-067- The Formidable Enemy (3/3)

Tong Si looked at the armored fighter and the man in brown lying on the ground before him, hesitating whether to tie up the man in brown. The last man in brown had been knocked out by Leaf Sprite’s electric shock and then tied up by Tong Si with vines. It had to be mentioned that many vines in the forest were extremely tough, even better for binding people than rope. The only awkward part would be if someone returned while he was tying them up.

After a moment of indecision, Tong Si decided to tie him up. “I wonder what the investigators in the forest are doing. So much time has passed, and they still haven’t found this place?” Tong Si felt speechless—he had already encountered the members of the Bristle Steel Gang twice, yet so many investigators hadn’t managed to trace this place? Their efficiency was truly abysmal! Though he complained, his hands moved swiftly. Tong Si began pulling at the vines, and with Leaf Sprite’s help, razor-sharp leaves sliced through, quickly producing a vine fit for the task.

Just as Tong Si was about to start tying up the man, a flashlight beam shone from the distance. He instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes. “Who’s so inconsiderate, shining a light in the middle of the night?” The dazzling glare stung Tong Si’s eyes.

“Who is this kid? Did Dili really get knocked down?” Along with the light, three members of the Bristle Steel Gang appeared. The leader wore a white lab coat; if Tong Si guessed correctly, this must be the ‘Doctor’ they spoke of. The other two, like the man in brown before him, wore brown outfits. Tong Si recognized one—it was the driver from earlier. The other was dark-skinned, tall, and powerfully built, clearly a tough opponent.

“Wake him up!” The Doctor gestured at the man on the ground. The driver strode over and kicked the man called Dili several times. Perhaps from the pain, Dili suddenly came to.

“What’s going on?” The driver pulled at Dili. Dili patted his head, as if recalling something. “It’s him! He attacked me! Doctor, this guy wants to take on our Bristle Steel Gang!” Dili pointed at Tong Si, shouting loudly.

“Oh? So it’s you, kid! You don’t look very old—must be a rookie trainer, right?” The Doctor glanced at Tong Si, and with his experienced eye, immediately saw that Tong Si was not one of the forest investigators.

“Bristle Steel Gang!” Tong Si frowned deeply, staring at the three before him. If they were like the previous two men in brown, Tong Si could handle them. But the tall, burly man exuded a deadly aura. This one would not be easy to deal with.

“Finish him!” The Doctor waved a hand and prepared to return to the truck’s cargo hold, clutching some sort of instrument.

The tall man in brown stepped forward and threw two Poké Balls. Two Drapion emerged. Tong Si instinctively scanned them with his vision device. The results were shocking: their potential was only ordinary grade, but their levels were actually fifty!

“Drapion at their level cap?” Tong Si looked around—he was no match for them head-on. Now was the time to think about escaping.

“Drapion, Bug Bite! Poison Jab!” With two rapid commands, the Drapion lunged forward.

“Damn! I’ll have to fight them head-on. Leaf Sprite, use Energy Ball! Electrike, Thunderbolt!” Faced with two level-capped Drapion, close combat was out of the question; Tong Si opted for ranged attacks.

“Ququ?” Ququ glanced at Tong Si, indicating it wanted to battle too.

“You want to fight as well?” Tong Si hadn’t commanded Ququ in his earlier orders, making Ququ anxious.

“Then use Rock Throw!” Tong Si checked the data panel and saw Ququ knew Rock Throw.

“Ququ!” Ququ turned to face the two Drapion, utterly unflustered. A Rock Throw was unleashed… A single rock? No—a stone dropped from the sky.

Thud!

The fist-sized stone landed squarely on a Drapion’s head.

Tong Si’s lips twitched. Was that really Rock Throw? The Drapion seemed not to notice Ququ’s attack at all, as if it had merely been bitten by a mosquito.

Up front, the Drapion’s attack arrived. Though Leaf Sprite fired an Energy Ball, the Drapion’s Bug Bite shattered it, and in the next instant, it sank its fangs into Leaf Sprite’s body.

“Ye…” Leaf Sprite cried out in pain. The Drapion’s assault continued; after biting Leaf Sprite, it swung it violently and smashed it against a tree.

Boom!

The fierce impact knocked Leaf Sprite out of the fight.

“Leaf Sprite…” Tong Si ran anxiously toward Leaf Sprite, but the Drapion blocked him.

The Drapion’s gaze was terrifying. “Damn! Come back, Leaf Sprite!” Unable to approach, Tong Si chose to recall Leaf Sprite. He couldn’t imagine that Leaf Sprite had been defeated by Drapion in a single blow.

On the other side, Electrike was struggling as well. Despite having restored its health and stamina with a pink energy cube earlier, facing the powerful Drapion left Electrike helpless. A level fifty opponent! Clearly not one Electrike could handle at this stage.

“Drapion!” Both Drapion let out triumphant roars, bullying Electrike and Leaf Sprite with obvious delight.

“Ququ, ququ!” Ququ looked at Tong Si again, as if urging him to issue another command—it was ready to unleash its next move.

Tong Si, seeing this, felt exasperated. “Return, Ququ—don’t make things worse!” He had no time to play with Ququ now. After witnessing Ququ’s earlier Rock Throw, he almost regretted capturing it. He hadn’t expected Ququ’s attacks to be so playful.

“Recalling them won’t help. Soon I’ll take all your Pokémon from you!” The tall man sneered. One of the Bristle Steel Gang’s cruel amusements was to seize their defeated opponents’ Pokémon. Sometimes for experiments, sometimes for torment before release. They enjoyed watching trainers forcibly separated from their partners.

“I won’t let you succeed!” Tong Si watched him warily. With only Electrike left, Tong Si clenched his fists, nervous.

“Finish it off, Drapion—Double Poison Jab!” The tall man commanded, and both Drapion struck with Poison Jab.

“Drapion, Drapion…”

“Electrike, use Quick Attack to dodge!” Facing the fierce assault, Tong Si knew he had to evade. The previous clash clearly favored Drapion. With almost a thirty-level difference, it was not easily overcome. If the gap were under ten levels, Tong Si would be confident, but thirty levels? Impossible!

...(To be continued)