Faced with the barrage of razor-sharp leaves, the trainers could only command their Pokémon to hold on. In their efforts to protect their trainers, many Pokémon were slashed and battered by the Leaf Storms.
Thanks to Monferno's earlier standout performance, it was immediately targeted by the Victreebel swarm. Engulfed in the incoming storm, it held out with Flame Wheel for a while, but eventually was overwhelmed and hurled aside by the relentless onslaught.
Rex wasted no time. He released his ace Pokémon—his Totem Swellow.
"Swellow, use Hyper Beam!"
Now that Swellow's totem aura had fully recovered, it soared through the sky with a faint golden shimmer, glowing brilliantly under the sunlight.
"SKRAAA!"
With a sharp screech, Swellow swooped over the Victreebel swarm, charged up a Hyper Beam in its beak, and blasted it downward in sweeping arcs.
In mere moments, numerous Victreebel and Weepinbell collapsed under the devastating energy blasts.
The swarm, reeling from heavy casualties, momentarily pulled back. Some began launching counterattacks in an attempt to neutralize the airborne threat, aiming waves of Leaf Storms at Swellow in hopes of grounding it.
But Swellow was far too fast. Before the leaves could even get close, it darted out of range, striking again from a different angle with ruthless efficiency.
Suddenly, the Victreebel and Weepinbell beneath began glowing. They seemed to completely ignore the ongoing bombardment from Swellow—ignoring even their fallen comrades around them.
"They're using Solar Beam!"
A retreating trainer beside Rex gulped audibly, muttering in disbelief.
No one could blame him. Solar Beam, when fully charged, packed incredible power. And with today's blazing sun shortening the charge time, its strength would be amplified even further.
Rex squinted up at the glaring sunlight. A bright, cloudless day—the perfect conditions for the Grass-type onslaught now being unleashed.
Dozens of Solar Beams were nearly ready to fire, and even Rex couldn't help but worry. If it were only a few beams, he trusted Swellow could handle them. But dozens? Even a champion-level Pokémon might fall to that kind of barrage.
"BOOM!"
The volley launched all at once. A skyful of Solar Beams screamed toward Swellow's position.
Reacting instantly, Swellow pushed its speed to the limit. So fast it seemed to split into multiple afterimages, it weaved and darted through the barrage like a shadow clone.
Beams crashed into those illusory duplicates, shattering them one by one. On the ground, the trainers watched with bated breath, terrified the next impact would strike the real Swellow.
This Victreebel swarm was far more dangerous than anyone had anticipated. If not for Rex, they'd probably already have broken ranks and fled—leaving the train and its passengers to fend for themselves.
But Swellow didn't let them down. It slipped through the bombardment unscathed and even used the chaos to down several more Victreebel and Weepinbell.
Undeterred by the failure of their last attack, the swarm began charging Solar Beams again, determined to bring down their foe.
"Do you know why the Victreebel are acting like this?" Rex asked a nearby uniformed trainer, seeing that Swellow had successfully pulled the swarm's attention.
This young man—Snow—had once pursued the dream of becoming a League Champion. But the furthest he ever reached was the round of 32 in a regional tournament.
Knowing his limits, he had stopped his journey and instead joined the railway company, becoming a resident train security trainer.
Five years had passed since then. He'd found love, started a family, and had a young daughter at home.
During his career, Snow had faced many incidents with wild Pokémon blocking the tracks—including full swarms—but nothing like today.
Without the help of passengers like Rex, they would've been overwhelmed already.
Snow had learned from headquarters why the Victreebel were behaving so erratically.
"Yesterday, one of our trains passed through this very stretch. The operator didn't notice a Weepinbell playing on the tracks. It was hit and flung aside. This swarm must be trying to avenge it."
Rex frowned. "What happened to the Weepinbell?"
"No one knows. The train never stopped. If we hadn't been blocked today, no one would've known what happened. The whole thing would've been buried."
Snow's voice held restrained anger. As a trainer, he found the operator's negligence unacceptable—especially now that it had put so many lives in danger.
Still, they had bigger problems. For now, they just needed to hold out until reinforcements arrived from headquarters.
Rex remained silent. He imagined the impact: a Weepinbell struck by a speeding train, left untreated. Even with Pokémon resilience, such trauma might have been fatal.
Now it made sense. The Victreebel weren't just angry—they were grieving. Their fury was driven by vengeance.
But Rex couldn't allow them to take that rage out on innocent passengers.
Luckily, Snow confirmed that backup was on the way. They just had to hold the line a little longer.
And with Swellow dominating the skies, Rex was determined to make sure they did.
(End of Chapter)