Chapter 210: Successfully Captured

Time passed quickly.

For the next three days, the shiny Combee continued to visit Vileplume daily to gather nectar.

Each visit lasted a bit longer than the last, and it even began playing with the Oddish who buried themselves in the dirt.

By now, it had fully bonded with Vileplume and the Oddish.

Only at night would it reluctantly say goodbye and return to the hive—a habit deeply ingrained by instinct.

Bzzz...

Combee had returned once again to its colony.

But then, a sudden thought struck it—why had it come back here at all?

Even if it returned, it wasn't able to integrate into its old colony. In that case, wouldn't it have been better not to return at all? Wouldn't staying with Vileplume have been much better?

After spending time together, Combee had fully accepted Vileplume and the Oddish clan. Their shared experiences often played vividly in its mind.

No... I want to leave this place. I want to go back to Vileplume...

Suddenly, Combee shot into the air.

Its gaze turned toward the place where Vileplume and the others lived. With determination in its heart, it flew swiftly in that direction.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Vileplume was leading its Oddish tribe through the woods.

Moonlight bathed the Oddish, making their bodies glow softly with a phosphorescent shimmer.

Oddish are nocturnal by nature. They grow by absorbing moonlight, and nightfall is when they are most active.

"Plume~"

Vileplume hummed cheerfully, walking at the front of the group.

Just a moment ago, it had sensed another Oddish tribe nearby. Following their traces, it now sought to bring them back to Fruitvale Village to live together.

But just as Vileplume felt it was getting close to its kin, a sudden series of high-pitched squeaks echoed from the distance.

Its expression changed immediately. That sound—it knew it all too well. It was the cry of their natural enemies: the Rattata!

"Plume!"

Vileplume picked up the pace.

Bursting out of the forest, it arrived at an open meadow.

In the meadow, a large number of Oddish were huddled together, trembling.

Surrounding them was a pack of Rattata, led by a Raticate!

This scene was all too familiar—Rattata hunting Oddish.

Vileplume had once been in this exact situation, fleeing desperately under attack, until it met its current Trainer.

But now, everything had changed. It possessed the strength to protect its kin!

"Plume!" With a roar, Vileplume drew the attention of every Pokémon in the clearing.

The leader of the Oddish group was a Gloom. It stared blankly at the arriving Vileplume, momentarily unable to process what was happening.

Though it had never met Vileplume before, it could sense the familiar aura of a kindred spirit.

Vileplume stood like a true monarch, and an instinctive sense of reverence rose in Gloom's heart.

The Raticate and its Rattata minions turned their eyes to Vileplume. The cunning Raticate's expression grew serious—it too could sense the power radiating from Vileplume.

But Vileplume showed no intention of holding back. With a flick of its hand, countless pink petals surged forth.

Seeing this, the Raticate and its pack charged without hesitation.

At that very moment, the pink petals launched like razor blades, slicing through the Rattata.

In an instant, the Rattata were flung into the air, crashing to the ground in all directions.

The Raticate, however, was much stronger. It charged directly at Vileplume.

Vileplume lowered its head, using the petals atop it to block Raticate's attack.

Taking advantage of the moment, a fine mist of pale blue powder burst from its petals, engulfing the Raticate—Sleep Powder.

The Raticate stumbled as it landed, swaying dizzily from the overwhelming effect.

Seeing this, Vileplume's eyes grew cold. Poison-type energy gathered around it, and it unleashed Acid.

The toxic attack struck Raticate directly, and a horrid hissing filled the air as the poison corroded its flesh, accompanied by its agonized roars.

Raticate stumbled back, its eyes filled with terror from the searing pain.

But Vileplume showed no mercy, continuing to bombard it with Acid, dissolving its skin.

Seeing their leader suffer, the cowardly Rattata were paralyzed with fear. Without a hint of loyalty, they scattered and fled.

As time passed, Raticate's cries grew weaker until they disappeared entirely.

"Plume~" Vileplume exhaled forcefully, then turned to face the Oddish.

