Thanks to Tinkatink's efforts, Lucas understood what she meant.
Case closed.
A complete logical chain formed in his mind.
While journeying, Tinkatink had passed the bamboo, was cornered by the Bisharp gang, and her precious hammer was stolen.
And—crucially—the hammer's materials included the very item Bisharp need to evolve: the "Leader's Crest." Basically, it looked just like a broken Kingambit blade.
A Bisharp who consumed the rare hammer not only gained the crest, but also a massive power boost.
So the group unified, crowned its new ruler, witnessed an evolution into Kingambit, and began terrorizing the roads.
"In that case, we can't stand by and do nothing," Lucas finally said after thinking a moment.
This incident was basically the fallout from Tinkatink—so now that she wanted payback on the Bisharp and their Kingambit boss, they had plenty of reason to act.
Lucas looked at Tinkatink, Ogerpon, and Larvesta—before he could say a word, his Pokémon were already brimming with fighting spirit, eager to take on ten each.
"You two—stay outside the bamboo and keep warning strangers away until I'm back."
"If you find any Bisharp fleeing, just a few, I trust you'll be able to handle them despite the type disadvantage."
Lucas gave some final instructions to Rood and Phil, then, with no extra fuss, set off boldly into the bamboo with his Pokémon trio.
Rood and Phil exchanged determined looks, released their partners, and got to work.
Inside, Lucas soon encountered his first group of Bisharp—three of them, rifling through a blue backpack. Anything metallic got fished out and munched on.
To be honest—
The crunching actually sounded pretty crispy.
Bisharp looked like perfect samurai Pokémon—metal armor covering head, torso, limbs, and especially that bright yellow blade on its head, gleaming and deadly under the dappled bamboo sunlight.
Neither Lucas nor his Pokémon bothered to hide their approach—the trio of Bisharp quickly took notice.
Three sets of eyes locked on.
One watched Lucas's bag covetously.
One eyed Tinkatink's hammer with greedy intensity.
One—cold and chilling—gave Lucas goosebumps.
Just like the Houndoom packs, Bisharp, with unchecked growth in the wild, absolutely embodied their "Dark Type" reputation.
"Chi-li, li-give!"
The Bisharp with the coldest stare—clearly the squad leader—barked commands to its peers.
Instantly, two dashed off—one toward Tinkatink and Ogerpon, unconcerned; the other homed in on Larvesta, clearly picking her as a threat thanks to her fiery aura.
That left Lucas to the leader, who saw him as a high-priority target.
How touching.
Realizing the Bisharp only cared for his bag, with no actual killing intent, Lucas inwardly groaned and moved Ogerpon in front of him.
The Bisharp leader's charge was swift and smooth—a blink, and it was right in Lucas's face.
It didn't bother with moves, so confident in its ability that it felt humans weren't worth one.
But when Ogerpon struck back, the leader's face changed.
Ogerpon, in a flash of magic, donned a crimson mask, brandished her energy-forged bramble club, and smashed it at Bisharp!
The fire-dragon-wrapped club radiated a deadly heatwave.
Bisharp scowled, raising its arms, cloaked in a dark red aura, forming blood-red scythes.
"Chi-li!"
With a guttural yell, it unleashed "Sucker Punch" while Ogerpon's club swung down.
Bisharp expected a stalemate—at worst, being knocked back a step or two.
Reality proved otherwise.
CRACK!
Bisharp's pupils shrank as the club loomed large in its vision; before its mind could catch up, Ogerpon's club smashed it hard, scorching pain searing its body, its now-useless arms falling limp.
Its strength wasn't even on the same level.
Before Bisharp could even react, it was sent flying faster than it had arrived.
Watching this, Lucas blinked. Ogerpon really does live up to her bruiser reputation.
Ogerpon was a special case, but the battles elsewhere weren't quite so dramatic.
Tinkatink dodged Bisharp's blows with agility—and then hammered the enemy's head like she was ringing a temple bell.
Larvesta, though barely a month old, had been pampered with every resource. Even without a Victini, her firepower was terrifying.
A single "Ember," unleashed with the ferocity of Flamethrower, was devastatingly effective on Bisharp.
In no time, Tinkatink and Larvesta had sent Bisharp's underlings packing.
Gazing at the three sprawled Bisharp, Lucas grew thoughtful.
Maybe some would claim this was overpowered. But Ogerpon aside, why could Tinkatink and Larvesta defeat Bisharp?
In the game, Pawniard must be level 52 to evolve—almost as late as some pseudo-legendaries and the Elite Four.
But as Lucas had observed, Pawniard didn't necessarily need to be level 52.
Here, there wasn't even a clear "level" system—just that, once they matured, Pawniard could evolve into Bisharp.
So these three Bisharp weren't that tough after all.
"Tanu!"
Tinkatink gleefully swung her mallet—no, her hammer—putting on a "while old, my hammer still rings true" act.
Ogerpon gave Lucas a pouty look—her eyes full of stars and helplessness.
