Cole looked around but couldn't find the vehicle's owner anywhere. He wondered: Could this be a poacher?
In the Pokémon world, while catching multiple Pokémon at once is allowed, certain actions are clearly defined as poaching:
These include using firearms to catch Pokémon, imprisoning them with cages or harming them with unconventional tools, and catching Pokémon in protected areas.
After waiting a while without seeing anyone, Cole quietly emerged from the bushes and approached the truck.
"Brionne, keep watch for me. Alert me immediately if anyone approaches!"
"Bri~"
It nodded quickly.
When Cole crept up to the truck, the Flabébé finally noticed him.
"Flabe~ Flabe~"
"Flabe~ Flabe~"
The Flabébé became agitated, assuming Cole was working with their captors, their small faces filled with anger.
"Shh!" He gestured for them to be quiet, "I'm here to rescue you."
But the baby fairies didn't believe him, still glaring at him with angry eyes.
Just as Cole was about to examine the iron cage, Brionne suddenly called out. A tall, thin young man had emerged from the forest, carrying a cage with another Flabébé inside.
"Flabe~ Flabe~"
That Flabébé was frantically beating against the iron cage, but the tall young man sneered, "Don't waste your energy. This cage is specially made — you can't break it. Just wait quietly until I sell you!"
Seeing this, Cole quickly crouched down behind the truck. Brionne darted to his side to hide.
While the tall young man was still some distance away, Cole whispered to Brionne, "Brionne, sing."
It nodded and, using the truck as cover, began to sing.
✲ Sing ✲
"La la la~"
Cole quickly covered his ears.
Brionne's singing was truly beautiful, like a young maiden's tender voice soothing your soul — if you could ignore its sleep-inducing effect.
The tall young man heard this beautiful song and instinctively stopped in his tracks.
"Hmm? Where's that singing coming from?" His steps grew unsteady, and he started to lose his balance. Alarm bells rang in his head, "Not good, someone's ambushing me!"
But by then, it was too late. Brionne's singing was incredibly potent, and caught completely off guard, the tall young man had no chance of resisting.
Clang!
The cage fell from his hand, and he collapsed with a loud thud.
Not only did the tall young man succumb, but the Flabébé in the cages also fell asleep, caught completely unprepared.
Cole emerged from hiding, smiling as he gave Brionne a thumbs up, "Well done, Brionne!"
"Hehe~"
It looked proud.
Cole went to the tall young man's side and picked up the fallen cage, but after examining it for a while, he couldn't open it.
That's when Brionne pointed to a key hanging at the tall young man's waist.
Cole gave it another thumbs up, "Clever, that's my Pokémon for you!"
Brionne: (◕ω◕)
It puffed up its chest proudly again.
Cole took the key from the tall man's waist and thoroughly searched his body. Besides various odds and ends, he found four Pokéballs containing Pokémon. However, he didn't open them, instead locking all the Pokéballs' switches.
The key worked perfectly — it was a master key that opened all the cages on the truck.
After freeing all eight Flabébé, Cole fed each one a berry to wake them up.
The fairies remained wary, so he reassured them, "I really am here to save you. Look at that person."
He pointed at the tall young man sleeping nearby.
Seeing their captor unconscious on the ground, the Flabébé's hostility toward Cole finally melted away. Their simple, trusting natures began to show through.
When a few angry ones tried to attack the sleeping man, Cole quickly stopped them. The man was only asleep, not dead — hitting him might wake him up.
After searching the truck, Cole found a thick rope and used it to tie up the tall young man securely.
Once the Flabébé trusted him, they shared their story. They had been riding the summer breeze on an adventure when two brothers spotted them. The brothers gave chase, forcing them to flee into the mountains near Mt. Ascendant.
Despite their best efforts to escape, the brothers had caught them one by one in this area.
From their account, Cole learned two crucial details: some of their companions were still free, and there were two brothers hunting them, not just one.
He dragged the tall man aside and told the Flabébé, "Keep an eye on this person. I'll go look for the other one and try to help your companions."
"Flabe~ Flabe~"
The Flabébé nodded gratefully, patting their chests in promise to watch the tall thin man. They pointed Cole in the right direction before he left.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
Cole and Brionne followed the Flabébé's directions, gathering information from wild Pokémon until they picked up the other hunter's trail.
"Fla!!!"
Suddenly, screams pierced through the distant woods — unmistakably the cry of a Flabébé.
"Come on, let's hurry over and check it out!" Cole called to Brionne.
With that, he ran off with the sea lion following close behind.
Soon Cole heard sounds of battle ahead. When he ran closer, he saw a tall, thin man commanding a Toxicroak to repeatedly attack a Floette, while several trembling Flabébé huddled behind it.
When he got a clear look at the man's face, Cole was bewildered — wasn't this the same person he had just left tied up under the Flabébé's watch? How was he here?
Then it clicked — these hunter brothers were twins.
The Toxicroak was formidable. The Floettestood no chance, taking multiple hits in mere seconds.
