"Who hired you?" the uncle asked.
He still thought Smiling Spider had to be connected to Team Rocket, or maybe hired by the third brother in his own family. That was the only reason he asked.
Reiji did not answer. He only smiled and waved a hand forward.
The 5 people behind him threw their Poké Balls at the same time. The 5 Advanced-tier Trainers on the other side were forced into separate fights at once.
With the middle ranks pulled away, Reiji and Naoki walked forward with their Pokémon. Toxicroak stayed beside Reiji, while Swampert moved ahead of him. Naoki had Swampert and Graveler in front of him.
"Take them down," Reiji said.
Toxicroak and Swampert rushed in. Reiji had already told Toxicroak before the fight to keep an eye on Swampert. This was Swampert's first real battle.
"You two too," Naoki said, sending Graveler and Swampert forward.
Most of the Lightning Gang's Pokémon were Electric types. Against Ground types, that made the fight almost too easy. They could play around for a few minutes.
The whole Duel Street lit up with battles. Ground-type Pokémon crashed into Electric types across the field. Naoki went after the young master's uncle, while Reiji headed straight for the young master.
A few small fry tried to block the way. Only one Advanced-tier Trainer among them was worth anything. The rest went down one by one as Toxicroak poisoned them and kicked them aside, clearing the path to the young master.
"Been a while," Reiji said.
The boy was already shaking.
Reiji lost interest almost at once. This kid was used to bullying people from above. He had never been in a real life-or-death fight. No grit at all.
When Reiji faced Vicious, he had at least been willing to swing a blade. He had still lost, but that was not the point. The point was attitude.
That was why Reiji made the kids see blood after bringing them in. If a little blood was enough to freeze them, they might as well go home.
"Swampert, Hammer Arm. Drop Magnezone."
Then he looked at the other Pokémon beside the boy and called, "Toxicroak, handle Scyther."
Swampert leaped high and smashed its fist into Magnezone. Even Iron Defense could not save it. The blow drove Magnezone straight into the ground, leaving a deep pit behind. Swampert followed by stomping down hard enough to shake the street.
The young master had not sent out Electabuzz tonight. Either he had not brought it, or it was still too badly hurt to fight.
Magnezone was a bad matchup against Swampert. With Waterfall boosting Swampert's charge, Magnezone never got a real chance to use its Electric-type moves before it was beaten down in the pit. Scyther did not last long either. Toxicroak froze it solid with Ice Punch.
Once the boy's 2 strongest Pokémon were down, he had no way to fight back. He threw out a few more Electric types, but they were only Advanced tier. Toxicroak and Swampert crushed them quickly.
So this was all he had.
The kid had been bluffing the whole time.
Reiji had Spinarak tie him up, then searched out his Poké Balls and recalled the unconscious Magnezone. It was not bad, level 53, but Swampert was immune to Electric-type moves. Scyther was level 50 too.
The last 3 Electric types were only in the forties. Electabuzz was level 56, but the boy never got the chance to send it out. Spinarak knocked the Poké Ball from his hand first.
The boy had been running on reputation, and after so many battles in a row, Electabuzz had already burned through a lot of stamina. It was no match for Toxicroak anymore.
After taking all 6 of the young master's Pokémon, Reiji looked at him in the webbing and chopped the back of his neck, knocking him out.
That side was done.
Naoki finished around the same time and dragged his target over. The Lightning Gang's second-in-command was only quasi–Elite Four tier. Even hiding his real strength and carrying 4 quasi–Elite Four Pokémon did not help against an Elite Four-tier Flygon. Worse, all 4 were Electric types. Flygon shut them down completely.
Tai sent the update to Team Rocket, put on his mask, and returned to Duel Street. He joined the others in picking up the Pokémon nobody cared about—the small fry's Pokémon. After a quick sweep of the battlefield, everyone mounted their Flying-type Pokémon and headed for the manor.
They only took 2 people alive: the young master and his uncle.
The Lightning Gang members who failed to run were left dead on Duel Street.
