Chapter 179: Strong Reinforcements

All major streets closest to the town's edge had been designated by Master Liu Ge as battlefields.

Most civilians inside had long since evacuated, taking everything they could carry—many even dismantled entire windows and carried them off, leaving numerous low-rise buildings indistinguishable from ruins.

When the Shadow Team arrived, they were puzzled—why did this place look like it had been abandoned for years?

Had the Sand Team and the Hounds Team fought a major battle here?

But they soon lost the chance to wonder.

The Rainbow Team members hidden within the buildings, seeing their prey fall into the trap, suddenly launched their assault!

"Grenadiers! Release!"

A roar came from above.

The Shadow Team members instinctively looked up—and saw countless Poison-type Pokémon, led by Skuntank, emerging from the rooftops on both sides of the street.

"Sssss!"

Dozens of Poison-type Pokémon hissed, hurling poison bombs down onto the Shadow Team members and Dark Pokémon below!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Clusters of dark purple smoke exploded, rapidly spreading outward.

"Dark Wave!"

"Dark Assault!"

The Shadow Team members immediately released their Dark Pokémon in counterattack—some spewed jet-black airwaves, others scrambled up walls toward the rooftops, while still more flapped their wings and lunged forward.

As their Dark Pokémon fought, they calmly donned gas masks.

Their protective suits were sufficient to resist most levels of poison gas and venom, ensuring they remained unharmed even if directly struck by toxic fluids.

"Release the second and third waves of Pokémon!"

A Shadow Team officer shouted as more members frantically threw out Poké Balls, unleashing another wave of Dark Pokémon from their reserves.

They always overwhelmed opponents with sheer numbers—no matter how strong the enemy, deploying ten or even twenty times as many Dark Pokémon was enough to crush all resistance.

But just as they forcefully dispersed the poison gas, a flash of fire ignited through the haze.

"Get down!"

!

A piercing scream echoed among the Shadow Team members.

The next instant.

Boom—!

A towering firestorm surged from one end of the street to the other, like a dragon roaring to the heavens; the newly raised dark storm meant nothing against the gas explosion—dozens of Dark Pokémon and Shadow Team members were blasted skyward!

Though the explosion lasted only an instant, its destruction was spectacular—the street was blackened as if struck by a missile, many building walls collapsed and shattered, exposing load-bearing pillars and exposed rebar inside, while smoke and dust drifted through the air.

"Retreat!"

On the rooftop, Rainbow Team members used Poké Balls to recall their Pokémon—those injured by the blast or by Dark Pokémon attacks—and did not pursue; instead, they withdrew with their Poison-type Pokémon while the enemy below was in chaos.

Everyone knew this explosion alone could not eliminate the well-equipped Shadow Team members, and since Dark Pokémon lacked the emotion of pain, they would relentlessly chase even when severely wounded.

Indeed.

Before the smoke had cleared.

Dozens of Dark Pokémon burst from the haze, racing toward the rooftops beside the street—but found nothing.

Only a few slower ones were caught and swiftly pursued.

"Call them back!"

A Shadow Team member rose from the dust, trying to recall those Pokémon—but the Dark Pokémon vanished as if swallowed whole.

"Account for personnel! Any injuries?"

"Yes!"

"How many Pokémon lost?"

"Still counting!"

"This Rainbow Team…"

The Shadow Team officer brushed dust off his body, frowned, and tried to contact the commander—only to find their secure internal frequency was severed. "Something's seriously wrong!"

"Should we retreat? Link up with other squads?"

A Shadow Team member suggested it—their squad assigned to suppress the Rainbow Team numbered over three hundred: two hundred on the surface, one hundred underground.

Fortunately, their formation was stretched out—the explosion hadn't affected everyone.

Unfortunately, several near the blast center were injured, and many Dark Pokémon were lost—even if they felt no pain, they still had limits, and could still pass out.

"No. Keep advancing!"

The Shadow Team officer glanced at the speaker and rejected the suggestion.

Not only would retreating at the first sign of trouble and joining others be humiliating, but they hadn't been pushed to that point yet—their reserves of Dark Pokémon were still ample.

"Head straight for their headquarters building! I don't believe it's empty!"

"Yes!"

The Shadow Team members pressed forward, now more cautious than when they first entered, and began deploying drones to check rooftops for ambushes.

——

Hidden location.

Baimu stared down, contemplating the footage from the micro-camera.

"It seems even third-generation Dark Pokémon haven't solved the problem of prolonged combat triggering berserk behavior," said Lei Ou beside him.

Dark Pokémon, deprived of emotions, possess extreme aggression; if not recalled promptly, they will go berserk and attack their trainers.

Thus, even the Shadow Team dared not use them recklessly—reconnaissance and similar tasks had to be handled by themselves.

"Then let's use this chance to blow them sky high!"

He said softly.

Pokémon with the 【Damp】 ability don't just stand there and make explosions fail — they have to make the air humid, which necessarily requires a Damp Pokémon to stay on the field for a long time.

And the nature of Dark-type Pokémon means they can't stay on the field continuously, which means the Shadow team has no way to defend against the bombardment.

His words had barely fallen.

From the distance came pillar of fire shooting into the sky and the trembling sound of buildings shaking.

Looks like the second trap — the 【Self-Destruct】 and 【Explosion】 stone formation of Graveler and Golem — had already been triggered; wonder if any of them hit.

"The underground ones should already be in position; leave it to us, we'll make sure these guys come and never leave."

Lei Ou set out toward Rainbow Team's underground city.

Unlike the surface, the underground is essentially semi-enclosed; once someone blocks the entrances and exits, the Shadow team can forget about getting out — Lei Ou will teach them a lesson.

And since the surface still has other means of communication, to prevent these Shadow team members from calling in more people, All Baimu had no choice but to skirmish with them.

Drag it out as long as possible — make sure the strength of the other forces in Iron Town gets whittled down to the extreme by the Shadow team first.

"How far have they advanced?"

"Two streets away!"

Otsuka's voice reached All Baimu's ears.

"Good."

All Baimu stood up, looked back at Lady Ayana and the others, "It's our time to take the stage. Remember — fall back if you're hurt, don't push yourselves. There's no need to go all-out against them."

"Understood!"

The group answered in unison.

On the other side.

Within the territory of Iron Town's other factions, Master Liu Ge and Frobo and the others darted from place to place, gathering all the rescue organization's hidden personnel and arranging the timing for the rallying cry of resistance.

The group was so busy their feet barely touched the ground, every brow marked with haste.

At this moment.

A convoy was driving in from Iron Town's northwest, already less than five kilometers out; when they reached higher ground, they could even see the firelight gushing out from within Iron Town.

"Looks like we'll have to hurry."

A silver-blue-haired man stood atop the vehicle, lowering his telescope, "Captain Shi Yuan Zhi, I'll head on ahead!"

"Good!"

Inside the vehicle, Shi Yuan Zhi, pipe in mouth, nodded slightly.

As he spoke.

A flash of Bai Guang, and Champion Dawu stood atop a shining Metagross, speeding toward Iron Town's location.