Chapter 139: Annihilape's Double Knockout! Water-type Plates Appear!

“Serperior, let’s finish this battle quickly.”

Among Saharan’s six main Pokémon, four had already lost their ability to battle.

The only ones left for him to fight with were Tyranitar and Reuniclus.

At this moment, Serperior was in an explosive condition, constantly strengthening.

“Serperior~”

Serperior's indifferent gaze turned toward Reuniclus.

Glare!

Reuniclus felt an immense pressure from Serperior's stare.

Reuniclus wasn’t sure if it could withstand Serperior's attack.

“Serperior, use Leaf Storm!”

“Serperior~”

The large Leaf Storm rapidly condensed in the air.

Natsume and Gardevoir's attention focused on Reuniclus.

The sound of the storm made Saharan involuntarily clear his throat.

He worked hard to calm himself, staring intently at the approaching Leaf Storm.

Seizing the moment, Saharan shouted, “Now, Ally Switch!”

“Reuniclus, let’s see how it likes its own Leaf Storm!”

Whoosh~

The space began to ripple.

Reuniclus and Saharan instantly switched places with Serperior.

“Gardevoir~”

Gardevoir reached out its hand.

Almost simultaneously, as Reuniclus successfully swapped with Serperior, they were immediately switched back.

“Reuniclus.”

This time, Reuniclus didn't have time to react before the storm arrived.

“Reuniclus.”

Reuniclus hurriedly embraced Saharan, shielding him from all damage.

Bam~

Meanwhile, the battle between Dragonite and Tyranitar was about to conclude as well.

At this point, Tyranitar was playing quite poorly.

The heavy rain caused the sand on the ground to become sticky.

Rock-type Pokémon are inherently doubly weak to Water-type moves.

Therefore, even the Desert Tyrant, Tyranitar, wouldn’t like this environment.

The torrential rain in the sky was making it restless.

Controlling the Sandstorm around its body was now not as effortless as before.

The erosion from the water made Tyranitar feel nauseous.

What was worse was that Dragonite held the advantage in the sky.

“Tyranitar.”

Tyranitar panted as it looked up at Dragonite.

It adjusted its breathing.

“Roar~”

A black wave began to condense in front of Tyranitar’s body.

Dark Pulse!

Boom~

The black beam shot straight toward Dragonite in the sky.

“Dragonite~”

A faint blue glow appeared around Dragonite!

Dragonite quickly dodged the attack from Dark Pulse.

Bam~

A loud explosion echoed in the sky behind Dragonite.

In the midst of the explosion, Dragonite dove down toward Tyranitar.

Dragon-type ultimate move: Dragon Rush!

A formidable aura spread out around it.

This momentum made Tyranitar feel intense pressure.

Not just Tyranitar; even Yuuji and others, who were watching the battle between Melmetal and Mewtwo, couldn’t help but look up at the sky.

Tyranitar crossed its arms in front of its chest.

Tyranitar’s skin inexplicably took on a metallic sheen, and an energy barrier rapidly rose up around it.

“Dragonite~!”

Dragonite’s body descended like a meteor from the sky, its brightness steadily increasing.

The trail it left behind turned into a long streak of light.

Boom~ rumble~

At the moment of impact, a thunderous sound reverberated in all directions.

The enormous shockwave flattened the surrounding environment in an instant.

The area where Tyranitar was located was struck with a massive hollow.

Dust and debris flew everywhere.

Smoke billowed!

This scene even attracted the attention of Mewtwo and Melmetal.

A strong wind blew, dispersing the smoke.

In the deep pit, Tyranitar looked up at Dragonite in the sky.

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite flapped its wings and landed in front of Tyranitar.

Shake~ shake~

Tyranitar’s body collapsed.

Task Complete: Defeat Western Region Elite Saharan.

Quest Reward: Type Gems Draw 3; Treasure Draw 1; Rare Candy *1.

“I lost.”

Saharan sank to the ground beside Reuniclus.

Although he had prepared himself mentally, when this scene actually unfolded, Saharan still found it hard to accept.

“Serperior?”

Serperior looked at Natsume.

To kill or not to kill?

Natsume gazed at the fallen Saharan.

“Kill.”

At that moment, Reuniclus, which had already lost its ability to battle, seemed to sense something.

It strained to lift itself back up, looking pleadingly at Natsume.

“Celebi.”

Celebi looked at Reuniclus’s pleading gaze and felt a bit softhearted.

Celebi tugged at Natsume.

Maybe it would be better to let it go?

Natsume looked at Celebi helplessly.

“They came because of you.”

“Celebi.”

Celebi thought it really didn’t have anything major at stake, so it was okay.

That would be fine.

Natsume thought to himself, No wonder Celebi represents an era of peace.

When Natsume first met Celebi, it looked just like a dead tree, but now Celebi harbored no hatred at all.

