Kay stared at the defeated trainer for a long moment, his expression calm but firm. Finally, he spoke, his voice steady, "I don't have a problem with keeping you alive, but your Pokémon is still a threat to me. You could attack me later, especially since we still have a lot of time left. Your Pokémon could recover and strike when I'm not ready."
His words hit hard, and the other player's eyes widened in fear. The thought that Kay might kill his Pokémon, or even worse, kill him, filled him with panic. He had lost the battle, and now he was completely at Kay's mercy.
But Kay continued, making his terms clear. "I'll keep you alive, but as for your Pokémon, you have two choices: either I kill it now, or you hand over its Pokéball. If you attack me later, I can just return it to the Pokéball immediately."
His voice was cold but not cruel; it was simply the voice of someone who had thought it through and decided what had to be done.
The trainer was stunned by the demand. He had never heard anyone propose something like that before.
For the player, it wasn't just about winning a battle anymore; it was about survival, especially since he had already lost the game after he lost to Kay.
Kay hadn't made this decision quickly. He had thought about it long and hard, even before the battle started.
He knew that if he let Magnemite stay with its trainer freely, he could be ambushed at any moment.
In this harsh environment, where wild Pokémons and a player are targeting you, Kay's opponent would surely die without his Pokémon; that's why Kay didn't kill his Pokémon and kept it alive.
Kay didn't want to be a cause of the player's death, especially since he didn't want to kill Kay after he had thought that he had won the battle before.
The defeated player stayed silent for a long moment, thinking deeply about Kay's words.
He looked down at Magnemite's fainted body, then slowly raised his head, his face pale and resigned.
"Okay," he said softly. "I don't have any other choice." His voice was filled with bitterness, but he knew Kay was right. If he refused, he would likely lose both his life and his Pokémon.
The trainer pulled out Magnemite's Pokéball from his belt. He pressed the small button at its center, shrinking it down to a compact size, then tossed it toward Kay.
Kay caught it without hesitation and slipped it into his pocket for safekeeping. Without another word, he turned his attention back to treating his own injured Pokémon.
He sprayed more healing potions on Eevee, who was now starting to breathe more steadily, and checked on Growlithe, who had taken almost no damage.
Kay wasn't surprised that the player agreed. It was the most logical choice for survival. Even if many players wouldn't attack again after losing, Kay couldn't bet his life on assumptions.
Looking at the position of the sun and thinking about how much time he had wasted during this battle, Kay realized that it would now be almost impossible to find his target before the next player location scan.
He had lost too much precious time. Still, giving up wasn't an option. Even without a clear direction, he decided it was best to keep moving the way he had been heading before the attack.
When the next scan came, he wanted to be as close as possible to his target's location.
There was also the chance that he might find something helpful on the way that could lead him to his target's location.
It wasn't much to hope for, but right now, it was the best plan he had. So, after making sure Eevee could at least walk again, Kay gently returned it to its Pokéball to let it rest and recover fully.
Growlithe, still alert and ready to fight, stayed by his side, walking slightly ahead to guard him.
Then, before going, Kay turned to the player and said, "I hope that you don't face my generosity of keeping you and your Pokémon alive by telling other players about my two Pokémons."
Then Kay, without looking back or waiting for an answer, returned to the edge of the forest that overlooked the long stretch of beach and continued on his way again.
The salty air brushed against his face as he advanced once again.
Kay kept walking in the same direction for almost two hours, but nothing important happened during that time.
The only events that broke the silence were a few quick battles with wild Pokémons, but none of them were serious threats.
During these two hours, Eevee had fully recovered from its injuries. Seeing this, Kay decided it was time to return Growlithe to its Pokeball.
He returned Growlithe to its Pokéball and called out Eevee again to walk beside him. Kay made this choice carefully.
Many players already knew he had an Eevee, but almost no one had seen his Growlithe. After seeing how useful it was to surprise his enemy during the last battle, Kay promised himself he would keep Growlithe hidden unless he faced a truly dangerous situation where he had no other choice.
Now, Kay was sitting on a large, flat stone at the edge of the forest, his back resting lightly against a tree trunk.
His Pokédex rested in his hand, and the hand-drawn map he had worked so hard on was spread out beside him.
In his other hand, he held a pen, ready to scribble down every detail the moment the scan appeared.
He knew he had only a few seconds once the scan came, and he wanted to make sure he captured as much information as possible before it disappeared.
It didn't take long. Just a few minutes later, Kay's Pokédex let out a sharp beep, announcing a new notification.
His heart beat faster as he quickly opened it. Once again, a huge circle appeared on the screen, dotted with the numbers of the players in the game.
Without wasting a single second, Kay began scanning the map with his eyes, searching for the number 27; the number of his current target.
His eyes brightened when he found it. A small smile played across his lips. His target was close, very close, just a few kilometers away, still inside the same forest.
Kay's sharp eyes then darted around the circle, memorizing the location of other players near him.
He tried to remember every detail, every number. After just five seconds, the screen turned black again, ending the scan.
Kay immediately grabbed his pen and began writing fast, adding all the numbers and locations he had memorized onto his hand-drawn map.
He was careful not to miss anything, knowing how important even small pieces of information could be later.
While doing this, Kay noticed something strange. Only 14 players appeared in the scan instead of the original 16.
That could only mean one of two things: either two players had been eliminated, or they had found a way to hide their location.
After a moment of thought, Kay decided it was most likely the first option. Hiding your location from the organizers would be incredibly difficult, even for the best players, and deaths were expected in a competition this brutal.
Kay knew that after seeing the scan, every player would move immediately to a new location to avoid getting ambushed.
But he wasn't worried about that. He had already defeated the player who was targeting him, so he could focus completely on finding his own target without looking over his shoulder.
After carefully finishing his notes, Kay folded the map and put it securely inside his bag. Then, without wasting another moment, he jumped to his feet and started running, with Eevee keeping pace by his side.
He aimed directly toward the place where number 27 had appeared. Thankfully, Kay remembered that earlier, when he was observing the area from the cliff, he had noticed a small valley running from the sea behind the spot where his target had camped.
Kay guessed that once the player saw the scan and realized he had been located, he would move, and the most logical path to take was along that valley, away from the dangerous forest and the other players.
Running at a steady pace, it didn't take Kay long to reach the spot where number 27 had been shown.
After just about half an hour of running through the forest trails, he arrived. What he found confirmed his thoughts: there was a camp set up in the clearing.
Kay moved cautiously but quickly, examining the scene. He found a small campfire with cooked fish still sitting by it, suggesting that the player had been preparing lunch when the scan appeared.
It seemed likely the player had been fishing at the nearby valley and had rushed away after realizing he had been exposed.
Without wasting any time, Kay sprinted toward the valley, but not toward the sea. Instead, he ran in the opposite direction, deeper inland.
Kay thought that the player for sure would avoid going toward the forest, where Kay's location was shown, and also avoid going to the open space near the beach one more time.
This inland path, alongside the valley, was the safest escape route. Kay was confident that he was on the right trail now, so he continued going behind his target while trying to accelerate, not to lose his target again.
See you in the next chapter...
Drop some Power Stones...