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Flames had always been a bug's worst fear—especially intense flames. A single high-temperature jet of fire from Arcanine caused severe losses to the Pinsir group, instantly knocking out over a dozen of them.
Seeing this, the remaining Pinsir shifted their attention from the small Heracross to Arcanine and Sato.
Noticing how outnumbered the two of them were, the Pinsir's fear of fire was immediately suppressed. Howling in unison, they charged at Arcanine, aiming for close combat.
Ever since arriving on the island, Arcanine had been fighting while outnumbered. It had already grown skilled in handling such situations. Without hesitation, it immediately retreated a few steps to create distance, then launched another jet of flame as a counterattack.
Arcanine's guerrilla tactics came into play. With its excellent mobility, the Pinsir could only eat its dust. Lacking long-range moves, they were completely at Arcanine's mercy.
A few minutes later, the Pinsir finally realized they couldn't handle the blazing fire-type that was running circles around them. One Pinsir buried itself into the ground to escape, and the rest quickly followed its example.
Within seconds, the Pinsir who had been chasing Arcanine fled in droves. The few stubborn ones that remained quickly lost their nerve without the support of their companions and scattered in panic.
"Please, Bellossom, heal him."
Sato wasn't interested in chasing the fleeing Pinsir. Once he saw they had retreated, he immediately rode Arcanine over to the small Heracross and released Bellossom to heal it.
The little Heracross was in extremely bad shape. There wasn't a single uninjured part of its body. Only its exceptionally strong willpower had kept it going—any other Pokémon would've collapsed long ago.
However, continuing to fight with a body in such critical condition only worsened its injuries and left behind many hard-to-heal internal wounds.
As Bellossom began treatment, the little Heracross was barely clinging to life, teetering on the brink of death.
The forest was saturated with Grass-type energy. Under Bellossom's guidance, a Grassy Terrain formed beneath Heracross, created from pure Grass-type energy.
Grass-type energy contains the essence of life. It can awaken a creature's latent vitality and accelerate regeneration—essentially enhancing natural recovery.
Controlled by Bellossom, the Grass-type energy swirled like obedient little lambs, weaving around the Heracross's body.
Soon, the little Heracross was tightly wrapped in bright green Grass-type energy like a dumpling.
Bug-types are notoriously resilient, and this Heracross had a strong will to survive. Combined with the healing power of Bellossom's Grassy Terrain, his condition finally began to improve. His life force stabilized bit by bit.
The small Heracross was well-liked among his kin—and also the strongest among them.
Once Sato drove away the Pinsir, several Heracross who had been observing from nearby approached after seeing that he hadn't harmed the small Heracross but was instead healing it.
"His condition is stable now. He'll need some time to rest. Take good care of your hero."
Once the healing was mostly complete, Sato had the exhausted Bellossom stop. He then turned to the surrounding Heracross and left them with those words.
He had no fondness for these Heracross who had abandoned their home and comrades out of cowardice. Without another word, he mounted Arcanine and left.
In truth, Sato had considered capturing the small Heracross—he wouldn't have stepped in to help otherwise. But seeing how cowardly the surrounding Heracross were, he gave up on the idea.
Given how Heracross had fought to the death to protect its home, it was clear he would never willingly leave it behind. Even if Sato caught him, he would likely sneak back.
And if Heracross wasn't there to defend his territory, these weak-willed Heracross wouldn't stand a chance against the next Pinsir invasion.
Realizing both these things, Sato gave up on capturing such a brave and responsible warrior. Forcing it would only backfire.
After bidding farewell to the small Heracross, Sato continued his search for the Scyther tribe deeper in the Pinsir Forest.
But the forest ultimately belonged to the Pinsir tribe—and they bore grudges fiercely. Sato hadn't gone far from the Heracross territory when he was ambushed by a Pinsir revenge squad.
To reclaim their pride, the Pinsir had dispatched an elite group. These high-level Pinsir, all above Level 30, lay in ambush underground. As Arcanine passed by unaware, they suddenly burst from the ground.
