Dusk gradually slanted toward the horizon. The setting sun spilled its golden light across the rippling surface of the lake, while the sea of clouds overhead burned into a deep crimson glow.
Two tents had been set up around a campfire. The small light bulbs hanging from the tents slowly lit up as darkness approached. Silas glanced at the battery pack beside him, checked the remaining charge, and then poked Morpeko beside him.
"Only ten percent battery left. That is not enough to last through the night. Morpeko, you still need to work harder."
With great effort Morpeko struggled to climb to its feet. It climbed onto the drum style generator and began running again, though compared to when it first started it was now noticeably slower.
Morpeko trained every day, yet for some reason there seemed to be almost no training effect on its body. Perhaps it was because it always ate too much. Even after all the exercise, running ten kilometers still left it just as exhausted as before.
After giving Morpeko a few encouraging words, Silas turned his gaze to the other side.
Tonight the one cooking dinner was Diantha together with his female Indeedee. One human and one Pokémon were busy working together on the other side of the camp, and Silas simply could not find any opportunity to help even if he wanted to.
He walked toward the two ancient trees nearby.
Morpeko, Popplio, and the others were currently playing games there, their cheerful laughter echoing from far away.
A Wormadam disguised itself as a leaf, hoping not to be discovered.
Silas slowly scanned the entire camp. Quite a few Pokémon were secretly observing them from the shadows.
From the cautious and nervous movements of those wild Pokémon it was clear that they were very afraid of humans. That fear even carried a hint of terror.
That was very strange.
When wild Pokémon encountered traveling trainers they might feel curious, or perhaps a little cautious or fearful, but they would never display this kind of genuine terror.
Silas wanted to investigate the matter further, yet every time he tried to approach them those wild Pokémon would scatter in all directions.
Even Cinccino was no exception. The Pokémon here completely refused to make contact with them.
Silas could only feel helpless. If they were unwilling even to approach, then understanding the situation would be even more impossible.
He returned to the campfire and sat down cross legged. Picking up Litten, he held the little fire cat in his arms and rubbed it vigorously, which finally improved his mood quite a bit.
Just as Silas was feeling somewhat at a loss about what to do next, an unexpected turning point appeared because of Noivern and the others.
Boom!
A sudden loud explosion rang out, mixed with several furious dragon roars.
It was Noivern and the others.
"Did they start fighting with wild Pokémon again?"
Silas immediately called over Giant Dragonite and asked Cyclizar to keep an eye on the nearby wild Pokémon.
Then he quickly headed toward the place where the Noivern were.
Thick steam instantly surrounded them. The fog was so dense that one could not see even a hand stretched out in front of their face.
The battle ahead did not stop because of this. Such fog also could not hinder Giant Dragonite's advance.
When they reached the depths of the mist, it became clear that the Noivern were indeed fighting a certain Pokémon, and the steam surrounding them was released by that very opponent.
However, this type of fog had very little effect on the Noivern. Their powerful ultrasonic waves easily pierced through the mist and locked onto the target.
"Biggie, blow the fog away. Use Twister."
The Giant Dragonite beneath him let out a loud roar in response. Its small wings flapped, stirring up a dragon type storm. In the blink of an eye the fog that enveloped both sides was swept away.
The Noivern noticed Silas and quickly gathered around him. Each one lowered its large head with a somewhat aggrieved expression.
"Nooi! Nooii!"
This time they had truly done nothing wrong. The three Noivern had simply been playing in the sky, chasing each other and fooling around, when the Pokémon in front of them suddenly attacked.
Once attacked, the Noivern naturally fought back.
And so the current scene had unfolded.
Silas patted each of them and brought them down together beside a field of flowers.
Only then did his gaze fall upon the crimson armored Pokémon staring at them with intense hostility.
"Human. Leave this place."
Behind it, two thick and long arms had separated from its body. They were aimed directly at them, their cannon like openings continuously gathering energy that flickered with a terrifying glow.
It clearly had the intention to attack if even a single word displeased it. Its temper was extremely explosive.
"NOOI-DRAA!"
The Noivern instantly moved to stand in front of Silas. Their muscles tightened as dark red energy ripples spread across their bodies. They let out deep growls as if they were ready to enter their tempered state at any moment.
Bullying them was fine.
But bullying Silas was absolutely not allowed.
Silas quickly reached out and pressed down on one of the Noivern's head to prevent them from acting too impulsively.
He recognized the Pokémon before him.
It was said that it once flattened an entire mountain, creating a plain where humans could live. In the southwestern region of Kalos there were even legends about it founding a kingdom.
It was the Mythical Pokémon, Volcanion.
Keeping his tone as calm as possible, Silas tried to show goodwill.
"These Noivern had no ill intentions. I believe there must be some misunderstanding."
"This place does not welcome you. Leave, human."
Volcanion's temper was extremely violent.
The energy accumulated in its arms suddenly fired.
A massive torrent of scorching steam burst forth, carrying with it waves of burning air. The grass and plants on the ground instantly withered from the heat, and even the air itself distorted.
"DRAAA!"
Giant Dragonite moved to the very front. A Protect barrier unfolded and blocked most of the damage.
Volcanion's Steam Eruption once again filled the surroundings with dense mist, severely obstructing visibility.
"What a fiery temper," Silas said calmly.
"Noivern, attack. Beat it first."
When dealing with a hot tempered Pokémon, the best method was to defeat it with overwhelming strength so that it would calm down and be willing to listen.
"NOI!" ×3
The three Noivern used ultrasonic waves to locate Volcanion's position while responding to Silas with dragon roars.
They were telling him to leave it to them. They would definitely make the ill tempered Pokémon in front of them capable of having a proper conversation.
Dark red patterns surged across the surface on the three Noivern's bodies. The edges of their batlike wings gleamed with sharp energy blades, and their previously streamlined dragon bodies became far more ferocious.
Every beat of their wings sent out ripples of energy.
For a brief moment the three gained extremely enhanced movement abilities, their overall physical attributes increasing beyond their previous limits.
There was no need for further words.
Battle erupted instantly.
Three against one.
Volcanion's proud steam concealment was completely useless against Noivern, who possessed various ultrasonic abilities.
Within the dense steam fog, the sounds of clashing blows rang out endlessly.
At the beginning the Noivern did not hold an obvious advantage. However, once they closed the distance and the battle shifted into close combat, the situation changed dramatically.
Volcanion was completely suppressed.
The Noivern fought with a ruthless strategy of exchanging injuries for damage.
Combined with their extremely high durability, Volcanion gradually lost stamina.
In the end it was forced to release a point blank Steam Eruption to push the three Noivern away.
And after that, there was nothing more it could do.
The water stored inside Volcanion's body had already been exhausted.
What followed was the unavoidable result of enduring a righteous group beating from the three Noivern.
Yes.
It was hard to imagine.
Volcanion was a Mythical Pokémon, yet it could become unable to fight simply because it ran out of water.
It was truly absurd.
"Noi!" (The battle is over, Silas!)
With powerful beats of their wings the Noivern blew away the lingering fog.
The scene that appeared before Silas was clear.
The three Noivern stood at different positions, forming a triangle around Volcanion in the center.
As for Volcanion itself, it had been pinned to the ground by the Noivern. Its crimson body was covered with numerous wounds left behind during the fierce battle just now.
"Are you all alright?"
"Noi!"
The Noivern shook their heads.
These small injuries would heal after a good night's sleep.
Only then did Silas shift his attention to Volcanion.
However, before he could speak, a large iron ball suddenly rolled over and stopped directly between him and Volcanion.
(End of Chapter)