"Seismitoad territory... in the muddy area southeast of the Lake of Outrage? Not bad."
Murmuring to himself, Shiro pulled out a Poké Ball and released Corvisquire. With a flap of its powerful wings, the bird lifted him into the air and carried him toward the lake's southeastern edge.
As they ascended, the rugged brown terrain of Giant's Cap quickly fell away behind them. Below, the green fields grew increasingly lush, and more wild trainers came into view, traveling northward from the south.
Most of them looked worn out. Each trainer was accompanied by at least one loyal Pokémon, and they all kept a cautious distance. Over ten meters apart, at minimum.
"They've been driven out of the Stony Wilderness..." Shiro looked toward the south. Amid the crisscrossing rocks and dirt, he could still catch glimpses of water.
The current unfriendly environment had already made the Stony Wilderness unsuitable for trainers to live or battle. Now, with those hunters actively forcing people out, staying there had become impossible.
Some of the more alert trainers on the ground glanced up at Shiro flying overhead, but most only took a quick look before hurrying on their way. Any trainer who could soar across the wild like this was bound to be powerful, and Corvisquire's imposing presence made it even less wise to pick a fight.
Before long, the bird flew past the small grove near Lake of Outrage, gliding over some low shrubs before reaching the southern side of the woods.
The ground here was uneven and riddled with deep potholes, forming a natural border between the Stony Wilderness and the Lake of Outrage. Being so close to the lake, the region had gradually turned into Seismitoad territory.
After a long period of waterlogged transformation, the whole area now resembled a dark brown swamp.
"Palpitoad and Seismitoad... a full toad colony?" Shiro landed at the edge of the swamp and started scanning for any signs of blue-skinned toads. He couldn't shake the nagging concern that the hunters might have captured them too.
If he didn't find any wild Pokémon this time either, he wouldn't be able to hold back. He'd have to head into Stony Wilderness himself and see what those people were really up to.
Even Macro Cosmos hunting teams usually only captured the strongest members of a species and left the weaker ones behind to keep the population going. If they caught all of them, there'd be nothing left in the wild next time.
And these hunters from outside the region… they just might be that reckless.
In Shiro's line of sight, some parts of the swamp water had turned grayish-green and were bubbling now and then. One look, and he could tell, the poison sacs of the Palpitoad had tainted it.
'Bubbles… that's it! The bubbles!'
He still hadn't seen a single Palpitoad, but now he had a guess. These Pokémon liked to hide deep in the murky water, and those bubbles were probably coming from them.
"Let's try it. Corvisquire, use Air Cutter at the base of those bubbles," Shiro commanded.
The bird immediately rose up. With a powerful sweep of its wings, streams of air surged forward. In an instant, the wind sharpened into glowing white blades, piercing the muddy surface right where a bubble had popped.
Boom!
The murky water split open, revealing a Palpitoad resting at the bottom. Startled by the disturbance, it shot its eyes open, but before it could leap away, the wind blades struck it hard.
"Toaddd!" It cried out in pain. Mud splashed over it as it sank back into the swamp. Shiro clearly saw a deep gash carved into its side by the slicing wind.
Palpitoad had a long, limbless shape. Its body was water-blue, with a pale yellow underbelly. Several icy blue, lump-like growths covered by black patches were scattered across its body. The largest one sat in the middle of its head.
They were known to emit disorienting sound waves strong enough to induce headaches in their prey. Once weakened, they'd strike with their long, sticky tongues, binding and capturing their target.
Now that Shiro had confirmed the Palpitoad were hiding beneath the swamp, he looked around again. There were bubbles rising all across the area. This definitely was their habitat.
"Perfect," he mumbled, pulling out a Poké Ball and releasing his Vibrava.
The Pokémon looked like a giant dragonfly with a dusty yellow body. Its wings, tail, and eyes were all green.
Although Vibrava had evolved quite some time ago, it had only trained in the company building or casually sparred with Growlithe. It had never experienced a real battle.
Much like when it was a Trapinch, it still wasn't very lively, a little sluggish, even. Coming out of its Poké Ball, it hovered beside Shiro in a daze, staring at him with its green compound eyes, as if unsure of what it was supposed to do.
After a moment's thought, Shiro decided to call out another Pokémon first.
"Haunter, go check the bottom of the swamp and bring up a Palpitoad with average strength. Ideally one that's just reached Advanced-level."
"Haauunterr!"
With a giddy screech, Haunter dove straight into the swamp. It loved getting assigned tasks or encountering anything fun, especially popping out to give other Pokémon a scare.
As the Ghost-type disappeared beneath the surface, Shiro turned back to Vibrava.
"Get ready to use Dragon Tail."
"Viiib…" Vibrava nodded blankly, but after glancing around, it couldn't tell where the target was. Soon, It began spinning in circles, chasing its own tail.
Just then, Haunter burst out of the swamp, cackling mischievously.
"Haunhaunhaun…"
Whatever it had done, it worked. The muddy water suddenly erupted in a burst of gray-green sludge, and a furious Palpitoad lunged out, spraying a stream of Bubble Beam from its mouth.
The attack was meant to slow its target down, but only if it hit.
Haunter simply tilted its body and dodged effortlessly, then drifted back to Shiro's side and vanished from sight.
"Vibrava, Dragon Tail." Shiro ordered again.
This time the target was clear, and Vibrava had already been told to prepare. It instantly turned into a flash of emerald green light, charging straight at the Palpitoad that had just leapt onto dry land. Under the Pokémon's confused and puzzled gaze, the glowing Dragon Tail slammed into it with brutal force, sending it flying with a loud wail.
This one was only level 31. Though it was not far from evolving, it still couldn't compare to the level 40 Vibrava.
Dragon Tail nearly knocked it out cold. It crashed back into the swamp with a splash and didn't resurface.
Moments later, something seemed to stir among the Pokémon colony below. The bubbles on the surface gradually thinned, and the murky water began surging rapidly toward the land where Shiro stood.
"They're all coming out, huh…" he muttered, sweeping his gaze across the area. Glimmers of light began appearing one after another—Tympole, Palpitoad and even two level 40 Seismitoad, all moving in.
Before the colony could fully gather and launch their assault, Shiro raised his hand, giving a sharp command.
"Vibrava! Use Earth Power! Target the swamp directly ahead!"
The moment he finished speaking, Vibrava, now fully in sync with battle commands, dove downward in a blur of motion.
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