At dusk, the soft golden sunlight slanted over Sato and Spinarak, warm yet slightly irritating.
At first, Spinarak had been excited, then bored, and now it was starting to feel restless. Its young, simple mind couldn't understand what the enemy was waiting for.
Sato went about his usual routine, setting up camp and eating dinner.
Afterward, he arranged a friendly sparring match between Spinarak and Houndour before heading into the tent to rest.
There was no winner or loser in these friendly matches, Sato always stopped them before things got too heated.
After exhausting its energy, Spinarak completely forgot about the lurking enemies, falling fast asleep.
Meanwhile, Houndour lay beside Sato, its ears constantly shifting, scanning for any movement.
Occasionally, it glanced at Spinarak, who was sleeping soundly.
Both Houndour and Gengar were more active at night.
With one guarding openly and the other hiding in the shadows, Sato felt safe enough to sit cross-legged and meditate, conserving his energy.
The forest at night was anything but quiet.
Many Pokémon were more active after dark, and the hooting of Hoothoot and Noctowl could sometimes last until morning.
It was unclear how much time had passed when Gengar suddenly emerged halfway from the ground, about to wake Sato, but before it could, Sato had already opened his eyes, meeting Gengar's golden gaze.
Gengar nodded before pointing to Sato's left and rear, signaling that enemies were approaching.
Gengar shook its head, then raised one claw before pointing at the Poké Balls hanging from Sato's belt.
"One person and one Pokémon?"
Gengar nodded again, but then looked seriously behind Sato. To it, the opponent in the rear was far more dangerous.
"Let them get closer first. Houndour, stay alert!"
Now fully focused, Houndour lowered its body, ready to spring into action at any moment.
The waiting felt endless.
Glancing at his watch, Sato saw that it was now 3:00 AM. This was the time when people were in deep sleep, their awareness at its weakest.
It was also the time when being woken up abruptly made them the most irritable. In his previous life, Sato had used this knowledge of assassination tactics frequently.
His breathing remained slow and steady, to an outsider, he seemed completely asleep.
Maintaining his sleeping rhythm, Sato silently pulled out a dagger in his left hand, while his right hand gripped Zoroark's Poké Ball.
Houndour remained motionless, its ears perked forward, twitching slightly. Its sharp eyes glowed in the dark, it was lying in wait!
Who was the hunter, and who was the prey?
Sato's perception was as sharp as any Pokémon's.
When the enemy was just three meters from the tent, he could already sense that the one behind him was gliding forward, no pauses in movement.
That meant... a serpent-like Pokémon!
On his left, the human's footsteps were incredibly faint, but still discernible. Sato's eyes signaled Gengar to handle the Pokémon, while he would take care of the assassin!
Inside the tent, Sato crouched low, poised to strike. Gengar and Houndour were also ready for battle.
Oh, and there was still Spinarak, sleeping soundly.
Outside the tent, a massive, five-meter-long purple snake slithered closer. Its bright red tongue flickered as it neared.
At the same time, a figure dressed entirely in black crept forward, only a meter away from the tent.
At some point, the once lively night had suddenly fallen silent.
No more hooting of Hoothoot or Noctowl.
The assassin gave a subtle hand signal.
Immediately Arbok lunged forward, Its huge body surging ahead, poised to crush the tent in a single strike!
The moment Arbok moved, Gengar did too!
Ignoring the tent's fabric, it phased through instantly, golden eyes flashing with a brilliant purple glow.
The assassin, startled by Gengar's sudden appearance, reacted instinctively. He leapt backward!
But just as he was about to push off the ground, the tent ripped open. A small figure was already charging toward him, a black dagger in Sato's left hand slashing straight for his right leg!
The assassin's reflexes were lightning-fast. He lifted his right foot, causing the dagger to strike the top of his foot instead.
Steel-like resistance.
Sato cursed inwardly, 'cunning bastard!'
The assassin's shoes were specially designed, with steel-reinforced soles, clearly meant for kicking opponents.
Just imagining the impact was painful!
Having missed his strike, Sato didn't chase after the assassin.
Instead, he immediately threw Zoroark's Poké Ball, but the assassin reacted just as quickly, releasing his own Pokémon at the same time.
In the next instant, Zoroark and a Hitmonchan appeared before them!
The moment Sato saw Hitmonchan, he knew the assassin had come well-prepared.
There were two types of enemies Zoroark hated fighting the most, one was defensive tanks like Golem and Tyranitar, which were too durable to take down easily.
The other was speed attackers, who shared its own fast-paced combat style.
And Hitmonchan was both a Speed-based fighter and had a type advantage against Zoroark, this was a direct counter!
Both Mach Punch and Aerial Ace were priority moves.
While Hitmonchan's speed might be slightly inferior to Zoroark's, it was a master of boxing, using a technique it had practiced endlessly.
Meanwhile, Zoroark's Aerial Ace was a Flying-type move that it was only somewhat familiar with.
With that difference in control and familiarity, Zoroark was instantly overwhelmed!
Hitmonchan's relentless pressure gave it no opportunity to counter, completely suppressing it, It couldn't even find an opening to use Night Daze or any other ranged attacks!
"HL20, don't get distracted!"
Sato's mind momentarily wavered.
Even though he had expected Ghost Ship to discover his connection to their organization, hearing it directly from an assassin still threw him off.
That one second of distraction, aghostly hand suddenly appeared behind him, reaching for his neck!
A surging jet of fire roared past Sato's head, narrowly missing him, a Banette was instantly blasted away!
Houndour followed up immediately, lunging at the Banette and sinking its fangs deep into its body, refusing to let go!
Houndour, hidden in the shadows, had sprung into action, Its ambush had just saved Sato's life.
While the Banette might not have been able to kill him instantly, it could have easily landed a devastating blow.
Sato felt goosebumps all over.
The smell of burnt hair drifted from the back of his head, thankfully, it was just his hair that got singed, Houndour's Flamethrower had been pinpoint accurate.
The assassin gave Sato no time to recover, immediately closing the distance, he wielded a dagger of his own, slashing directly at Sato in close combat!
Meanwhile, Gengar was locked in a fierce struggle.
The Arbok it was fighting had reached Elite-Peak Level, making it highly sensitive to energy fluctuations, now that Gengar's presence was marked, its invisibility was useless!
If Gengar hadn't spent so much time recently meditating and strengthening its mind, it would have already fallen under Arbok's pressure.
Only Psychic's overwhelming suppression was keeping it in the fight!
At the same time, Zoroark and Hitmonchan were still locked in battle.
Zoroark was being pushed back, its attacks feeling completely restricted, It had been forced into a defensive stance!
Ironically, the one performing the best was Houndour! Its vicious ambush tactics and relentless assault had thrown Banette off balance.
Despite only being Ordinary-Peak Level, it was overpowering an Elite-Low Level Banette!
However, this reckless, all-out fighting style couldn't last forever.
At any moment, it could be the one to collapse first.