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"Hiss... hiss..."
"Bang... bang..."
Razor-bright silver arcs tore again and again through the dim forest, weaving together into a deadly web of steel that sought to shred the prey before it.
Kael stayed completely focused, dodging Skarmory's relentless, rain-like assault with everything he had.
Those gleaming steel wings flashed with lethal silver light. He knew that if he so much as got clipped by one of them, he would lose the ability to fight on the spot and end up as nothing more than a corpse waiting to be torn apart.
And yet, moving through that storm of blades, with death brushing past him every second, sent a fierce thrill surging up from the depths of his soul.
But that did not mean Kael intended to keep dodging forever. He had to find a way to break through this situation as fast as possible.
Even if he still looked like he was handling Skarmory's attacks with some room to spare, Kael knew the truth better than anyone. He could not maintain this state much longer.
Slipping through such a dense barrage demanded an absurd amount of focus and stamina. Even with the exceptional talent of his Sobble body, he could not keep this up for very long.
By contrast, Skarmory had already reached full maturity. Its stamina reserves were far beyond his, and the gap between them existed on every level of strength.
Kael could already feel a faint ache beginning to rise within the tightly wound muscles of his slender limbs.
For now, it was only a tiny spark, easy to miss. But if the battle kept dragging on at this brutal pace, that soreness would soon spread deeper into his body and lead to a fatal mistake that could cost him his life.
He needed a plan, and he needed it fast, before he was trapped beyond escape.
Just as Kael's condition began to show the first real signs of slipping, a sudden noise rang out from the far side of the woods, from a blind spot in their vision, instantly drawing both his and Skarmory's attention.
Skarmory's violent assault stopped as suddenly as if someone had slammed it to a halt.
Kael immediately seized the chance to spring backward, pulling himself out of its attack range. As he panted to recover his strength, he split part of his focus toward the source of the strange sound.
The fact that both of them reacted the same way was not strange at all.
They both knew the noise from their battle had been far too loud. In a jungle this dangerous, it could easily draw the attention of other enemies interested in taking advantage of either side.
Neither Skarmory nor Kael wanted to end up as the prey caught in the middle when a third party swooped in to profit from the clash.
So when an outside threat appeared, pausing the fight and adjusting to the sudden change was the most natural response possible.
"Hah... hah..."
Still breathing hard, Kael turned his blue eyes toward the side.
Then froze.
The thing that had made the sudden noise was not some hidden beast, but two red-and-white spheres spinning rapidly through the air.
"Poké Balls?"
Before Kael could fully react, a flood of red light spilled out from the Poké Balls like liquid and crashed onto the forest floor.
"Ruff!"
"Chii!"
Appearing before him were two very different Pokémon, one larger and one smaller.
That was right.
The newcomers were Gerald and Wendy's partner Pokémon, Lillipup and Sentret.
Kael's gaze locked onto Sentret with a strange look in his eyes, and a flicker of understanding passed through them.
Guided by instinct, his eyes swept across the forest behind the two Pokémon.
With his sharp vision, he could clearly make out two human figures hidden in the undergrowth, and one of them even looked vaguely familiar.
"Players?"
"They actually chased me all the way here?"
Kael was a little surprised, but the feeling that followed was one of strange excitement.
He knew sudden changes like this often became the key to breaking out of a desperate situation.
The two Pokémon released by the players had clearly already been told what was going on.
Their objective was obvious. They did not even spare Kael a glance despite him standing right in front of them. With loud cries, they charged straight at Skarmory.
Lillipup and Sentret were a bit weaker than Kael, but there were two of them.
Skarmory, which had seemed completely at ease while fighting Kael, was immediately forced into an awkward defensive position under their still-clumsy combined assault.
Fighting two opponents at once required a completely different sense of rhythm than a one-on-one battle.
It needed time to adjust.
Right now, the strongest presence on the field was still Skarmory, the one being tied down by Lillipup and Sentret.
From Gerald's point of view, if he did not act now, the Sobble in front of him would not last much longer before being ripped apart by Skarmory's blades.
But with his side stepping in, holding Skarmory back for a while, or even defeating it, was not impossible.
Of course, he had not forgotten the real goal of this trip.
As for the Sobble with extraordinary potential in front of him, he was determined to catch it.
And now was clearly the best possible moment.
From the way Kael stood there panting in the clearing, Gerald could easily tell that most of Sobble's stamina had already been burned away by Skarmory.
In this condition, if a Poké Ball struck him, he would have no strength left to break free and would be forced to submit to capture.
Burning with anticipation, Gerald suddenly rose from the shadows of the forest. His right hand reached back, ready to pull out the starter Poké Ball from his system inventory.
But before he could throw it, the scene before him made his eyes widen.
The Sobble he had, in a sense, just saved did not hesitate for even a second after seeing Lillipup and Sentret rush forward to engage Skarmory. Taking full advantage of his natural abilities, Kael vanished from sight at once, wrapping himself in flowing water and slipping into invisibility.
"He's... running?"
Gerald could hardly believe it.
In his mind, wild Pokémon were simple-hearted, lovable creatures.
Normally, if a Pokémon had been rescued by someone, then even the most timid among them would at least stay behind and watch the fight for a while, even if they did not dare join in.
But the Sobble in front of him had simply run without the slightest hesitation.
Realizing his mistake, Gerald was instantly filled with frustration. Gripping the Poké Ball tightly, he prepared to rush after the direction where Sobble had disappeared.
But a pained cry from Lillipup suddenly stopped him in place.
After only a brief adjustment, Skarmory had already adapted to the rhythm of fighting multiple opponents. Now, with its overwhelming physical superiority, it had begun to seize control and steadily suppress the two Pokémon in front of it.
"Damn it..."
Gerald stared toward the direction Kael had fled, his eyes full of unwillingness.
For the first time, he hesitated.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
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