"Yo~ yo~" Doublade indicated that it wanted to go save Nurse Joy.
Comatose shook its head gently.
"Yo~ yo~" Doublade did not understand why Comatose was trying to stop it, and it attempted to pull its ribbon back from Comatose's grip.
However, its strength was no match for Comatose. No matter how hard it pulled, Comatose remained completely immovable.
Over there, after the Team Flare executive finished threatening Diantha and Officer Jenny, he turned back and instructed his subordinates:
"Lock all of these people up!"
The moment his words fell, Nurse Joy and the young girl, who were being held by Spiritomb, were tossed directly onto the floor.
Nurse Joy took a hard fall, scraping her knee and quickly staining her pink skirt with fresh blood.
Even so, she paid it no mind, choosing instead to comfort the terrified little girl who clung to her and shivered.
Subsequently, in accordance with their superior's orders, the Team Flare members gathered everyone and all the Pokémon inside the Pokémon Center and locked them away in two separate rooms.
The people and the Pokémon were imprisoned separately, though the two rooms were adjacent to each other.
They even dragged out the Pokémon still recuperating in the hospital wards and locked them up together, with Glaceon and the unconscious Salamence among them.
Glaceon originally intended to resist, but thinking of Doublade and Comatose who had slipped outside without a sound, it silently endured, allowing itself to be locked up alongside the other Pokémon.
What Glaceon did not anticipate, however, was that to prevent the Pokémon from making trouble, Team Flare had a Skiploom use Hypnosis on them, sending them all into a deep sleep.
Because Glaceon was still recovering from injuries and reacted too slowly, it fell victim to the move as well.
Where had Doublade and Comatose gone, then?
They had hidden themselves.
Having finished everything, Team Flare assigned two guards to stand watch outside the door holding the captive Pokémon and hostages, while the rest recuperated their strength in the front lobby.
Naturally, they could not remain in a prolonged stalemate with the police; a major battle was bound to happen, making it essential to rest and recharge.
At that moment, Comatose finally led Doublade out into the open. They launched a stealthy surprise attack on the two guards, incapacitating both them and their Pokémon in a single strike.
Following that, Comatose stationed itself right in the middle of the corridor, nodding at Doublade, who instantly understood.
It was time to notify Officer Jenny and Diantha outside to launch their assault.
During their concealment earlier, they had already noticed that the Pokémon Center was surrounded by police.
Comatose had stopped Doublade earlier not because it could not defeat the enemy, but because hostages were in Team Flare's hands.
Now, however, those concerns were gone.
The rooms holding the hostages and the Pokémon were interconnected, with only a single corridor providing access through this section.
With Comatose now guarding the corridor, no one could pass through, naturally ensuring the safety of the hostages and the Pokémon.
Protected by Comatose, the police could act without worrying about the hostages and capture Team Flare at will.
It had to be said that the two rooms with unique layouts chosen by Team Flare happened to play right into the hands of Comatose and Doublade.
Hearing the commotion ahead, the Team Flare members stationed nearby sent two people to investigate the situation.
Upon spotting Comatose and Doublade, they immediately realized something was wrong, raised an alarm, and simultaneously commanded their Pokémon to attack the pair.
An Arbok and a Seviper lunged forward with venom-dripping jaws agape.
"Yo~~" Doublade drew both of its blades, activating Psycho Cut. Two purple energy blades shot forward, striking both serpents squarely in their vital spots.
Before they could even close the distance, the two snakes were blasted backward, instantly knocked out.
The two Team Flare members tried to cry out in alarm, only to realize too late that two shadows had materialized behind them.
Those shadows abruptly transformed into a pair of hands that struck the Team Flare members, causing them to collapse unconscious on the spot.
As it turned out, Doublade had quietly used Shadow Sneak.
Even so, the agonizing screeches emitted by Arbok and Seviper when they were defeated still alerted the Team Flare members up front.
The Team Flare executive quickly arrived with a group of underlings, pausing in surprise upon seeing Doublade and Comatose.
Where had these two Pokémon come from?
Maintaining his composure, he ordered Spiritomb, "Spiritomb, capture them!"
"Kaka~~" Spiritomb unhesitatingly launched an attack on the two Pokémon, sweeping a wave of Dark Pulse across the corridor.
