When the Zangoose sensed intruders outside, they rushed out aggressively to confront them.
The moment they recognized Silas, however, their collective aggression evaporated and was replaced by fear. From their perspective, Silas was the Grim Reaper. They didn't want to fight him at all.
Seeing this, Silas laughed awkwardly. He produced 10 Pokéblocks and floated them toward the Zangoose.
"We aren't here for anything. I just intend to use your space as a temporary base. I'll even compensate you for it."
"Seriously? You won't attack us?"
"Unless you attack us, we won't attack you. It's that simple."
The Zangoose knew they were no match for Silas, so this was a good outcome for the clan. They simply had to avoid part of the cave for a little while.
The leader quickly agreed to the deal.
Now that the agreement was struck, Silas added another dozen Pokéblocks. Ever since he started diluting them, he could afford to be this generous.
Silas cooked dinner for the group, even preparing food for the Zangoose. Rather than relying on his Pokémon, he hunted the wild animals himself as part of his training. His Aura Blade had become dependable.
While they were cooking, Politoed's voice suddenly rang out urgently in everyone's minds.
"We've been surrounded by about 60 Pokémon."
At the same time, the Zangoose sprang into action. Every one of them became incredibly aggressive, focused on a single goal—crushing the enemy outside.
Silas frowned in confusion.
Even when he had desperately fought these Pokémon before and slain several of them, he had never seen this kind of reaction.
It was primal.
"Go, Excadrill. Dig us out. Go deep underground first, then come back up diagonally."
Using this method, they reached the surface without being surrounded.
Silas finally got a good look at their visitors.
Seviper.
The snake Pokémon from Hoenn and the eternal rivals of Zangoose.
Now it all made sense. The two species seemed to possess an instinctive hatred for one another, almost as if they had a sixth sense whenever the other was nearby.
Silas scanned the group until he found their leader.
Seviper (M)— Level 54
Ability: Shed Skin
Potential: B
Moves: Rank A Wrap, Rank B Lick, Rank B Poison Tail, Rank B Bite, Rank B Glare, Rank B Screech, Rank B Poison Fang, Rank B Venoshock, Rank B Gastro Acid, Rank B Poison Jab, Rank B Crunch, Rank B Coil, Rank C Haze, Rank C Body Slam, Rank C Iron Tail, Rank C Assurance, Rank C Switcheroo, Rank C Final Gambit, Rank C Flamethrower, Rank C Payback
This king Seviper was powerful, but Silas knew several Pokémon on his side could handle him.
The real problem was everything standing behind him.
There were 4 other advanced-tier Seviper; 3 at Level 50 and 1 at Level 52. In addition, there were around 10 more with peak pseudo-advanced strength at Levels 48 and 49.
The Seviper all hissed simultaneously.
The high-pitched sound echoed across the battlefield as they combined Screech into one devastating attack.
The Poliwhirl tribe immediately combined their Psychic powers to block the overwhelming sound waves. Eventually, the Seviper were forced to stop. They simply couldn't sustain the attack for long.
"Espeon, use Future Sight. Carbink, use Reflect. Electabuzz, use Thunder."
Both Espeon and Electabuzz had already used Calm Mind twice since the Seviper first appeared.
Espeon's body released an overwhelming wave of psychic energy before it suddenly vanished without a trace. The display alone startled several of the Seviper.
At the same time, Electabuzz called down Thunder upon 2 advancing Seviper.
The lightning struck with incredible force.
When it faded, both Seviper collapsed to the ground as electricity continued dancing across their bodies.
Ever since receiving the Electirizer, Electabuzz's strength had increased rapidly. Thanks to his diligent training and numerous high-pressure battles, he had already built an excellent foundation.
He had simply been waiting for the right source of energy.
Currently, the world believed the Electirizer benefited all Electric-type Pokémon equally.
While that was technically true, Silas knew the real reason behind its existence.
It enabled Electabuzz to evolve, so naturally it possessed a far greater affinity with him than any other Electric-type.
The increase was astounding. It functioned similarly to the Vitamin Pills, greatly enhancing Electabuzz's combat power without increasing his actual level.
Despite the display of power, the Seviper continued advancing relentlessly.
Politoed, Monferno, and the 2 Poliwrath intercepted the king and his royal guards.
The strategy was simple.
Hold the king in place while the rest of the tribe was systematically wiped out.
The true key to the battle, however, was Ursaring and Espeon.
Silas intended to use the chaos created by Future Sight to safely execute Belly Drum.
The move was a powerful trump card, but if used incorrectly, it was practically suicide.
Belly Drum took time to execute, leaving the user completely vulnerable during the setup.
"Frogadier, Excadrill, and Vibrava, attack from the rear. Show no mercy, we're killing as many as we can. Poliwhirls, use Hydro Pump and push them all back!"
This would also be the fastest way to earn BP.
Wild Pokémon awarded double points when slain.
Silas had no intention of holding back.
Without question, the Seviper viewed him as prey.
The combined Hydro Pumps blasted several Seviper backward, but most either dodged or deflected the attacks with Poison Tail.
One Seviper charged directly toward Silas, but before it could strike, Electabuzz intercepted it with a relentless barrage of Thunder Punches.
Silas immediately drew his blade, coated it in Psychic Aura, and slashed across the exact spot Electabuzz had just battered.
Because of the pain, the Seviper couldn't properly tighten its muscles, making the cut much easier.
It was split cleanly in half.
Electabuzz looked on approvingly.
He took pride in the strength of his trainer.
Unlike most trainers, Silas could stand beside his Pokémon on the battlefield instead of simply giving orders from behind.
