Chapter 107. Close Call

Alex never saw the attack coming. A blinding beam of yellow light erupted from the forest and swallowed his vision, the heat rushing over his skin in a wave that stole his breath. He could not tell if he had been struck or spared, only that the world had gone silent and every nerve in his body was waiting for pain that had not yet come. For a moment, he was reminded of the events of his first death. Luckily for Alex, his shadow and personal bodyguard saw the attack coming in time to deploy a King's Shield. Aegislash burst from Alex's shadow and threw himself between Alex and the oncoming blast. Unfortunately, a bullet struck first, shattering the shield just moments before the beam hit Aegislash head-on. He absorbed the full force of the attack meant for Alex, sparing him from anything more than a wave of heat. If Aegislash's shield form hadn't been just large enough to cover Alex's head and torso, he would have been killed by the attack. Aegislash, however, was not so fortunate. He collapsed instantly, unconscious and clinging to life on the brink of death. Alex acted quickly, using a Full Restore on Aegislash before returning him to his Poké Ball to recover. He always kept Aegislash's pokeball and a few powerful healing items even when at the farm just in case. He then summoned the rest of his Pokémon, who had no doubt sensed the attack near the orchard and were likely already on their way to investigate. With a sharp whistle, Alex called them in, and within seconds, they arrived. He wasted no time issuing commands. "Arcanine, track the assassin and slow them down as much as you can," Alex ordered. "Arc!" Arcanine barked before vanishing into the forest with Extreme Speed. "Raticate, Absol, Houndoom—follow Arcanine and help him corner the assassin." "Rat." "Absol." "Hound." The three responded in unison and sprinted after Arcanine to provide backup. "Metagross, you're in charge. Watch over the farm and make sure the perimeter stays secure." "Metagross," it replied, pounding its chest with determination. "Hydreigon, Morpeko—come!" Alex called. Morpeko leapt onto his shoulder as Alex mounted Hydreigon. Without delay, they soared into the air, chasing the lingering energy trail Arcanine had left behind as he tore through the forest in pursuit of the assassin. As they followed the trail left by Arcanine, Alex estimated that the attack had come from at least 300 meters away. The light had been yellow, accompanied by the unmistakable crackling of electricity. "Zap Cannon with Lock-On, boosted with maximum Special Attack and Charge, would be the minimum requirement to clear that distance and still bring down Aegislash. It might have even been amplified by Electric Terrain and Helping Hand," Alex assessed. As expected, the area from which the shot had been fired still had remnants of an active Electric Terrain, though it was beginning to fade. Hydreigon continued along the trail Arcanine had carved through the forest for another 30 minutes before Alex began noticing signs of damage in the surrounding terrain. "Dried vegetation and scorched ground. Arcanine must have opened with Heat Wave once he got close enough." Arcanine had clearly caught up to the assassin and initiated a brief melee before the assassin broke away and continued to flee. It was likely the assassin had no access to teleportation to aid in his escape. Ten minutes further along the path, the terrain grew more battered, and lingering traces of dark-type energy began to surface. Raticate and the other dark-types had caught up by then, and based on the dissipating energy signatures left behind, it was clear they had taken down at least two of the assassin's Pokémon during the pursuit. The frequency of these energy remnants diminished as the chase continued, suggesting the assassin was using his Pokemon as throw-away distractions before retrieving them from range. A few minutes later, Alex heard the unmistakable sound of battle growing louder. When he finally arrived at the scene, Alex found a cornered man surrounded by Magnezone, Electivire, and Magmortar, all positioned in a tight defensive formation. At the man's feet lay a fainted Zebstrika, which he was healing. 'No wonder the chase took so long. Zebstrika was likely faster than Arcanine, but Extreme Speed must have eventually closed the distance,' Alex assessed as Hydreigon descended behind Alex's Pokémon. Arcanine appeared largely uninjured, though clearly exhausted from the relentless pursuit. Morning Sun had kept him going but drained his stamina greatly. Raticate, Absol, and Houndoom, however, were in far worse shape, bearing deep injuries and labored breaths. Had Alex not arrived when he did, they would have certainly lost the fight, and the assassin would have gotten away. Alex wasted no time, immediately taking control of the battlefield and ordering his Pokémon to press the assault. "Hydreigon, use Snarl from above and single out any that get isolated. Morpeko, Aura Wheel on Magmortar. Arcanine, Houndoom, take care of the Magnezone. Absol, Raticate, target the Electivire," Alex commanded. His Pokémon charged in, isolating the three defenders in a melee that prevented them from using expanded Protect. Meanwhile, Alex darted toward the trainer, who finally noticed his arrival. Alex did not have much time. Zebstrika would soon regain consciousness from the healing items used on it, so he had to act quickly while the enemy's Pokémon were still distracted. The man was dark-haired with wild brown eyes, slightly taller than Alex while wearing a thick body suit.  