Chapter 13: Magneton

"There, all done."

After tying the last bandage on Eevee's furry little leg, Kazuki stood up, patted his hands, and looked at his handiwork with satisfaction. The pointed ears were no longer drooping, and the brown fur had regained some of its luster.

"Eevee~"

Shaking its front leg, which was wrapped in white tape, to confirm that it was fine, Eevee raised its head and gazed at the young man with a gentle smile with its clear eyes.

"You said you'd repay me someday? There's no need for that. I just did some insignificant little things."

Kazuki ruffled Eevee's head, stroking down to its neck, and then crouched down, looking seriously into its eyes. He said:

"I won't stop you from finding the person who abandoned you. But trainers and Pokémon are family who acknowledge and cherish each other... A bond created by fate, and because of this bond, they embrace each other and face the future together."

"For your trainer, perhaps winning is the greatest wish, and those actions are not entirely incomprehensible. I just hope that you can also think clearly about what you want most, instead of living as an appendage to someone else's dream."

What do I truly want...?

Confusion appeared in its round eyes. Eevee had never thought about this question before, and naturally couldn't find an answer. But it still firmly remembered Kazuki's words.

"It's a good kid, what a shame..."

Waving goodbye to the Eevee, which occasionally looked back at him, Kazuki watched its figure gradually disappear into the depths of the cave and couldn't help but sigh.

"Aron~"

If you like it so much, why not just catch it and keep it? Why are you talking so much nonsense?

Aron, perched on his shoulder, expressed its disdain for the young man's inconsistent behavior. However, there was a strange sourness in its words.

Kazuki shook his head. "I don't like forcing others. It's her own choice. It's just a pity that we weren't meant to be..."

"Zub? Zubat!"

On the other side, Zubat suddenly let out a sharp cry. Turning his head, he saw the little guy's two purple ears standing up, trembling as if receiving some information.

"Zubat! Zubat!"

Kazuki, who had intended to soothe Zubat's restless emotions, froze when he saw it frantically gesturing with its hands while relaying the message it had received. His neck stiffened:

"What did you say?!"

...

A purple Golbat was speeding through the cave. Its body was covered in bruises and wounds, and its trembling wings looked like they would give out at any moment, causing it to crash. But it still gritted its teeth and persevered until it saw a golden arc of electricity.

Golbat tried to adjust its body to dodge, but its injuries prevented it from making such a move. The electricity instantly spread through its body, and the charred body fell with a scream.

"Magneton, return."

A red light recalled the Pokémon that had just released the electric shock. A man with a scar on his forehead, playing with a Poké Ball in his hand, emerged from the shadows.

"It sure can run... Huh? Why did it stop running?"

He kicked the unconscious Golbat, which rolled and crashed into a rock. The cruelty in the man's eyes didn't dissipate. It seemed like he needed to give it a few more kicks to vent his anger, but a cold voice stopped him:

"Take it easy, Yamada. A corpse won't fetch much money."

A man wearing square glasses appeared from behind. He was dressed smartly, and a ring with a golden cross-star pattern adorned his left ring finger. However, the chilling aura emanating from him shattered this well-dressed disguise.

"Hikaru, mind your own business! It's been so long, where's the Moon Stone?"

Yamada grinned widely, revealing two rows of disgusting yellow teeth.

"The detector has already reacted. And... you'd better be careful too. Don't forget that Takino bit the dust here."

"Takino? You mean that idiot who got taken down by a little brat? Hahahaha! To be a Pokémon Poacher and end up like that, he's a real talent. Please don't compare me to that kind of trash."

He walked over, picked up the Golbat on the ground, and casually tossed it into a cage on a cart. The iron cage was already almost full of Pokémon, not only bat Pokémon... but also a few Geodude and Ekans.

Yamada forcefully pressed Golbat's body in and slammed the cage shut. "With these, the trip wasn't in vain. Let me be clear, when we get to the old customer in Viridian City, don't even think about taking a bigger share."

"Alright, alright, I wouldn't even think of competing with you..." Annoyed by Yamada's nagging, Hikaru pushed up his glasses and replied impatiently, "Don't sell them all. Remember to leave some for the Association."

"Of course." Yamada tugged at his collar, which was clinging to his body due to sweat. A round badge attached to his necklace slipped out from inside his clothes. It bore the same cross-star pattern as the glasses-wearing man's ring.

...

Kazuki was lying behind a rock peak, holding his breath as much as possible, his ear pressed against the stone, trying to hear any useful information.

Bat Pokémon can use ultrasonic waves, which are inaudible to human ears, to transmit information to their companions over long distances. With this talent, Zubat learned that there were two bad guys in the Mt. Moon cave who were recklessly capturing its kin.