Nothing to be done, Lucas was just too weak.
Victory sparked Larvesta into bouncing around like a puppy—though those stubby little legs didn't offer much bounce.
After beating the Bisharp, Lucas led his Pokémon onward, cutting down untold numbers of Pawniard and Bisharp.
Kingambit was truly tyrannical. He'd passed through this bamboo in earlier travels, when countless wild Pokémon lived here. Now, it was a Bisharp monopoly, with the rest exiled to the edge.
Lucas was keenly aware: defeating Pawniard and Bisharp over and over was fruitless.
So long as Kingambit ruled, the underlings would get back up and swarm anew.
His goal had always been the Kingambit leader.
Cut off the head, and the rest will fall.
Finding Kingambit wasn't hard. Even without a system guide, Lucas could've navigated right to him.
Just like in some pre-war nation, the "King" always sat at the very center, surrounded by his vassals.
All Lucas had to do was bulldoze through.
Maybe the Bisharp had never seen anyone like Lucas—instead of slipping by, he and his three Pokémon bulldozed through hundreds of them! Before he even had to knock out all the underlings, the "King" couldn't stand it anymore and appeared early.
Compared to Bisharp, Kingambit had changed in many ways.
The red armor on legs and shoulders remained recognizable, but much else was drastically altered.
A black-and-white sash hung from its waist, with two more blades at each hip, yellow spikes adorning hands and elbows.
Its eyes were razor sharp; a "promax" mustache—actually an elongated pair of black blades—framed its face.
Most striking was the massive mane of pitch-black hair, almost as tall as itself, and the giant "guillotine" axe replacing the old head-blade.
Now, Kingambit sat in its hair-throne, calm and aloof, emanating supreme dominance.
Lucas instantly recognized Kingambit's Ability.
Definitely not "Defiant" or "Supreme Overlord"—it was the unique characteristic of a true "King."
Supreme Overlord works like this:
"When it enters battle, Kingambit's Attack and Sp. Attack increase based on the number of fainted allies. The more allies fall, the higher the boost."
Just that description alone—enough to show its power.
In the game, there was a boost limit. In real life, who knows? It all depended on Kingambit's potential.
And all along the way, Tinkatink and the others had taken down so many Bisharp and Pawniard. The aura swirling around Kingambit's guillotine was clear proof.
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
He got the logic, but truthfully? Kingambit was ugly.
Not his aesthetic at all.
Kingambit had no idea it was already being judged.
Its gaze swept over the four intruders, finally landing on Tinkatink, showing surprise.
That day had changed Kingambit's fate; it would never forget.
The hammer—Tinkatink's hammer—had transformed its life.
So, she's here for revenge?
Kingambit instantly guessed Tinkatink's motive.
Tinkatink glared right back, full of fury.
No matter the appearance, she'd never mistake that aura.
This Kingambit was the thief who'd stolen her hammer!
Her hammer hand itched—she needed to bonk something fierce.
Still, she was rational.
Even with all her improvements, Kingambit's two-stage evolution still showed. Rushing in headlong would just be suicide.
Tinkatink forcibly held herself back.
Lucas was pleased with her restraint. He ordered: "Ogerpon, you handle Kingambit. Tinkatink, Larvesta—you two sweep up the mob."
Kingambit might have "Supreme Overlord" buffs but hadn't surpassed Lucas's expectations yet.
As for those subdued Pawniard and Bisharp—he wasn't worried at all.
"Gawo-pung!"
The battle began and Ogerpon transformed.
With a warcry, she charged at Kingambit, bramble club in hand.
Kingambit rose calmly, red energy circling its guillotine.
As Ogerpon entered the danger zone, Kingambit showed the terrifying presence that had subdued the Bisharp horde.
"Sen!"
With a low roar, Kingambit's head dropped—giant blade gleaming.
SLAM!
The heavy blade clashed with Ogerpon's club, spraying sparks everywhere.
Unlike Bisharp, Kingambit blocked Ogerpon's strike squarely.
The fight was on.
Meanwhile, Tinkatink and Larvesta worked as a team, clearing out the remaining mob.
With each defeated underling, Kingambit grew even stronger.
But to Tinkatink, that didn't matter—what mattered was that Ogerpon's duel not be disturbed.
Larvesta spat "Embers" like Flamethrowers or used "String Shot," so tough that even Pawniard or Bisharp's blades had trouble cutting through.
Tinkatink took the chance to leap off Larvesta's back and bring the hammer down, temple bell style.
Soon, the ground was littered with unconscious Pawniard and Bisharp.
Most of the time, Lucas let Tinkatink and Larvesta fight by instinct, sharpening their skills, only offering instructions when necessary.
Their experience grew by leaps and bounds—a stunning result.
At one point, as Tinkatink's hammer struck a "String Shot"-tangled Bisharp on the head, a sudden change occurred.
A surge of milky-white light burst forth.
…
PS: Please support me and read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode