Chapter 495: Conclusion

Move: "Take Down."

A Fighting-type physical attack whose secondary effect is that the higher the user's Defense, the greater its power.

At this moment, the Twist Hound's Defense had been raised to its utmost limit under the scorching flames of the Houndoom leader. Boom—! The two collided with a thunderous crash, and in that instant, a deafening roar erupted, shaking all the nearby Houndour and Houndoom.

Centered on the two Pokémon, a visible milky-white shockwave exploded outward; the fierce wind swept away, blowing off many Houndour who had not yet found their footing.

The Houndoom named Sang Sang Biao, covered in numerous wounds, half-closed its eyes to avoid the onrushing gale laden with dust and sand.

It and its opponent simultaneously ceased their struggle, their gazes all fixing upon the center of that bursting heat wave and fierce wind, waiting for the dust to settle and the outcome to be revealed.

A moment later.

The dust cleared, revealing the scene within to their eyes.

The Houndour and Houndoom of the Houndoom leader's faction froze on the spot, utterly stunned.

In their eyes, the Houndoom leader, who had always been filled with majesty and was the strongest among them, now lay weakly in a crater, eyes tightly shut, clearly having lost consciousness.

Before it, however, the figure of the Twist Hound, even slighter than a Houndour, stood straight and tall; though its body bore a few minor wounds, this did not change the fact that it had defeated the Houndoom in a direct confrontation.

This also meant that their faction had been thoroughly defeated.

What followed then proceeded quite naturally.

With their leader defeated, the Houndour and Houndoom had no heart left for battle; within a short while, they completely lost the will to resist, and as one massive crowd, they performed gestures of submission toward the Twist Hound.

The victor becomes king; the vanquished become bandits.

Since the Twist Hound had overcome the former leader, even though the Twist Hound was not of the same species as them, those who inherently admired strength were still willing to submit to it.

The Houndoom Sang Sang Biao, along with the rebellious Houndoom and Houndour, stared blankly at this scene, their hearts shaken profoundly.

The Twist Hound had actually defeated the Houndoom leader.

On the mountainside.

"Kanu!"

The Little Blacksmith was the first to raise its hand and cheer.

After the Houndoom clan submitted to the Twist Hound, although it was not accomplished by itself, the fact that a Twist Hound from the farm had done it was roughly equivalent to it having done so itself.

It was only natural for it to feel happy.

The Serperior's tail tip swayed gently; its mood was also quite pleasant.

The matter had been resolved before it needed to step in; while another Pokémon might have felt the Twist Hound had stolen its spotlight, for the Serperior, it was only too glad to enjoy the leisure.

Next, only the nearby Salazzle packs remained.

Luo Mu also lowered his binoculars, picked up a backpack full of bottles and jars, and said with a smile, "It's about time; it's our turn to make an entrance."

Now that the Twist Hound had legitimately made those Houndour and Houndoom bow in submission, he, the person "behind the scenes," should also enter the fray.

When the Houndoom leader slowly regained consciousness, it first felt that the pain spreading through its body before it lost awareness had eased considerably; especially on the wounds inflicted by the Twist Hound, they seemed to be covered by some kind of ointment emitting a faint coolness.

It opened its eyes, and the first thing it saw were its former subordinates, their expressions varied.

Then, with a complex gaze, it glanced at the Twist Hound crouching before it, already mentally prepared to refuse submission and be driven out of the clan.

Long ago, when establishing this clan, it had similarly driven away an aging Houndoom leader.

But—

The Twist Hound did not even glance at it; instead, it wagged its tail toward the direction from which footsteps approached, barking happily, "Wang Wang," twice.

It looked just like an ordinary pet dog kept by humans, the kind Houndoom used to look down upon.

Seeing those ordinary canvas shoes come to a stop, an expression of disbelief flashed in Emperor Yan Di's eyes.

The next second, its guess proved true.

That human crouched down, rubbed the Twist Hound's head with a large hand, then looked at itself and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Is he asking me?

The Houndoom froze for a second, then realized.

Could it be that this human also treated my wounds? In an instant, everything became clear.

The Twist Hound was this human's Pokémon; for some unknown reason, he had sent out the Twist Hound to overthrow its clan.

And now, its subordinates had completely defected.

It had never been harmed by humans, but it could not bring itself to fawn over a human who was clearly the "chief culprit," merely because it had been treated.

As for those subordinates who had betrayed it, it felt indifferent.

The victor becomes king; the vanquished become bandits.

It had lost; they submitted to a stronger existence. It was that simple.

The Houndoom leader did not blame them.

It struggled to its feet, then took several steps backward, the vigilance in its eyes undiminished. Seeing this, Luo Mu was not surprised.

Not attempting to approach further and strain the Houndoom's already tense nerves to the point of breaking, he spoke in a tone stating facts, recounting everything that had occurred during the time the Houndoom leader had been unconscious.