Doublade flew forward, a sliver of silver sword light flashing as it sliced the Dark Pulse cleanly in half.
Witnessing this, the Team Flare executive and Spiritomb were both stunned, completely unprepared for the sheer strength displayed by the Doublade before them.
Gazing at the imposing Doublade, the Team Flare executive suddenly grew intrigued.
"Very well, I've taken a liking to you. Become my Pokémon!" he declared.
"Yo~" Doublade rejected the offer in a stern tone; the only person worthy of it was Ange.
The Team Flare executive sneered, "In that case, I'll just have to use force!"
He then instructed his subordinates to deal with Comatose while he handled Doublade himself.
Clearly, he had not taken an inconspicuous Pokémon like Comatose seriously.
Of course, Comatose being underestimated was partly due to its own demeanor.
Look at it: eyes tightly shut, swaying while hugging its log, maintaining an utterly relaxed posture with a snot bubble hanging from its nose. There was not a shred of an intimidating aura about it.
The battle erupted instantly.
First was Comatose's side, where the low-level grunts initially paid it no mind. One of them commanded his Ariados:
"Ariados, use String Shot and tie this little pest up!"
His tone carried absolute confidence; what could a tiny Comatose possibly do?
"A~" Ariados grunted, opening its mouth to spew a thread of white silk toward Comatose.
Comatose simply rolled in a clumsy circle to the side, causing Ariados's attack to miss entirely.
The grunt had yet to realize the gravity of the situation, scoffing dismissively, "Hah, the little thing's got some moves!"
With that, his expression suddenly twisted into a ferocious snarl, "Ariados, Pin Missile, and teach this little pest a proper lesson!"
"A-do~" Ariados flashed a purple light in its eyes, raising its two front limbs high as yellow-green energy surged over them.
This time, Comatose did not dodge, leading the opponent to assume it was paralyzed with fright, prompting a smug grin.
However, the exact instant Ariados's claws descended, Comatose raised its log and effortlessly blocked the blow.
The laughter of the Team Flare member froze instantly.
"How... how is this possible?" Back then, he and Ariados had graduated with top-ten scores. How could a mere Comatose possibly...
Lysandre was wealthy, which was why he had established numerous trainer academies over the years. Under the guise of giving ordinary people an equal opportunity to become trainers, he was actually secretly cultivating independent trainers for Team Flare.
Ariados and its trainer had graduated from one of those very academies.
Naturally, those institutions genuinely helped many ordinary citizens receive better trainer education and secure the chance to become trainers.
Lysandre's reputation as a philanthropist was not entirely undeserved.
Then, amidst the horrified gaze of the Team Flare member, Ariados let out a miserable screech and was sent flying backward, slamming hard into the wall, punching a hole straight through it, and passing out cold.
Even if these people were dull-witted, they finally realized that the seemingly unremarkable little creature before them was thoroughly abnormal.
"Attack together! Everyone, charge!"
Instantly, Skiploom, Sandslash, Golbat, Magneton, and more swarmed forward in a wave.
Could Comatose's strength be overcome merely by a bunch of grunts throwing numbers at it? Guarding the corridor, it wreaked havoc, ensuring no one could pass!
Wails echoed continuously through the hallway, coming from both Pokémon and humans alike.
Meanwhile, Doublade was engaged in a fierce battle against Spiritomb.
Compared to Comatose's one-sided domination, Doublade's fight proved far more arduous.
Doublade struck first, dark energy flashing along its blades as it slashed fiercely toward Spiritomb.
The Team Flare executive commanded Spiritomb, "Spiritomb, Sucker Punch!"
As his words fell, Spiritomb transformed into a streak of dark energy and collided with Doublade, instantly sending it flying backward and causing Doublade's Night Slash to fail.
Fortunately, Doublade possessed exceptional defense and was equipped with an Eviolite that boosted its defensive stats, rendering the blow largely inconsequential.
Seeing that Doublade emerged almost completely unscathed, the Team Flare executive nodded in satisfaction. "Splendid, truly a Pokémon worthy of my eye."
Doublade raised its swords to slash at Spiritomb once more. This time, its assault was exceptionally swift, and owing to its No Guard ability, Spiritomb failed to react in time and was blasted away.
"Good, very good!"
