Urban Pokémon

A blur sliced through the air.

A sharp, green X-shaped slash struck the Arbok leader squarely at its weak spot—right at the seven-inch mark behind the head.

Strike a snake at seven inches!

Guo Yi knew that much, at least.

Bug-type moves only dealt half damage to Arbok—

But with Beedrill's [Sniper] ability, this [X-Scissor] still made the enemy hiss in agony.

Its tail instinctively loosened.

Thud!

Nidoran♂ dropped to the ground.

Nido!!

Seeing her child freed, Nidoqueen let out a deafening roar of fury.

At that very moment—

Deep in the forest, Nidoking was returning, his arms full of gathered berries.

The moment he heard that familiar cry, his expression changed drastically.

Without a second thought, he dropped everything and charged back toward home.

NIDO!!

"Whoever touches my family—dies!"

...

On the battlefield—

Nidoqueen's roar was like thunder.

Her thick arms gleamed with white light as she began lashing the surrounding snakes with wild fury.

[Superpower]

A full-force assault that would lower her own Attack and Defense afterward.

But this was her final burst of strength.

She knew—

If the snake swarm wasn't wiped out, not even reinforcements could guarantee survival.

So she would give every last ounce of her strength to destroy them here.

And in the face of her motherly wrath, the swarm of Ekans and Arbok was devastated—many fell, groaning and twitching on the muddy ground.

Nidoqueen stood victorious—but bloodied.

Her body, battered and poisoned, finally gave out, and she collapsed.

Only Beedrill and the Arbok leader remained, locked in a tense standoff.

Guo Yi used the brief lull to rush to Nidoran♂'s side and scoop him up.

Seeing how badly the little one was hurt, Guo Yi raised his palm. A soft green glow shimmered from his hand as he pressed it gently to Nidoran♂'s body.

[Power of Viridian]—activated.

As he healed the wounded child, Guo Yi's gaze flicked to the Arbok leader, activating his Data Eye for intel.

[Arbok Leader (Poison)]

[Gender: ♂]

[Level: Lv50 (Elite Tier)]

[Ability: Shed Skin]

[Moves: Crunch, Ice Fang, Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, Glare, Poison Sting (common)]

[Egg Move: Beat Up]

[Held Item: Poison Barb (Elite Tier)]

[Potential: Gym Tier]

"No wonder it's been gathering underlings. It inherited the move [Swarm]!"

At that moment, Guo Yi realized why this Arbok was so unlike others.

[Beat Up: All allies attack. The more Pokémon in the user's group, the more hits the move delivers.]

With this skill—

If the Arbok's underlings numbered in the dozens or even hundreds, the total force of their attack could be terrifying.

Even if each hit wasn't strong on its own…

There's an old saying: "Many ants can kill an elephant."

Numbers could never be underestimated.

Especially when the strength gap was narrow—numbers could tip the scale entirely.

Ssskrrraaa!!

The Arbok leader, infuriated by the ruin of its plans, shrieked in rage and lunged at Beedrill.

As it closed the distance, flames roared to life in its jaws.

[Fire Fang]

A simple move—but devastatingly effective against Beedrill.

"Beedrill, [Agility]! Then—[Fell Stinger]!"

Guo Yi issued his commands swiftly and calmly.

Beedrill darted away, wings buzzing rapidly to boost its speed—then immediately veered toward the fallen enemies.

One by one, it delivered precise finishing strikes to the barely-conscious Ekans.

[Fell Stinger: If this move knocks out a target, the user's Attack sharply increases.]

And so, with just two swift finishes—

Beedrill's attack power surged to its peak.

Its aura flared, growing even more intense.

Now, Beedrill was ready to face the Arbok leader head-on.

"Beedrill, [X-Scissor]!"

Skreeee!

Beedrill crossed its twin stingers once more—emerald energy forming a glowing X at its chest.

SSSKRA!!

The Arbok leader roared, unleashing a storm of poison barbs from its mouth in an effort to stop Beedrill's charge.

But Beedrill's movements were too sharp, too fluid. It weaved through the barrage like a dancer.

Seeing his attack fail—

The Arbok leader lashed out with [Fire Fang] again.

Meanwhile, Guo Yi's [Data Eye] was scanning rapidly, watching for an opening.

And just as their attacks were about to collide—

He shouted.

"Now, Beedrill—dive low!"

The moment the words left his mouth—

The Arbok lost sight of its opponent.

And in the next instant—

A crushing force exploded in its chest.

The Arbok's massive body was hurled backward.

"Beedrill—finish it!"

"[Drill Run]!"

Before the Arbok could even land—

Beedrill, stinger spinning at high speed, dove from above like a missile.

WHAM!

It struck directly at the Arbok's weak spot.

With a sickening thud, the Arbok leader slammed into the ground, eyes swirling, unconscious.

At that moment—

The gentle glow from Guo Yi's palm faded, and Nidoran♂ slowly stirred back to life.

Nii… Nido!

With a cry, he scrambled out of Guo Yi's arms and rushed to his mother's side.

"Don't worry, Nidoran. She's going to be okay."

Guo Yi gave the child a comforting pat, then walked to the fallen Nidoqueen and activated the [Power of Viridian] again.

As he worked to heal her injuries—

A sudden roar echoed from the forest.

WHIRRR—CRACK!

Several sharp, glowing stones shot through the air, flying straight toward Guo Yi.

[Stone Edge]

A powerful strike—launched by Nidoking.

He had finally returned—

And found his home in ruins.

His mate collapsed.

And a strange human standing over her.

He didn't hesitate.

He attacked.

Skree!!

Thankfully, Beedrill—ever loyal and watchful—had never lowered its guard.

It leapt in front of Guo Yi and spun its twin stingers, swatting the incoming stones from the air.

"Beedrill—hold him off!"

Guo Yi knew—

Until he healed Nidoqueen completely, he wouldn't be able to explain a thing.

Otherwise—

Nidoking would never believe he wasn't the enemy.

Skree!

Beedrill nodded and flew toward Nidoking, stingers raised.

But the moment they clashed—

Beedrill was sent flying backward several meters.

Nidoking hadn't moved an inch.

After all, if Nidoqueen was Gym-tier…

Then Nidoking, her strongest protector, would be even stronger.

[Nidoking (Poison + Ground)]

[Gender: ♂]

[Level: Lv60 (Gym Tier)]

[Ability: Poison Point]

[Moves: Earth Power, Megahorn, Stone Edge, Outrage (common)]

[Egg Move: Poison Tail]

[Held Item: Black Sludge (Pseudo-Champion Tier)]

[Potential: Pseudo-Champion]