Chapter 95: Don’t Misunderstand! I’m Not a Weirdo!

The male Scovillain took action.

Its level surpassed that of the Espathra, so even though its special attack stats weren't impressive, it was still beyond what the Espathra could handle.

After the Espathra's Lumina Crash was defeated, the quick male Scovillain used Sunny Day, causing the sunlight to become intensely bright.

With the effects of Sunny Day, the female Scovillain raised its two heads, gathering light. In the next moment, the green head unleashed a golden beam at the Espathra.

This was a Grass-type move, Solar Beam. Thanks to Sunny Day, the move, which usually required charging, could now be used instantly.

However, the Espathra was incredibly fast and had the Speed Boost ability. As the Solar Beam approached, it used Agility to further increase its speed and vanished in an instant.

Boom!

A deafening explosion followed, creating a deep crater where the Solar Beam had struck the ground.

At this point, neither Scovillain noticed that the Komala had sneaked up behind them. One of its hands glowed with a ghostly light, and a large shadow claw appeared around it.

It was the Ghost-type move, Shadow Claw!

The Komala raised its Shadow Claw and struck at the female Scovillain. Due to the effects of Sunny Day, the male Scovillain's Chlorophyll ability (which doubles speed in sunny conditions) was activated. It sensed the Komala's attack but couldn't warn its mate in time. All it could do was rush over and push her out of the way, taking the full impact of the Shadow Claw itself.

The male Scovillain cried out in pain and rolled away, its two heads drooping. It had fainted, unable to withstand even a single hit from the Komala.

"Scovill~!"

The female Scovillain cried out in alarm and tried to rush to her partner. However, the Espathra, with its long legs, blocked her path.

Lumina Crash fired!

The distracted female Scovillain was hit directly and tumbled to the ground.

Her special defense was already low, and the Lumina Crash had significantly weakened it. Before she could recover, the Espathra casually used Psybeam, causing the female Scovillain to fall as well.

Seeing their parents fall, the three Capsakids offspring began to shout angrily at the Espathra.

Andrew quickly reassured them, "Don't worry, your mom and dad are fine. They'll wake up soon."

"Capsa~!" Bad guy!

"Capsakid~!" Villain!

"Capsa~!" I'm going to beat you up!

Despite Andrew's words, the three little Capsakids continued to charge at him aggressively.

"oink~ oink~"

At this moment, the female Oinkologne stepped forward, spinning her tail. A soothing fragrance spread from her, calming the three Capsakids. They became drowsy and mesmerized, chasing after the Oinkologne's tail.

Oinkologne's Lingering Aroma ability could calm even the most agitated Pokémon.

After soothing the three Capsakids, the Oinkologne gave Andrew a playful wink.

"Thank you so much, Oinkologne!"

Andrew smiled gratefully, then approached the two recovering Scovillain. He first fed them each a berry to restore their energy, then sprinkled their wounds with Nacli salt.

Miraculously, as soon as the salt touched their wounds, the injuries disappeared!

It was evident that Nacli salt had strong healing properties, explaining its popularity in Paldea.

Soon, the two Scovillain regained consciousness. Andrew asked, "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

Both Scovillain shook their heads.

Andrew's kind words and the relief of their pain made them appreciate him even more.

This trainer was reliable!

"Can I capture you both now?" Andrew asked.

"Scovillain~"

"Scovii~"

The Scovillain couple nodded in agreement and called out to their three children.

Responding to their parents' call, the three young Capsakids ran over.

The family of five sat in front of Andrew, who placed five Poké Balls before them.

"Let's get along well from now on!"

The Scovillain couple nodded at Andrew, then called to their children. After the children nodded in response, the couple pressed the buttons on the Poké Balls, turning into red light and being captured.

Seeing this, the three young Capsakids also reached out, pressing the buttons on the Poké Balls, and were similarly turned into red light.

Andrew picked up the five Poké Balls, a look of excitement on his face.

Scovillain family, GOTCHA☆!

Andrew stowed the Pokéball and told Arven and the others, "Let's head back."

