“Wait a minute.
If Froslass is here, does that mean May is somewhere nearby too?!”
“Combusken, use ‘Flamethrower’!”
The second Lorze thought of this, a highly familiar voice rang out from behind him.
Accompanied by a scorching heatwave, a massive pillar of fire roared past Lorze’s shoulder, shooting from behind and violently colliding with the pitch-black beam.
With all four streams of power merging, they actually managed to deadlock the “Dark Pulse.” The chaotic energy violently fluctuated at the center of the collision before completely detonating!
A berserk shockwave laced with ice shards, raging flames, and shadow energy exploded outward, blasting dust and shattered rocks in every direction!
“Lorze, it really is you!
Are you hurt?!”
“May?
How the hell did you find me here?!”
“I was just doing some training nearby when Froslass suddenly claimed she sensed your aura and relentlessly insisted on coming over to check.
Later, she sensed your aura turning unstable and rushed ahead out of sheer panic.
I chased right after her.
Thank god we made it.
But seriously, how on earth did you manage to provoke an entity of this ridiculous level in the lower regions of Mt.
Pyre?”
“It’s a long fucking story.
But thanks a lot for coming to back me up.
Let’s just deal with this massive headache first.”
“What?
Do you really think calling in two pathetic reinforcements will allow you to escape from This King?!
Pure delusion!”
The old royal bastard’s crimson gaze grew increasingly murderous.
All four of its pitch-black limbs lunged simultaneously, striking at the four Pokémon like vicious pythons.
Having absorbed the energy from two formidable Pokémon earlier, Zorua’s combat power had seen a massive spike.
Right now, it heavily relied on its god-tier typing synergy to continuously kite and skirmish with the coffin.
May’s Combusken and Froslass were both sitting at the absolute peak of the “Elite-tier.” Not only was their energy foundation incredibly solid, but their combat mechanics were also flawless.
Each of them managed to brawl evenly against one of the incoming spectral arms.
The only exception was the Giant Pumpkaboo.
Even though it was massive, that just made it a massive fucking target.
In less than a few exchanges, it was ruthlessly pinned to the ground by Cofagrigus, crying and begging for mercy.
Seeing that their Pokémon were on the verge of being toppled one by one like dominoes, May reluctantly pulled out an Ultra Ball and sighed:
“I originally promised I wouldn’t use this guy lightly, but we have no other choice now!”
The ball snapped open with a flash of light, actually releasing a white-furred Pokémon with brown stripes on its back, a tuft of red hair on its head, long claws, and an ape-like face!
And it’s actually at the ‘Pro-tier’!”
“My dad gave it to me for self-defense before I left home.
I promised him I wouldn’t rely on its power, but this opponent is just way too strong.
We have to count on it now.”
“It’s Gym Leader Norman’s Pokémon!
We’re fucking saved!” Hearing this, Lorze let out a massive sigh of relief.
Cofagrigus, on the other hand, was scared absolutely shitless.
This white-furred ape the little girl just summoned wasn’t just in the exact same tier as it—judging by its suffocating energy fluctuations, its foundation was noticeably deeper and more violent.
Cofagrigus instantly felt the urge to retreat.
Perhaps because it had been locked up in that ball for way too long, Vigoroth was violently pent up.
Without even waiting for May’s command, it exploded forward, its claws already heavily cloaked in a deadly, shadowy radiance!
The old royal bastard frantically retracted its four limbs, bringing them together in front of its chest to frantically rub out a pitch-black energy sphere, hurling it to intercept Vigoroth’s blitz.
Bang~
The clash of shadow energies formed two domes of light at the point of impact.
The side belonging to Cofagrigus rapidly lost ground, its energy violently shattering before it was mercilessly slapped away like a fucking volleyball.
“Shadow Claw” was a move highly effective against Ghost-types.
Having suffered catastrophic damage from a single strike, the old royal bastard didn’t dare stick around for a second longer.
Crashing hard into the dirt, it completely ignored its agonizing injuries, instantly melting into a shadow and fleeing along the ground.
Not completely satisfied with just one hit, Vigoroth completely ignored everything and prepared to chase after it, but May swiftly recalled it back into the Ultra Ball from a distance.
