Shiro had arrived at the outskirts of the Scraggy territory, hiding behind a sturdy tree as he observed a small group of them moving together.
Scraggy was a bipedal, lizard-like Pokémon with a yellow head and a beige underside that stretched from its neck to its belly. A red crest jutted out from the top of its head, and a loose yellow "pants-like" skin covered its lower body, which it could pull up with its hands.
These Pokémon typically traveled in small groups, wandering aimlessly. Making eye contact with them was dangerous, as they had a habit of suddenly headbutting anything that locked eyes with them.
However, due to their body weight, they often lost their balance after attacking. Their skulls were incredibly tough, something they took great pride in.
"These are all just novice level… little babies?" Shiro muttered, his hand already reaching for a Poké Ball at his waist. "Go, Gastly!"
"Gaaasss!"
Fully recovered, Gastly let out a shrill cry, its swirling purple-black gas flaring up as it rushed toward the three clustered Scraggy.
"Shadow Ball!" Shiro's command came almost simultaneously.
As Gastly surged forward, six shadowy energy spheres formed around it. Hovering for a brief moment, it spun in the air, then hurled the ghostly Shadow Balls straight at the three Scraggy.
The wild Pokémon reacted a bit too late. The first two Shadow Balls struck them head-on, exploding on impact. They screeched in pain and stumbled backward.
As they retreated, the Scraggy hastily pulled their loose skin up around their necks, using it as a shield. Their rubbery, elastic hides could absorb some of the damage.
The remaining Shadow Balls collided with their stretched skin, leaving behind charred marks.
Though the attack hadn't knocked them out completely, the Scraggy were clearly at their limit. Noticing Gastly approaching with renewed aggression, they turned and ran, one after another.
"Gastly, keep using Shadow Ball!" Shiro ordered, pressing the advantage.
The fleeing Scraggy had exposed their backs—without their belly skin as a shield, they had no way to withstand Gastly's next attack.
Gastly, the only one in Shiro's team with an effective wide-range move, quickly conjured another round of dark energy spheres infused with eerie power. The spheres shot forward, cutting through the air before exploding on the retreating Scraggy.
"Gaasstly!"
Seeing all three Scraggy collapse, completely knocked out, Gastly let out an excited cry.
Shiro nodded in approval. Stepping over the fainted Pokémon, he pulled out another Poké Ball from his waist.
"Good, let's keep going. Rookidee, you're up next!"
"Rooki!"
With Rookidee's sharp cry piercing the air, Shiro led both Pokémon into an all-out assault on the Scraggy colony, grinding through battle after battle.
...
Two hours later.
In the forest on the west side of Lake Axewell, two men moved cautiously forward.
The taller, thinner one was dressed in black cloak, carrying little on his back. The other, wearing a white uniform, had a large backpack nearly half his height.
The man in black moved impatiently, his eyes looking around as if searching for something.
Growing increasingly irritated, he finally shot a glance at his companion's heavy backpack and asked, "Goddard, didn't you say we were out hunting? Why are you lugging around that deadweight? Hope you're not planning on running later, because that thing's gonna slow you down."
"Shut up, Lyle. We're almost there." Goddard held a blinking device in one hand and a map in the other, carefully scanning the area. "Our target should be at the Scraggy camp, probably in the middle of training."
"Heh…" Lyle let out a dry chuckle, clearly uninterested in whatever 'camp' or 'target' Goddard was talking about.
They had already been walking for two hours, and Goddard had led him along the outskirts of Lake Axewell the entire time. If he hadn't made their target sound like such an easy payday at the start, Lyle wouldn't have agreed to work with this notorious scammer in the first place.
"Relax, that guy's a rookie. Though, no idea what he did to end up here." Goddard sounded completely certain as he quickened his pace. "Newcomers always have money. That backpack of his—I'd recognize it anywhere. It's definitely Macro Cosmos' design. Huge storage space, probably filled with all kinds of Pokémon supplies."
"Hm…" Lyle let out an annoyed grunt, lifting his head just in time to spot a cloud of dust rising in the distance. "Goddard! Look!"
"What?" Goddard followed his gaze and immediately grabbed Lyle, pulling him behind a tree.
Using the grass and surrounding trees for cover, they crept forward carefully.
A few hundred meters ahead, right outside the Scraggy colony's cave, an intense battle was unfolding.
A Rookidee, much larger than usual for its species, was unleashing a flurry of Air Cutter attacks, sending sharp blades of wind hurtling toward a lone Scraggy standing at the cave entrance.
The Scraggy yanked its loose skin up so high it nearly covered its head. The Air Cutters struck the rubbery hide, leaving behind a few faint white marks.
This wasn't just any Scraggy—it was the colony's leader, an Intermediate-level Pokémon, roughly level 28. Just a little more training, and it would reach Advanced-level.
For Rookidee, nearly a full stage below in strength, this was the perfect challenge.
"Rookidee! Gain altitude and use Hone Claws!" Shiro commanded, still unaware that uninvited guests had arrived. "Gastly! Night Shade!"
"Roo-ki!"
Being a Flying-type, Rookidee effortlessly soared more than ten meters into the air, completely out of Scraggy's reach.
Now outside the immediate battle zone, it took the opportunity to use Hone Claws, boosting both attack power and accuracy.
Below, Gastly had silently drifted behind Scraggy. The wild Pokémon, fixated on Rookidee above, kept hopping in frustration, completely oblivious to the looming threat behind it.
"Gaasss!"
A twisted black shadow rose from behind Gastly, striking Scraggy square in the back.
Its eyes widened in shock. The hands gripping its loose skin suddenly slackened. Staggering forward a few steps, it turned, furious, to face Gastly floating in midair.
Shiro also took note of its back—completely blackened from the attack.
"Rookidee!"
Hearing Shiro's urgent shout, Rookidee dived straight down.
At the same time, a hundred meters away, Goddard, still crouched behind a tree, pulled out a Poké Ball with a smirk.
"Linoone! Tackle!"
"You—!" Lyle barely had time to react before Linoone shot forward, charging full speed across the ground.
Goddard also dashed out from the trees, shouting, "This is a damn good opportunity!"
Lyle hesitated for a split second, then gritted his teeth and took off after him, tossing out two Poké Balls of his own.
"Unfezant! Corvisquire!"
Coming out of the Poké Ball, the two bird Pokémon flanked Lyle on either side, flying in sync as they advanced.
Standing just twenty meters from the Scraggy cave, Shiro turned to face the incoming Linoone.
With its Advanced-level strength, the normal-type Pokémon could cover the hundred-meter distance in just two or three seconds using Tackle.
But before it could get close, a massive, orange-armored beast burst from a Poké Ball high in the air—slamming down right in Linoone's path.
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