'You don't understand, human,' the Commander transmitted through Gardevoir's psychic link, his gruff voice carrying a heavy, exhausted weight. 'The Chief is dying.'
Eric paused, his intention to leave momentarily halted. 'Dying? From what?'
'A war,' the Ursaring Commander growled, spitting a glob of dark blood onto the grass. 'Against the Primeape tribe to the north. Their leader and our Chief clashed three moons ago. Our Chief managed to drive them back, but he took a grievous blow to his core. He cannot lead us into the next battle.'
Eric glanced around the clearing. 'So just elect a new leader. You seem strong enough.'
The Commander let out a harsh, barking laugh that dissolved into a painful cough. 'You think it is that simple? We are Ursaring. We are the apex predators of this forest! We do not simply "step down" or follow the next bear in line. If the Chief admitted his weakness, the tribe would fracture. In their pride, the younger males would blindly charge into the Primeape territory to prove their strength and get slaughtered.'
The Commander looked over at the female Ursaring, who was currently ignoring the tension entirely, lazily scratching her back against a rough oak tree.
'But the Chief is clever,' the Commander continued, a begrudging respect in his tone. 'He knew we needed a strong, vicious successor to unite the tribe against the Primeapes. So he announced that whoever proved their absolute strength in combat and won his daughter's favor would become the next Chief.'
Eric stared at the female Ursaring. Then he looked at the two unconscious males lying in the craters Poliwrath and the other bear had made.
'What better way to motivate a bunch of meatheads than fighting for a woman?' Eric thought, rubbing his temples.
The two brawling bears from earlier weren't just fighting over a crush. They were violently auditioning for the throne. The Chief had essentially weaponized their mating instincts and sheer arrogance to smoothly transition power without fracturing the tribe's pride.
Eric let out a long, deeply exhausted sigh.
'So this kind of kingdom politics exists between Pokémon as well...'
He had dealt with enough aristocratic scheming and territorial disputes in the human world. He had absolutely zero interest in getting involved in a Pokémon succession crisis.
"Fascinating," Eric said aloud, completely deadpan. "Well, good luck with your war and your matchmaking. Gardevoir, cut the link. We're leaving."
Gardevoir smiled softly, her eyes dimming as the telepathic tether dissolved.
Eric turned around, gesturing for his team to follow him back toward the safer, outer edges of the forest. Growlithe trotted dutifully beside him, while Ralts hovered close to her mother.
But before they could take ten steps, the ground began to vibrate.
It wasn't the heavy, rhythmic thud of an Ursaring. It was chaotic, frantic, and incredibly fast. A cacophony of high-pitched, furious shrieks tore through the forest canopy, sending flocks of wild Pidgey scattering into the sky in sheer panic.
The Ursaring Commander's eyes widened in absolute horror. He forced himself onto his feet, ignoring the lingering effects of Haunter's poison.
"URSAAA!" he roared, turning toward the northern treeline.
Gardevoir didn't need to establish a link for Eric to understand the panic in the bear's voice.
The war with the Primeapes was resuming. And they were pushing the frontline directly into this clearing.
'Well,' Eric thought, his eyes narrowing as the bushes violently shook. 'That's that for staying uninvolved.'
CRASH!
Over a dozen furious, pig-monkey Pokémon burst through the thick foliage. They were quite literally vibrating with unadulterated rage, their veins bulging against their fur, their eyes locked in a perpetual state of blinding fury.
Primeape, ranging from level 30 to 35.
They didn't care that Eric was a human. They didn't care about the unconscious Ursarings. Primeapes were notoriously famous for entering a state of absolute, blind rage where they would attack anything that breathed.
Three of them instantly broke off from the pack, their fists glowing with Fighting-type energy as they lunged directly at Eric and the Ursaring.
Eric's calm, easy-going demeanor vanished. A flicker of genuine irritation crossed his face. He was perfectly willing to walk away, but he absolutely despised being dragged into someone else's mess, especially when they targeted his Pokémon.
"Poliwrath. Haunter," Eric said, his voice dropping into a cold, commanding register.
Poliwrath stepped cleanly in front of Eric, dropping into a flawless, disciplined martial arts stance. Haunter materialized from the shadows above, his red eyes curving into a sadistic, crescent grin.
"Well, looks like there are more target practices for you two," Eric said. "Poliwrath, practice your parries. Haunter... Sludge Wave. Sweep them."
"Rrath."
"Kekeke!"
The three charging Primeapes didn't stand a chance.
The first Primeape threw a wild, haymaker Cross Chop. Poliwrath simply leaned to the left, slapping the ape's wrist away to redirect its momentum. As the Primeape stumbled forward, Poliwrath delivered a short, brutal palm strike to its ribs, knocking the wind out of it completely.
Simultaneously, Haunter's eyes flashed purple.
He summoned a massive, bubbling tide of highly corrosive sludge. The wave crashed over the remaining Primeapes, burning their skin and entirely halting their furious charge as they shrieked in pain.
Eric stood safely behind his two powerhouses, watching the frenzied apes get systematically dismantled.
"Don't kill them," Eric instructed casually. "Just break their fighting spirit."
------------------------------------------
Character images available on Patreon (free access).
If you want early access to the upcoming chapters (25+ chapters) or just want to support me, you can do that at:
www.patreon.com/GhostQuill407