The moment the feline cw made tact with the a cauldron, an immense force suddenly surged forth.

  Caught off guard, Ting-Lu’s bance shifted in an instant.

  Its blood-red eyes, filled with rage, widened abruptly.

  Out of the er of its eye, Ting-Lu barely mao catch sight of Persian nding lightly on the ground.

  How is this possible…?

  A flicker of disbelief passed through its mind.

  In truth, the moment Persian had burst out from the forest, Ting-Lu had already noticed its presence.

  But it hadn’t paid much attention.

  After all, it had seey of okémon like this before.

  Aside from their numbers and speed, there was nothing particurly remarkable about them.

  Even if they fought with everything they had, they would struggle to leave even a scrat its body.

  And so, Ting-Lu had naturally ignored Persian, fog instead on Slowking and Gardevoir.

  Those two bugs… how annoying.

  For some reason, Ting-Lu’s thoughts were far less agile than those of an ordinary Pokémon.

  It was as if a statue, slumbering fes, had been awakened by act—its mind a foggy mess, uo grasp the current situation, merely exeg its assigask on instinct.

  Regaining its baing-Lu’s forelimbs became ed in dense Ground-type energy. It raised a leg, preparing to stomp the impudent creature that had dared to brandish its cws at it.

  But before the foot could nd, Persian transformed into a streak of white light, darting out of the attack’s range in an instant.

  It even stopped in the distance, deliberately turning back to g Ting-Lu.

  As if firming its rea before tinuing to flee.

  More annoying than harmful.

  When it came to speed, Persian had absolute fidence.

  Just like in its previous ambush.

  While part of the pn relied on faith in its own attack power, a signifit factor was that Ting-Lu simply couldn’t rea time.

  With a bination of Quick Attad Trailbze, Persian’s speed in that moment was enough to outrun the vast majority of Pokémon.

  A deep, guttural growl rumbled from Ting-Lu’s throat—only to be idway as the wave of attacks crashed onto its face like a releide.

  Perhaps due to the sheer prominence of that a bronze cauldron, Slowking and Gardevoir had unsciously aimed most of their attacks at it.

  The cauldron resonated with tinuous humming, sounding almost like a war drum from the Warring States period.

  “Yadon.”

  What a fool.

  Hidden within the forest, Slowking observed Ting-Lu, an unmistakable look of disdain surfag on its face.

  Is this thing really dumber than the farm’s dogs?

  Had it spent so much time trampling on the weak that its brain had regressed to the point where it could only fight the weak?

  "ROAR!"

  The relentless barrage of attacks iging-Lu’s fury in an instant.

  A roar, nothing like that of a deer, thuhrough the forest.

  Amidst the howling blizzard, a swirl of yellow sand suddenly emerged.

  Then, it rapidly spread—turning into a full-blown Sandstorm.

  The swirling storm of sand bhe sky in a yellow haze.

  Us onsught, the Blizzard that Slowking and Gardevoir had jured flickered like a dle in the wind—struggling, wavering.

  But in the end, it was iably extinguished.

  “Yadon.”

  Alright, a powerful fool then.

  Retrag its palm, Slowking made a slight corre to its earlier judgment.

  Though it didn’t seem particurly intelligent, its strength was undeniable.

  “Ca!”

  S through the air, Corviknight narrowed its eyes slightly.

  A Sandstorm, huh? First time entering this kind of weather.

  But—no big deal!

  After a brief adjustment, Corviknight swiftly stabilized its flight.

  Even within the raging sandstorm, its movements seemed entirely ued.

  This is the power of a heavy bomber fortress!

  In the sky, Corviknight moved like a venomous snake, spitting out a steady stream of taunts and provocations while ung ratacks to draw Ting-Lu’s attention.

  At one point, Ting-Lu could have sworn it saw a smug, self-satisfied expression on that bird’s face.

  Annoying.

  Very annoying.

  Its focus on Corviknight intensified.

  Seeing the situation, Corviknight wisely chose not to engage directly.

  o risk getting stomped into a Corviknight pancake.

