"Z2, the situation is dire. Thou and I must rise to the occasion!"
Watching the Giant Rock draw ever closer, Squishy grew frantic and once again pleaded earnestly with Z2.
Z2, however, still wavered.
It wanted to help, yet could not swallow its anger over being captured.
While it hesitated, the Giant Rock had already reached Bai Shi and the others.
"Serena, hurry and take Bonnie and Mairin back! We'll hold it off here!"
Ash's expression was grave as he asked Serena to protect the two girls, who could barely fight, and lead them to safety first.
"All right... Ash, please be careful!"
Serena hesitated briefly, then realized this was no time to be stubborn. She nodded, quickly took the two girls by the hand, and ran back.
Squishy and Z2, who had yet to reach an agreement, retreated with them.
By the time they reached a relatively safe spot, Bai Shi and the others had already ordered their Pokémon into a fierce battle against the Giant Rock.
Under Lysandre's control, the Giant Rock became more agile than before and even harder to handle.
It relentlessly fired astonishingly powerful red beams at the Pokémon fighting from a distance, dealing heavy blows to its enemies.
Whenever a Pokémon tried to approach, it deftly used the vines on its body to weave an intricate net, leaving its foe nowhere to hide.
Whether Bai Shi and the others tried close combat or ranged attacks, they could not so much as budge the Giant Rock or Lysandre atop it.
Instead, under the Giant Rock's ferocious assault, their losses began to mount. Pokémon kept falling wounded to the ground and losing consciousness.
Yet even in such dire straits, Bai Shi and the others stubbornly resisted, doing everything they could to slow the Giant Rock's advance.