Chapter 696: Reunion with Lokia

「Gwooaaar——!! 」

The heaven-shaking roar sent the wild Pokémon, who had been brimming with fighting spirit just moments ago, fleeing in panic.

Rocks large and small whistled as they shot off in every direction, successfully scattering the wild Pokémon that had originally been gathered together, and making the scene utterly chaotic.

At a rough glance.

Not a single wild Pokémon fought back—either they ran about wildly or stood there in a daze.

The Lycanroc, who could barely be called united, bared their fangs and glared warily at the massive figure in the dust, hazy and indistinct, like a metal war-god.

In the past.

Faced with an enemy like this, they would have fled long ago.

But right now they were defending this hard-won new homeland, so no matter how strong the opponent, they had to try to defeat it!

「Awooo—」

The leading Midnight-form Lycanroc howled loudly.

The surrounding Midday- and Midnight-form Lycanroc immediately had their attention drawn over, and joined in the long howl. Orange-red light rose from beneath their feet, the surging power restoring their brave hearts.

【Howl】, a Normal-type status move, has the effect of raising the user's Attack stat.

Baimu's smile didn't waver.

He didn't deny that among Pokémon there were cases of ants gnawing an elephant to death, but with only this handful of Lycanroc, it was hard for them to stir up much of a storm.

「Go! 」

「Gwooar! 」

Before the Lycanroc could come after Mega Aggron, the latter, at Baimu's prompting, charged toward them first.

Hmm!

The piercing metallic shriek echoed on and on.

Aggron, its whole body wreathed in a bright silver metallic halo, was like a high-speed train at full gallop, covering dozens of meters in just a few breaths.

The ground trembled madly as its heavy frame sprinted.

The Lycanroc leader's pupils shrank to pinpricks, and it quickly barked at its companions in Mega Aggron's charging direction, trying to make them dodge in advance.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

The roaring, bright silver giant orb of light kicked up terrifying dust, slamming several Lycanroc at the forefront flying.

Unable to dodge in time, they howled in misery, arcing high in parabolic arcs before crashing down hard.

Smack!

The crisp sound of bodies slamming into the ground at speed made Helianna unable to bear watching.

「Awooo——!! 」

The Lycanroc leader's heart quivered, but the sight also roused its ferocity. Its blood-red eyes grew darker still, and it let out a great roar as it lunged at Mega Aggron!

It raised its sharp claws, and a flash of fire instantly ignited at their tips, spreading rapidly.

In the blink of an eye.

A pair of flame-wreathed claws radiating heat had already taken shape, tearing through the air to slash heavily at the halted Mega Aggron.

「Ao! 」

「Aowr! 」

The other Lycanroc followed suit, throwing themselves forward one after another, each unleashing the moves they were best at, attacking from every direction!

Boom boom boom boom!

Countless explosions sent dust and smoke flying.

The Mega Aggron, besieged by a storm-like assault, stood its ground as if unable to cope, which made the other wild Pokémon that had been scattering in flight regroup as if they had seen the dawn.

Helianna couldn't understand why it wasn't moving, and instinctively looked at Baimu. Seeing the expectant look on his face, she cried out in astonishment:

「Everyone, be careful—」

Before the words had faded.

A blinding white-silver flash lit up from within the dust, and a terrifying energy fluctuation that warped the air radiated outward, tracing out Mega Aggron's silhouette.

「Gwoo—ar!! 」

Accompanied by a furious roar, the white-silver flash exploded like a detonating nuclear bomb!

The blinding energy shockwave instantly swept away everything around it; not a single Lycanroc besieging Mega Aggron escaped, all of them swallowed by the sky-piercing silver light!

Rumble rumble rumble——!!

The earth kept trembling, countless cracks zigzagging across it, looking especially savage.

The timid wild Pokémon in the distance were scared off on the spot, successfully dragging along a bunch of individuals who had never understood the situation from start to finish, putting on a great mass flight.

Fortunately they still remembered not to harm plants, otherwise many of the bushes that had been painstakingly planted and luckily survived would probably have been trampled flat.

A moment later.

The drifting smoke and dust shrouded this stretch of land.

The scattered wild Pokémon had completely lost the will to resist, whimpering as they looked at one another, none daring to charge into the fog to find out what had happened.

And if they wouldn't go in.

Mega Aggron would come out on its own.

Thud, thud, thud…

Every step the giant beast, like a silver fortress, took made the shattered earth tremble once, and made a heavy drumbeat echo in the wild Pokémon's hearts.

A nameless wind blew in, dispersing the dust.

Mega Aggron grabbed the battle-incapacitated Lycanroc leader and tossed it in front of the other Pokémon, fixing these "uninvited guests" with a look of utter contempt.

It considered itself to have been very polite. If this had been the old it, before setting out for Hoenn, encountering Pokémon that dared to provoke it like this, it would not have stopped until they were wailing all over the ground.

It doesn't have the compassion a Trainer would feel toward Pokémon.

To Super Bisharp, Pokémon and humans are no different—they are fourth parties outside of itself, Trainers, and companions.

"Woo…"

Wild Pokémon lowered their heads, trembling as they whimpered, daring not to meet its gaze.

They were utterly terrified of Super Bisharp.

The power it possessed was beyond anything they could oppose—even the Pokémon beside N might not be its match.

They had originally fled from the main group after losing fights against some powerful Pokémon.

They never expected this new master of Dashan to be even stronger than those who had defeated them!

Most wild Pokémon don't fight to the death against an unbeatable foe.

Surrendering is common.

That's why when Pokémon form bonds with Trainers and fight for them, defying their instincts to give everything just to win, it becomes truly precious.

"It's over. That went quickly."

Baimu patted the Gyarados, which was frantically flapping its wings to clear the dust.

The eager Haxorus understood its Trainer's meaning and looked slightly dejected.

What's more painful than losing to an ace?

It's being forced to watch an ace perform while having no chance to prove yourself.

Gulpin let out an annoyed yawn—it had long thought this was the way to handle things; back in the Ecological Garden, all those Pokémon who shamelessly came to steal things had been beaten senseless by it.

Reason with them?

They don't care about reason!

Trainers interact too much with clever Pokémon and have completely forgotten how to deal with dumb ones.

"Happy~"

Chansey looked at the Trainer, and after receiving his approval, began tending to the injured Pokémon.

Shiny Haunter helped as a mobile toolkit, while Poliwhirl took the Dratini siblings and Steelix to chase down the fleeing wild Pokémon.

Sunflora…

It won't work.

Shiny Milotic never left its Poké Ball—the irrigation ditch was too small for it, and there was no need to come out and be exposed to the sun.

Baimu turned to Helenna and said, "All resolved. Young Lady Helenna can attend to other matters. I imagine managing so many wild Pokémon keeps you quite busy."

"It really is busy…"

Helenna nodded with a complex expression, sending Sableye to assist Chansey, then pointed toward the northwest. "If you don't mind, come have lunch with us? You've never visited our new home since we left Huang Tie Town."

"Next time. I probably don't have time today."

Baimu waved off the invitation.

N had arranged the primary habitat for the rescued Pokémon in a vast valley.

It's said the vegetation coverage there rivals that beyond Huang Tie Town, created through tireless cooperation between N and his Grass- and Ground-type Pokémon.

But such a place, housing so many Pokémon, inevitably becomes overcrowded.

Fights among fiercely wild Pokémon frequently occur, and the losers often leave the valley to find new homes elsewhere.

The group before Baimu was one small faction that had split off from the main group.

He had just contacted N via Pokémon Line; N's long reply detailed several developments among the wild Pokémon over the past half-year.

Although N later gathered many former Plasma members who now sided with him, there were simply too many wild Pokémon for so few people to manage comprehensively.

Thus, despite N's desire to prevent them, he had no good way to stop the wild Pokémon who split off after conflicts.

There are certainly compatibility issues between Pokémon and Pokémon.

For example, Scyther and Vileplume are destined to struggle to coexist; many other Pokémon share similar incompatibilities.

Even N cannot erase the imbalances caused by differing habits.

He can only let them find their own habitats on the outside and provide them with basic survival resources.

Fortunately, so far, no Pokémon have suffered severe consequences from extreme environmental rejection—they've all managed to find temporary shelters.

N doesn't know how long this can last, and it's one of his greatest worries.

"Poor little things with nowhere to go."

Baimu walked toward Super Bisharp and signaled it to drop the Night Slash Darmanitan it was holding.

Bisharp reverted to its normal form and dropped the Darmanitan onto the ground.

