Haruki's elbow scraped hard against the rough ground, making him grimace in pain, but he still managed to use his arms to cushion Cubone's fall.
"Cubone, are you alright?!"
Haruki struggled to stand, half-kneeling as his scraped hands trembled while he helped Cubone back up.
Cubone didn't respond. Its small eyes just stared tightly at the battered Haruki.
"It was my mistake…"
Lowering his head, Haruki turned away, gripping the bone club tightly.
Before he could finish speaking, Cubone was already walking back toward the still-standing Probopass.
Suddenly, a dazzling blue light enveloped Cubone.
And as it walked forward, its body grew taller.
It evolved… mid-step.
Haruki stared in stunned silence, momentarily speechless.
When the light faded, Cubone… no, Marowak, kept walking forward, unfazed, step by step closing in on Probopass.
Probopass instinctively backed away, then roared in anger at its own hesitation.
At that moment, Marowak had broken through to low Veteran.
And now facing an opponent with a quadruple Ground-type weakness, it showed no fear whatsoever!
"MAROWAK!"
Marowak raised its bone club high and charged fearlessly at Probopass.
Probopass snapped out of it slightly and finally remembered its mini-noses, immediately launching a round of Magnet Bombs.
The Magnet Bombs screamed through the air, but Marowak was no longer the same.
With well-timed swings, it knocked all three Magnet Bombs away with precision.
Then Marowak reached Probopass and leapt, soaring above its massive head.
Bone Club, delivered in a crushing overhead strike!
THUD!
A deep, bell-like clang echoed through the battlefield as Probopass was slammed out of its Magnet Rise state and smashed into the ground.
A dent formed in its bright red, circular forehead where the hit landed.
Devastated by the blow, Probopass finally lost all ability to fight.
Whoosh~
A Poké Ball flew out. Haruki didn't hesitate, he captured Probopass on the spot.
It wasn't yet time for Professor Rowan to officially publish the method of evolving into Probopass. Every wild one was immensely valuable.
And having gone through so much to defeat it, Haruki wasn't going to share the spoils with anyone.
Accepting the Poké Ball handed to him by Marowak, Haruki locked it and then turned to face Marowak with focus.
"Yeah, you're taller and stronger too!"
Marowak crossed its arms, the Thick Club wedged between them, lifting its chin with the composure of a "true expert".
It was just… still a bit short.
Marowak: (｀⊿)
'Well, regular Marowak only stand about a meter tall.'
This one was slightly taller… but still hadn't broken any records.
Not every Pokémon could grow endlessly just by eating Calcium.
Magikarp could, sure. Because it was all bone.
…Back to the matter at hand.
After confirming that Marowak's evolution hadn't left any lingering issues, Haruki finally turned his attention back to the remaining Nosepass.
Fortunately, Azuma and his team weren't entirely useless. They might have struggled with Probopass, but focusing fire on the leftover Nosepass was just barely doable.
Most of them were injured by now, but no one was seriously hurt, and their expressions finally relaxed.
In the pit, the Nosepass were half-drowned by repeated Muddy Water assaults and offered no further resistance.
At Haruki's reminder, they began capturing all of them.
This group of Pokémon had surfaced openly; both the Pokémon Center and the police station were aware of their existence.
Unless someone wanted to keep a few for themselves, the rest should be handed over to the League for centralized processing.
Of course, there would be compensation… but it was nothing compared to directly selling Pokémon.
As for Probopass, Haruki definitely planned to exchange it for points, just not yet.
A Probopass this powerful was worth holding onto. Handing it over now would only raise suspicions.
Once all the Nosepass had been captured, everyone was utterly exhausted.
No one else would be showing up at the mine today anyway. The group didn't even bother filling in the pit, they just leaned on one another and slowly made their way back.
Haruki shrugged, it wasn't his pit, after all. Otherwise, he definitely would've filled it in before leaving.
---
Back in town, Haruki followed the others to the Pokémon Center and handed over Marowak and Probopass to Nurse Joy for treatment.
Even though the captain had emphasized multiple times that his identity was secure and Haruki did trust Team Rocket's capabilities, still, the wait made him nervous.
Fortunately, Marowak didn't take long to recover and was returned shortly afterward.
Probopass, on the other hand, had taken serious damage from that final head blow. It needed to be kept overnight for further observation, and of course, that racked up extra medical fees.
But when Haruki glanced at the stoic, cool-looking Marowak, he immediately felt the cost was worth it.
Nearby, Harumi approached with Wormadam and Azuma.
Wormadam cheerfully greeted Haruki, and he returned the smile.
Looking back on it, if not for Wormadam's clutch support during the crisis, Marowak might not have made it to evolution.
Especially that second Protect, it absorbed the brunt of the assault when Cubone was at its limit.
Otherwise, if that 300-kilogram Probopass had landed full-force… Cubone's survival wouldn't have been guaranteed.
Even Marowak, usually cold and aloof, was now chatting lightly with Wormadam to express its thanks.
Classic case: the Pokémon being more reliable than the Trainer.
"Hehe, this little one always puts me at ease."
Harumi gently stroked Wormadam's head, her expression full of fondness.
"Yeah, it's a great partner."
"Haruki, Harumi and I truly owe you for everything this time!"
Azuma stepped forward. "We've just finished speaking with Nurse Joy. Turns out a research center is very interested in the Nosepass group. They want to acquire them all, and the compensation comes out to about 200,000. We want to give it all to you."
Worried Haruki might refuse, Azuma quickly added, "You handled everything, from planning to execution. And when things got dangerous, you were the first one to step up. Without you, we wouldn't have made it back unharmed. You earned this."
Azuma and the others were fully aware that Probopass's evolution was inevitable. If Haruki hadn't shown up, they would've had to face it themselves.
And by that point it wouldn't have just been about injuries.
Lives could've been lost.
So, Haruki accepted the money with full peace of mind.
200,000 Pokédollars… enough to sustain his current training expenses for half a year.
On top of that, capturing Probopass meant extra gains. With how rare it was, Team Rocket surely wouldn't be stingy with points.
Pokédollars would cover daily necessities. Points were saved for rare item exchanges.
That had always been Haruki's method: maximize value.
Now, with Marowak successfully reaching Veteran tier, Haruki was finally eligible to apply for the Mobile Intelligence Officer selection.
But on paper, having just one qualified Pokémon still felt a bit risky.
Now that he had the resources… maybe it was time to consider a third team member.