Far from being angered by its Pokémon getting knocked back, the Team Flare executive burst into loud laughter, gazing at Doublade with growing satisfaction as if it were already safely in his grasp.
"Spiritomb, Trick Room!"
Spiritomb was an exceptionally slow Pokémon, making Trick Room an essential move for it.
At the command of the Team Flare executive, a blocky blue spatial domain materialized out of thin air, enveloping both Spiritomb and Doublade.
The moment the space formed, Doublade felt its body become bound by an invisible force, restricting its every movement.
Such was the effect of Trick Room: slower Pokémon were able to move first.
In truth, Doublade's baseline speed was also remarkably sluggish, its speed base stat matching Spiritomb's.
However, individual value discrepancies vastly widened the speed gap between them; Doublade's speed IV was maxed out, whereas Spiritomb's sat in the single digits.
Combined with the fact that it never bothered to train its speed, this particular Spiritomb boasted an exceptionally high adaptation to Trick Room.
"Spiritomb, Shadow Ball!" The Team Flare executive commanded his Pokémon to strike.
"Kaka~~~" A black energy sphere formed in front of Spiritomb, guided by its will toward Doublade.
With Trick Room in effect, it operated as smoothly as a fish in water.
Noticing the incoming Shadow Ball, Doublade reacted instantly, preparing to dodge.
Regrettably, restricted by Trick Room, its body failed to keep pace with its thoughts—its mind reacted, but its physical reflexes lagged behind.
Boom!
Accompanied by a thunderous crash, Doublade was struck and hurled backward, slamming violently against the energy barrier generated by Trick Room.
Ghost-type moves held a super-effective advantage over Doublade, yet it wobbled its way back into the air and attempted to execute Night Slash.
However, when it swung its blades toward Spiritomb, the opponent effortlessly parried the strike with Dark Pulse.
Aware of Doublade's No Guard ability, Spiritomb did not bother dodging its onslaught, choosing instead to block with moves to counterattack with defense.
"Hahaha~~" The Team Flare executive laughed heartily at the sight. "I advise you to surrender willingly. Inside Trick Room, no one can defeat my Spiritomb!"
With his command, Spiritomb unleashed another Shadow Ball toward Doublade.
Doublade thought: I can't dodge it, but defending should work, right?
Consequently, it executed Wide Guard.
Alas, Doublade was sent flying once more, battered and bruised.
Because its physical reflexes failed to match its reaction speed, Wide Guard only activated after the Shadow Ball had already struck it, rendering it entirely useless.
"Come quietly with me, and I will surely train you well, turning you into a powerful Pokémon!" the Team Flare executive prattled on.
Doublade drifted unsteadily into the air, gazing at the gloating Team Flare executive across the room, a sudden resolve forming in its mind.
The next second, a dark purple stone was bound tightly by one of its ribbons.
Upon catching sight of that stone, the Team Flare executive froze, failing to even register where Doublade had retrieved it from.
Immediately afterward, a brilliant radiance enveloped Doublade, and within the luminosity, its form began shifting rapidly.
Indeed, the stone Doublade had just produced was a Dusk Stone capable of triggering its evolution.
Ange had prepared the Dusk Stone for Doublade long beforehand, storing it safely within its System backpack.
He had instructed Doublade that whenever it felt ready to evolve, it could retrieve the Dusk Stone and evolve at any moment.
All of these changes transpired in a mere flash. When the radiance finally dissipated, the dual-bladed Doublade was gone, replaced entirely by an Aegislash composed of a sword and a shield.
Yet, compared to a standard Aegislash, Ange's Aegislash exhibited distinct color variations.
An ordinary Aegislash featured a golden body, white blade, and purple ribbon arms.
Conversely, Ange's Aegislash possessed a black body, a crimson blade, and golden ribbon arms.
No sooner had Doublade finished evolving than Spiritomb's attack arrived once more.
Aegislash withstood the blow head-on, simultaneously lifting its sword high as radiant light erupted from its body, sending a massive golden sword soaring upward into the sky.
It had unleashed the move Sacred Sword.
Rather than directing the strike at Spiritomb—which possessed immunity to Fighting-type attacks—it brought the blade straight down upon the Trick Room barrier.
Crash! With a crisp snapping sound, the Trick Room shattered entirely.
Following its evolution, Aegislash had undergone a complete rebirth!