Meanwhile, several Seviper became entangled with the Zangoose, leaving roughly 30 to deal with Silas and his Pokémon.
During the initial exchange, the Seviper had only managed to injure a handful of Zangoose and Ursaring.
A long slash from Poison Tail stretched across Ursaring's chest. Purple poison seeped into the wound and rapidly spread through his body.
Silas smiled.
The time had come.
"Ursaring, jump back and use Dragon Dance!"
Several Seviper lunged after him.
At that exact moment, a massive orb of condensed psychic energy materialized above the battlefield.
"Do it, Espeon!"
Espeon shattered the orb into countless smaller projectiles before raining them across the battlefield.
The psychic bombardment lasted nearly 15 seconds.
It was especially devastating because each projectile contained dense psychic energy.
Espeon deliberately focused the attack on the nearest Seviper.
Several of the weaker ones were knocked unconscious immediately.
Now under the effects of Guts and the recently completed Dragon Dance, Ursaring was ready.
"Ursaring, use Fury Swipes indiscriminately!"
Ursaring's claws glowed white as they grew unnaturally long before he lunged into the Seviper with astonishing speed.
The snakes immediately surrounded him and attacked from every direction.
Unfortunately for them, this wasn't an ordinary Ursaring once his boosts were active.
"Ursaring, switch to Slash Barrage!"
The technique combined the rapid succession of Fury Swipes with the cutting power of Slash.
It placed tremendous strain on Ursaring's body, but in a large-scale battle like this, the results were well worth it.
The Seviper were completely unprepared for the sudden increase in lethality.
Previously, the wounds had been painful but relatively shallow.
Now, every slash carried the threat of death.
Now each attack carried the threat of death.
4 Seviper had already fallen, and several more lay on the ground bleeding in pools of their own blood.
At the same time, Frogadier, Excadrill, and Vibrava were engaged in intense combat with the remaining Seviper. Vibrava continuously slowed them down with Earth Power before Frogadier finished them off with Night Slash.
Whenever an opportunity presented itself, Vibrava also assisted the Zangoose with Sand Tomb, leading to several more casualties.
As the battle raged on, more and more Seviper fell.
With the protection of Carbink's Reflect, the Seviper gradually lost momentum. Their attacks no longer carried the same deadly lethality as before.
Despite numerous injuries and poison-inflicted wounds, only a handful of Zangoose died.
None of Silas' Pokémon suffered any serious injuries and continued fighting relentlessly.
Seeing his tribe being pushed back and his warriors steadily cut down, the king Seviper released a furious hiss.
Immediately, every remaining Seviper abandoned the battle and began retreating.
At that exact moment, another Future Sight attack arrived.
Espeon concentrated its power on 2 of the Level 50 Seviper. Since they were already injured, overwhelming them was much easier.
The attack created the perfect opening.
Poliwrath and Monferno immediately caught up and finished them off with Liquidation and Shadow Claw.
Watching 2 of his closest comrades fall, the king Seviper lunged toward Monferno in a frenzy.
Monferno instantly avoided the attack using his Mega Kick movement technique.
Silas mentally named the technique.
Mega Shift, it had a nice ring to it.
The Zangoose relentlessly pursued the retreating Seviper until the snakes suddenly released a collective Haze.
Politoed noticed it first.
"Silas, they've fled underground."
"Excadrill, use Earthquake quickly!"
Excadrill slammed both claws into the ground.
Violent seismic waves spread through the earth.
At the same time, the 2 Poliwrath and Politoed combined their Psychic powers with Espeon and Electabuzz to pluck several of the escaping Seviper from beneath the ground.
Seeing this, Silas frowned.
"Leave the small fry. Focus on the advanced and peak pseudo-advanced Seviper."
They successfully captured the last Level 50 Seviper along with 5 peak pseudo-advanced Seviper.
The trapped snakes were quickly dealt with.
Silas could have sold their bodies, but he had no immediate need for additional wealth. He already possessed enough resources to accomplish his short-term goals.
Of the roughly 60 Seviper that had attacked, nearly 30 died.
The best part was that they had eliminated a significant portion of the tribe's strongest fighters as well.
The deaths of 3 advanced-tier Seviper alone were cause for celebration.
Silas meticulously harvested the poison cores, fangs, and tails from every Seviper.
These materials could later be combined within the Divine Alchemic Forge to create Toxic Orbs.
Once he had collected everything of value, Silas left the remaining corpses to the Zangoose.
One of the reasons Seviper and Zangoose were such bitter enemies was their mutual predation.
Each species considered the other a delicacy.
The Zangoose, however, were still dissatisfied.
Silas walked over to the newly appointed Zangoose leader and looked him directly in the eyes.
"I thought you told me there were only 2 nearby tribes with strength comparable to yours. Why did you hide the Seviper from me?"
The moment Silas' tone turned cold, every Zangoose became visibly tense.
The leader quickly shook his head.
"We weren't hiding anything. We nearly wiped out the Seviper tribe a while back. At the time, their strongest member was only what you humans call early pseudo-advanced. I have no idea how they became so strong so quickly."
Silas narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"Interesting, maybe they found some kind of resource."
The moment they saw the wicked grin spread across their trainer's face, every one of Silas' Pokémon shook their heads.
They already knew exactly what he was thinking.
The Seviper nest was next.
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Thanks for the continued support on my first fanfic!!
Moving forward, every 50 Power Stones, I will release a bonus chapter.
I will also be releasing bonus chapters for milestones. The next ones are 300k views and chapter 200.
Finally, I will be releasing 3 extra chapters once we reach 10 reviews. 5 star reviews are appreciated but not required, I want honest feedback so I can improve.
Once again, thanks for all the support and feedback!