The room holding Professor Elm captive.
“Saa—!!!” The “Arbok” chimera hung upside down from the ceiling.
Its milky, lifeless eyes stared dead down at Sean and the others as it let out a twisted, scraping hiss, triggering its Intimidate ability!
Sean and his Pokémon were all shaken by this terrifying aura, instinctively taking a few steps back.
“The second things go south, abort the mission immediately!” Lance’s warning from before they sneaked in echoed clearly inside Sean’s mind.
His reason also told him that retreating right now was the smartest choice.
This monstrosity was not something they could handle.
In the distance, Professor Elm’s eyes were filled with pure anxiety.
Sean took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping across his partners beside him as he spoke in a low tone— “Gengar, Cyndaquil, Larvitar…
Get ready to fight—!!” “Ke-giah!” “Inaa!” “Larvi!” Sean’s voice was sharp and thunderous, instantly dispelling the terror inside his Pokémon’s hearts!
“Gengar, use Shadow Ball to draw its attention!
Larvitar, cover the floor with Stealth Rock!
Cyndaquil, find an opening and blast that thing right off the ceiling for me!” Sean’s commands were crystal clear.
The three Pokémon split up instantly to execute their respective tasks.
Gengar rapidly conjured a purple Shadow Ball, hurling it toward the Arbok chimera.
The chimera spun its head, unleashing a dark purple Sludge Bomb from its maw.
It swallowed the Shadow Ball instantly, its momentum unchecked as it rocketed toward Gengar.
Gengar’s chubby body unleashed an incredible burst of speed to dodge, but the chimera’s Sludge Bomb tracked it like a high-pressure water cannon, dogging its steps relentlessly.
Wherever the toxic sludge splashed, whether against the walls or the floorboards, it melted deep craters into the metal, sending up pungent white smoke.
Larvitar spat countless rocky spikes from its maw.
As if possessed by life, the moment these spikes hit the ground, they grew frantically, forming a dense field of jagged stone shards that blanketed the floor beneath the chimera.
Cyndaquil had already finished gathering power for its Flamethrower.
Sizing up the perfect opening, it unleashed the stream of fire, accurately striking the spider legs the Arbok chimera was using to secure itself to the ceiling!
The spider legs were instantly charred and curled.
Unable to support its own weight, the chimera’s colossal frame plummeted heavily, crashing right onto the field of Stealth Rock spikes below!
*SPLAT!
SPLAT!
SPLAT…* The sound of tearing flesh echoed repeatedly as the Arbok chimera’s body was instantly impaled by countless sharp stone spires!
It let out a vicious, agonized shriek, its massive frame writhing in pure torment.
“Now’s our chance!” Sean roared with everything he had: “Cyndaquil, Flamethrower!
Gengar, Dark Pulse!
Larvitar, Rock Slide!
Blow this son of a gun to kingdom come!!!” “Inaa!!” “Ke-giah!!” “Larvi!!” A blazing pillar of fire, a wave of dark energy, and countless massive boulders conjured mid-air— The three Pokémon poured every ounce of their strength into their ultimate attacks, hammering the Arbok chimera simultaneously!
*BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM…* A non-stop chain of explosions rang out as waves of fire and dense smoke billowed upward, causing the entire room to shudder.
The three Pokémon gritted their teeth and maintained their output, only stopping when they had completely drained their final reserves of energy.
They slumped flat onto the floor, panting heavily.
Cold sweat rolled down Sean’s face, his heart hammering wildly against his ribs.
His gaze remained locked dead onto the center of the smoke, not daring to let his guard down for a single fraction of a second.
He knew that a monstrosity engineered by Team Rocket could never be brought down this easily…
Suddenly!
Using the smoke as the epicenter, dozens of thick spider threads shot outward like rockets!
These threads were drenched in a purple liquid.
They were not only incredibly resilient, but also packed with a lethal poison!
Sean didn’t even have time to react before an agonizing, piercing pain ripped through his right waist and shoulder!
“AAAAAAAHHHHH!” Two spider threads tore completely through his body, pinning him to the reinforced wall behind him as blood instantly soaked through his clothes.
Gengar was also impaled by the threads, but being a Ghost/Poison-type Pokémon, it sustained no major damage.
Cyndaquil and Larvitar had more or less been grazed by the threads, instantly contracting the lethal poison.
