The entire capture process of the Pokémon Hunters was even quicker than expected.
Although Sato had a minor slip in the middle, there's no way he would ever admit that…
Never in this lifetime!
Still, the situation wasn't as difficult as imagined, since they managed to subdue the hunters before they even had a chance to react.
The hunters' equipment, firearms, and the Pokémon in their Poké Balls ended up being completely useless.
At least based on the information Onix had shared, there was supposed to be one more Pseudo-Elite Four level Pokémon, but it was clearly never released in time.
---
Only now did they contact Officer Jenny, to "deliver" the surviving hunters.
Although it seemed unbelievable to Officer Jenny that three kids could take down a five-member Pokémon Hunter group, Once Sato handed over his GLQ¹ Certificate, everything instantly made sense.
"Thank you, Leader Sato and your companions for your selfless assistance to Dewford Island." Officer Jenny saluted Sato with formal and righteous tone, then swiftly took the Pokémon hunters away.
"So Officer Jenny's saying we were 'selfless volunteers', huh?" Joseph said with a smile, tone ambiguous.
Normally, Trainers who subdue hunters and bring them to the police receive corresponding rewards. Although such rewards didn't really matter to Sato at this point, Officer Jenny's mention of "selfless assistance" to dismiss it all left a sour taste.
Just as the three were about to leave Granite Cave and return to the Pokémon Center to rest, a Dugtrio suddenly popped out from beneath their feet.
"Yeah yeah, got it, we understand," Joseph nodded to the Dugtrio, then turned to Sato and Mark. "Onix is inviting us over."
The three exchanged glances, finding the situation a bit ironic, but naturally they wouldn't refuse Onix's invitation.
Seeing their agreement, Dugtrio quietly burrowed underground again, and the same Volbeat that had guided them before quickly flew ahead to lead the way.
The trio entered Granite Cave again, and after a winding path, they arrived at a massive open cavern.
Above, the cave ceiling had a large crack through which sunlight poured in, so the cavern didn't feel dark at all.
In the center of the cave stood a deep gray mound, where the shiny Onix was coiled atop it, its eyes fixed intently on the arriving trio.
"OOOOOHN!"
Once again, it let out a thunderous roar to welcome Sato and the others.
After that, all kinds of Pokémon -some previously seen on the island, others not- began to appear one after another.
Their numbers and variety were so great that the three were left speechless.
Sato had previously thought he'd already seen most of what Dewford Island had to offer. But now it seemed that many of these Pokémon had likely never even been properly recorded or studied, not even by Ranger Haruna.
Onix seemed quite satisfied with their shocked expressions. After all, it had been seen at its lowest moment by these three, and as the leader of the island, it must have felt uneasy about that.
Now, by revealing its true strength to them, it had at least regained some of its dignity and pride as the island's Totem.
But in truth, the three of them weren't all that shocked… after all, even the "leader" of the Seafloor Cavern was currently resting inside Sato's backpack.
Of course, they were still surprised for a moment, so Onix naturally didn't find it strange that their shock didn't last long.
Then, under Onix's command, numerous Pokémon began lining up and placing batches of delicious Berries before the three of them.
In return, Joseph took out all the emergency Pokémon food stored in his backpack and distributed it to the surrounding Pokémon.
These Pokémon, who had never tasted "artificially-made" Pokémon food before, immediately began to scramble for it.
And the Pokémon food gifted back to Onix -delivered by its subordinates- was naturally brought up to the mountaintop as well.
That only made Onix even more embarrassed, because it felt that the Pokémon food was far tastier than the Berries it had so carefully prepared…
As a prideful Onix, how could it repeatedly show weakness in front of humans?
So, under the puzzled gaze of both the other Pokémon and the trio, the "food-sharing" segment ended quickly, and Onix finally slithered down slowly from the mound.
Even though this wasn't the first time the trio had seen Onix's massive body, they were still momentarily stunned.
Ordinary Onix's overall strength doesn't usually match its imposing size; in fact, in the hands of skilled Trainers, its base stats can actually become a drawback.
However, Sato and the others would never be so shallow as to judge the strength of the island's leader based on the average strength of a typical Onix.
By now, Onix had arrived in front of them, its basin-sized pupils quietly staring at the trio.
Suddenly, Onix shifted to the side slightly. From beside it stepped a sturdy Aggron.
"Aggron, Aggro!"
Known for its violent temperament, this Aggron didn't show any aggression, instead, it kept apologizing repeatedly to the trio.
Although Sato and Mark couldn't understand what Aggron was saying, its actions and demeanor clearly showed sincerity.
As for Joseph, there was no issue at all. His Viridian Power allowed him to communicate directly with wild Pokémon, so he naturally understood that Aggron was expressing its gratitude.
Of course, as the leader of the Aggron clan, it wouldn't just offer verbal thanks like Officer Jenny.
With a swift motion, Aggron pulled out three Origin Ores', each radiating a strong Steel-type energy, and quietly laid them on its hand.
"Aggron Aggro!"
"Aggron says one for each of us," Joseph translated naturally.
Gifts like these were never refused. Although none of them currently had much use for Steel-type Origin Ore, no Trainer would ever find such resources excessive.
Even if they couldn't use it themselves, they could always trade it with others.
After seeing that the trio had accepted its gift, Aggron nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.
Next, Onix's massive head shifted over once more, and the trio immediately sensed that something even more significant was about to happen.
As the island's ruler, Onix wasn't one for stalling. It gave a light shake of its enormous head.
Clatter clatter clatter...
Under the trio's astonished gaze, all sorts of items -some they recognized, others they didn't- tumbled down in front of them. Among them were quite a few Rock-type Energy Crystals.
.
.
.
¹. Gym Leader Qualification.