Not only was it outmatched in raw power, but it was also at a type disadvantage. As Cole watched, Toxicroak's Poison Sting struck true, sending Floette tumbling unsteadily from the air.
"Flo~"
"Flabe~ Flabe~"
Seeing Floette fall, the Flabébé grew desperate. Overcoming their fear, they joined forces to unleash Fairy Wind against Toxicroak.
But their combined attack proved too weak. Toxicroak dispersed their Fairy Wind with a casual wave of its hand.
Seizing this opportunity, Cole fell back on his previous strategy, "Brionne, use Sing!"
✲ Sing ✲
"La~"
But this hunter proved more vigilant than his twin. The moment the song began, he snapped his attention toward Cole's hiding spot.
"Who's there? Toxicroak, Poison Sting!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Without hesitation, Toxicroak shot a stream of dark purple poison needles toward the grass where the intruder lurked.
Brionne leaped forward, unleashing Disarming Voice. Transparent ripples mixed with water vapor spread out, forming a barrier in front of Cole and itself. The poison needles shattered against it.
Their cover blown, Cole emerged from the grass with Brionne and commanded:
"Brionne, Water Gun!"
"Bri!"
✲ Water Gun ✲
Brionne released a water stream so powerful it rivaled a Hydro Pump.
Toxicroak crossed its arms defensively, but the Move still sent it flying, smashing through a large tree in the process.
Though Brionne hadn't reached its final evolution like Toxicroak had, Cole's Special Ability had awakened its hidden energy circuits, making it a match for most final-form Pokémon.
And unlike Pokémon trained by ordinary people, Brionne's Source Energy possessed superior quality and purity. This naturally made its Moves far more powerful than average.
Cole had only lost to Blaziken Mask earlier because of the latter's overwhelming strength — his own Pokémon were quite formidable.
The hunter stared at Cole in shock, baffled by both Brionne's power and the kid's sudden appearance.
Toxicroak struggled to its feet, grimacing in pain as it bared its teeth at Cole and Brionne, taking up a defensive stance.
"Who are you? Why are you interfering?" The hunter demanded, his expression grave.
Cole pointed at the nearby Flabébé and said, "I've got my eye on these Flabébé too, so I can't let you have them so easily."
The hunter's face darkened with anger, "Kid, don't covet things you shouldn't have."
Cole just smiled in response.
"Toxicroak, Poison Sting!"
The hunter commanded his Pokémon to attack, trying to catch Cole off guard. But Cole remained alert — the moment Toxicroak struck, Brionne countered with Disarming Voice, shattering all the poison needles.
The hunter then revealed his true colors, suddenly releasing both a Muk and a Persian. He had clearly recognized Brionne's strength and wasn't underestimating Cole despite his youth.
Cole had anticipated this. As soon as the two new Pokémon appeared, he released Captain Talonflame.
"Yah!"
Captain Talonflame's powerful cry echoed through the air, its presence alone making the newly emerged Muk and Persian freeze in their tracks. Far stronger than Brionne, Talonflame fearlessly faced both opponents.
The hunter's expression soured at Captain Talonflame's appearance.
Muk's body trembled before releasing foul-smelling sludge, aiming not just at Talonflame but also at Cole and Brionne. This was the Poison-type move Sludge.
Captain Talonflame remained composed. Its massive body spread wide, wings extending to form a protective barrier as they took on a metallic gleam.
✲ Steel Wing ✲
With one powerful flap, Captain Talonflame scattered the sludge balls and knocked away Persian, who had tried to take advantage of the moment to pounce.
"Meow!!!"
Persian hit the ground hard and rolled several times, its spine-chilling wails echoing through the air.
Captain Talonflame had put its full strength into that Steel Wing, striking Persian's vulnerable underbelly — no wonder the cat Pokémon cried so wretchedly.
Meanwhile, Brionne was performing impressively, keeping Toxicroak at bay though neither had gained a clear advantage.
Watching Captain Talonflame magnificently battle two opponents at once made Brionne competitive — it couldn't let another Pokémon outshine it in front of Cole.
A quick idea flashed through its mind.
After dodging one of Toxicroak's Drain Punches, Brionne opened its mouth and shot a blue orb skyward. The heavens immediately darkened as light rain began to fall.
✲ Rain Dance ✲
The Rain Dance move it had practiced so long with Vaporeon was finally proving useful!
Brionne controlled the rain's range with precision, avoiding Captain Talonflame's battlefield entirely — though poor Cole, standing nearby, got thoroughly soaked.
As the rain fell, humidity filled the air. Brionne seized this moment to unleash Disarming Voice. Its song resonated through the water vapor, making Toxicroak feel surrounded by countless unseen foes.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The air vibrations intensified until the water vapor began to explode, particularly violently around Toxicroak.
Finally, amid the cascade of explosions, the exhausted frog collapsed.
"Wait!" The hunter shouted as Toxicroak fell, "The Flabébé are yours, I give up!"
✲✲✲
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