Yet, hearing Sean’s agonizing screams, they ignored their own injuries entirely, frantically scrambling toward him.
Sean felt his consciousness rapidly slipping away, leaving nothing but a numb sensation across his wounds.
His vital signs were fading at an extreme pace.
Seeing this, Larvitar didn’t care about the toxic venom coating the threads.
Using its teeth—which were capable of crushing solid ore—it clamped down.
With a sharp *snap*, the thread was bitten in two, but the toxin rapidly spread through its mouth, knocking it unconscious on the spot.
Gengar and Cyndaquil were frantic, completely at a loss for what to do.
Right then…
“Saa—!!!” That twisted hiss rang out once more, causing their hearts to clench simultaneously as they snapped their heads toward the center of the web!
Only a single section of torso connected to the head remained of the chimera.
Clear bite marks covered the severed edge, blood pumping out like a fountain.
Relying on its few remaining spider legs, it crawled slowly along the web, drawing closer and closer— Moments ago, it had actually used its own massive maw to violently bite off the portion of its body impaled by the Stealth Rock to free itself, barely managing to evade that lethal volley of attacks.
Gathering the final shred of his strength, Sean extended a trembling hand: “Gengar…
take everyone…
and run…” Gengar immediately gripped his freezing hand, nodding its head frantically.
“Ke-giah…
(Okay…)” Immediately after, Sean’s hand fell limp, and his consciousness plunged entirely into a boundless, dark abyss…
“KE-GIAH—!!!” Gengar let out a heart-wrenching wail of pure grief, tears streaming uncontrollably from its large red eyes.
Tears were also spinning frantically inside Professor Elm’s eyes as he struggled violently against the metal chair in sheer desperation.
Staring dead at the advancing Arbok chimera, a grief-stricken Cyndaquil ground its teeth so hard they clicked, its tiny frame shaking violently with pure rage.
The next second!
Its entire body erupted with a blinding white light of evolution.
The light was as fierce as a blazing sun, instantly swallowing its tiny frame.
Within the light.
Its silhouette lengthened and grew taller.
Plumes of fire erupted from its body like a volcanic blast, sending heatwaves and embers scattering in every direction!
At this exact microsecond, Cyndaquil evolved into a Quilava!
On the other side.
Gengar stared at the chimera through tear-blurred eyes.
Dozens of intricate, profound blue lines suddenly surfaced across its body, snaking around like ancient mystical runes.
Columns of eerie purple fire rose from its skin.
Quilava and Gengar—one red and one purple—leveled two colossal auras of pure fire that burned fiercely, intertwining as they rocketed toward the ceiling, warping the very air inside the room from the sheer heat.
Quilava violently condensed a massive “大”-shaped blast of flame, the rolling fire radiating a suffocating heatwave!
Gengar simultaneously condensed a swirling vortex of purple fire, the eerie light shimmering with a deep, bottomless core!
The two ultimate moves, Fire Blast and Inferno, were unleashed alongside each other, carrying a cataclysmic momentum that swallowed the Arbok chimera in a single instant!
A massive, unimaginable inferno swept across the entire room, burning with feral ferocity.
The air itself seemed to wail amidst the surging flames.
The Arbok chimera didn’t even have time to let out a single shriek before it was instantly reduced to ash within the raging fire!
Nothing remained but the scorching air and a lingering, burnt stench.
Quilava immediately suppressed the wild flames rolling around its body.
It lowered its head, gently nuzzling its warm nose against Sean’s freezing cheek, letting out whimpering cries from its throat as if calling for him to wake up.
The blue runes covering Gengar slowly faded away as it returned to its original appearance, but its aura had grown incredibly weak.
It floated over to Professor Elm’s side, carefully manipulating the final dregs of its Ghost-type energy to gingerly shatter the energy cuffs binding him.
The moment he was free, the Professor violently ripped the tape off his mouth and scrambled over to Sean’s side on his hands and knees, his hands shaking violently as he checked his condition.
The wounds where the spider threads had torn through Sean’s waist and shoulder were horrifying to behold.
The purple-black toxin had already spread across half of his body, his skin was ice-cold and rigid, and his heart had completely stopped beating…
“We have to treat him immediately!” Professor Elm practically screamed those words through his tears.
He hoisted Sean onto his back and staggered out of the room.