Unfortunately for Weavile, Blaziken didn't give it any chance to continue the fight. With a single leap, it closed the distance and landed another blazing kick just as Weavile struggled to stand.
Its eyes rolled back, and it collapsed—completely unconscious, its earlier ferocity gone.
"Damn it! You bastards, go to hell!"
Seeing his prized Weavile defeated, Gree let out a despairing roar. But just like Cole before him, he didn't get the chance to pull the trigger—Gallade had already teleported to his side and paralyzed him with Psychic, locking his body in place.
Rex calmly walked over, retrieved Weavile's Poké Ball from Gree's belt, returned the fainted Pokémon, and disabled the ball to prevent any chance of escape.
Then, like with Cole, Rex tightly bound Gree with rope and tossed him next to his accomplice.
"You did great, Blaziken. Let Jumpluff patch you up."
Rex glanced at Blaziken's injuries—especially the deep claw marks from Weavile's last attack. The damage was serious, but with their team's expert field medic Jumpluff on the job, Blaziken would be back on its feet in no time.
With the battle over, Rex contacted Yasin, the apprentice Ranger he'd met on the train, and explained the situation. He hoped Yasin could alert the Ranger Corps and arrange for the captured poachers to be taken into custody—Rex and his friends still had a mission of their own.
Yasin didn't hesitate. He passed on their location to his superiors, and the Ranger Corps quickly dispatched a nearby team to collect Gree and Cole.
"Are the Pokémon they captured okay?" Rex asked Mai as he approached the cages where the stolen Pokémon were being held.
"Most have only minor injuries," Mai replied. "But a few are in bad shape. Right now they're all extremely frightened, so it's best to leave them in the cages a little longer."
"Once Jumpluff finishes healing Blaziken, it can tend to them too. Once they're treated, we can release them."
Mai spoke with calm experience—this wasn't her first time handling such a situation.
"No problem. Jumpluff's pretty quick."
Rex glanced at the caged Pokémon—most were huddled in corners, their eyes full of fear and distrust.
Once Blaziken was treated, Jumpluff moved on to heal the captured wild Pokémon. Afterward, Rex used a key he'd taken from Gree to unlock the cages.
At first, none of the Pokémon dared to move, even with the doors open. Only after Korrina and Mai gently coaxed them did they tentatively step out.
But Rex's attention wasn't on them. It was focused entirely on a lone Carbink locked in a separate cage.
This was the one his own Carbink had sensed.
As the pink gem atop his Carbink's head filled with radiant energy, its psychic abilities had surged—expanding its aura and perception far beyond its usual limits.
That was how it had sensed the other Carbink's plight and led Rex here. It had wanted its Trainer to save a fellow member of its kind.
And they hadn't let it down.
Once the captured Carbink was healed, it bounced happily over to Rex's Carbink, the two immediately chattering in their own crystalline language.
Though Rex couldn't understand them, he could tell from the body language and tone that the rescued Carbink held his in high esteem—almost like a leader.
He'd seen this before with the Totem Gumshoos in Alola. The way the smaller ones looked at the Totem was identical.
Rex wasn't sure if it was because of his Carbink's strength or the aura it had begun to radiate—something akin to a Totem's dominance. But it was clear that his Carbink had started to take on the role of a leader among its species.
"The Pokémon are all gone now. Once the Rangers pick up the poachers, we can get back to looking for the Diamond Domain," Mai said, gesturing toward the now-empty cages.
Though some wild Pokémon had paused to bow in thanks before fleeing, most had dashed into the woods without looking back—wary even of their rescuers.
"Good. It shouldn't delay us too much."
The only Pokémon that remained was the rescued Carbink, still chatting away with Rex's own. It didn't seem in any hurry to leave, and the others let them be.
Meanwhile, Gree and Cole had started bickering loudly. If they hadn't been so tightly bound, they probably would've come to blows.
Since Blaziken had knocked out Gree's Weavile, Cole seemed to have lost all fear of him. Gone was the earlier deference—now he was shouting back at every insult.
Rex and the others didn't bother stopping them. Honestly, it was kind of entertaining watching the two poachers go at it.
Before long, the rumble of an approaching vehicle cut through the arguing. A rugged pickup truck rolled into camp, driven by a scruffy man with a thick beard.
"Thanks for taking these two down," the man said as he stepped out. "We've had them on the wanted list for a long time—especially Gree. Slippery bastard's slipped through our fingers more than once."
The man introduced himself as Chuck from the Ranger Corps. After exchanging a few words, he loaded Gree and Cole into the truck and drove off.
As for the rest of the poachers' supplies? Chuck said they'd clean it up later—but anything Rex and the others wanted to take as spoils was fair game.