The csh between Bst Burn and Head Smash erupted in dazzling blue and red light, momentarily overshadowing the sun itself.

  The surrounding Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀ panicked and scattered, instinctively seeking safety.

  Behind them, only Sato remained calm. The rest of the team—Will, Cir, White—stared ily at Charizard, eyes burning with excitement.

  They had known Charizard for a long time, but they had never seen it unleash such overwhelming power.

  Even though they didn't fully uand what a Pseudo-Elite Four Pokémon was like, they were all certain.

  Charizard had broken through!

  The explosive energy detonated in a massive shockwave.

  Nidoking, being closer to the bst ter, suffered greater injuries. The aftershock sent it flying, smming it heavily into the ground.

  But Charizard wasn't i shape either.

  Already more wouhan Nidoking before the csh, the Rock-type energy explosion from Head Smash pressed it down, f it onto its stomach.

  A mutual defeat!

  "Gengar, Psychic!"

  Seeing their leader fall, the seven remaining Nidoqueen, along with the barely recovered one, charged forward in a frenzy.

  They had been uo interfere itle before, but they would at least retrieve their king.

  Sato reacted first.

  Gengar leapt out from the shadows, its golden pupils gleaming with blue light as it unleashed Psychic, restraining all eight Peak Elite Nidoqueen—but only for a few seds.

  That was enough!

  "Akazam, Exeggutor, Psychic!"

  "Gyarados, Seadra, Hydro Pump!"

  "Bstoise, Hydro Pump! Weavile, Ice Beam!"

  Will, Cir, and White immediately aheir Pokémon to attack, blog the Nidoqueen onsught.

  Sato also sent out Houndoom to joitle.

  However, these were eight Peak Elite Nidoqueen, and with the rage of losing their leader, their attacks were ferocious.

  In the chaos, Rose deployed Blissey and Wigglytuff, tinuously casting Healing Pulse, allowing White and Cir—who weren't as strong in bat—to barely hold off three Nidoqueen.

  Meanwhile, she rushed to Lance's side, administering emergency treatment to Charizard!

  Sato was responsible for holding back two, while Will took on three—and he seemed pletely unfazed.

  "Dragonair, Aqua Tail! Altaria, Dragon Rush!"

  Lance's voice suddenly rang out—both Nidoking and Charizard were gone!

  Seeing their leader suddenly vanish, the Nidoqueen became even more enraged.

  They knew about Poké Balls, and now they were furious beyond reason, charging like a horde of rampaging dinosaurs!

  Too te!

  Laook over from White, and Dragonair and Altaria, just like Charizard before them, were at the Peak Elite level—far superior to wild Elite Pokémon!

  The tide of battle had turned!

  Lance effortlessly forced two Nidoqueen into retreat, while Cir mao hold off one by herself.

  From the looks of it, Lance was letting her hahe battle to train her bat abilities, without stepping in too much.

  But the fastest to act was Will!

  With Psychic-types tering Poison-types, and given that Psychion excel at overp weaker Pokémon, he quickly took down three Nidoqueen in succession.

  Two mier, Landed his battle with ease, but her he nor Will interfered in Sato and Cir's fights.

  Cir had an easier time—Seadra and Gyarados' Water-type moves were effective against Nidoqueen.

  Sato, however, was struggling!

  Gengar—Mid Elite!

  Houndoom—Low Elite!

  Worse yet, both were weak to Ground-type moves—they had to stantly dodge to survive!

  "Houndoom, use Rest! Gengar, Psychic!"

  After finally creating some distance, Sato ordered Houndoom to recover, while Gengar provided cover.

  Earlier, he had already signaled Rose not to assist him. Now that the Nido was no longer a threat, this was a rare opportunity to train against a worthy oppo!

  Psychic was more than enough to hold back both Nidoqueen, and Sato's ands followed swiftly.

  "Houndoom, use Snengar, use Shadow Ball!"

  Snore wasn't a particurly powerful move, but it was far more reliable thaalk and worked perfectly with Houndoom's high Special Attack!

  The moment Psychic wore off, the two Nidoqueen uheir terattae unleashed Earth Power, while the other fired Water Pulse!

  However, Snore and Shadow Ball cshed against their moves, ralizing each other. Water Pulse broke through Snore, but the resulting water spsh that hit Houndoom barely did any damage.

  The moment—Houndoom woke up!

  Its Early Bird ability had activated!

  "Houndoom, use Fmethrengar, use Psychic!"

  Psychided first, hitting its mark! Nidoqueen was not only injured, but also restrained once more. Then, a powerful Fmethrulfed it!

  From that moment, the battle became a war of endurance.

  Whenever Houndoom was low on stamina, it would use Rest, while Gengar took over restraining their oppos.

  In the phase, Houndoom would use So keep up the offense. Once fully recovered, it would wake up and resume the all-out assault!

  During this, Gengar would retreat momentarily to recover, the the process!

  Their oppos' emotions shifted—fre, to fury, to shock, and finally—fear!

  Their morale colpsed! Ahey couldn't defeat… how were they supposed to fight?

  Looking around, the onpetitive sisters had all fallen. Only two remained.

  And—Cir had just finished her battle, successfully defeating the sixth Nidoqueen!

  "Nido… Nidoqueeen!"

  One of the remaining Nidoquee out a desperate cry, then suddenly turail and ran!

  The st Nidoqueen froze, gng left and right in disbelief—the out a frantic scream and fled as well!

  Houndoom and Gengar, seeing their oppos retreat, finally colpsed onto the ground.

  Houndoom, in particur, was utterly drained. While Rest had restored its stamina, its mental fatigue couldn't be recovered so quickly.

  "You did great!"

  Sato k down, patting Houndoom's rge head and Gengar's pointy ears. Their performan this battle had been nothing short of outstanding!

  Cp! Cp! Cp…

  Lance, Will, and the athered around, appuding.

  Even Cir, who was usually proud and petitive, couldn't hide the admiration in her eyes.

  They were the same age, yet she had struggled to defeat just one Nidoqueen, while Sato had mao overe two by relying on his strategiands alone—bridging the gap between their strength levels!

  Both Houndoom's Rest-Srategy and the seamless coordinatioween his two Pokémon had pletely exceeded their expectations.

  "When I was ye, I was nowhere his level… Are all kids this terrifying nowadays?"

  Lance shook his head in amazement.

  Even Will, who had inally ignored Sato, gave a small nod of approval.

  From dismissal tnition—perhaps as a specialist in Psychion, Will was more attuo the subtle emotional shifts of others.