Chapter 163: Escape (Patreon)

It was precisely this series of intelligence gaps that led to her current, life-threatening predicament.

While Hunter J stood frozen in shock, Mawile, possessing the highest physical damage output, closed the distance. Seeing the opening, Alex shouted without hesitation, "Use Ice Fang!"

'I'm screwed!'

Those words struck Hunter J like a bolt of lightning. Her face instantly drained of color. She knew full well that as a Dragon/Flying dual-type, Salamence suffered a massive, four-times weakness to Ice-type attacks.

Worse yet, Salamence was already severely injured. If this Ice Fang connected, Salamence would likely lose the ability to battle instantly, and its very life might be in jeopardy.

Overwhelmed with panic, Hunter J hastily commanded Salamence to evade. However, she failed to realize that Mega Mawile was already less than two meters away. One set of icy jaws snapped toward Salamence's remaining, intact wing with terrifying speed, while the other set snapped directly toward her!

Hunter J's eyes widened, cold sweat dripping from her forehead. Gritting her teeth, she made a split-second decision. In this critical moment, she unhesitatingly released her pseudo-Elite tier Ariados, hoping it could block Mega Mawile's attack.

Between her own life and her Pokémon, she would always choose the former.

"Sorry, Salamence."

As expected, Mega Mawile's power was simply too overwhelming. Her Ice Fang carried terrifying force, instantly obliterating Salamence's remaining wing. Salamence let out a bloodcurdling shriek. Stripped of its ability to fly, it plummeted straight down like a kite with a severed string.

Simultaneously, the other Ice Fang struck Ariados dead on.

Even without a type advantage, facing a Mega Mawile with physical damage output cranked to the absolute maximum, Ariados couldn't withstand the lethal blow. It was frozen into an ice sculpture in a single strike, completely losing consciousness.

Hunter J leapt from the falling Salamence's back. As her body went into freefall, seemingly breaking free from gravity's constraints, her eyes remained remarkably resolute, devoid of a single trace of panic.

She glared viciously in Alex's direction and spat, "You damn brat, I swear I'll make you pay for this!" She gnashed her teeth, looking as though Alex was her sworn enemy.

However, just as she was about to recall her two Pokémon, a surge of psychic energy struck like lightning, hitting with pinpoint accuracy. Like a pair of invisible hands, the force snatched the two empty Poké Balls right out of her grasp from afar.

"Meowstic!" (I won't give you the chance!)

Meowstic let out a triumphant cry. She had been keeping a close eye on Hunter J. The moment she saw Hunter J pull out the two Poké Balls, she instantly guessed they belonged to Salamence and Ariados. Without hesitation, she used her psychic powers to snatch the crucial Poké Balls away.

"Great job, Meowstic!" Alex shouted excitedly, full of praise for her performance. He quickly issued his next command. "Next, go for her spatial backpack!"

Meowstic nodded. Controlled by Confusion, the Poké Balls seemingly came to life, shooting toward Alex like meteors.

Meanwhile, worried that the flightless Mawile might get hurt in the fall, Alex recalled her into her Luxury Ball the moment her attack concluded.

Hearing Alex's command, Hunter J's heart sank violently.

Gritting her teeth, Hunter J decisively hurled her spatial backpack—the target of Alex's command—forcefully in his direction. Although she knew that if Alex snatched the bag, all the precious items and gear inside would fall into enemy hands, essentially aiding them, she had no other choice right now.

Taking advantage of the brief window where Meowstic and Alex's attention was focused on the spatial backpack, a Poké Ball suddenly appeared in Hunter J's hand. It was her final trump card.

In this desperate moment, she shouted decisively, "Alakazam, use Teleport!"

Alex instantly realized Hunter J's intent and hurriedly yelled, "Crap! Meowstic, stop her quickly!"

Meowstic reacted swiftly. Her eyes widened as she focused her energy, desperately trying to halt Hunter J's escape.

Unfortunately, it was too late. She hadn't expected Hunter J to use a feint to distract them. While Meowstic was focused on the spatial backpack, a pseudo-Elite tier Alakazam burst from its Poké Ball.

The spoons in Alakazam's hands instantly flashed with light. Then, it vanished without a trace, taking Hunter J with it. It was as if they had never been there at all.

Seeing this, Meowstic quickly maneuvered Hunter J's spatial backpack over. She meowed at Alex a few times, looking quite dejected, clearly frustrated that she had failed to stop Hunter J.

Alex gently stroked Meowstic's fur, comforting her. "Don't feel bad, it's not your fault. I was the one who told you to grab Hunter J's bag. I didn't expect her to have another Psychic-type Pokémon on hand."

Alex sighed inwardly, wondering what would have happened if he had just told Meowstic to hit Hunter J with Psyshock directly.

Alex shook his head. There were no 'what-ifs' in the world. Considering Hunter J's cautious nature, she had likely carried countermeasures against Psychic-type moves, so Meowstic's attack might not have worked anyway.

Alex couldn't help but recall the astonishing Teleport ability he had just witnessed. Although Meowstic's psychic powers were formidable, unfortunately, she couldn't learn life-saving moves like Teleport. Female Meowstic were geared toward offense; only male Meowstic could learn moves like Mean Look to effectively prevent enemies from fleeing.

Alex wondered if he should also train a Psychic-type Pokémon with Teleport. After all, whether for escaping or stopping others from doing the same, a move like Teleport was undoubtedly incredibly practical.

Burying the thought deep in his heart, Alex tried using his psychic perception to track Alakazam's trajectory, hoping to pick up a trail.

Unfortunately, it seemed Alakazam had used Teleport repeatedly in an erratic pattern. Given Hunter J's cautious nature and her years of experience dealing with dark syndicates, the chances of successfully tracking them down were vanishingly slim.

Realizing this, Alex felt a wave of irritation wash over him.

'Letting that woman escape is probably going to cause endless trouble down the line.'

Eventually, Alex reluctantly withdrew his psychic perception, giving up the search for Alakazam.

Hunter J was not only a vengeful woman but a ruthless Pokémon Hunter who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Alex actually regretted not wearing a disguise before jumping out to steal the fruits of her labor.