  Natsume had made it clear—its role was to keep Ting-Lu’s attention occupied.

  And so far, it was doing a stelr job.

  Wheing-Lu tried to shift its attention elsewhere, Corviknight would swoop in with a well-timed provocation, f it to turn back.

  And when Ting-Lu attacked Corviknight, the other Pokémon seized the opportunity to strike hard.

  Eves attaded, the damage was within Corviknight’s acceptable ra enough to take it down.

  As long as it could escape after each hit a a quick Heal Pulse from Natsume, it could jump right bato the fray.

  "Whoosh—"

  A white-streaked Persian burst out from the forest.

  Ting-Lu’s eyes immediately locked onto it, wary of the one Pokémon that had actually mao hurt it.

  But in that instant, a slender figure appeared beh Ting-Lu.

  Galde.

  Gone was its usual id-back demeanor.

  Now, it was like an uhed bde, its entire being radiating a sharp, lethal aura.

  Golden light ed around its emerald arm-bdes.

  Its lean legs bent slightly—then it sprang upward.

  With a decisive ssh, it struck hard at Ting-Lu’s neck.

  "Grah—!"

  The roar Ting-Lu had inteo unleash twisted into something strangely ical.

  Almost like Corviknight’s caw.

  Tch.

  Didn’t cut all the way through?

  Galde’s gaze darkened as it examihe strike.

  If it had, the fight would’ve been over by now.

  No matter. Another opportunity would e.

  Without hesitation, Galde’s blue eyes glowed—then, in a fsh, it teleported away, vanishing into the forest.

  "Garde."

  He’s losing trol of his emotions.

  Gardevoir, tasked with proteg Natsume, cast a g her brother.

  His usual polite facade was slipping, revealing his true, sinister nature.

  “Uhma!”

  From somewhere in the shadows, Ogerpon suddenly appeared, clutg a thorny club rger than itself.

  With a few nimble steps, it leapt onto Ting-Lu’s back, dashing along its spine.

  Its tiny figure soared into the air, silhouetted against the sun, eyes sparkling with excitement.

  With a mighty swing, the thorny club smashed down onto Ting-Lu’s neck.

  “Uhma!”

  Now this is what I call an explosive ove!

  Unlike Galde, Ogerpon fought with reckless abandon.

  No hit-and-run tactics.

  Ny of striking ond retreating.

  Just pure, uing bat!

  With wild enthusiasm, Ogerpon rained down a flurry of strikes, thumping its club against Ting-Lu’s back.

  From the darkness, Persian and Galde charged forth, glowing with energy, ready to nd another decisive blow.

  But then—

  "ROAR—!"

  Bergy surged in Ting-Lu’s crimson eyes.

  Behind it, a shadowy, malevolent eye formed.

  Mean Look.

  A move that prevented oppos from fleeing battle.

  Usually used against Baton Pass teams or wild Pokémon capture attempts.

  But in Ting-Lu’s hands—

  Persian and Galde froze as if turo stone.

  A deep, primal fear gripped their very genes, rendering them motionless.

  Galde tried to teleport away—

  But it was as if Teleport had taken the day off.

  No matter how much it tried, it simply wouldn’t activate.

  Then, massive boulders erupted from the ground, f an encirclement around them.

  Ting-Lu was done uimating them.

  This time, it wasn’t getting caught off guard.

  But a Legendary Pokémon is still a Legendary Pokémon. Even in this state, it retained enough strength to keep fighting.

  Apanied by jagged rocks, the dark ripples that had appeared before surged once more.

  Ting-Lu actively triggered its Ability, Vessel of Ruin. At this range, every Pokémon except Gardevoir was affected, their Special Defense weakened.

  At this critical moment, a streak of bck light pierced through the raging sandstorm, cuttiween Persian and Galde.

  "Caw-ga-ga!"

  Now! This was the hero’s moment to shine!

  A green radiance blossomed amidst the dusky battlefield, like an oasis in the desert, bringing life and hope.

  With the deafening crash of colliding rocks and the scattering of dust, an eerie "silence" desded upotlefield—ohat felt oddly out of p such a fierce fight.