As for Natsume, he truly didn’t care about Saharan as a person.

“What a waste.”

Makototaka looked at this scene and scolded Saharan: “I wasted my investment on you.”

Just as Makototaka was saying this, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

Although Natsume had asked Annihilape to wait a moment, if Annihilape could truly be patient enough to watch this all unfold, then it wouldn’t be the hot-tempered Pokémon it was known to be.

Annihilape grabbed Makototaka by the neck and slammed him down to the ground.

The security around Makototaka shouted, “Stop!”

“Zangoose, quickly stop it!”

The security personnel issued commands to their Pokémon.

“Serperior~”

Seeing this, Serperior looked that way.

Glare!

Serperior’s gaze caused everyone and every Pokémon around Makototaka to freeze in place.

No one, nor any Pokémon, dared to attack Annihilape under Serperior's watchful eye.

Annihilape slammed Makototaka into the ground.

It angrily stomped on Makototaka’s arm.

The sound of bones breaking and Makototaka's screams filled the forest.

“Mewtwo! Mewtwo!”

Makototaka shouted in fear.

Mewtwo looked at Makototaka.

“Melmetal~”

Don’t get distracted; let’s continue our battle!

Melmetal grabbed Mewtwo’s arm.

At that moment, Mewtwo felt as if its arm was trapped, unable to break free.

Superpower!

Melmetal swung Mewtwo heavily toward the ground.

Melmetal's level was already higher than Mewtwo's.

In this situation, if Mewtwo dared to let its guard down, it naturally wouldn't be able to respond to Melmetal's attack in time.

At that moment, Mewtwo's armor had completely been shattered.

Natsume then appeared beside Makototaka.

“That’s quite a mess.”

Natsume waved his hand at Annihilape.

Annihilape temporarily halted its rampage.

“I have a question I want to ask you.”

Makototaka looked at Natsume in fear: “What do you want?”

“Money? Pokémon? Treasures?”

“If you let me go, I can give you everything.”

Natsume replied calmly, “Do you remember Annihilape’s Trainer?”

“Annihilape?”

Makototaka stared blankly at Annihilape.

At that moment, he couldn’t recall anything about Annihilape’s Trainer.

“I’ll help you remember; Annihilape’s Trainer is named Tagawa.”

“About three years ago, Tagawa and Annihilape—no, it was Primeape back then—”

“Tagawa and Primeape found a treasure, the Hard Stone, in the secret realm outside Sakura City.”

“However, that treasure was later awarded to you by the investigators.”

“Tagawa himself died in a Pokémon raid in the Wilderness.”

“Does that ring a bell?”

Natsume looked at Makototaka and said, “Don’t say you don’t remember. If you can’t recall, I’ll just give you over to Annihilape.”

Makototaka stared blankly at Natsume.

He couldn’t understand why Natsume would ask him such questions at a time like this.

Wasn’t Natsume opposing him for Celebi’s sake?

What was he talking about?

Was Natsume related to that Tagawa guy?

He couldn’t simply be doing this for Annihilape, could he?

After all, this wasn’t some particularly rare or powerful Pokémon.

However, at that moment, Makototaka realized what he needed to say.

Makototaka nodded repeatedly: “I know, I know.”

“But that was indeed an accident.”

“And since the investigators awarded the item to me, it means I was right.”

“He’s dead; that’s not my concern.”

Gardevoir shot a glance at Makototaka and said directly, “Natsume, he’s lying.”

Makototaka's face stiffened.

“Makototaka, just admit it.”

Saharan swaggered over.

He sighed and said, “We’ve already lost.”

“So you might as well confess to the crimes you’ve committed.”

Makototaka looked at Saharan, instantly furious.

He decided to lay it all out.

With Gardevoir here, it was pointless to pretend.

“Saharan, what’s with your attitude, acting like none of this concerns you?”

“Don’t forget how many benefits you’ve gotten from me!”

“Yes, the people were the ones I had killed.”

“That’s easy; just find a Trainer and temporarily release your Pokémon.”

“But that treasure was absorbed by your Tyranitar!”

“I’m just a businessman; businessmen are driven by profit. What’s wrong with that?”

Makototaka shouted, “That kind of person wouldn’t stir up any trouble even if you gave him a treasure.”

“Damn it, if you’re not going to pay, then—”

Before Makototaka could finish his sentence, a pitch-black fist suddenly pierced through his heart.

There was no warning; it was Annihilape's Rage Fist.

Emotions controlled Annihilape's body.

Without any thought, Annihilape acted instantly, catching even Gardevoir off guard.

Makototaka stared blankly at Annihilape.

He had imagined a day when something would go wrong for him.

Perhaps a Champion from the league would step in personally, or maybe a legendary Pokémon would come from the sky to punish him.

