After gathering enough volcanic ash, Sieg continued rummaging through the pile of rubble, picking up a few other rare items.
For instance, he found a certain strange plant, its entire body as crimson as molten lava, seemingly a unique product of Mt. Chimney.
While he was pleased to expand his private specimen library with more precious materials, the Pokémon at his side suddenly tensed up.
They showed clear discomfort, all staring into a pile of shattered rocks nearby.
Sieg's collection work was interrupted, so he followed their gaze and spotted a group of seemingly adorable Spoink bouncing out, their tails flicking as they hopped.
Leading them was their evolved form, a Grumpig.
This particular Pokémon was rather unique to the Hoenn region, hardly found elsewhere.
Usually, such a tribe would rarely appear before humans, almost always living deep in dangerous mountains.
One shouldm't be fooled by these Spoink's silly appearance, looking like little piglets, they are actually pure Psychic-types.
And as everyone knows, Psychic Pokémon are almost never dumb.
Even Slowpoke, once it evolved into Slowking, would become extraordinarily intelligent!
"This might be the first time I've run into Psychic-types in the wild, huh?" Sieg stroked his chin, pondering silently.
Psychic Pokémon were known for being strange, mysterious, and powerful, so anything related to them always fetched a high price.
Even the food for Psychic-types sold in Pokémon shops cost twenty to thirty percent more.
"Grugh Grugh!!"
The Grumpig at the head of the group shook its plump body, letting out a series of furious grunts.
It snorted with its pig nose, looking rather intimidating.
Sieg instantly realized that this pile of rocks before him was very likely this tribe's territory.
Yet instead of feeling guilty, a greedy flame ignited in Sieg's eyes. It wasn't just because Psychic Pokémon fetched high prices, even on the black market.
More importantly, the pink pearls atop Spoink's heads were said to contain a special power that could help Psychic Pokémon level up.
They were like unique Pokéblocks for Psychic-types.
Besides that, they could even enhance an Esper's powers. Though there weren't many Espers in Hoenn, and there was no Esper Association branch here, in Kanto, Espers were quite popular.
Especially in Saffron City's Gym.
Rumor had it that this Gym had been run by a family of Espers for generations.
So every year, Hoenn exported large quantities of Spoink pearls to Kanto.
"But compared to the pink pearls on Spoink's heads, the black pearls on Grumpig's body are even rarer!"
According to the pictures Sieg had studied, these black pearls seemed to be the source of Grumpig's power, boosting their mental waves to control opponents.
These Spoink weren't just Pokémon, they were walking money jars!
Sieg naturally wouldn't fear this tribe. Even though they were numerous and the Grumpig at the lead was almost level 40, he held the advantage.
They were Psychic-types, and Sieg's entire team was Dark-type.
Dark-types were outright immune to most Psychic attacks.
Of course, it wasn't absolute. If a Champion-level Psychic Pokémon targeted a newly hatched Dark-type with a move, that would still be an instant kill.
This immunity only worked within a certain level range, blocking most of the damage when the levels were close.
Once the difference grew too large, the sheer force of accumulated energy would crush the weaker side, immunity or not.
At this moment, the levels weren't far apart, giving Sieg's Dark-types a clear advantage.
What's more, Grumpig as a species couldn't learn Miracle Eye, so they could hardly touch Dark-types at all.
(Miracle Eye: Lets Psychic moves hit Dark-types and Pokémon with high evasion.)
Sieg was utterly fearless. Even his slightly weaker Murkrow and Umbreon felt no fear.
"Crawdaunt, Sharpedo, you two handle the Grumpig, but watch out, don't break those black pearls on its body."
Faced with this tribe battle, Sieg's only worry wasn't whether he'd win but whether he'd damage the spoils.
"Murkrow, use Tailwind to boost everyone."
"Umbreon, don't stray too far, be ready to use Protect at any moment, and back them up with Shadow Ball!"
As a seasoned trainer, Sieg swiftly assigned clear roles to each of his Pokémon.
Unlike standard one-on-one or two-on-two matches, wild group battles like this relied heavily on the Pokémon's instincts and quick reactions, with the trainer providing only key guidance.
Sieg did just that, giving crucial commands only when needed, leaving the rest to his Pokémon's instincts.
Crawdaunt charged in first. As the team's strongest fighter, it used Night Slash without hesitation, slashing straight at the Grumpig.
The Grumpig glanced at its tribe behind it, a determined glint flashing in its eyes. For the sake of its tribe and their territory, it could not back down.
Perhaps due to its high intelligence, it knew its Psychic moves would be useless.
So it launched a Power Gem attack instead.
Its target, Murkrow, circling above!
"Protect!"
At Sieg's command, a green shield wrapped around Murkrow.
Grumpig's expression turned grim. It quickly realized that its tribe was under heavy attack and that their proud Psychic moves did almost nothing against these foes.
They'd ruled this stretch of the mountainside with the power of Psychic moves alone.
The first Spoink fell. Sharpedo had accidentally hit too hard.
As soon as the first fell, the whole tribe erupted in rage, launching a desperate counterattack.
But it was like a mayfly shaking a giant tree.
The Psychic-types were helpless before the Dark-types' total advantage.
In the end, more than thirty Spoink were beaten, half of them down for good, with two accidentally killed in the chaos.
"A shame the Grumpig leader escaped with the rest of the tribe in the end!"
Sieg looked at the fleeing silhouettes down by the foot of the mountain, a chill running down his spine.
He recalled the final strike that Grumpig had unleashed before escaping, combining the tribe's Psyshock attacks into a single blow aimed straight at Sieg.
The Protect barrier had been shattered instantly. If Umbreon hadn't leapt in front to block it for him, he'd probably be a corpse by now.
"I really need to be more careful next time. The wild isn't so forgiving, especially when dealing with Psychic-types with this level of intelligence."
Sieg felt a deeper respect and wariness toward Psychic-types now. The first encounter had nearly cost him his life. He'd been too careless.
Psychic Pokémon at this level were nearly as smart as humans. They knew that Sieg was the true threat behind his team.
They understood the logic of striking down the leader first.
Looking at the unconscious Spoink scattered all around, Sieg began collecting the pink pearls one by one from their foreheads.
Finally, he tossed out Poké Balls one after another. Psychic-types like these would surely sell well on the black market.