Keith stood farther out with the camera and followed them into the sky. He had recorded the whole fight from above.
Once Smiling Spider left, the desperate ones who had stayed hidden finally moved. They stopped the fleeing Lightning Gang members, killed them, stripped them clean, and then followed after Smiling Spider.
The Lightning Gang was the richest gang in the old district. Smiling Spider could not possibly carry everything away.
Once they left, even grabbing unwanted furniture from the manor would be worth it. Gold trim, jade inlays, expensive wood—any of that could equal years of wages for a normal person. Even the leftovers would be fat.
More people noticed the desperate ones heading out. The onlookers who had run off to hide started to understand what was happening.
Tonight might be dangerous.
It might also be a chance to grab something.
Outside the old district, the Lightning Gang's manor sat in a beautiful spot. Green hills, clear water, good scenery. If the air had been better, and if the power plant ever shut down, it would have made a great place to retire.
Too bad the place was about to become a battlefield.
The beautiful grounds and expensive manor were about to be swallowed by fighting.
"Who are you people?" the Lightning Gang boss demanded, gripping his Poké Ball.
He had already gathered everyone at the front gate. His son and brother lay unconscious in front of Reiji's group.
"I gave you everything I saved up. Was that still not enough? Are you really trying to force a fight to the death?"
A wall of darkness covered the whole manor. Only the front gate still had light, and only the front gate led out. Anyone who ran in another direction—or tried to fly out—would get lost in the dark. That was Gengar's lock.
"You have something you shouldn't," Reiji said with a smile. "Our employer paid a lot for it."
Since the boss had asked, Reiji gave him the answer he wanted to hear. Let him blame his brother. Reiji had no reason to let the man die knowing the truth.
As for the thing that brother wanted?
That would belong to Reiji.
Someone wanted to sit back and use him as a knife? Not happening. If that man dared show up, Reiji would kill him too. These local power players, the real people behind Mandarin Island North, were all dirty in one way or another.
"So it really was him." The Lightning Gang boss understood immediately.
His brother was the only one who knew he was injured and at his weakest. His Pokémon had probably been tampered with too.
He had heard of Smiling Spider. Everyone on Mandarin Island North had. The cargo ship hit had happened not far from here. The League and the underground world both had bounties on this group. They were dangerous people.
His subordinates had only just reported what happened at Duel Street, and now Smiling Spider was already here. The men his brother took out had been wiped out. Only his son and brother had been brought back alive, obviously as leverage to force him to hand over that thing.
"So?" Reiji asked. "What's your answer?"
The boss hesitated.
They had kept the 2 captives alive exactly for this. Reiji wanted to see what the treasure was badly enough to give the man a chance to hand it over.
"If I give it to you, will you let us go?" the boss asked.
He knew there was at least one Elite Four-tier Trainer on the other side, and that Trainer had an Elite Four-tier Ground-type Pokémon. His own 2 Elite Four-tier Electric types had not fully recovered. He could not win this fight.
"The person who hired us doesn't want this secret getting out," Reiji said. His smile did not change. "Whether you hand it over or not, the ending is the same."
He had never planned to let this target walk away. This gang was the chicken he had picked to scare everyone else. Letting it live would ruin the point.
"I see."
The boss sighed. He knew there was no way out.
He took out an old wooden box and handed it to one of his men, ready to have it brought over.
Reiji stopped him and pointed to a trembling boy near the edge of the crowd.
"Let him bring it."
"Fine." The boss looked at the boy Reiji had chosen. He did not recognize him. Probably a new recruit. It did not matter. He had wanted to leave his illegitimate son a way out, but that chance was gone now.
The boy took the box and carried it over with shaking hands. When he reached Reiji and saw the smiling mask up close, he looked like he might collapse. He had heard too many horror stories about Smiling Spider lately.
Reiji took the box but did not open it. Instead, he patted the boy on the shoulder and lowered his voice.
"Kid, living honestly was too hard for you? Why join a gang?"
