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A capture battle at the drop of a hat! Ash sent out Quilava, a fellow Fire-type Pokémon, to challenge the Alpha Houndour! Up close, that Houndour truly exuded charisma. Its face and the bone armor on its forehead bore scars from long battles—marks of a warrior and a king!
"Go, Quilava, burn!" No sooner had Ash spoken than fierce flames ignited on Quilava's head and tail.
"Roar!"
Houndour made the first move, unleashing a Flamethrower towards Quilava. A scorching heat wave washed over them!
"Quilava, Flame Charge!"
Quilava's slender body rose high, then slammed down, and the surging flame energy transformed it into a large fireball. This move constantly increased Quilava's speed. The already agile Quilava easily dodged Houndour's Flamethrower, charging into it from the side. From the speed it displayed now, it had indeed only been toying with the opponent in its battle with Sandslash earlier! Pikachu and Quilava, both using the Quick Attack move, collided fiercely.
The Houndour was clearly battle-hardened and extremely experienced. It had already locked onto Quilava's scent. The moment Flame Charge was about to hit, it suddenly vanished.
"Hmm?"
Ash frowned. Facing Dark-type Pokémon, he needed to guard against all sorts of bizarre Dark-type moves! Indeed, the vanished Houndour suddenly appeared beside Quilava, knocking it flying.
"How could that be?"
Misty cried out in surprise. She couldn't understand how Houndour had appeared there! But Ash sneered. It was indeed a Dark-type move. "That's a Foul Play!" This move uses the opponent's power to attack. The higher the opponent's Attack, the greater the damage!
"Quilava, are you alright!" Ash looked at the flung Quilava. Fortunately, Flame Charge wasn't a strong attack, so the damage it sustained was limited.
"This Houndour's movements are so agile!" Only after a direct confrontation could one feel how formidable this Alpha Houndour truly was! However, just as this capture battle was about to continue, a sharp cry echoed from another part of the forest. Hearing this sound, the Alpha Houndour suddenly exhaled a cloud of black smoke, obscuring Ash and his companions' vision, then turned and left with its three companions.
"Chase!"
Ash called out, then quickly pursued with Quilava and Pikachu. With his current physical fitness, Brock and Misty were left behind. He followed the Houndour to a cave, where he saw his backpack open, and several other food packaging bags scattered at the cave entrance. The cry earlier had been a distress call from another Houndour here. This Houndour was also very strong and tall, no less impressive than the Alpha. But now, it appeared very weak, facing a Golem with a type advantage against it. It unleashed a Flamethrower with all its might, but Golem's Rollout easily countered it.
Just as Golem was about to attack, another Flamethrower descended from the sky, stopping it. The Alpha Houndour had intervened! After stopping Golem, it immediately rushed forward with its companions. Four Houndour protected their weak comrade, and the Alpha faced Golem's assault directly. Seeing its comrades arrive, the wounded Houndour could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.
"Ash, how is it?"
Brock and Misty caught up, noticing the current situation. "So, these Houndour collect food everywhere to help their weak comrade recover quickly!"
"So these Pokémon, who look fierce, are actually very gentle!" Misty was no longer afraid of Houndour. The Alpha, its crimson eyes glaring, once again breathed fire. However, Fire-type moves were very ineffective against Golem. Golem dispelled the flames with Rollout, then rolled and knocked the Alpha flying. Seeing this, Ash frowned. He jumped down and stood with the Alpha Houndour.
"Houndour, let's finish this quickly! Your comrade needs treatment urgently! Use Beat Up!" Hearing Ash's command, Houndour roared at its companions, and all the Houndour's eyes began to glow with a crimson light!
Boom!
Evil purplish-black energy burst forth. The first Houndour charged into the rolling Golem. The first was knocked flying, the second followed, then the third, and the fourth! Finally, the Alpha Houndour, with formidable momentum, knocked Golem flying! Beat Up, as the name suggested, was a group attack move. All allies attack, and the more Pokémon involved, the more times the attack hits.
"Brock, I'll leave it to you!"
After an examination, this Houndour was found to have a leg injury and a severe infection. Its body temperature was very high, and it needed to be taken to the Pokémon Center immediately! After Brock announced the examination results, Ash had already picked up the Houndour on his back.
"Ash, the nearest Pokémon Center is 5 kilometers away. Are you going to carry it all that way?" Brock quickly tried to dissuade him. Although Ash's physique was strong, carrying such a large Houndour for 5 kilometers was no small feat!
"No other way, Brock, Misty, please help me tidy my backpack and catch up slowly!" With that, Ash took off running.
"Roar!"
The Houndour, led by their Alpha, followed closely behind Ash. After running a kilometer, seeing Ash's speed slow down, the Alpha caught up.
"Woof roar!"
"Are you saying you'll carry it?"
Five Houndour plus Ash took turns, finally reaching the Pokémon Center in the shortest possible time. One had to say, Nurse Joy truly lived up to her name. The family, with hundreds of years of medical heritage, had extremely high standards in Pokémon care. Before Brock and Misty caught up, the Houndour had already completed its treatment.
Since they were already at the Pokémon Center, they stayed there for the night. The Houndour also needed a night to recuperate. Early the next morning, as Ash walked out of the Pokémon Center, the Alpha Houndour and its companions were already waiting in the forest by the entrance. They seemed to have waited there all night. The Alpha Houndour walked forward and gently licked the recovered Houndour.
"Woof..."
The five Houndour suddenly whimpered, leaving Ash and his companions confused. What was happening? At this moment, the recovered Houndour walked to its four companions, reluctantly glanced at the Alpha, and then walked back into the depths of the forest. And that Alpha Houndour approached Ash.
"Woof roar!"
This Alpha Houndour seemed very happy, its crimson eyes full of anticipation and joy. Ash understood tacitly and pulled out his Poké Ball. "Alright then, it's a pleasure, Houndour!" The Poké Ball was thrown, capturing the Houndour. It only flickered slightly before dimming.