"Sure~"

Arven nodded and climbed onto the Espathra first.

Andrew, holding Pawmi, followed suit and waved to the other Pokémon behind them, saying, "Let's go home!"

"Eespa~"

The Espathra responded with a cry, grabbing Pawmi by the nape with its beak and starting to run with its long legs.

"Oink Oink~"

"Oink Oink~"

"Howl~"

Two Oinkologne and the Maschiff excitedly howled and ran after the Espathra.

"Paw~ pawmiii~"

Pawmi's screams echoed through the air.

Their excitement was interrupted when they were stopped by a Pokémon while passing through a rocky area.

The Espathra was running smoothly when suddenly a fire pillar shot out from nowhere. Fortunately, the Espathra stopped just in time, avoiding a collision with the fire.

The ground shook violently as a frantic Camerupt appeared. Smoke poured from one of its humps, and intense flames burst forth, causing the nearby Pokémon to flee in terror.

A young Rockruff was about to be hit by the flames and could not escape. Andrew quickly shouted, "Espathra, use Lumina Crash!"

"Espaa~"

The Espathra cried out, its eyes glowing with rainbow hues, and fired a colorful energy ball.

Boom!

The energy ball collided with the flames, extinguishing them just in time and saving Rockruff.

Andrew called out to the dazed Rockruff, "Run quickly!"

"Ruff Ruff Ruff~~"

Rockruff hurriedly got up and fled into the distance.

The rampaging Camerupt continued its destruction, causing many Pokémon from the rocky area to hide far away, frightened. Their surroundings were in chaos, ruined by the rampaging Camerupt.

Andrew used his "Eye of Observation" to examine the Camerupt.

Camerupt

Type: Fire, Ground

Ability: Anger Point

Gender: Male

Level: 61

Moves: Rock Slide, Tackle, Roar, Amnesia, Ember, Fissure, Flamethrower, Stomp, Earth Power, Smokescreen, Earthquake, Fire Blast, Dig, Yawn.

IVs:

- HP: 25

- Attack: 28

- Defense: 14

- Special Attack: 24

- Special Defense: 21

- Speed: 18

This Camerupt was even higher in level than the male Scovillain and had individual values far superior to those of both Scovillains. It was evident that this would be a challenging opponent.

Andrew was tempted to leave, but seeing the distressed Pokémon made him reluctant to abandon them.

He turned to the Komala in his arms and asked, "Komala, can you help stop Camerupt?"

Komala didn't answer but calmly slipped from Andrew's arms and landed on the ground.

"Please, Komala, I'll get you a nice bottle of wine later!"

Komala seemed to respond positively to this promise.

A fire pillar shot toward them, and Komala quickly dodged by rolling, reaching Camerupt and preparing to use Shadow Claw.

"Meruupt~"

Camerupt cried out as it was knocked to the ground. It rose again, with smoke and fire erupting from its hump, its energy surging.

Seeing this, Andrew realized the situation was critical and shouted to Komala, "Be careful, Komala! You've activated Camerupt's Anger Point ability, raising its attack to the highest level!"

Upon hearing this, Komala's body started to glow as it used Psych Up to mimic Camerupt's boosted stats, increasing its own energy.

"Camerupt~~"

Camerupt roared, lifting its front legs high before slamming them down hard.

Komala wasn't going to stay passive. It lifted its log, which glowed a dusty yellow, and struck the ground forcefully.

Both Pokémon unleashed Earthquake.

Rumble!!!

Cracks spread across the ground as two seismic waves collided forcefully. The tremors were so intense that Andrew and the others struggled to maintain their footing.

The difference in level meant that Camerupt's earthquake couldn't compete with Komala's. With a loud bang, Camerupt's seismic wave was overwhelmed, and Komala's earthquake struck it head-on.

Camerupt let out a mournful cry and collapsed, unable to rise. The area finally fell silent, and the Pokémon hiding behind the rocks began to emerge one by one.

Andrew dismounted from Espathra, cradled Komala in his arms, and patted its back, saying, "Good job. I'll get you a drink tonight."