All of them stood frozen in place, eyes wide in shock at the battle they had just witnessed.

To them, the powerful Raticate had been defeated by Vileplume in mere moments—utterly crushed without suspense!

After a brief moment of awe, the Oddish erupted in cheers, welcoming the arrival of their new leader!

Meanwhile, in the forest, Combee was still searching for Vileplume.

When it arrived at the area where Vileplume had previously lived, it found the place empty.

Panic gripped Combee, and it began frantically searching for Vileplume and the Oddish through the forest.

Regret filled its heart. If only it had stayed... why had it left in the first place?

It had to find Vileplume—this time, it would never leave again. But where had Vileplume gone?

Combee flitted through the forest, farther and farther from the Vespiquen's territory. Long hours of flying had exhausted it.

Perched in a tree, a Starly blended into the branches.

Bzzz!

Combee's orange-red figure flying by immediately caught Starly's attention.

The bird opened its sharp eyes and silently took flight, locking onto Combee.

In this forest, Combee's bright orange body was incredibly conspicuous—almost impossible to lose track of.

Combee was truly exhausted and just wanted to rest for a bit.

But in the next moment, a sudden gust of wind swept toward it, forcing Combee to dodge in panic.

The wind sent Combee tumbling to one side.

As it steadied itself, it saw a Starly appear before it, staring hungrily.

Starly!

Fear filled Combee's eyes.

It had seen these predators before, swooping into its hive to hunt. It had watched companions fall prey to them. Starly terrified it.

Whoosh whoosh!

The Starly flapped its wings and lunged.

Panicked, Combee frantically beat its wings to escape—it just wanted to flee, as far away as possible!

But Starly was faster. In a blink, it caught up and slammed Combee to the ground.

Then, it dove down, talons pressing on Combee's body, ready to enjoy its meal.

'Is this how I'm going to die?'

Combee was filled with unwillingness. In its final moment, it thought of the sweetness Vileplume had given it.

Silently, Combee awaited the end—but strangely, the pain never came.

It opened its eyes with effort—and saw that Starly, still flapping its wings, was frozen in place.

Then, a white figure appeared nearby, bringing with it an icy chill.

"Lass~"

Froslass had her hand on Starly, freezing it solid.

After stopping the attack, she released her grip. The terrified Starly flapped wildly and fled.

Combee, though unsure what had happened, knew it was safe.

"Combee, are you alright?"

At that moment, Aven stepped out from behind a tree, visibly relieved.

He had been resting in the trees near Vileplume's old clearing and had sensed Combee's arrival, so he quietly followed.

He suspected Combee was looking for Vileplume, so he trailed it silently—only to find it in danger.

Thankfully, Froslass had acted in time. Otherwise, all his planning would have gone to waste.

Finding a Combee that willingly left its hive wasn't easy. And this shiny Combee had already formed a strong bond with Vileplume.

Bzzz!

The shiny Combee rose into the air, studying the sudden appearance of Aven.

Then, it saw Froslass float to Aven's side, her three faces full of curiosity.

"You're looking for Vileplume, aren't you?"

"If you want to find her, come with me."

Aven patted the Mightyena standing beside him and turned to head deeper into the forest.

With its powerful sense of smell, Mightyena had already locked onto Vileplume's location thanks to the tracking technique Aven had taught it.

Combee hesitated, but upon hearing Vileplume's name, its pure heart made the decision to follow.

At that moment, Vileplume was gathering more Oddish. There were now over 400, including two Gloom.

Vileplume was quite satisfied—this was enough to form two full squads, which meant the initial stage of Aven's task was complete.

With this done, it planned to return to find Aven.

But before it had gone far, it saw Aven walking toward it—with a familiar figure by his side.

Bzzz!

Overjoyed to see Vileplume again, Combee immediately flew over to greet her.

Finally! It had found her!

Combee swore it would never leave again. All it wanted was to stay by Vileplume's side!

(End of Chapter)