“Sigh~ Vigoroth has a really wild, jumpy personality.
Keeping it cooped up in the ball for so long must have been pure torture for it,” May said bashfully as she secured the Ultra Ball.
“I firmly believe that with your ridiculous talent, May, it won’t be long before you raise your own Pokémon to the ‘Pro-tier’!”
“I’ll take your word for it!”
As May spoke, she shifted her gaze back to Zorua, who was currently still maintaining its unique, drastically different Hisuian form.
“As you can see, my Zorua is actually highly unique.
Its physical form is completely different from a standard Zorua.
Because of this, I don’t really want to expose it to the public so early.
So, May, can you keep this absolute secret for me?”
“Of course, no problem at all!
Since I was little, my dad always taught me never to casually expose insanely rare things in front of others.
I totally understand.
Until you become a formidable powerhouse who can stand entirely on your own, you definitely shouldn’t casually show off Zorua’s uniqueness.
Oh right, is this Pumpkaboo also your Pokémon, Lorze?
Its sheer size is also incredibly rare.”
Saying this, she walked over to the Giant Pumpkaboo and gave it a pat, her pretty face filled with sheer astonishment at its outrageously massive size compared to its peers.
“Wow~ Lorze, yours is so unbelievably huge!
But it looks completely drained from the massive battle just now.
May pulled out a small spray bottle and gave the Pumpkaboo a generous coating.
The latter’s condition recovered with miraculous, immediate effect.
This kind of hyper-effective recovery medicine was astronomically expensive.
Unless faced with a life-or-death crisis, ordinary Trainers wouldn’t dare waste it like this.
It was glaringly obvious that May was a low-key wealthy little heiress.
“I am so overwhelmingly jealous of your luck, Lorze!
You always manage to stumble across these incredibly unique Pokémon.
If you could bring a Giant Pumpkaboo this massive onto the Pokémon Contest stage, it would absolutely have a devastatingly powerful visual impact!
If paired with the right dazzling special effects, it would undoubtedly deliver a flawless, God-tier performance.”
The more she spoke, the brighter her eyes sparkled.
She circled the massive pumpkin twice, as if admiring a supreme masterpiece of art.
The Giant Pumpkaboo, which had been sulking miserably, heard May’s words.
A faint glimmer sparked within its hollow, empty eye sockets.
It sneakily sized May up—youthful, gorgeous, fashionably dressed, and seemingly from a highly affluent background, otherwise, she wouldn’t casually waste outrageously expensive meds on it.
The “fiercely loyal” Giant Pumpkaboo pondered this.
If it managed to get picked up by this young sugar mommy, its life would be infinitely more comfortable than following Lorze—a Trainer with balls the size of boulders who constantly threw himself into highly suicidal, terrifying situations.
Right at that moment, the Froslass hovering beside May drifted right up to Lorze.
Her beautiful, gem-like eyes stared quietly at him.
The freezing, murderous intent from the battle was entirely gone, replaced by a deep, undeniable intimacy?
She extended a slender hand that seemed to be forged from pure snow and ice, gently stroking Lorze’s arm to heavily express her deep affection.
Witnessing this, Zorua got insanely jealous and let out a highly dissatisfied whimper.
But considering Froslass had literally just saved their fucking lives, it begrudgingly kept its mouth shut.
May, on the other hand, felt a bitter sting in her chest.
Her own Froslass had never shown her—its actual, literal Trainer—this level of deep intimacy.
But in the very next second, a brilliant spark of inspiration flashed inside her clever little head.
A bright, slightly sly smirk crept onto her pretty face:
“Lorze, how about we discuss a little business proposition?”
“What kind of proposition~”
“Look at it this way,”
May pointed at the pumpkin boss on the ground.
“This Giant Pumpkaboo of yours is insanely unique!
If it were entered into a Pokémon Contest, it would be a massive, show-stealing highlight!
And as for my Froslass~”
She pointed again at Froslass, who was staring tenderly at Lorze: “She seems to…
be completely obsessed with you!
So, why don’t we try mating—wait, fuck, I mean trading?!”