With a crazed look, the man drew a pair of pistols and fired without hesitation. Alex cursed under his breath. He had left his guns and defensive gear back at the mansion in his rush to catch the assassin, but he wasn't completely helpless. He released Aegislash from his Pokéball, fully healed and glowing with resolve. "Iron Defense," Alex commanded as he picked up Aegislash and charged forward, using him as a shield. His superhuman strength and reflexes allowed him to read the trajectory of the bullets based on the angle of the pistols' aim and block accordingly. The assassin fired a barrage of bullets straight at the pair in an attempt to keep them at bay, but Alex continued his advance, blocking the shots as Aegislash maintained Iron Defense. They were lucky the assassin didn't have automatic weapons or the military training to aim properly. Zebstrika stirred near the assassin, then suddenly sprang back to life and charged recklessly. Aegislash intercepted the charging Zebstrika with King's Shield, giving Alex the opening he needed to press in and close the distance to the assassin. Once in range, Alex quickly disarmed the assassin by grabbing the guns by their barrels and twisting them out of his opponent's hands. Before they were yanked away, however, the assassin managed to eject both magazines, effectively rendering the weapons useless to Alex. This left them at close range with no firearms to rely on. Alex was in his element, but the assassin was not completely defenseless. He threw quick jabs, trying to force Alex back while buying time for any of his Pokémon to come to his aid. Alex took the risk and dove low, aiming for the legs with a takedown. The assassin countered with a sharp knee to the face, but Alex caught it with one arm and grabbed the other leg with his other hand. With a firm grip on the assassin's legs, Alex lifted him off the ground, ignoring elbow strikes to his spine, before slamming the assassin hard onto the ground headfirst. Alex then mounted the assassin and delivered a flurry of punches to the face until the man beneath him went limp. Breathing heavily, Alex flipped the assassin over and quickly searched his belt. He found the assassin's Poké Balls and recalled each of the remaining Pokémon, locking them down safely. Only then did he let out a breath of relief. Looking around, Alex saw that Absol and Raticate had fainted while Hydreigon hovered protectively above them. They must have lost to the Electivire. The rest were just exhausted and deeply wounded.  He rummaged through the assassin's pack and found a handful of healing items, enough to stabilize his own team. He quickly got to work healing his team before they took a rest to recover their stamina. After resting for an hour, they began the slow walk back to the farm. It took longer than expected as they had covered quite the distance at full speed, but eventually they arrived, much to the relief of the girls waiting there. "Alex, you're safe," Nyx said, her voice full of relief as she ran to hug him. "Did you catch the assassin?" Kaia asked from the side, her face filled with fury. "Eventually, yeah," Alex answered. "Good," Kaia growled. "Because the bastard destroyed a few of my trees." "Don't worry. He has more than enough stuff to pay for that and more," Alex said, tossing the bag down. "Nyx, would you mind running a background check? I want to know who this fucker is. He better have a damn bounty on him given the amount of trouble he gave us." "Sure thing, Alex," Nyx said as she snapped a photo of the assassin's battered face. "I don't think I can use this for identification." The assassin's face was so swollen and disfigured that it was impossible for photo recognition software to properly identify him. "What Pokemon did he use?" she decided to ask. "Magnezone, Zebstrika, Electivire, Magmortar, Talonflame, and Salazzle." The last two had been sacrificed in an attempt to continue the escape but were immediately taken down before the chase resumed. "That's a pretty distinctive team. I should have something by tomorrow," she said before running off to her house to conduct her search. Meanwhile, Kaia practically emptied the assassin's bag onto the floor, determined to get her money's worth for the trouble fixing the orchard would be. Among the assassin's belongings were standard survival and camping gear, spare clothes, supplies, and, finally, an interesting new gun. ----- Support me on Patreon patreon/babywrath