Komala yawned in Andrew's arms, turned over, and buried its head in his chest, continuing to sleep.

After settling Komala, Andrew walked over to Camerupt and began to check its condition. Camerupt wouldn't go berserk without a reason, so something must have been wrong.

During the battle, Andrew noticed that Camerupt had two humps, but only the front one was spewing fire. The rear one was emitting smoke, not straight up but slowly spreading outwards.

As expected, when Andrew looked into the hump, he found a small, pitch-black Pokémon stuck inside—none other than Charcadet!

"Charrr…"

Seeing Andrew, Charcadet emitted a pitiful cry.

It turned out Charcadet had accidentally fallen into Camerupt's hump while it was sleeping and had gotten firmly stuck.

With the hump blocked, Camerupt's internal magma couldn't flow properly, causing it great pain and making it rampage uncontrollably.

Fortunately, Charcadet's Flash Fire ability had prevented it from being burned to ashes by the intense magma.

Andrew said, "Charcadet, hang tight! I'll get you out!"

"Charrr… Charrr…"

Charcadet's eyes filled with tears.

Andrew signaled to Espathra, "Espathra, could you come here for a moment?"

"Espathra~"

Espathra responded and approached Andrew and Camerupt.

Andrew pointed to Charcadet inside the hump and said to Espathra, "Espathra, please use Psychic to grab Charcadet and pull it out of Camerupt's hump."

Espathra nodded and its eyes glowed with a colorful light as its powerful psychic energy enveloped Charcadet.

"Charrr~~"

"Espathra~~"

With a strong tug, Charcadet was pulled out of the hump and landed on the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop.

"Charrr~ Charrr~"

Now free, Charcadet hopped around excitedly.

Andrew sighed in relief.

Psychic powers are incredibly useful! Without Espathra, rescuing Charcadet would have been quite difficult. The intense heat from the flames made Charcadet too hot to touch, let alone extract it from the hump.

Additionally, the high temperature inside Camerupt's hump made it impossible for anyone to reach in.

"Be more careful next time and avoid getting into such trouble," Andrew advised Charcadet.

"Charrr~ Charrr~"

Charcadet nodded and then bounced away.

Next, Andrew fed Camerupt some berries. Shortly afterward, Camerupt woke up slowly and looked at Andrew with gratitude.

"Cameoo~ Cameoo~" Thank you!

"It's fine. Sorry for letting Komala attack you earlier," Andrew said, patting Camerupt.

Camerupt shook its head, indicating it wasn't a problem. It was grateful that Andrew had intervened; otherwise, it didn't know how long it would have been in pain.

"Ruff! Ruff!"

At that moment, an energetic bark came from beside Andrew. Looking down, he saw a Rockruff that had appeared at his feet.

"Oh, it's you!"

Andrew crouched down and petted Rockruff's back.

This Rockruff was the one Andrew had rescued from Camerupt's flames. It had come to express its thanks.

"Ruff~ Ruff~"

Rockruff immediately rolled over, showing its fluffy belly, looking absolutely adorable. Andrew picked it up and couldn't resist rubbing his cheek against its belly.

So soothing! Such a healing moment!

"Awwooo?"

Another howl sounded, and Andrew turned to see a Lycanroc (Midday Form) looking at him with a curious expression.

Andrew stiffened and awkwardly said to Lycanroc, "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not a creep; I just find Rockruff really cute."

He gently set Rockruff back on the ground.

"Ruff! Ruff!"

Rockruff snuggled up to Andrew again, nuzzling his hand with its head.

This little one sure was affectionate.

Lycanroc's expression softened as it barked a couple of times at Andrew. It was Rockruff's mother, and it had come to thank him for saving its child.

Andrew patted Rockruff's head, "Make sure to run quickly if you're ever in danger, okay?"

"Cameoo~"

Nearby, Camerupt looked embarrassed and apologized to both Rockruff and Lycanroc.

"Awoo~"

Lycanroc and Rockruff understood that Camerupt hadn't meant any harm, so they generously forgave it.

(End of Chapter)