Their Dig—a Ground-type move—was especially effective against Fire-types like Arcanine. Struck by four elite Pinsir using Dig in succession, Arcanine was clearly injured.
"Return, Arcanine! Come out, Ursaring, Ariados, Gyarados—prepare for battle!"
"Ariados, web the area to obstruct the Pinsir!"
"Ursaring, use Fire Punch to counter!"
"Gyarados, sweep them away with Aqua Tail!"
"Kecleon, use Role Play to copy the ability of that Pinsir at your lower right, then transfer it to Ursaring and Gyarados!"
Seeing Arcanine hurt, Sato was distressed. He quickly returned it to its PokeBall and sent out the rest of his team, issuing orders in rapid succession.
In a surrounded battle like this, the red Gyarados's Intimidate and Tyrant abilities was perfect for crowd control—it was the ideal tool for taking down mobs.
Although this batch of Pinsir was stronger than those that had attacked the Heracross earlier, the red Gyarados had grown a lot thanks to battles at Poliwag Lake, sparring with Ursaring, and fighting the Mightyena pack.
Now at Level 30, it had learned Ice Fang and Aqua Tail. And as its strength increased, so did the pressure of its Intimidation Field.
Once activated, the Tyrant + Intimidate abilities instantly knocked out eleven of the thirty-one Pinsir. The rest—those who weren't especially brave—were left trembling in hesitation.
The Pinsir hesitated. But Sato's Pokémon didn't.
Ursaring had personally defeated the red Gyarados before, so Intimidate had no effect on it.
Ariados had witnessed that beating and now stood alongside Ursaring in battle—it feared Gyarados even less.
As for Kecleon, it was the least intimidated of all. With shapeshifting powers and Sato's solid backing to keep the red Gyarados in check, Gyarados held no threat to it.
Soon, Ursaring clashed with a group of Pinsir. Fire Punch was devastating against them, though their Brick Break moves posed real danger to Ursaring's Normal typing.
Even so, Ursaring's superior level and raw strength were overwhelming. Not even three Pinsir could stop it. With a flurry of Fire Punches and wild strikes, it sent foes flying before they could get close.
Meanwhile, Kecleon completed its task as a Trait Converter. With Sato's system scans, it copied a Pinsir's Moxie ability and transferred it to Ursaring.
With every Pinsir Ursaring defeated, Moxie activated again and again—its morale and strength snowballing, and the flames in its fists growing fiercer. The surrounding Pinsir were terrified.
On the other side, Ariados played a major support role. Its webbing trapped many Pinsir, severely disrupting their encirclement tactics.
As for Gyarados, its massive frame let it sweep away three or four Pinsir at once with Aqua Tail, leaving them critically wounded.
Like Ursaring, it too received Moxie. After defeating over six opponents, its momentum surged. Each move it made became even more powerful.
But just like the Vigoroth in Slakoth Forest, these Pinsir knew when they were outmatched—and they began calling reinforcements.
This was their territory after all. Pinsir support came quickly. Despite Ursaring and Gyarados growing stronger with every foe, they—like the small Heracross before—were still fighting alone.
A few minutes later, the lowest-level red Gyarados fell first. Then Ariados.
Just as Ursaring—guarding Sato—was about to succumb to the swarm...
A small blue Pokémon darted from the forest, flying at high speed. Using Aerial Ace, it plowed through the enemy ranks, knocking Pinsir away like bowling pins.
It was none other than the small Heracross.
Having just recovered, it rushed over after hearing from a clanmate that Sato was under siege.
"You did well, Ursaring! Quick, Heracross—take me into the air!"
Overjoyed at the sight of Heracross, Sato abandoned the idea of sending out the injured Arcanine for escape. He quickly returned Ursaring and called out to Heracross to fly him away.
Heracross didn't hesitate. It grabbed Sato, and its insect wings buzzed rapidly as it soared into the sky with him.