The man's pupils constricted violently, unable to believe that the Charmeleon before him had forced his Toxicroak into such a dire situation with just a single attack.
Why did this Charmeleon's Flamethrower have such terrifying power? It made no sense!
While the thought briefly crossed his mind that his Toxicroak might have been weakened by previous injuries, he still found it hard to accept the reality in front of him.
"Damn it! If it weren't for those guys from Cerulean City!"
He gritted his teeth in frustration. In his view, if the earlier events hadn't happened, there was no way Maki could be his match. That Charmeleon? He could've taken care of it effortlessly.
Toxicroak still had a fair amount of stamina left, and under normal circumstances, it should have been able to continue fighting for a while. However, being burned had severely weakened its physical attacks.
With its strength sapped, Toxicroak had no choice but to rely on special attacks, and its remaining stamina would continue to drain due to the burn.
[Run!]
Without hesitation, the man decided to flee. As long as Toxicroak could hold on for a bit longer, he had enough time to escape.
As for Toxicroak's fate? He couldn't care less.
Abandoning a main battle Pokémon was unfortunate, but as long as he made it out alive, he could always recover what was lost.
Maybe he was just trying to convince himself, but he would rather sacrifice Toxicroak than fall into Maki's hands.
Maki might look calm and composed, but from his experience, this guy was definitely dangerous. If he got caught, he wouldn't end up in a good place.
And he wasn't wrong. After all, Maki was a former member of Team Rocket. His mindset was nothing like that of an ordinary League-affiliated Trainer. Since the other side had struck first, he saw no reason to hold back.
"Toxicroak, use Shadow Ball on that guy."
Gritting his teeth, the man ultimately made his painful decision.
As soon as he gave the order, he turned and ran without looking back.
Even though Toxicroak saw its Trainer abandon it, it still stood firm, faithfully carrying out its final command. Perhaps this was the fundamental difference between Pokémon and humans.
"Charmeleon, block it with Flamethrower! Cottonee, use Leech Seed—aim for him."
Charmeleon swiftly countered with another burst of fire, neutralizing the Shadow Ball. Cottonee, on the other hand, hesitated for a moment. Despite having experienced many battles, it had never used a move on a human before.
But then it remembered—this man had just ordered an attack on Maki. Unforgivable!
Sure, Cottonee loved playing pranks, but in its heart, both Charmeleon and Maki were family. And this guy had dared to attack Maki?
Perhaps out of trust in Maki, Cottonee only hesitated briefly before launching several seeds from its cotton-like fluff, striking the fleeing man.
The moment the seeds latched onto him, vines sprouted rapidly, ensnaring him. However, Cottonee held back, not fully activating Leech Seed's draining effect. Otherwise, it wouldn't take long before he was completely drained.
Even a seemingly harmless Pokémon like Cottonee was far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary human—except maybe those superhuman Trainers.
Because humans had limits.
"W-What the hell is this?!"
The man screamed in terror as vines wrapped around him, stopping him mere steps into his escape.
But Maki wasn't interested in a coward who abandoned his own Pokémon. Instead, he gave Cottonee an approving glance.
He had observed Cottonee's reaction closely. This was also a small test—after all, as Maki grew stronger, situations requiring direct action against humans would become more frequent.
If his Pokémon hesitated in such moments, it could lead to serious consequences. Better to let them gain experience now.
And Cottonee had not disappointed him. Though it hesitated briefly, in the end, it had followed through.
With the Trainer restrained, Toxicroak lost its will to fight and was swiftly defeated by Charmeleon and Cottonee working together.
"M-Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! I was being chased, and when I saw you appear, I mistook you for one of my pursuers! Ah—right! I'm with the Pokémon League! If you let me go, I won't press any charges!"
Hearing this desperate excuse, Maki scratched his head. Sure, he knew he was good-looking, but did this guy really think good-looking people were idiots?
Not a single word of that was believable.
Without a word, Maki kicked him in the stomach. The man groaned in pain—likely due to pre-existing injuries. Even though Maki hadn't kicked him hard, it was enough to make him wince.
"Come on, if you're going to make up lies, at least put some effort into it. Do I look like an idiot to you?"
Maki smirked coldly. Out here in the middle of nowhere, he could have Charmeleon dig a hole and bury this guy, and no one would ever find him.
Or if he was feeling lazy, Dragonite could just incinerate him with Flamethrower. Not even ashes would remain.
"I-I'm telling the truth!" The man stammered, still clinging to false hope.
Maki wasn't buying it.
"Charmeleon, dig a hole over there. Make it big enough—don't want any trouble burying him."
Pointing at an open patch of ground, Maki gave his order.
Without hesitation, Charmeleon began digging. Having evolved, its claws were much stronger now. In no time, it had carved out a sizable pit.
"No, no, no! Please, stop digging! I'll talk! Spare me!"
Seeing Maki actually order a grave to be dug, whatever hope the man had left vanished. He now fully understood—Maki was absolutely ruthless.
"Charmeleon, pause for now—but don't fill it in yet."
"Char!" Charmeleon grumbled, clearly dissatisfied. It knew that this pit might not be used after all.
"Don't worry, we'll see if it comes in handy," Maki reassured it. But to the bruised and battered man, those words were nothing short of terrifying.