Unexpectedly, the Darmanitan had already woken up—it immediately leaped backward, putting several meters between them, baring its fangs and glaring at them with ferocity.

Baimu raised an eyebrow. "You lost. Don't you know that? Can't take defeat?"

"Aow…"

The Darmanitan had been about to howl, but upon hearing those words, it fell silent, its ferocity fading as it looked at its fallen companions and hung its head in despair.

Yes.

They lost.

They lost again.

The home they had barely won was once more taken from them—this land seemed to hold no place for them.

It shuffled toward its companions.

Other Darmanitan who gradually woke up saw their leader's expression and each showed sorrowful looks, whimpering as they gathered around it.

The Night Slash Darmanitan leader glanced over its companions, gave a slight nod, and prepared to leave.

Other wild Pokémon watching the scene also wore expressions of deep sadness.

"Hey! Where are you going!"

Baimu called out to this group of wild Pokémon, speaking strangely.

The Lycanroc leader turned its head, let out a bark—"Aowu!"

"Sazong!"

Upon hearing this, the Hydreigon frowned; the Aggron, seeing its Trainer didn't understand, growled lowly: "Guhou~"

Only then did Baimu barely grasp its meaning.

The Lycanroc leader declared that even if they lost, they would never become slaves to humans—they would rather leave this place to find a new home.

"Slaves…?"

He recalled what N had said that morning—"Everyone has been heartbroken by humans."

Clearly, six months had passed, yet the wild Pokémon still could not forgive the poachers' harm, and despite his generous terms, they resisted everything tied to humans.

These creatures probably couldn't understand the source of their daily food.

This won't do.

This can't continue.

Baimu felt that if humans and Pokémon remained estranged, with both sides unable to understand each other and the environment growing increasingly hostile, a large-scale wild Pokémon assault on cities was inevitable.

Could N stop it?

Perhaps he could—or perhaps… even he couldn't oppose the collective will of the wild Pokémon.

What should he do?

As he watched the Lycanroc and other wild Pokémon preparing to leave, he suddenly remembered the inhabitants of the Creation Valley who had once said they would come to Oure, and fell into thought.

"Wait! Everyone, hold on!"

Helenna's voice interrupted his thoughts.

The "Goddess of Peace," who had just been healing other Pokémon, now stood before the Lycanroc, "I know you're angry, I know you're heartbroken—but please believe me, Baimu is different from the humans you've met before!"

"Aow!"

The Lycanroc seemed to rebut something.

"Yes, he truly cannot understand your words—but does a language barrier mean mutual understanding is impossible? No, Lycanroc. Though the Aggron that defeated you is Baimu's Pokémon, the Steelix that lets you live here peacefully is also his Pokémon!"

Helenna said earnestly: "He has always known of your existence, never wished to drive you away—only sought a peaceful solution. Why not give him a chance?"

The Lycanroc leader still shook his head.

He firmly distrusted all humans except N, Helenna, and Babena.

Their Pokémon came and tried to drive them away; now they want them to work for him. The Lycanroc knew they weren't clever enough—they'd surely be tricked by humans, so they'd rather leave early.

At that moment.

Porygon2 led the Steelix and the Dreepy siblings, calling back all the wild Pokémon that had fled; the area around the well returned to its earlier bustle.

Calls rose and fell, filling the place with noise.

Helenna still wanted to keep persuading the Lycanroc leader, but Baimu, after brief thought, decided to prove his goodwill to the Lycanroc.

Suddenly.

The sky darkened.

The scorching sun had been obscured by dark gray clouds; the wild Pokémon gradually fell silent, and the Lycanroc leader stared in astonishment at the sky.

Rain in southern Oure rarely fell even once a month.

How could it suddenly—

But Baimu, as if sensing something, looked toward the horizon: "No way…"

"Chiaowu—"

"Chia—"

A large and a small, melodious long cry suddenly echoed from the hazy distant sky—anyone could hear the joy in them.

Then.

Two faint white shadows churned among the clouds, approaching at a visible speed.

Fine rain began to fall.

Helenna covered her mouth in astonishment: "Lugia!?"

"Passing by…? No, it's coming straight for me?"

Baimu watched the Lugia mother and child flying directly toward him, stunned—and tugged at his lips.

Now, he'd have real credibility when facing the stubborn wild Pokémon.

He looked at the Lycanroc leader, huddling and shielding itself from the rain.