Then he smelled it.
The boy had pissed himself.
Reiji did not waste more time on him. He waved for the others to clear a path. He needed at least one survivor to get out and tell people what happened here.
"Let him go."
"You're not killing me?" the boy asked. He had thought he was dead for sure.
"Get lost. Tonight's your lucky night."
"T-Thank you." The boy scrambled up and ran, half crawling at first before he found his feet.
Once he got out, the story would spread.
Reiji had Gengar seep shadow power through the box and check for traps. Gengar sounded confused, but said there were no mechanisms.
"Hm?"
Reiji opened the box.
Now he understood why Gengar had been confused.
It was empty.
"Good. Very good." Reiji looked at the Lightning Gang boss, still smiling. In his head, he had already cursed the man's entire family line.
The boss smiled back.
Both of them understood exactly what had happened.
"Move," Reiji said, dropping the box onto the ground. "No Trainers leave alive."
The fight started.
"Flygon, Earthquake," Naoki ordered.
He had been standing beside Reiji and saw the empty box clearly. The treasure was not there. The boss had played them.
At Reiji's signal, Naoki stepped forward with his Pokémon and had Flygon clear the front.
Boom.
Flygon dropped from the sky and slammed its front feet into the ground with a roar. The shockwave tore toward the manor gate, carrying both the force of Earthquake and the blast of its voice.
Some people were too slow to react. They grabbed their heads and covered their ears, faces twisting in pain. Even the Pokémon that managed to use Protect were blown back, their barriers shattering one after another.
Elite-tier and Advanced-tier Protect could not stop an Elite Four-tier attack.
The Earthquake ripped through the ground at the same time, hammering the Electric-type Pokémon standing on it.
This was an Elite Four-tier Earthquake. Many weaker Pokémon that failed to use Protect went down on the spot. Only the group around the Lightning Gang boss stayed standing, protected by Electivire and Magnezone using Protect together.
After the shockwave passed, the manor walls collapsed. The main building held firm, though a few decorations fell from the impact.
"Nidoking, with me!" Daishi shouted.
"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" Tai called.
"Arbok, Glare!" A.J. shouted.
"Tentacruel, Poison Sting! Kingler, smash them!" Sou called.
"Victreebel, Pinsir!" Gulzar sent his Pokémon forward.
"Gyarados!" Gai joined in.
Everyone picked a target. The Advanced-tier Trainers left to defend the manor were perfect practice for the kids.
There was still one Elite Four-tier Trainer here: the Lightning Gang boss himself.
The other quasi–Elite Four Trainer was the gang's third-in-command, a woman. She was also the boss's lover. His wife had died years ago.
"Boss, want to switch?" Naoki asked when he saw Reiji walking toward the Lightning Gang boss. "I don't really want to fight a woman."
He was looking at the woman and the men guarding her.
Reiji stared at him. "You don't want to fight women?"
Naoki bringing that up now was not hard to understand. He was probably thinking about his old days as a gang boss and imagining Aya in that woman's place.
"Tch. Love really does rot the brain."
Then Reiji pointed toward the boss.
"Think carefully. That guy has 2 Elite Four-tier Pokémon."
"I can handle it. Flygon can take them." Naoki sounded sure. Then, to prove he was not trying to steal the best prize, he added, "After the fight, you can pick either of those 2 Electric types."
"Fine. Go."
Reiji let him take the boss.
Then he looked down at the 2 captives: the young master and the second-in-command. They were useless now.
"Toxicroak."
Toxicroak finished them off.
Reiji stepped over them and walked toward the woman.
"Why won't you let us go?" she screamed when she saw him coming.
She was beautiful, but she was already shaking. Before Reiji's group arrived, the boss had warned her that they might be facing 2 Elite Four Trainers tonight.
If the subordinate was already Elite Four tier, then the leader had to be Elite Four tier too. Smiling Spider had not fought yet, but the boss was certain Reiji was one. Reiji could command an Elite Four Trainer, and that alone told him enough.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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