Chapter 77: Double Battle Coordination
In this life, he had finally escaped from an underground organization, there was no way he would join another one!
Sato didn't care whether Voya was just buying time or if she was joking, he was taking this fight seriously!
"Zoroark, Night Daze! Larvitar, Rock Polish!"
Zoroark knelt slightly, its right hand touching the ground, its azure-blue eyes locked onto Charmeleon and Ninetales. The next second, Dark-type energy formed a massive expanding ring centered around Zoroark, rapidly spreading outward!
"Hmph! Ninetales, take Charmeleon and use Agility!"
Their coordination was seamless, Charmeleon leaped into the air, and at the same time, Ninetales jumped up and caught it, evading Zoroark's Night Daze with perfect timing!
"Rock Slide!"
"Larvitaar!"
Having used Rock Polish, Larvitar had boosted more than just its speed, two fist-sized sharp stones whizzed through the air, striking Ninetales and Charmeleon with full force!
Both Pokémon let out pained cries, the damage from Rock Slide was far greater than they had expected!
"Zoroark, Feint Attack! Larvitar, cover with Rock Slide!"
Sato's commands came swiftly, giving Voya's Pokémon no chance to catch their breath.
Zoroark moved like a shadow, its speed turning it into a blur as it charged toward the two Pokémon.
From the rear, Larvitar controlled over a hundred small rocks at once, launching them forward in random, chaotic trajectories, completely overwhelming the battlefield!
"Ninetales! Charmeleon! Protect!"
Originally, Voya had still been thinking about trying to recruit Sato, but seeing Larvitar's Rock Slide, she was stunned.
Just two stones had been enough to make Ninetales and Charmeleon scream in pain, and now, a full barrage was coming at them like a meteor shower!
She didn't even have time to question why a Larvitar had such absurd power, her reflex was to defend first!
As the Rock Slide crashed down, Voya quickly realized something was off, the rocks were neither as fast nor as sharp as before!
It was a bluff!
The Rock Slide ended with minimal impact, and the Protect barriers around Ninetales and Charmeleon faded instantly, just in time for Zoroark to strike!
Its claws, infused with Dark-type energy, sliced into Ninetales' chin, a direct critical hit!
Ninetales was sent flying, rolling across the ground several times before lying completely motionless!
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"
Charmeleon temporarily forced Zoroark back with a stream of flames. Voya took advantage of the moment to recall her fainted Ninetales, her once calm and calculating expression now replaced with fury.
"Zoroark, Night Daze! Larvitar, Rock Slide!"
Sato remained unfazed, there was no reason to be afraid. Once the self-destruct program activated, Voya would have far bigger problems than him!
"Charmeleon, Dragon Rage! Ninetales, Flame Wheel!"
Voya quickly tossed out a Ninetales to support Charmeleon's attacks.
Night Daze erupted at close range, its sheer power forced both Pokémon back, though their combined moves had somewhat lessened the damage.
Another Rock Slide rained down, but Voya completely ignored it, focusing instead on commanding her Pokémon to surround and overwhelm Zoroark!
BAM! BAM!
This time, two hidden, razor-sharp stones struck Ninetales and Charmeleon, causing significant damage!
Voya's eyes widened in shock and frustration, her Pokémon were being completely outmaneuvered! She felt a slight sense of fear, Sato's battle tactics were overwhelming!
His mix of deception and unpredictability, just from a single Rock Slide, Larvitar had turned the battle into chaos!
And Larvitar wasn't even at the Elite level!
At that moment, Zoroark seized another opening, another Feint Attack struck, leaving Charmeleon nearly down for the count!
"Gengaar!"
Gengar floated over to Sato, tugging at his sleeve.
Turning to look, Sato saw that the chaotic battle around them had already ended, Team Rocket had completely collapsed!
Houndour was leading the remaining Pokémon, ensuring the battlefield was cleared.
Sato grinned and recalled Zoroark. He glanced at Voya, who stood motionless with only a Ninetales guarding her.
Saying nothing, he led the entire group of Pokémon as they stormed out of the underground base.
...
Inside the base, Voya collapsed onto the ground in frustration. She couldn't understand, since when had Team Rocket become so weak?
A ten-year-old kid had single-handedly overturned their entire base.
"Lady… Lady Voya!"
A Team Rocket grunt stumbled toward her, his eyes filled with panic and terror.
Voya shot him a cold glare. Though her posture at the moment was far from elegant, her presence still carried authority.
"All of the test subjects in the research area have escaped…!"
"I saw that. Do you think I need you to tell me?"
"A-and also…"
"Say another useless word, and I'll cut your tongue out!"
"The Potential Enhancement Serum was taken as well!"
"Damn it!"
Voya shot to her feet, her furious gaze locked on the base's exit, but she had nowhere to vent her rage.
"L-Lady Voya…"
"What now?! Spit it all out at once!"
"The intruder set a self-destruct program in our database, in just a few minutes, all of the base's data will be wiped!"
Voya spun around, her fury overflowing.
"Then why the hell are you still standing here?! Go disable it!"
"Y-yes! I already sent someone to-"
BANG! BANG!
Suddenly, the entire underground base lost power.
A few seconds later, the lights flickered back on, but the grunt who had been reporting was now ashen-faced, slumped on the ground in complete silence.
For the first time, Voya felt real panic.
There were no more test subjects to capture, no Potential Enhancement Serum that money could reproduce, that can be easily acquired, but without data records, everything was lost!
"Sato!!!"
-------
Escaping from the underground base, Sato faintly heard a piercing scream from behind. His body tensed for a moment, then he quickened his pace.
After over half an hour, Sato led hundreds of Pokémon deeper into the forest. Along the way, no wild Pokémon dared to block them, all choosing to stay far away.
"This place should do!"
Sato came to a stop first, gasping for breath.
The other Pokémon halted as well. Although many of them harbored deep hatred for humans, they were relatively friendly toward Sato, who had freed them.
"Houndour, scatter them. Tell them to run far, any direction except where we came from."
"Awo~"
Houndour affectionately rubbed against Sato's leg before turning to relay instructions to the Fire-type Pokémon.
"Woof! Woof!"
In the crowd, around twenty to thirty Houndour lowered their bodies, it seemed they wanted to recognize Sato's Houndour as their leader.
Houndour shook its head. It stood firmly by Sato's side, not taking a single step forward, it had already made its choice.
At that moment, a Charmeleon stepped forward from the crowd.
It silently approached Sato, staring at him for a long moment before pulling something from behind its back, a small, glowing orb.
"The Flame Orb? You're giving this to me?"
Charmeleon nodded, then shook its head. It raised a claw and pointed toward Houndour.
"It's for Houndour? But… it probably doesn't need this, right?"