Aotum stared at Electabuzz's body lying in front of him, its dead eyes still frozen in fear.
A chill ran through him.
This guy isn't human.
The thought hit him before he could stop it.
Is he some kind of cyborg?
The more Aotum thought about it, the more it made sense. Otherwise, how could a human body control armor like that and unleash this kind of power?
Damn Hualis.
They called themselves a nation of peace, but weren't they doing human experiments too?
Hypocrites.
He cursed inwardly, but now was not the time for that.
He had to survive.
Aotum immediately shouted at Slaking and Machamp, who were still fighting Charizard.
"You useless trash!"
"You can't even deal with one fire-breathing lizard?"
"Get back here and protect me!"
...
At the same time, Charizard was still battling Slaking and Machamp.
The problem was simple.
Neither of them could fly.
They had terrifying strength, but against Charizard in the air, all they could do was roar in frustration while getting blasted with scorching flames from above.
Slaking's fur had already been burned black in several places. Machamp looked even worse. Its strength and base stats were both lower than Slaking's, and under Charizard's Lightning Flame Dragon Mode, its skin had been scorched dark by repeated attacks.
Of course, Charizard was still only at Elite peak.
It could not truly overpower a mid-stage Champion-class Slaking head-on. That tier difference, combined with Slaking's absurd base stats, was no joke. Worse, after modification, Slaking no longer had Truant holding it back. Its new Steel Fist Ability meant that if one of its punches landed, even Charizard's Dragon Scales would not fully protect it.
But Charizard had its own mind.
It might not be as scheming as a human, but it knew how to use its advantage. Stay in the air. Keep distance. Attack from range.
The moment Slaking and Machamp heard Aotum's order, the red light in their mechanical eyes flashed. They abandoned Charizard and rushed back toward their master.
"GRAAAH!"
High above, Charizard saw the two idiots turning their backs and immediately let out a roar.
It opened its jaws and fired a blazing stream of flame laced with crackling electricity toward them.
Slaking reacted first.
Red light flashed in its eyes as flames ignited around its steel-covered fist. The fire wrapped around that massive hand before it swung hard into Charizard's attack.
BOOOOM!
Fire Punch collided with the electrified flames.
Slaking's raw attack power was undeniable. Its punch smashed straight through the flames, scattering them into countless sparks that drifted through the rain like falling embers.
Without slowing down, it returned to Aotum's side.
That was one advantage of Cybernetic Pokémon.
They obeyed orders absolutely.
...
Blastoise, Machamp, and Slaking now stood around Aotum, firmly protecting him from every side.
Only then did he finally let out a small breath of relief.
Aaron flapped his wings and rose into the air.
Charizard flew up beside him, matching his height.
"Charizard."
Aaron's dark eyes remained fixed on the terrifying Slaking below.
"Hold off Blastoise and Machamp for me."
"Leave Slaking to me."
"Graaah."
Charizard nodded with a low growl, spread its wings, and shot forward, spitting two streams of flame toward Blastoise and Machamp.
At the same time, powerful blue energy surged out of Aaron's body and wrapped around him completely, releasing waves of pressure.
His wings shook.
His body transformed into a massive blue energy bird and streaked downward like a comet.
"KREEEAAH!"
A piercing bird cry cut through the air.
Brave Bird.
A Flying-type move with 120 power.
BOOOOM!
The giant blue bird dove toward Slaking with terrifying momentum, like a massive arrow tearing down from the sky.
"Slaking, crush him!"
"Thunder Punch!"
Seeing Aaron actually charge straight at Slaking, Aotum's fear immediately turned into excitement.
To him, Aaron was asking to die.
"SLAK-KING!"
Slaking roared as lightning exploded around its steel-covered fist.
Power gathered in that massive hand, and it punched straight toward the descending blue bird.
BOOOOM!
The collision erupted with a deafening blast.
The ground cracked apart beneath Slaking's feet, and violent waves of energy swept outward in every direction. If Aotum had not been hiding behind Slaking, he would have been blown away on the spot.
"SLAK-KING!"
Slaking roared again.
The muscles in its thick arm bulged as even more power surged through it.
Then its fist blasted the blue energy bird apart.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Aaron was sent flying backward, carving a deep trench through the ground before crashing into a nearby hill.
BOOOOM!
Rock shattered. Gravel exploded outward. Thick smoke rolled up from the impact site.
Aotum stared for a second.
Then a smile finally appeared on his face.
"Hahahaha..."
"You idiot."
"You really tried to beat my Slaking in a contest of strength?"
His laughter grew louder.
"That's not courage. That's suicide."
He stared at the smoking hill, breathing hard as his fear finally began to loosen its grip.
"He's dead this time... right?"
Aotum let out a long breath.
After losing three modified Pokémon and nearly watching the whole situation collapse, he had been scared half to death.
But now, finally, he felt like he had control again.
...