Guided by Zubat, he successfully found the two Pokémon Poachers and the sturdy cage holding a large number of Pokémon. But how to rescue them was a problem for Kazuki.

His previous victory against that Pokémon Poacher was the result of a combination of factors, and it wasn't something he could easily replicate. He definitely wouldn't be a match for those bloodthirsty guys in a head-on fight, especially since there were two of them.

It's too far... I can't hear what they're saying.

His plan to eavesdrop failed. Kazuki steadied his heartbeat, turned over, and leaned against the rock surface. His accelerated breathing didn't affect his brain's calmness. His mind began to race—

Officer Jenny probably won't arrive anytime soon. If I want to delay them, what do I have... Aron might be able to bite open that cage, but the Pokémon inside are seriously injured. Even if they're released, they won't be able to help. As for the terrain...

"Zubat!"

The extremely low cry, pressed close, reached Kazuki's ears, interrupting his thoughts.

"They split up?"

Hearing Zubat's reminder, the young man carefully poked his head out from behind the rock. 

He saw the glasses-wearing man heading deep into the cave alone, leaving only the scarred man to guard the cage.

After the footsteps completely disappeared, he waited patiently for a while longer. It seemed like he had really gone far.

If it's just one person... there might be a chance. Should I go for it?

Kazuki didn't know how long the glasses-wearing man would be gone. He had to make a decision now!

"Zubat, listen to me..."

...

Hikaru had been searching for the Moon Stone for a while. Beside the iron cage, Yamada rubbed his eyes, yawned, and couldn't help but complain about his partner's sluggishness. He then turned over, intending to find a more comfortable position.

A sound of rushing air came, and a chill on the back of his neck instantly sobered him up. One hand quickly reached into his pocket and took out a Poké Ball, while the other hand grabbed the iron staff beside him for self-defense and swung it backward.

A crescent-shaped blade of air sliced directly onto the iron staff, leaving a shallow white mark on the surface.

"Air Cutter?" Yamada looked up at the direction the attack had come from. A Zubat was hovering in the air, its fangs bared, looking quite ferocious.

But this level of intimidation was clearly not enough to scare off a Pokémon Poacher. A smile, made particularly hideous by his scar, appeared on Yamada's face:

"I thought all the Pokémon nearby had been cleared out. I didn't expect there to be a straggler... Magneton."

The peculiar creature, formed by magnets and screws, was released and slowly floated up. The eyes on its three spherical bodies focused on the enemy's location.

"Aim at it and use Thun—"

"Hei, Bite!"

Wha— 

Yamada was shocked and immediately turned around. He saw a small black dog rushing towards him from a distance.

"Magneton! Thunderbolt that spot!"

Magneton's magnets sparked with electricity, and then it fired a golden arc of light. But the black dog seemed to have been prepared. It immediately changed direction and hid behind a nearby rock. The electric current missed completely.

"A Poochyena from the Hoenn region... Hmph, I wonder which friend is looking for trouble with me."

Yamada wouldn't be foolish enough to mistake that voice for a hallucination. His gaze shifted to the layers of rock peaks where the sound had come from. The trainer who had issued the command was hidden somewhere.

Unable to find him for the moment, his eyes glanced to the other side. The Zubat had already flapped its wings and retreated a long distance. In this situation, it would be difficult for Magneton's attack to hit it.

Is it also one of them? So the shout just now was just to divert my attention and help Zubat escape. After all, the first sneak attack already tested my alertness. They don't think they can sneak up close enough to me?

"Interesting." Although the enemy's true identity was still unknown, the other party's style was clearly not that of those pampered, theoretical trainers. It was more like those hounds of the League and his own colleagues.

"Then come out, all of you!"

Yamada's mind wasn't as crude as his muscles. He didn't underestimate his opponent. He directly released all the Pokémon he had—

Red light flashed, and three more Pokémon appeared.

"Besides Magneton, there's also Fearow, Beedrill, and Bellsprout... Except for Bellsprout, the Pokémon are all evolved. Troublesome."

To avoid exposing his position, Kazuki didn't peek out from behind the rock. He relied on Zubat, who had an overview of the situation, to tell him what was happening. He hadn't expected that his ability to understand Pokémon language could be used in this way.

But knowing this information didn't make the situation much more favorable. Counting Zubat, they were four against five. They were inferior in both strength and numbers. To make matters worse, the Pokémon Poacher was walking towards his hiding place, seemingly intending to find him actively.

And right now, the only way to turn the situation around...

Yamada suddenly stopped. He frowned and looked around. Countless rustling sounds, like the flapping of wings, were gradually converging towards this place.