Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
-----------------
Sato had offended the Heracross-slaying Pinsir due to his involvement with the younger Heracross. In retaliation, the Pinsir targeted Sato—but in a twist of fate, that very same younger Heracross came to his rescue at a critical moment.
One had to admit, fate worked in mysterious cycles.
With a powerful grip, the younger Heracross lifted Sato into the sky, soaring upward at high speed. The Pinsir down below were left dumbfounded, watching helplessly as their prey—a cooked duck, so to speak—had escaped right from under their noses.
A few minutes later, at the border between the Pinsir Forest and the base of Tauros Mountain, under Sato's guidance, the younger Heracross flew them to an area safely outside the Pinsir territory's reach.
"Thanks for saving me, Heracross."
Once he was safely on the ground, Sato smiled and expressed his gratitude. Had Heracross not appeared in time, he might have been forced to go all out in desperation.
He still had a Revival Serum in his hand—if he used it on Arcanine, they could have regrouped and retreated. But doing so would've meant sacrificing a key trump card.
"Hera~~"
The younger Heracross scratched its head awkwardly, then beat its chest earnestly, signaling to Sato that it would be happy to help him against the Pinsir in the future—anytime.
According to what it had heard from its kin, it would've already died at the hands of the Pinsir if Sato hadn't stepped in earlier. So, saving Sato was only right. Besides, they now shared a common enemy—making them excellent allies.
"I don't really understand what you're saying, but that's okay. We'll definitely meet again. This time, those Pinsir ambushed me and almost cost me my life. I'll make them pay for it—and when I do, I'm definitely calling you to join in."
Seeing Heracross's sincere expression, Sato more or less understood it was expressing gratitude. He walked forward and patted Heracross on the shoulder, his face equally serious.
The younger Heracross was straightforward and honest. After receiving Sato's acknowledgment, it looked delighted. It once again used body language to tell Sato to call for it whenever needed, then launched into the air and flew off toward Pinsir Forest.
"Alright, I'm counting on you again, Bellossom. Hurry up and heal them."
Once Heracross left, Sato quickly released Bellossom and the other heavily injured Pokémon. He then instructed Bellossom to begin healing them.
"Bellll~~"
Bellossom nodded, but instead of immediately beginning the healing process, it first stood still, absorbing sunlight from the clear weather above to perform Synthesis and quickly recover its own stamina and energy.
Only after it had regained enough strength did Bellossom activate Grassy Terrain, healing the injured teammates in the surrounding area.
Sato, meanwhile, pulled out several healing sprays and special ointments to treat external wounds and aid in recovery for his Pokémon.
While Sato and Bellossom were tending to Arcanine and the others, in a forest some dozens of kilometers west of the Pinsir leader's territory, Ranka was engaged in a twisted game of hide and seek.
In this game, Ranka was clearly the cat—and the mice were the three contestants who had plotted an ambush against him.
Three days had passed. Each contestant now had several Pokémon at their disposal—most of them captured on the island.
Ranka and the three who had ambushed him were no exception. Between them, the three attackers had a total of eighteen Pokémon, while Ranka had only four.
At first glance, Ranka seemed to be in deep trouble—grossly outnumbered and at a serious disadvantage.
However, once the three ambushers found themselves face-to-face with Ranka's Mega Aggron—and his three other elite level Pokémon—they realized they'd kicked a steel wall… and broken their own feet doing so.
Ranka's Mega Aggron was simply overpowering. After Mega Evolution, it was almost at a pseudo-Champion level strength, firmly in the high Elite-Four level category. Add in Ranka's massive investment of resources, and Aggron had a vast arsenal of moves.
The three attackers had no idea Ranka was hiding such overwhelming power. They were stunned as Mega Aggron smashed through their ranks.
After a brutal battle, Ranka lost only one Pokémon—his elite-tier Victreebel—while his Mega Aggron decimated more than half of the attackers' teams.
Realizing they were no match, the three finally came to their senses and wisely chose to retreat in separate directions.
With the help of a Yanmega possessing the Speed Boost ability, Ranka easily caught up to one of the unfortunate attackers before he could even call for help.
Now, Aggron was holding the man like a chicken, dropping him at Ranka's feet.
"Run! You like running, don't you? Keep running for me."
Wearing a tight camo bodysuit, Ranka crossed his arms and grinned cheerfully at the terrified contestant. At the same time, he started slapping the man's face forcefully while continuing to question him—smiling all the while—about the whereabouts of his companions.
Within minutes, the man's face had swelled like a pig's head, his mouth bleeding profusely. But Ranka had extracted what he wanted—information about the usual hangout of the other ambushers.
"Bury him. Just looking at him is annoying."
Having gotten what he wanted and looted the man clean, Ranka's smile vanished. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes as he turned his back and gave the order to Aggron.
"No!!! You can't! You promised me—!"
The bloodied man shouted, his voice distorted by pain. But before he could finish, Aggron—its expression full of malice—slammed his face into the ground.
"At last… I've got a number tag. Now, my precious Zweilous can return to me. Ahhh, chasing people really messes up my makeup. Gotta fix it quick."
"Tch. It's been two days already. Those three idiots still haven't regrouped with me. This random teleportation really sucks. Why'd it put us so far apart?"
"I can't wait any longer... Hehehe... Sato, you won't escape me."
Twirling the number tag on his fingertip like a basketball, Ranka was in a great mood. Suddenly remembering something, he fished a luxurious makeup kit from his backpack and began touching up his face while talking to himself.
Seeing Ranka act all prim and flamboyant, his heavily scarred Aggron turned his head away in visible disgust.
Still, Aggron loyally stood guard by Ranka's side, playing the role of bodyguard—and tossing a bit of dirt to help bury the newly dug hole.
About half an hour later, Ranka was once again looking flawless. Smiling at his reflection in the jewel-encrusted mirror, he pulled out a detailed map and studied it carefully.
Before long, he set off with Aggron toward the location mentioned by the tortured contestant.