the use of its unique abilities. Without this Onix stalling them, the poachers would likely have already reached the Altaria and begun seizing her eggs.
But even so, both the special Onix and Sableye were close to their limits. With the arrival of reinforcements from the Black Cloud Poaching Group and the Crag Poaching Group, the scales of victory were quickly tipping toward the poachers.
As the newcomers joined the fray, the danger for Onix and Sableye increased dramatically.
Sato, seeing the three major poaching groups surrounding Onix and Sableye, naturally could not stand by and watch. He had promised Roserade that, at the final moment, he would intervene to help Altaria and her allies.
"The situation isn't looking good… Come out, Nidoking, Roserade, Aggron!"
"Nidoking, attack those Ghost-types with Shadow Ball!"
"Aggron, use Iron Defense, then charge into that group with Heavy Slam!"
"Roserade, use Grassy Terrain to heal Cradily and Druddigon!"
He immediately released his three strongest Pokémon and, through telepathy, commanded them to reinforce Onix.
Upon receiving the order, Nidoking unleashed a barrage of Shadow Balls toward the Ghost-type Pokémon under the Malevolent Ghosts' command.
"Rooaaar!!!"
Aggron pounded its steel chest plates with its fists and roared. After sharply raising its defense with Iron Defense, it used Heavy Slam, its power increasing the heavier the user was compared to its target. Like a living steel tank, Aggron charged into the Black Cloud and Crag groups.
True to their name, most members of the Malevolent Ghost Group specialized in Ghost-type Pokémon. But none of them were true Spirit Tamers capable of resisting the life-draining nature of Ghost-type energies, leaving them physically frail and gaunt.
At this moment, they commanded Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, Banette, and Dusknoir to attack Onix from all sides.
Onix, though still holding out due to its durable body, was covered in wounds. Many parts of its rock-crystal body were cracked.
Now, with Pokémon from two additional poaching groups attacking, Onix was close to collapsing entirely.
Against Nidoking's hail of Shadow Balls, the Malevolent Ghosts didn't dare let their Ghost-types take direct hits—they immediately ordered evasive maneuvers or defensive actions.
"You dare?! Hitmonchan, use Focus Punch!"
The Black Cloud and Crag poachers were terrified by Aggron's charge. Most scrambled to dodge with their Pokémon—only one burly, overconfident man dared to send his Hitmonchan to intercept Aggron head-on.
But Aggron's defense was monstrous. With Iron Defense boosting it even further, even Hitmonchan's Iron Fist–boosted Focus Punch, which had a power of 150, could not stop Aggron's momentum.
Hitmonchan's heavy punch struck Aggron's armor—and within half a second, the sound of shattering bone rang out. Hitmonchan was launched into a wall and embedded deeply in it.
The outcome was clear: Aggron had one-shot the Hitmonchan.
But Aggron did not leave unscathed—its chest plate now bore a deep fist-shaped dent, surrounded by web-like cracks.
Thanks to Sato sending in Nidoking and Aggron so suddenly, Onix gained a moment to catch its breath. It immediately moved its massive body toward the nearby amethyst crystals embedded in the cavern wall and began eating them.
Within seconds, the cracks across its body began to heal rapidly, and its life force surged.
Meanwhile, Roserade quickly used Grassy Terrain on the fallen Cradily and Druddigon. The grass-type healing energy restored their consciousness, allowing both heavily injured wild Pokémon to stand once more.
Cradily benefited most—she had already been using Ingrain to slowly regenerate, and with Roserade's healing, more than half her injuries vanished instantly.
"You brat—it's you again! And that Roserade… the same one from the surface! Good! If I don't kill you today, I'm not human!"
"Gengar! Mismagius! Kill him!"
The sickly old man saw the situation returning to equilibrium and went berserk. His narrow eyes, previously hidden behind thick brows, snapped open bloodshot with rage as he screamed threats at Sato.
In the next second, his Gengar dissolved into a spreading shadow, gliding rapidly across the ground toward Sato.
Mismagius gathered eerie magical fireballs and hurled a pale-blue flame toward Sato—then vanished from sight with a swift sideways movement.