"Alright, start talking. Why did you attack me?"
Maki turned back to the man, unimpressed. He had expected some kind of tough opponent, but this guy folded at the first sign of real pressure.
Of course, Maki hadn't ordered the pit to be dug just for intimidation. If the man had stayed silent, that hole would have been put to use.
Even if he truly was from the League, attacking without provocation—especially after recognizing Maki's Charmeleon as a League-issued Pokémon—meant he was scum. Eliminating him would only make the world a better place.
Before listening to his answer, Maki confiscated all the Poké Balls from the man's belt. Checking them one by one, he found that several were empty.
However, based on their usage status, they had all been linked to specific Pokémon. This meant that their original occupants had been released or lost.
Maki hesitated for a moment, but after seeing the pitiful state of the man before him, he quickly deduced that the Pokémon inside the Poké Balls had likely been abandoned in the same way.
Opening several more Poké Balls, he finally found ones that weren't empty. A Machoke and a Weezing emerged, but both were severely injured—so much so that if they remained outside their Poké Balls for too long, they might not survive.
Without hesitation, Maki recalled them. The injuries they had sustained were beyond what his healing items could treat. The best course of action was to get them to a Pokémon Center as soon as possible.
It all made sense now. The man's Toxicroak had been quite strong, so there was no way he only had a single Pokémon. But if the rest were either critically wounded or lost, that would explain everything.
The man could only watch helplessly as Maki confiscated all of his Poké Balls. He dared not protest—after all, if he spoke up, there was a chance that Maki's Charmeleon would resume digging a hole to bury him alive. It was safer to stay quiet.
Just when Maki thought he had taken all of the man's Poké Balls, he noticed something. The man had another one hidden deep in his pocket. Had Maki not been thorough in his search, he might have missed it.
When Maki took this last Poké Ball, the man opened his mouth as if to protest but quickly reconsidered. After all, he had just seen what Maki's Charmeleon was capable of. He swallowed his words.
Maki released the Pokémon from the ball and was momentarily stunned.
A Mawile?
If it had been an ordinary Mawile, Maki wouldn't have been so surprised. After all, in the Kanto region, they weren't exactly rare, and many trainers had them as part of their core team.
But something about this Mawile wasn't right.
It didn't look like it belonged to this man. It was still quite young, and more concerningly, its face was flushed red. Its expression twisted in pain.
Maki crouched down slightly, extending a hand to touch the Mawile's forehead.
Burning hot!
He frowned. As a certified breeder—even if his credentials were a bit questionable—he still had a solid grasp of the basics. It didn't take long for him to diagnose the problem: the Mawile had a high fever and showed signs of dehydration.
"Cotton?"
His Cottonee, noticing the new Pokémon in Maki's hands, floated closer. Seeing Mawile's condition, it let out a worried chirp.
"I have some medicine with me, but I don't know if it'll help."
Furrowing his brow, Maki pulled out some medicine from his bag and administered it to the Mawile, letting it drink a bit of water as well.
"Mawile…"
Still half-conscious, the Mawile let out a faint whimper. Maki shifted his gaze back to the man.
"Speak. Where did you get this Mawile?"
"I… I…"
"One more lie, and I'll bury you right here."
"I stole it! I stole it from a Pokémon Daycare!" the man blurted out, his voice trembling.
As expected—he wouldn't have told the truth without a little "motivation."
Under Maki's "gentle" questioning, the man finally spilled the whole story.
He was a Pokémon poacher, though he dabbled in other crimes on the side. It seemed he had stolen the Mawile when the daycare staff took it outside due to its illness.
Normally, daycares—especially those housing rare Pokémon—were heavily guarded, making theft nearly impossible.
The man had chosen his timing well. The only thing that had gone wrong was his luck—just as he snatched the Poké Ball, he was caught by a passing security officer.
Under Pokémon League law, stealing another person's Pokémon was a serious offense. If caught, a perpetrator could face over a decade in prison.
Of course, cases like the infamous Team Rocket trio—who had stolen countless Pokémon—were another matter entirely. If not for the fact that Team Rocket was backing them, they would have long since rotted in a cell.
...
"Achoo! Why do I feel like someone's talking about me, Meowth?"
"Less talking, more working! We finish this job, and we get paid!"
"But is this really enough money to build a new machine, Meowth?"
"Leave that to me! I promise it'll blow your minds!"
...
To avoid getting caught, the poacher had abandoned several of his Pokémon, leaving only his Toxicroak to fight for him.
If he had managed to steal a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, then maybe the risk would have been worth it. Selling off all of his Pokémon for a Pokémon of that caliber would have been a trade in his favor.
But all he had managed to steal was a Mawile. A complete loss.
The man understood this all too well. He also knew there was little chance of recovering his abandoned Pokémon. He would need to start over, building a new team from scratch.
The newly stolen Mawile could be a start, but one Pokémon alone wasn't enough.
And that's when Maki just happened to pass by.
Dressed in his Pokémon League trainer attire and accompanied by a rare Charmeleon, he seemed like an easy target.
But the man had made one critical mistake—he had forgotten that in this world, sometimes the prey had Thunderbolt, and the sheep he thought he could rob might just be an Ampharos waiting to zap him into oblivion.
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