The Joke

As the smoke cleared, and Yuga was still alive and well, Motohara's laughter abruptly ceased.

"You're still alive!"

Yuga spat out blood from his mouth and chuckled, "Guess I've disappointed you."

Perhaps it was the act of laughing that exacerbated his injuries, as Yuga felt as though his chest was about to burst open.

Motohara, who had been wearing a stern expression, suddenly burst into laughter.

"So what if you're alive? Your Great Flygon has already fallen. Now, you're at my mercy," he said, pointing to the crater where the Great Flygon lay.

Yuga didn't say anything. Instead, he silently retrieved the Great Flygon's Poké Ball and recalled it.

Standing beside Motohara was a Cloyster, and it was likely this Cloyster that had shielded him from the full force of the explosion.

Yuga's other three Pokémon had gathered around him, guarding him and glaring fiercely at Motohara.

Observing Yuga's three Pokémon, Motohara smugly commented, "These are truly exceptional Pokémon. I'm sure they'd fetch a good price!"

Yuga, supporting Florges, rose to his feet and addressed Motohara, "Are you so certain you can defeat me now?"

"Of course! Perhaps you're unaware of where my confidence comes from. Today, I'll show you!"

With these words, Motohara reached for a Premier Ball and released a massive Nidoking right before Yuga's eyes.

...

<<Nidoking>>

Type: Poison/Ground

Ability: Poison Point

Gender: Male

Potential: Green

Level: 69

Moves: Megahorn, Peck, Focus Extrasensory, Double Kick, Poison Sting, Chip Away, Earth Power, Toxic, Venoshock, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Hyper Beam

...

Having examined Nidoking's details, Yuga suddenly realized why Motohara was so confident. It turned out that Motohara possessed a peak level pseudo-Elite Pokémon.

As Nidoking emerged, it roared defiantly, its aura clearly that of a peak level pseudo-Elite.

"So, what do you think? Do you believe that you and your three Pokémon can challenge me? It's nothing but a pipe dream!"

Motohara scoffed, but deep down, he couldn't help but admire Yuga.

Even with three Pokémon that weren't anywhere close to pseudo-Elite level, Yuga had defeated his Exploud. Motohara couldn't help but marvel at Yuga's capabilities. It was a case of the young surpassing the old.

However, an enemy was still an enemy, and Motohara had no intention of showing mercy to his adversary.

As Yuga contemplated Motohara's taunts, he quietly retrieved a Noctowl's Poké Ball and released Noctowl.

"Noctowl! Take down that Nidoking!"

Yuga's tone was ice-cold.

Though Noctowl wasn't particularly large among bird Pokémon, its mere presence silenced Nidoking's roars.

Hovering in the air, Noctowl's eyes emitted a strong violet light, and an Extrasensory in form of two Beams struck Nidoking with precision.

Two critical hits landed on Nidoking, causing it to cry out in agony and collapse.

Seeing that Nidoking was still not incapacitated, Noctowl fired two more beams of Extrasensory at it.

Nidoking was helpless against the onslaught.

While on the ground, Nidoking lifted its head and fired an icy-blue beam from its horn. However, Noctowl easily evaded the attack.

After dodging the Ice Beam, Noctowl swiftly struck Nidoking with another powerful Extrasensory attack.

This time, Nidoking didn't get back up.

The gap between an Elite and a non-Elite Pokémon was indeed immense. The chasm between the two was insurmountable.

"An... Elite... Elite Pokémon!"

Motohara stammered in fear, "I..."

His previous pride and taunting had turned into a joke.

Facing an Elite Pokémon, he was utterly powerless.

But Motohara was a seasoned individual who had weathered many storms. He quickly regained his composure.

"While I don't know who you are or how you have an Elite Pokémon, don't think for a moment that I'll surrender willingly!" Motohara's tone was unusually calm now.

With that, he released a Natu and ordered, "Natu, use Teleport, get us out of here!"

He seemed ready to abandon his Pokémon and make a run for it.

However, before Natu could take action, a pair of eyes formed from black energy locked it in place, rendering it immobile.

It was the quick-thinking Noctowl that used its Mean Look to immobilize Natu upon detecting Motohara's attempt to escape.

Although Noctowl wasn't a Psychic-type Pokémon, it was proficient in Psychic-type moves and keenly aware of every move Natu made.

With Natu trapped in place, Motohara, seeing his escape route blocked, stared at Yuga with eyes filled with resentment.

"It's really you!" There was a teeth-gritting tone in Motohara's voice.

Yuga walked up to Motohara and said with resentment, "You should have died a long time ago! Your continued existence is a mercy from fate!"

"I don't understand. Why did you have to push me to this extent? Just for a Wigglytuff and a Grandbull?" Motohara's voice was filled with bewilderment.

Yuga raised his hand and slapped Motohara hard.

"Just? Just? You make it sound so trivial." When it came to family members who were treasured by others, they were worth nothing to him.

Yuga took out his mother's green bracelet from his backpack and said to Motohara, "Recognize this bracelet?"

Motohara stared at the bracelet for a while before finally remembering.

"So, it was because of that couple! You came for them!"

He had never imagined that his own momentary greed would lead to today's calamity.

"I remember now! I remember now!" Motohara spat out the blood from his mouth and laughed, "I never thought that killing two inconsequential people back then would lead to this disaster today.

It was then that he remembered that Wigglytuff and Grandbull had been stolen from that couple.

Initially, he had encountered a couple transporting Pokémon Eggs on his way to Mauville City. Tempted by greed, he wanted to take all the Pokémon Eggs for himself.

Originally, he hadn't intended to kill the couple. However, as he was constantly pursued by the police recently, he became agitated. After transferring all the Pokémon Eggs into his vehicle, he ruthlessly rammed their car into pieces before looting everything, including the bracelet. Little had he known that this bracelet would bring about his own downfall.

"It seems I haven't mistaken you!" Yuga concluded, not caring to delve into the details. For him, knowing the outcome was sufficient.