He had appeared as the Twist Hound's Trainer and offered the Houndoom and Houndour three generous options.

First: He would seek out, or even create, an area with resources superior to this one, to serve as territory for those Houndour and Houndoom who still wished to live in the wild.

Second: Under his introduction, they would join the Paldea Regional Police Force, obtain official positions, and become partner police dogs for officers like Miss Miss Junsha.

Third: Join the farm, thereafter responsible for the security of the farm as its scope expanded further.

Surprisingly, most of the Houndoom leader's former subordinates neither wanted to become police dogs nor join the farm; instead, they wished to continue living in the wild.

A minority, like all the rebellious members led by the Houndoom Sang Sang Biao, chose to join the Paldea Police Force as enlisted personnel.

They had originally been hesitating and wavering, but Luo Mu, having detected their slight aptitude as police dogs, sincerely advised them to consider joining the police force, telling them they possessed the talent, which ultimately led to their current choice.

And now, the only one who had not yet made a choice was the Houndoom leader before them.

Since he intended to enclose this land within the farm's boundaries, Luo Mu naturally had arrangements for the whereabouts of the Pokémon living here, rather than simply driving them away and being done with it.

He asked earnestly, "And you? How will you choose?"

Luo Mu's voice fell, and their gazes all turned squarely onto the Houndoom Leader.

The Braixen also shifted its gaze over.

The Houndoom Leader fell silent for a few seconds, its gaze landing on its old subordinates who had chosen to go to the new place.

Of course, this did not mean it intended to choose that side.

These fellows had swiftly defected, and seeing its wretched state, even if it went with them, its dignity would be gone forever; only power and fear could awe them.

It did not blame them, but that did not mean it held no dissatisfaction.

The Houndoom Leader did not want to continue living with them anymore.

As for the police station, under Luo Mu's explanation, it roughly understood what that meant.

Becoming a police officer's partner, training, and then maintaining safety—it was not very suitable for it; the Houndoom Leader did not want to join the police station either, as it disliked that kind of constrained life.

The choices left to it seemed to be only joining the human's farm before its eyes, or making the same choice equivalent to being driven out of the pack and wandering in the wild until it either found a new pack or seized territory.

The Houndoom Leader suddenly felt a bit tired and did not want to continue fighting anymore.

It stared at Luo Mu for quite a while before opening its mouth and letting out a bark.

"Lugia?" (Can you guarantee to bring me a stable life?)

Luo Mu could not understand its meaning, but with the efforts of the King's Snake beside him, he roughly understood and nodded seriously, saying, "Life on the farm is mostly stable."

The Houndoom Leader, having received a response, did not speak immediately but looked toward the King's Snake beside Luo Mu.

Instinct told it that this large snake was quite extraordinary.

Considering the Braixen's combat power, perhaps what this human said held a certain degree of credibility.

The Houndoom Leader fell silent for quite a while, its mind torn between heaven and man, before finally making a choice.

"Lugia—" (I choose to join you—) the King's Snake translated. Luo Mu raised an eyebrow, not expecting that the Houndoom Leader, who was least likely to choose to join the farm, had chosen to join.

After a brief thought, he spoke: "I am very glad you chose to trust us, but choices are made based on mutual respect between both parties; that is to say, your choosing us and our choosing you must both be true for it to hold."

"My question is very simple: as long as you can guarantee the following points, I can make the final decision to let you join the farm."

The Houndoom Leader immediately showed a look of astonishment.

This human's way of speaking is so strange.

Luo Mu paid no attention to the Houndoom Leader's expression and said word for word: "My demands are very simple. If you want to join the farm, I hope you can abide by the following agreements."

"Sparring matches are allowed, but you must not be reckless, constantly provoking trouble and causing disturbances."

"The farm's resources are abundant; you must not use your strength to snatch food or other things from other companions."

"The final point: get along harmoniously with everyone."

When the words fell, Luo Mu looked at the Houndoom Leader, waiting for its answer.

The Houndoom Leader looked at him deeply, feeling only that this human was stranger than any human it had ever known.

After a moment, it nodded lightly, agreeing to the demands Luo Mu had put forward.

A smile appeared on Luo Mu's face as he extended his hand: "Then it's a deal; welcome to your joining."

The Houndoom Leader hesitated for a moment but still raised its paw and placed it on Luo Mu's palm.

Now, the fate of the Houndoom pack had been settled; only the neighboring Houndoom pack remained, and the farm could be completely expanded.

Luo Mu decided to strike while the iron was hot and announced to the Houndooms and Poochyenas the task he hoped they would help with before the promise was fulfilled.

That was to use the power of the Houndoom pack to conquer the neighboring Houndoom pack's territory in an open and upright manner, replicating the operation similar to the one just now, and completely achieving unification! (End of Chapter)