  As the dust settled, a translut, green, spherical barrier emerged.

  I, Corviknight raised its head high, looking at Persian with a smug expression.

  That look seemed to say, So even you need me to save you someday, huh?

  Before the protective barrier pletely faded, Corviknight grabbed both Galde and Persian with its talons and swiftly carried them away from Ting-Lu.

  Smugness was ohing, but letting arrogance lead to a disastrous mistake would be dht humiliating.

  Worse than celebrating with champag halftime.

  At least that meant you'd celebrated something. But messing up now? That would be behavior from start to finish.

  And a true hero couldn't afford such a stain on their record.

  "Roar!"

  Ting-Lu's eyes burned red with fury, as if it were about to spew fire.

  A barrage of attacks rained dowlessly on Corviknight.

  With a dazzling spin, Corviknight flung Persian and Galde away as if tossing out garbage.

  Now unburdened, it performed an acrobatic dispy in midair, as if putting on a show for the other Pokémon.

  It executed a series of high-difficulty maneuvers with ease.

  And then—

  Boom!

  Gaaah—!

  A massive boulder struck Corviknight dead on, sending it flying in a graceful arc.

  It crashed into the undergrowth, pletely motionless.

  That marked Corviknight’s sixth crash nding of this battle.

  You're basically a doomed pilot at this point.

  As Corviknight disappeared into the trees, Gardevoir instantly teleported to its side. With aeleport, she brought it back to Natsume.

  For now, Gardevoir still couldn't use Teleport with pinpoint precision tet Pokémon from a distance.

  "You did great, Corviknight," Natsume said softly, croug doressing a hand against its feathers.

  A warm green light enveloped Corviknight, healing its wounds.

  Normally, Natsume wouldn’t pass up a ce to tease Corviknight about its flying skills.

  But now wasn’t the time for unnecessary remarks.

  What mattered most was trusting his partner and encement.

  "Caw caw!"

  No big deal!

  Now fully healed, Corviknight shook itself off.

  With Iron Defeacked multiple times, it felt invincible—like even Arceus itself couldn't scratch it.

  This is the fidehat es with being built different.

  While Corviknight recovered, the battle raged on.

  The sandstradually faded, repced by a lingering damp mist.

  It wasn’t from a move or a special ability.

  Just a simple teique.

  For a Pokémon as intelligent as Slowking, slightly altering how a move was used could pletely ge its effect.

  This wouldn’t fully teract the damage caused by Sand Tomb, but it could at least weaken it.

  Slowking had sidered summoning rain ht, but it had lost the weather battle to Ting-Lu.

  So, all it could do was keep attag while building up its energy.

  Gazing at Ting-Lu’s massive form, Slowking wore a thoughtful expression.

  "Yadon."

  Calling all units. This is Slowking.

  I have an idea.

  Suddenly, Slowking's voice echoed in the minds of Ogerpon, Galde, and Persian.

  The three, who had been alternating their attacks, paused briefly.

  Then, they resumed their previous battle formation—only now, their strikes seemed a little less aggressive.

  Casually ung a Water Pulse, Slowking quickly expis pn.

  Persian, after hearing it, immediately agreed.

  That meant they hat bird ba its feet as soon as possible.

  Given Corviknight's stelr performance, Persian decided it would temporarily stop calling it "stupid bird."

  For the few days, at least, Corviknight would be cssified as a normal Pokémon.

  Watg Persian and Galde darting around before it, Ting-Lu had never felt such overwhelming rage.

  Strange energy ed within the a bronze cauldron on its back.

  Just a single g it was enough to send shivers down one's spine—an inexplicable, instinctual fear.

  A terror without reason.

  A horror without expnation.

  The power of dread boiled and surged within the cauldron, building to its peak.

  "ROAR—!"

  With Ting-Lu's furious bellow, an ominous shockwave exploded outward.

  Ruination—the exclusive move of the Treasures of Ruin.

  A move that instantly halves the target's HP.

  Persian and the others were caught i—taking the full force of the attack.

  Gcell