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Wattson held tremendous prestige among the League members. With a single call to action, a large number of League personnel immediately responded. Under his command, they began to systematically direct their Pokémon to launch coordinated attacks on the Zapdos in the sky.
The League's greatest advantage lay in numbers. This allowed them to easily form standardized combat units. Many of the personnel present were descendants of League members—born as part of the League's reserve force.
However, while these individuals were spared the arduous process that civilian Trainers faced when joining the League (their predecessors had already paved the way), becoming a true League member was still no simple matter.
Positions of power—such as Gym Leaders or Elite Four—were limited and required exceptional strength. Thus, most League families were only slightly better off than ordinary civilians.
Yet the path of a Trainer was extremely demanding. To become an independent and capable Trainer required vast resources and a degree of luck.
Compared to top-tier Trainers, most League families still struggled to raise another Trainer, even if they had advantages over ordinary households.
But under the League's umbrella, there was shade. Even if individual families couldn't nurture a Trainer alone, the League would step in to help—free of charge in the early stages. In later stages, those who succeeded simply needed to repay the League with loyalty.
Of course, personalized education based on individual talent was impossible to implement on a large scale, even for an organization as resource-rich as the League.
Therefore, unless exceptional talent was displayed, most descendants of League members received standardized training and education.
The League's long history had refined its internal systems to perfection. As long as they weren't incompetent, these individuals would, through systematic education, become disciplined Trainers who were deeply loyal to the League.
These League-trained Trainers, having undergone military-style training since childhood, were highly disciplined and coordinated, making them ideal for forming organized combat units.
This time, the League had dispatched a squad of one hundred Trainers to support Wattson in seizing the treasure and capturing Zapdos. They belonged to the League army's Ground-type corps.
If conventional armies relied on standardized weapons, then these League Trainer units used Pokémon as their standard armaments—and every member carried the same types of Pokémon.
Moreover, both the Trainers and their Pokémon had undergone specialized training, enabling them to combine their efforts to unleash powerful coordinated techniques.
....
After receiving healing from Roserade's Grassy Terrain, the number of combat-capable League Trainers—previously reduced to less than one-third—had recovered to about half.
Now, under Wattson's orders, they once again formed the same overwhelming offensive that had earlier forced Zapdos to retreat and crushed its subordinates.
Under coordinated commands, groups of Rhydon and Rhyhorn quickly assembled into four neat formations at the four corners of the battlefield.
All of these Ground-type Pokémon possessed the Lightning Rod ability.
Then, an astonishing scene unfolded—
As the four formations simultaneously glowed with white light, the lightning bolts continuously falling from the sky were drawn by a powerful force. They split into four streams and were redirected into the formations below.
For a moment, the lightning generated by Zapdos could no longer strike the League forces within those formations.
Seizing this opportunity, numerous Graveler and Golem also gathered into several formations.
Then, under the command of what appeared to be the squad leader, they all unleashed Stone Edge toward Zapdos.
Through their combined effort, the power, speed, and accuracy of Stone Edge were amplified to an entirely new level.
Faced with such a dense barrage of rock projectiles, Zapdos' expression changed drastically. It immediately abandoned its pursuit of Crobat and used its superb aerial maneuverability to evade.
This was already the second time Zapdos had faced such a fierce assault from this Ground-type League unit.
At the beginning, it had nearly been defeated by this very tactic. The four formations of Rhyhorn and Rhydon had magnified the effect of Lightning Rod countless times, completely sealing off its most powerful Electric-type attacks.
Fortunately, Zapdos had access to Hidden Power (Water)—a move that dealt massive damage to both the Rhyhorn and Golem formations. Combined with its aerial advantage, it had managed to gradually turn the tide.
Now, darting through the air, Zapdos barely avoided the first wave of Stone Edge attacks. Just as it prepared to repeat its earlier tactic and strike the formations below with Hidden Power (Water)—
Crobat interfered again.
A barrage of Shadow Ball shot out from Crobat, attacking from all directions, attempting to interrupt Zapdos' move.
Although Zapdos could still freely command lightning in the skies, Crobat—an anomaly possessing Lightning Rod—rendered its signature Electric attacks useless against it.
At this moment, Zapdos deeply resented this insignificant "insect" it could normally crush with ease. But it knew priorities mattered. Enduring Crobat's attacks, it forcefully unleashed Hidden Power (Water) at the formations below.
In an instant, numerous water spheres infused with electric energy formed around Zapdos and rained down like a storm upon the Rhyhorn and Golem formations.
But the League had already learned from earlier mistakes.
They immediately sent out large numbers of Pokémon to act as shields in front of the formations, doing everything possible to protect them.
At the same time, morale surged—
Under Sato's command, Roserade used Ingrain, drawing continuous healing energy from the ground to restore injured Pokémon.
The battlefield now formed a perfect system:
- The Rhyhorn formations sealed Zapdos' Electric attacks
- The Golem formations provided the main offensive output
- Crobat harassed from the air
- Roserade served as the support core, continuously restoring combat strength
For a moment, Zapdos was like a trapped beast sinking into a swamp—gradually being pushed into a desperate corner.
"Even a Elite-Four level legendary Pokémon has its limits. It's not like Kyogre or other god-tier beings that are nearly impossible to defeat. At this rate… Zapdos will fall into the League's hands soon."
Sato looked at the battered Zapdos in the sky, then at the increasingly coordinated League forces below, and sighed inwardly.
In his view, with Zapdos already affected by Crobat's Mean Look and Taunt, it was like a turtle trapped in a jar—it was only a matter of time before it collapsed.
"Hey! What are you all doing?!"
But at the critical moment, something unexpected finally happened—
Several League members suddenly turned their attacks on the Rhyhorn formations.
And worse—
They struck all four formations simultaneously.
Most critically of all, Roserade—who had been tirelessly maintaining Grassy Terrain to heal everyone—was also violently attacked.