No matter the outcome, it would certainly be a grand occasion.

At least it wouldn’t be in such a dirty and chaotic place, getting his heart pierced by a confused monkey.

Makototaka’s gaze began to fade.

He looked up at the sky.

The weather today was actually quite nice.

The sun was just right, and the breeze was gentle.

If he hadn’t obtained Celebi’s Time Ripple, would his life have been better?

Makototaka was dying, but it wasn’t just him.

Saharan also lowered his head, looking at his own chest.

Annihilape’s emotions appeared completely out of control at that moment.

Annihilape walked toward Tyranitar.

It still wanted to take down Tyranitar.

However, at that moment, a Reuniclus stepped in front of Annihilape.

Reuniclus glared at Annihilape with anger, rapidly condensing its powerful psychic energy.

Slap!

A Vine Whip struck hard from behind Reuniclus.

The furious Reuniclus instantly fainted.

As Annihilape was about to attack Reuniclus, Gardevoir intercepted it.

Gardevoir seemed to say something to Annihilape.

Annihilape opened its fist.

It collapsed to the ground and suddenly began to cry loudly.

Natsume sighed, then took out a Poké Ball to recall Annihilape.

“Rest well, Annihilape.”

Natsume looked at Annihilape’s Poké Ball and said, “Leave the rest to me.”

Natsume turned to Gardevoir, curious: “What did you say to it?”

Gardevoir replied gently, “I just told it your Trainer would be very sad.”

“He’s dead, dead.”

Yuuji stared blankly at Makototaka lying on the ground.

He had been investigating Makototaka for ten years and never expected him to die like this.

Yuki covered her mouth.

Everything that had happened today felt like a dream to her.

Suddenly, Yuuji exclaimed in anger, “Natsume, how could you just kill him like that!”

Natsume replied calmly, “Shouldn’t he be dead?”

“He deserves to die, but he shouldn’t have died like this.”

“How he dies should be decided by the investigators.”

Natsume casually stated, “As a regional-level Gym Leader, in certain situations, I have more authority than the investigators; you could say I’m the judge.”

“So I don’t think it matters.”

Yuuji was instantly speechless.

Because Natsume was indeed correct.

A regional-level Gym Leader does have that authority.

Moreover, it was originally Makototaka who initiated the attack.

But still, the one who died was Makototaka from Future Technology and a Western Region Elite!

Not to mention, which regional-level Gym Leader has the strength to take down a Elite?

Yuuji rubbed his face vigorously: “This is going to cause big trouble.”

At that moment, Mewtwo was looking at Makototaka’s body.

Makototaka was dead, but Mewtwo felt no sadness over it.

In fact, Mewtwo was even more confused.

It didn’t know whether it should continue fighting.

“Melmetal?”

Melmetal looked at Mewtwo with confusion.

Are we not going to fight?

Mewtwo looked at Melmetal.

It asked the question again.

What is the meaning of battle?

“Melmetal.”

Melmetal crossed its arms, displaying a thoughtful expression.

This was no problem, but it felt a bit profound for Melmetal.

“Melmetal!”

It flexed its body like a Fighting-type Pokémon.

“Melmetal~”

Melmetal looked at Mewtwo and asked, “Do you understand now?”

Mewtwo looked blankly at Melmetal.

What should I understand?

Melmetal sighed.

“Mewtwo, look around.”

Natsume suddenly spoke up.

Mewtwo glanced around.

In the sky,

Fearow, Pidgeot, Noctowl, and various Flying-type Pokémon living in the forest had surrounded the area without being noticed.

In the nearby stream, Wishiwashi, Croagunk, Poliwag, and various Water-type Pokémon floated on the water’s surface.

Mewtwo could perceive their anger toward it.

Mewtwo pondered, it hadn’t harmed them, so why were they so hostile?

Natsume offered an explanation.

“Because you are battling Melmetal, and it seems to be quite popular here.”

Melmetal flexed its muscles toward Natsume.

Melmetal said it’s very popular here!

“The meaning of battle is something that has different answers for everyone.”

“Melmetal wants to protect the forest.”

“This forest naturally wants to protect Melmetal.”

“As for me, I initially came here looking for Wishiwashi.”

Natsume said as he glanced at the Water-type Pokémon gathered in the river.

Name: Wishiwashi (Ruler)
Type: Water
Level: 1v58
Ability: Schooling
Individual Values: HP 31, Attack 31, Defense 31, Special Attack 31, Special Defense 31, Speed 31
Moves: Brine, Aqua Tail, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam
Inherited Moves: Water Pulse
Potential: Elite  
Held Item: Water-type plate of Arceus  

This was a Wishiwashi about 2 meters long.

Though it seemed as cute and clumsy as any ordinary Wishiwashi, its large size made it stand out among the Water-type Pokémon.