Chapter 39: Don’t Hold Back

"Marowak, Screech!"

Even under intense pressure, Marowak immediately scratched at its skull.

A piercing screech rang out without warning, and the Death Wind Pokémon all instinctively froze for a moment.

Up in the sky nearby, a ripple of energy suddenly flickered, instantly detected by the ever-alert Beldum.

Iron Head!

"Belbel!"

Beldum became a silver flash, slamming hard into the source of the disturbance.

"MISMA!"

A shrill, wailing scream echoed. A Pokémon wearing a witch's hat appeared next to Beldum, its elegant appearance warped with a sinister, malicious aura.

"Mismagius… I knew it! Marowak, Smack Down. Skiploom, Leech Seed!"

The moment Mismagius took critical damage, all the death Pokémon immediately stopped moving. The red light vanished from their eyes.

So when Haruki gave the order, Marowak and Skiploom moved without hesitation, Smack Down and Leech Seed fired in quick succession and both struck true.

Beldum followed up with another Iron Head, brutally slamming Mismagius into the ground.

"Don't hold back, keep going!"

Haruki's eyes were cold. Just because Mismagius was down didn't mean he was letting it off the hook.

One glance at the endless tide of corpses surrounding them made it clear how evil this Mismagius had been.

And among that army of the dead, Haruki had already spotted human bodies.

By the looks of it, Mismagius had turned every living being it encountered into part of its undead horde.

Bulldoze, Iron Head, Toxic […]

Even Skiploom, normally non-aggressive, held nothing back now.

Faced with a creature this twisted, no one dared let it escape.

Minutes later, Mismagius had been blasted into scattered fragments, completely destroyed with no chance of revival.

But within the debris, a dark purple crystal stood out. It remained completely intact despite the relentless barrage of attacks.

Haruki hesitated for a moment, then cautiously collected and stored it.

'I'll find an expert to examine this later,' he thought to himself.

After eliminating Mismagius, the one human and three Pokémon rested within the Grassy Terrain for a long while, recovering their strength with plenty of Honey.

What had just happened was so overwhelming that, even now, it still felt like a dream.

Haruki could only feel one thing: immense relief.

Relief that Marowak had been reliable enough to stand firm under pressure, holding the front line even to the point of exhaustion.

Relief that all the Psychic-type Pokéblocks he had fed Beldum had sharpened its instincts, allowing it to detect Mismagius at the critical moment.

Relief that he had caught Skiploom, who had sensed danger early, initiated Aromatherapy immediately, and carried them through the fight with its stellar support and endurance.

If even one of those elements had been missing, they likely wouldn't have made it out alive.

And to the Pokémon, Haruki -though he seemed the weakest- was their spiritual core.

By using Screech to disorient the enemy, he had created the opening Beldum needed to locate Mismagius.

To them, that was the decisive moment of the battle.

Once they had recovered, Haruki wanted nothing more than to leave this place.

But before going, they followed the direction from which the undead horde had come, advancing a bit farther.

Then, they saw it: a murky, foul-smelling pool of stagnant water.

It was here that Mismagius had kept its army of the dead.

Haruki couldn't help but think… if he hadn't noticed the oddities in time and had instead stayed immersed in the illusion of catching a pseudo-legendary hatchling Goomy…

He wouldn't have needed to fight at all. Just falling into that pool would have meant total annihilation.

Just thinking about it made Haruki shudder.

Still, if he just left it alone… 'Wouldn't a new "evil" Pokémon eventually emerge here again?'

As Haruki pondered, he subconsciously began measuring the pond's size.

Depth: unknown. Width: about 10 meters. If they buried it...

"Marowak, this next part's gonna be tough on you."

"Maro?"

To prevent another Mismagius-like Pokémon from ever rising again, Haruki decided to return this place to dust; to bury the pond completely.

And so, one human and three Pokémon began their work.

Marowak was the main force.

It had to sync with the earth, channel Ground-type energy, and bury the unearthed corpses right where they were.

Then came Skiploom, scattering grass seeds across the tilled soil before activating Grassy Terrain, entrusting the earth to quietly absorb everything.

Beldum's job was to patrol the area for gaps, ensuring that every corpse was properly laid to rest.

Haruki, meanwhile, stayed a bit farther off, preparing gentle-flavored meals for his three Pokémon and taking care of logistics.

---

This effort ended up taking an entire week.

Fortunately, with Skiploom's Aromatherapy and a stockpile of Honey, all three Pokémon stayed upbeat and energized. Without that, Haruki wouldn't have dared push them through such a task.

It could've damaged their spirits.

When the final trace of black water had been buried and vibrant green grass began to grow, both Haruki and the three Pokémon finally let out a breath of relief.

It was over.

Haruki looked up. The sky was crystal clear, the sun blazed overhead.

Perfect weather to disinfect the place.

With everything finished, Haruki felt his body lighten. That sense of weight and dread had vanished.

Even the Pokémon were all smiling now.

Skiploom snuggled up to Haruki, eyes full of trust and admiration.

This was a level of affection Haruki had never experienced before.

He gently pinched one of Skiploom's sensitive ears, then patted Marowak and Beldum one by one.

"Let's go!"

"Ma-Ski-Bel!" x3

The journey continued. But because they'd been delayed for quite a while, Haruki's supply stock had taken a major hit.

With no choice, Haruki followed the map to the nearest town for a restock before moving on.

When he saw the first wisp of chimney smoke, he recalled Beldum as usual.

Thinking for a moment, Haruki also recalled Marowak, leaving only Skiploom -the most harmless, innocent-looking companion- at his side.

The town was called Claybank. The entire settlement specialized in making clay bricks and pottery. Seeing an outsider like Haruki drew plenty of curiosity; people peeked out to get a better look.

Haruki picked an elderly woman with a kind face to ask for directions, and soon arrived at the town's only general store.

Inside, a group of 12-13 year-old kids were gathered around an old TV.

A Pokémon battle was on: Infernape versus Torterra.

No one noticed Haruki's arrival, and he wasn't in a hurry either. He simply watched the match alongside them.

Only after Torterra landed a decisive Stone Edge and defeated Infernape did the children sigh and get up in disappointment.

It was obvious they'd been rooting for the flashier big brother.

"A-ah! Who are you… are you a Pokémon?!"

One girl, whose mouth worked faster than her brain, spoke up and Haruki couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm not a Pokémon. I came to buy some supplies."

"Ah… y-you want to buy… what?"

The girl blushed, stumbling over her words, but her eyes couldn't help drifting toward Skiploom.