Back during previous training sessions, Shiro had already tried letting Corvisquire learn a bunch of moves on its own, but almost all attempts had ended in failure. He even searched through the black market, hoping to find a TM or something similar, but came up empty. At the time, he figured such a thing probably hadn't been invented yet.
But with that past experience, the newly evolved Corviknight understood exactly which moves it had mastered.
As he quickly listed out the names of potential moves, the steel bird gave subtle nods to confirm each one.
"Alright…" Shiro finished the check with a quiet breath, feeling a surge of confidence.
Maybe it was because he'd poured in so many resources before—training, experience, and battles had all been well handled. Now that Corviknight had evolved, it had automatically grasped quite a few new moves.
The same moves it had struggled to learn during training now clicked instantly.
Among them were basic ones like Iron Defense, Take Down, Aerial Ace, Metal Claw, Protect…
"At last, we can ditch the simple combo of Air Cutter and Quick Attack," Shiro muttered, looking down to check on Haunter.
To his surprise, it and Bewear were actually rampaging wildly across the grassy field and forest, chasing after the muscular hunter in the black cloak with full force.
Floating beside the hunter were an Orbeetle and a Vikavolt. The two bug-types looked panicked. Though both had Elite-level strength, they didn't even dare glance back at Bewear.
"Vikavolt, use Guillotine!" the hunter finally barked.
"Vikaa!"
The Pokémon spun around. Its massive jaws, nearly as long as its body, sparked with electricity as it lunged toward the charging Bewear.
"Weaaar!"
Noticing the bug closing in, Bewear didn't even look. It just swung a heavy paw. Before Vikavolt could land its move, it was smacked over ten meters away, then recalled into its Poké Ball by the man.
Bug-type Pokémon simply couldn't match the sheer physical strength of a bulky fighter like Bewear. They might grow fast in the early stages, but their potential and combat ability just weren't on the same level.
"That's Dalton?" From the sky, Shiro furrowed his brows as he studied the scene below, and confirmed the identity of the bug specialist.
There weren't many trainers who focused on Bug-types around here. Even fewer have that kind of strength and build. Putting those traits together, it could only be the Dalton he had encountered before.
Seeing that Haunter and Bewear weren't at a disadvantage, Shiro lightly tapped the steel-black feathers on Corviknight's neck.
The steel bird flapped its wings hard and soared toward the dragon battle unfolding in the distance.
...
Two beams of blue and deep purple energy shot through the air. Drakloak zipped around them with agile movements. Despite its power, it still lacked battle experience compared to Corvisquire. It knew it had to beat its opponent but didn't understand why its attacks kept getting dodged or blocked.
Breathing a little heavier now, it narrowed its eyes and focused on the purple, bat-like Noivern ahead.
The Pokémon had let out several strange cries already, noises that seemed to weaken its abilities. Each of its attacks was growing less effective.
"Out of stamina already? Looks like someone's been slacking in training," the cloaked hunter sneered from Noivern's back. Then gave a sharp command. "Noibat, Noivern, keep using Dragon Pulse!"
Vrrrmmm—
Four streams of dark purple energy gathered and fired at Drakloak high in the sky.
The Dragon-type didn't dodge. It opened its jaws and fired back with a Dragon Pulse of its own, clashing head-on with the oncoming barrage.
"Heh..." The hunter chuckled darkly.
He had noticed a pattern. Every time his Pokémon used Dragon Pulse, the Drakloak on the other side would always try to counter it directly, without even the slightest intention of dodging or creating distance.
This Drakloak clearly lacked both combat experience and instinct.
As the purple energy from Noivern and the three Noibat slowly overwhelmed the opposing attack, the cloaked hunter couldn't help but smirk.
"Is this really all an Elite-level Drakloak can do?"
Once he drained its strength and captured it, this mission's biggest reward would be his. After that, dealing with the nuisance harassing Renji and Dalton would be a trivial task.
Thinking that, he glanced downward. But what puzzled him was that both Renji and his opponent, who had been locked in battle moments ago, were nowhere to be seen.
"Corviknight! Air Cutter!" A voice, barely audible over the wind, still reached his ears.
"Hm?" The hunter frowned. Before he could react, Noivern suddenly jerked its body in quick, sharp bursts, narrowly dodging the pale, razor-sharp blades flying toward it.
At the same time, Drakloak was still blasting out Dragon Pulse, seizing the moment when Noivern's energy weakened, it pushed forward with all its might.
"Noivern! Move, now!"
Realizing something was wrong, the hunter shouted loudly.
Noivern stopped fighting back and darted upward in a burst of speed, just in time to avoid the blast range of the Dragon Pulse.
Taking advantage of this opening, the hunter looked down and spotted a large, black-feathered bird whose body looked like it was covered in armor. Behind it, a figure stood.
'A Corviknight at Gym-level? Where did it come from… and where the hell are Renji and Dalton?' His mind raced, deciding it was time to retreat.
"Let's go," he ordered.
Before, Noivern and the three Noibat could barely suppress Drakloak. But now, with a powerful Corviknight and its trainer added to the mix, the balance had shifted completely.
In the distance, Drakloak saw that its attack had missed. It withdrew its energy and hovered midair, catching its breath before drifting toward Shiro.
"Corviknight, use Taunt. Drakloak, Dragon Rush."
Shiro's voice was low, almost lost in the wind, so the hunter above didn't hear him at all.
Sensing something, Noivern spun around hurriedly. The three Noibat followed suit, flapping their wings and gathering energy, trying to block Corviknight and the approaching Drakloak with a flurry of Air Cutter.
But Corviknight's crimson eyes suddenly darkened. A violent, sinister emotion surged into Noivern's heart like a storm. By the time the hunter noticed something was wrong, it was too late.
Noivern let out a furious roar. It opened its mouth wide and aimed a Dragon Pulse at Corviknight.
"Damn it!" the hunter cursed, Drakloak had already closed in. It was less than ten meters away.
In this critical moment, he made a swift decision—abandon Noivern.
Without hesitation, he leapt off its back.
The three Noibat, having just fired their Air Cutters, swooped in immediately. One latched onto each shoulder, and another bit down on the back of his collar. Together, they carried him away at full speed toward the Stony Wilderness.
Behind them, Corviknight flapped its wings and released Air Cutter, meeting the incoming attacks. The air trembled faintly from the collision.
Right after that, bathed in bluish-green light, Drakloak's struck Noivern, who had just gathered energy.
The Pokémon's long, black-and-purple body bent sharply at a ninety-degree angle. Its two clawed wing membranes twitched weakly in the air. Then Drakloak's tail slammed it again, hurling it straight into the ground.
It hit the grass with a loud thud, kicking up dust and smoke.
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