Kay found himself in a very difficult situation. Both of his Pokémons, Eevee and Growlithe, were completely exhausted after the long and intense battles.
They had fought bravely, but now they couldn't continue fighting. Meanwhile, outside the hollow, Kay knew that more enemy Pokémons were waiting.
He could hear movement, rustling leaves, and the occasional buzzing sound coming from the entrance of the hollow.
The enemy Pokémons were clearly preparing to attack again. Yet, despite the danger, Kay wasn't panicking.
He had already noticed something during the previous battle that gave him a glimmer of hope and possibly a way to survive.
While Eevee was fighting against the powerful Leavanny and Growlithe was defending against the swarm of Sewaddles and Swadloons, Kay had seen something strange.
One of the Swadloons had jumped in the way of a flying Ember attack, letting itself get burned just to prevent the flame from going deeper inside the hollow.
That odd behavior had stuck in Kay's mind. Why would a Pokémon throw itself into an attack to protect some dark corner of the hollow?
It didn't make sense… unless they were trying to hide or protect something very important.
At the time, Kay didn't have the luxury of investigating it. He had to focus on surviving the battle.
But now that his Pokémons were too tired to fight and more enemies were likely to come, he knew this was the perfect moment to follow up on that clue. If his guess was right, it might be the key to escaping from this dangerous dungeon.
Without wasting time, Kay returned both Eevee and Growlithe into their Pokéballs to give them the opportunity to have some rest.
Then he slowly made his way deeper into the hollow, walking quietly but carefully. The tunnel narrowed as he moved forward, and the light dimmed.
After a few seconds, he saw a strange pile of large, thick leaves stacked in a corner. They looked different from the others, almost like they were hiding something.
As Kay stepped closer, reaching out to move the leaves aside, a sudden danger came from the shadows.
Razor-sharp leaves flew toward him with great speed. Kay barely managed to dodge them in time, diving to the side just before they could cut him.
Breathing heavily, he looked toward the source of the attack, and what he saw completely shocked him.
There, in the dark corner of the hollow, was another Leavanny. But this one was clearly different; it was bigger than the normal Leavannys.
Its body was weak, covered in deep injuries, and it was struggling to stay upright. Kay could see that it had lost a lot of its strength.
But what really caught his attention were the Pokémon corpses surrounding it. On one side, there were eight dead Leavannys, and on the other side, two large, muscular Pokémons that Kay quickly recognized immediately: Zangooses.
Seeing the scene in front of him, everything finally made sense to Kay. This weakened Leavanny wasn't just any Leavanny; it was the queen of this nest.
The Pokémons outside weren't attacking Kay out of pure aggression. They were protecting their queen.
The reason they had fought so fiercely, even sacrificing themselves, was because of what had happened here.
From the looks of it, those two Zangooses had invaded the nest some time ago. Kay guessed that they had probably entered the hollow to hunt and eat Pokémon eggs, a cruel but not uncommon behavior for wild Zangooses.
But they hadn't expected the Leavanny nest to be so well guarded. The eight Leavannys lying dead near the queen were likely the elite guards, her strongest defenders.
They had fought with all their might to protect her, and in the end, even though the Zangooses had managed to kill them all and seriously injure the queen, they had also died in the battle.
Kay slowly turned away from the eggs, careful not to make any sudden movements. He didn't want to provoke another attack, especially from a Pokémon this strong. As he looked closely at the queen, he checked her status screen:
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Leavanny (Queen)
Potential: Deep Red
Stage: Inferior Gold (*)
Moveset: String Shot, Razor Leaf, Buzz Bug, Sunny Day, X-Scissor, Leaf Blade, Swords Dance, Air Slash, Discharge
---
Kay's eyes widened as he read the stats. This Leavanny was powerful, far beyond any Pokémon he had faced so far.
The Deep Red potential meant she had extraordinary natural talent, and being in the Inferior Gold stage put her well above both of his Pokémons.
No wonder she had survived such a brutal attack from those two strong Zangooses. Even though she was badly injured, her presence was still intimidating.
The list of her moves was impressive too, with a mix of fast strikes and dangerous cutting techniques.
Kay couldn't help but respect the courage of this queen. She had lost all her defenders, but she had stood her ground and protected her home with everything she had.
Kay walked quickly but carefully away from the injured queen Leavanny. He didn't want to stay near her until another wave of Pokémons entered the hollow.
He had already seen too much. Now that he understood what was happening inside the hollow, he didn't need to check what was under those big leaves anymore.
He was almost sure they were hiding Leavanny eggs. From what he saw earlier in the battle; the strange moment where one of the Swadloons had jumped into the path of the Ember attack, letting itself burn just to stop the flame from going deeper into the hollow.
After seeing that strange behavior and discovering the injured queen and the bodies of her guards and the two Zangooses, he knew for certain now that there were eggs near the queen.
When Kay reached the entrance of the hollow again, he called out his Growlithe from its Pokéball.
His plan was already forming in his mind, even if he didn't like it. He looked down at his Pokémon and gave it a command.
"Growlithe, use Ember. Aim toward the back of the cave, where it's dark, but not directly at the queen."
Growlithe looked confused and nervous. It didn't want to hurt a weak Pokémon, especially one that wasn't attacking.
But Kay could see his partner's doubt and said again, more calmly this time, "Just near her. Not on her."
Growlithe let out a low bark, then turned toward the back of the hollow. It fired several small Ember attacks, just enough to light flames in the area near the nest.
Kay's heart was heavy. He didn't like doing this, but he knew that it was his only way to escape.
If he didn't act now, more enemy waves would come, and his tired Pokémons couldn't fight anymore. The risk was too high.
Once Kay saw that the Ember had landed near the nest and that small fires were starting, he didn't wait.
He turned to Growlithe and returned it into its Pokéball. Then he dashed quickly toward the entrance of the hollow.
Near the entrance, he found a small hole in the wall and squeezed his body into it. It was tight and uncomfortable, but there was just enough space for him to hide.
He stayed completely still. A few seconds later, he heard a loud, sharp cry echoing through the hollow.
It was the voice of the queen Leavanny, angry, hurt, or afraid, maybe all three. Kay didn't flinch.
That cry was exactly what he expected. This was part of his plan. Once the fire started near the eggs, he knew the queen would react. And he knew the Pokémons outside the hollow would hear her.
Right on time, all the Bug-type Pokémons that had been guarding or patrolling outside the hollow rushed inside, hurrying to the queen's side.
Kay stayed perfectly still, barely breathing. He knew that Leavanny and its evolution line had very good hearing.
Even the sound of his breath could alert them if he weren't careful. So, Kay didn't move, didn't make a sound, and just hoped the fire would be enough of a distraction for him to escape once the moment was right.
See you in the next chapter...
We had finally reached more than 100 chapters. Can I have some Power Stones or reviews to celebrate this special moment hahahah?