Chapter 68: The Game Is Lost

Seeing the situation instantly descend into utter chaos, Blake hastily issued commands to reassign their matchups.

"Kirlia, Charmeleon! You two go deal with Murkrow!"

"Jolteon, Wartortle, the Arbans are yours!"

"Ivysaur, go help Exeggutor and Gloom gang up on Tyranitar!"

Hearing his instructions, the Pokémon scrambled to adjust. At the same time, Blake glanced at Haunter and instructed, "Haunter, pick them off one by one!"

"Got it!"

Haunter's body vanished, and when it reappeared, it was already right beside Arbok.

Arbok whipped its body around, having just dodged a Flamethrower, and immediately counterattacked by spewing a massive mouthful of acidic sludge toward the two Pokémon in front of it.

With Charmeleon having nowhere to duck, Kirlia suddenly grabbed it and used Teleport, whisking them both away to safety.

Noticing Haunter's silent, unannounced materialization while Arbok remained completely oblivious, Ariana screamed at the top of her lungs, "Arbok! Watch your back!"

Just as Arbok spun around, it saw a Shadow Ball growing larger and larger until it slammed squarely into its body!

It let out a cry of agony, but Haunter's assault was far from over. Haunter thrust out its long, saliva-dripping tongue and licked Arbok right across the face.

This dealt additional damage while simultaneously triggering the paralysis status!

"Great opening!" Blake shouted. "Kirlia, use Magical Leaf! Charmeleon, use Fire Fang!"

Both Pokémon unleashed their moves, striking Arbok simultaneously. Because the Fire and Grass combination triggered a burn effect, Arbok collapsed from exhaustion before it even had a chance to scream in pain.

"Well done!"

Just as Blake intended to replicate the tactic and switch targets to defeat Murkrow, Apollo's voice suddenly echoed from a distance as he gave a command: "Tyranitar, use Dark Pulse!"

Tyranitar opened its wide jaws, and the next second, rings of optical waves accompanied by a dozen dark projectiles erupted from its mouth!

However, its target was not any of the Pokémon present, but rather Blake and Erika!

Although Exeggutor hurriedly used Psyshock to intercept the attack, due to the disparity in strength between the Pokémon, the attack was only partially neutralized, leaving shockwaves to hurtle directly toward Erika!

"Watch out!"

Blake roared, instinctively tackling Erika to the ground. In a split second, the shockwave arrived. Though they shared the impact, the sheer force sent the two of them rolling together, tumbling several meters away!

When they finally came to a halt, Blake felt a burning sensation across his arms, thighs, and back, accompanied by numerous bruises, and even his mask had knocked loose to the side.

Looking at Erika in his embrace, she was largely uninjured, though her face was pale, clearly having been thoroughly frightened.

Once Erika figured out the situation and looked up at Blake's face, her wide eyes were filled with gratitude.

"Thank you."

Her soft body lay against his, and delicate though she felt, Blake urged, "This is no time for that! We can't let it attack us again!"

Erika nodded, hurriedly scrambling up from Blake's body to command her Pokémon for a counterattack.

By the time Blake stood up and put his mask back on, Haunter had already defeated Ariana's Murkrow. However, Apollo's Tyranitar was immensely powerful; even when the Pokémon struck it with their moves, it remained as unmovable as a mountain!

Even more troublesome was that, seeing Ariana defeated, Apollo calmly retrieved another Poké Ball and released his second Pokémon!

It was a creature engulfed in flames from its tail to its forehead, bearing a shape somewhat like an ugly duck. Burning all over, it looked precisely like a living fireball!

"It's Magmar!"

Blake whispered a warning, and Erika beside him nodded in recognition of the Pokémon. To make matters worse, Magmar was a Fire-type, giving it a complete elemental advantage when facing her Pokémon!

However, noticing Blake's hand instinctively reaching toward a Great Ball at his waist, Erika's heart skipped a beat, and she murmured, "This is no time to hold back anymore. If you have any other trump cards, bring them out immediately."

Blake hesitated for a fraction of a second and was just about to release Zapdos when a window in the nearby room shattered, and a man leaped in from the outside!

Crimson hair, a black cape—everything about him was so familiar.

It was actually Lance!

Scanning the room, Lance smiled. "It seems I've arrived right on time!"

"Lance!" Apollo narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at him. "I never expected even you would show up!"

Lance waved a hand dismissively and said without a care, "Hey, Apollo, we've clashed more than once or twice. You don't need to look so surprised to see me, do you?"

Following his words, a bulky, dragon-like Pokémon flew in through the window, slamming hard into Tyranitar and driving it straight back against the opposite wall!

Seeing Lance join the fray, Blake lowered his arm and asked, "Mr. Lance, how is the situation on your end?"

Lance flashed Blake an "OK" hand sign. "Don't worry, the SWAT team has already broken in and will completely occupy this floor shortly. These scumbags won't be arrogant for much longer!"

Hearing this, Apollo and Ariana exchanged glances, sensing danger and both developing thoughts of retreat.

If only a few intruders had come, they could have wiped them out themselves, but with a large force having successfully breached the base, lingering here to waste time was completely pointless.

With that thought, the two wasted no time; they recalled their Pokémon and fled without even looking back!

"They ran?"

Blake breathed a sigh of relief. Calming down, he could indeed hear fierce combat sounds and chaotic footsteps echoing from the hallway outside.

He recalled his other Pokémon, keeping only Kirlia and Haunter by his side, and stepped out of the cafeteria.

Outside, International Police tactical squads were everywhere. Large numbers of Team Rocket grunts were either fleeing or being arrested, painting a picture of total rout.

Remembering Sabrina and Looker, Blake was about to turn back to find them when he saw the two of them walking over slowly, accompanied by Agatha and Mable.

Meeting Sabrina's gaze, Blake asked, "What about Matori's troops?"

Before Sabrina could answer, Looker preempted her. "We beat them back. Or rather, once they saw the tactical units enter the base, they chose to withdraw voluntarily."

"Does that mean," Blake mused, "we still failed to capture them this time?"

"Yeah..." Looker sighed helplessly. "After all, this is their stronghold, riddled with traps and secret passages. Catching them truly isn't easy."

As the first basement level was fully secured, they pushed forward, successively capturing the second and third basement levels, until they finally reached the fourth underground floor!

Just when everyone thought this operation would end in a flawless victory, Looker shoved open the heavy stairwell door to reveal a middle-aged man in a tailored suit sitting calmly on a plush sofa right in the center of the vast underground hall, watching them with serene eyes!