"Come out! Scrafty!"
Sidney threw out his final Poké Ball.
In the rain, Scrafty pulled up the loose skin around its waist and stared at the Kabutops standing firmly in front of it. To keep the rain from getting inside its shed skin, Scrafty had to hold it down with both hands. It then gave Sidney a slightly displeased look.
Scrafty was Sidney's first Pokémon and could also be considered his strongest main fighter.
However, after becoming an Elite Four member, he rarely used it. His excuse was that he did not want Scrafty to get hurt, but the real reason was that Scrafty's appearance was too similar to his own. He was worried that people might connect the two and make jokes about their names.
There was no time to think about that now. Sidney shouted, "Scrafty, High Jump Kick!"
"Scraaaf!"
Its eyes instantly turned fierce. With a quick step, Scrafty leaped into the air through the curtain of rain. Its raised knee, wrapped in the skin it had shed, glowed with a deep brown light and became harder than steel.
High Jump Kick was a powerful Fighting-type move that was super effective against Kabutops's Rock typing. If it landed, Kabutops would definitely be unable to continue battling.
However, like many powerful moves, missing with High Jump Kick would cause Scrafty to hurt itself.
"Too slow!" Andre sneered. "Kabutops, Mud Shot!"
Kabutops lowered its body and fired several streams of mud. The falling Scrafty was struck directly in the face, covering it completely. Its body began twisting around uncontrollably.
Mud Shot was not very powerful, but it could easily lower the opponent's accuracy and obstruct their vision.
Seeing this, Andre smiled. 'This guy really is just as weak as the executive said. He's the weakest Elite Four member in Hoenn.'
"Kabutops! Night Slash!"
Kabutops crossed its two blades in front of its body. After a brief moment of gathering power, it shot forward through the rain.
It moved so quickly that its actions could barely be seen.
On the other side, Sidney stared intensely at his opponent. The curtain of rain before him seemed to sink inward without a sound, leaving behind a strange empty space.
That was Kabutops's trail!
"Now! Scrafty!"
A rush of hot blood shot from Sidney's feet straight to his head, leaving his entire face tingling.
In midair, Scrafty was still covering its face while maintaining its knee-strike position. Just as it was about to hit the ground, its body suddenly twisted and it swept its leg sideways, changing the direction of the attack.
Although it also possessed the Dark typing, its greatest strength was still its Fighting ability!
Bang!
A heavy impact rang out.
The relatively soft white flesh of Kabutops's chest and abdomen caved inward. The black energy covering its blades trembled before disappearing. Scrafty's knee, wrapped in its shed skin, continued forward without holding anything back, as if it were risking everything to smash straight through its opponent.
Zzz...
A red light flashed while Andre wiped the water from his face. His expression was darker than the storm clouds overhead as he recalled Kabutops into its Poké Ball.
One mistake had cost him the battle.
But this was Kabutops personally given to him by the Boss!
After taking such heavy damage, how was he supposed to explain this to the Boss?
Andre glanced at the dozen or so Team Aqua members behind him and quietly signaled for them to retreat with the Poké Ball first.
Meanwhile, Sidney stood there gasping for breath, still frozen in disbelief.
He had actually won in one move?
He had defeated that mysterious Pokémon.
The overwhelming pressure Kabutops had given him moments ago was still fresh in his mind. His shattered confidence and understanding of the world seemed to be piecing themselves back together again, leaving him dazed for a moment.
"Scraf!"
Only when Scrafty shouted and raised its middle finger at him did Sidney snap out of it.
He stared for a moment before breaking into a smile.
As a Hoenn Elite Four member, he was still stronger than these grunts from an evil organization!
Filled with excitement, Sidney quickly recalled his Pokémon that had lost the battle and continued the pursuit alongside Scrafty.
As long as they captured that Team Aqua squad captain, they could find out where that Kabutops had come from. He had never seen a Water-type Pokémon like it before, so its origins were certainly not simple.
Otherwise, how could it have defeated three of his Gym-level Pokémon in an instant?
Up ahead, Andre turned around and ran without the slightest hesitation.
Yet behind the curtain of rain in the air, a tall figure gradually appeared. A bat-like Pokémon was holding the man by the back of his collar.
A deep and heavy voice rang out.
"Andre..."
Andre stopped in his tracks.
It was an executive!
Executive Amber!
One of the highest-ranking SSS-level executives in Team Aqua, Amber!
A few moments later, a Golbat flew over with a burly man in its mouth and landed in front of Andre.
Amber had dark skin and was bare-chested, wearing only loose blue pants. The white skull tattoo on his chest was something he had gotten back when he followed Archie as a pirate. Around his neck hung a necklace made from the bones of some unknown animal.
"Andre, you actually lost to that brat."
Andre shuddered and immediately bowed his head in apology. "Please punish me, Executive!"
"Get out of the way!"
Amber shoved him aside with one hand. His enormous wrestler-like body was more than twice Andre's size.
Sidney and Scrafty stopped as well, recognizing the burly man in the distance.
"Amber, one of Team Aqua's three executives..."
The moment Sidney met Amber's eyes, he shuddered.
Without hurry, Amber motioned for Golbat to fly into the sky. He casually shook the water from his hands before grinning. "So it's you, Sidney. How is a weak Elite Four member like you still part of the Hoenn League? I could grab two random guys from the Battle Frontier and they'd probably be stronger than you."
Sidney opened his mouth but had no way to refute him.
He believed in strength above all else, yet the burly man before him had once defeated him with ease. Back then, Sidney had been completely powerless against him.
If old man Drake had not arrived in time, he might have become the first Hoenn Elite Four member to be captured… no, he would have been the first Elite Four member in the entire history of the League to be captured.
Should he run?
The serious question surfaced in Sidney's mind once again.
Across from him, Amber's arrogant expression gradually faded. At the same time, he quickly reached for a Poké Ball.
Sidney turned around instead, recalling Scrafty with his own Poké Ball.
However, standing behind him was a black-clothed young man walking toward him with an umbrella. He looked extremely familiar.
Under the tense circumstances, combined with the curtain of rain and the dim light, Sidney couldn't recognize him for a moment.
The thought of escaping suddenly turned into panic. He stammered, "Th-this place is too dangerous! We need to leave quickly... I have to go back and report this first. You should leave too. There are Team Aqua members everywhere behind us… Wait! Which League trainer are you? Did Officer Jenny let you in?"
Sidney had just noticed something was wrong when he was pushed aside.
"Go to the Pokémon Center as soon as possible." Shiro's eyes swept over every member of Team Aqua. "If you go too late, your Pokémon might be left with hidden injuries."
"Hey!"
For some reason, Sidney felt a little annoyed. That strange sense of familiarity was becoming stronger and stronger.
Shiro turned around and glanced at him before handing over the umbrella in his hand.
"Hurrp up, Sidney."
The moment Sidney clearly saw that face, he froze in place.
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