Night Operation

Out of curiosity, Yuga pricked up his ears and secretly listened to the conversation among the Tauros. He quickly found a clue from what they were discussing.

It turned out that what had been draining their energy was a Golbat that came and went without a trace. No one knew where this Golbat had come from, but every night recently, it had been sneaking into the pasture to suck the Tauros' blood.

The Tauros didn't feel anything when the Golbat was feeding because its saliva had a slight numbing effect. If one of them hadn't woken up in the middle of the night and seen it, they still wouldn't know why they'd become so weak.

However, even knowing that the culprit was the Golbat didn't help, because they couldn't just stay awake all night. Once they fell asleep, the Golbat would have another chance.

The people in the pasture couldn't understand what the Tauros were saying, unlike Yuga, so even if the Tauros wanted to complain, they couldn't do anything about it.

Moreover, the Golbat was very crafty, carefully controlling the amount of blood it drank. Although the Tauros looked weakened after being fed on, the Pokémon doctors couldn't diagnose them with excessive blood loss.

Fostor sighed, "If this keeps up, our losses might become unmanageable!"

Each competitive Tauros took a lot of time and money to raise, so nearly twenty of them having issues was indeed an unmanageable loss for the Wild Bull Club.

Besides, the club had to participate in competitions. If they didn't have any Pokémon available when the time came, it would be truly embarrassing.

"I'm sorry to let you witness this mess," Fostor apologized to Yuga after venting, looking slightly embarrassed. "Shall we go discuss our collaboration?"

The tour ended, and finally, they got down to the real business of the day. Whether or not the Tauros from YoYo Day Care would be selected, the Wild Bull Club had agreed to meet with Yuga, which showed they were open to the possibility.

With Fostor leading the way, Yuga was brought to an open area in the pasture. Yuga took out his Poké Balls and released the ten Tauros he had brought.

"Tauros~"

"Tauros~"

The Tauros began to gallop energetically around the pasture as soon as they were released.

Seeing these ten Tauros, Fostor looked a bit surprised.

Tauros bred by daycares weren't usually appreciated by riding clubs. While daycares had Ecopark, they didn't have enough space for Tauros to run freely. Tauros raised in such confined spaces often lost their wild instincts, making them unsuitable for competitive training in riding sports, at least in the eyes of professional breeders like Fostor.

A professional like Fostor could tell at a glance the difference between a Tauros raised in an Ecopark and one bred on a vast prairie.

In Yuga's grassland sub-ecopark, there was an endless expanse of prairie where the Tauros could fully express their wild nature from birth. Naturally, they were different from those raised in ordinary Ecopark.

"These Tauros that Gym Leader Shimizu brought are really impressive."

Fostor praised sincerely.

"Thank you." Yuga was, of course, pleased to hear someone compliment his Pokémon.

"Well… um… could I… could I give it a try?" At that moment, Ray, who had been silently following beside Fostor, raised his hand and asked.

Give it a try? Try what?

At first, Yuga didn't quite understand, but he quickly realized that this young master wanted to try riding a Tauros.

Yuga hesitated, "That might not be appropriate. What if you get hurt?" Untrained Tauros could be wild and unruly. If this young master, as delicate as a little rabbit, got injured, wouldn't that ruin the whole deal?

Fostor, however, wasn't worried at all. He smiled and said, "Don't worry. Ray won't get hurt."

"Well, alright then." Since they were so confident, Yuga didn't object further.

With permission granted, Ray ran out excitedly.

At this moment, the Tauros were still galloping at full speed, showing no signs of stopping. Yuga was curious about how Ray would make them stop so he could get on one.

Ray stood along the path the Tauros were running on, and as the last Tauros passed by, he grabbed its horns and, with a swift, stylish flip, landed firmly on its back.

Yuga's eyes widened in surprise at the sight.

Ray who is riding the Tauros was a completely different person. The gentle "little rabbit" demeanor vanished, replaced by the poise of a hunting leopard, body bent low, pressing close against the Tauros's back as if ready to pounce at any moment.

Sensing someone on its back, the Tauros began to thrash wildly, trying to throw Ray off. But Ray sat steady, unaffected in the slightest.

The Tauros became increasingly frantic, kicking up its hind legs repeatedly. In an attempt to throw Ray off, it started breaking away from the herd, but Ray remained as immovable as a mountain.

The Tauros reared up, kicking three feet into the air, using every means possible to shake Ray off. Yuga watched, heart pounding, and finally understood why Fostor had said that Ray was a star rider for the Wild Bull Club.

After about ten minutes, the Tauros gradually submitted to Ray, accepting him riding on its back. When the other Tauros passed by again, it rejoined the group, carrying Ray along.

Watching Ray effortlessly control and freely ride the well-tamed Tauros across the field, Yuga couldn't help but admire, "As expected of the young master of the Wild Bull Club."

After Ray had his fill of riding, he slowly guided the Tauros back toward Yuga and Fostor. By now, the Tauros had become incredibly docile.

"That was amazing!"

As Ray approached, Yuga gave him a thumbs-up.

Ray's face turned bright red from the praise. After dismounting the Tauros, he reverted to his shy "little rabbit" persona and quietly hid behind Fostor.

"So, Mr. Fostor, what do you think of the Tauros from our breeding house?" Yuga asked.

Fostor thought for a moment and replied, "Honestly, they're not bad. At the very least, they're certainly up to standard as breeding Pokémon. But we've had a previous partnership with Greenfield Ranch, and your Tauros don't really have an edge over theirs."

Hearing this, Yuga didn't argue; he knew Fostor was simply stating the facts.

He had come to the Wild Bull Club seeking business without careful planning, so he didn't know much about the industry. Greenfield Ranch already had partnerships with multiple clubs, so they definitely had the upper hand.

In the end, he had acted impulsively.

However, since he was already here, he figured he might as well try. If the deal went through, great; if not, no big deal—it was normal in sales.

"What if I could help you identify and resolve the cause of your Tauros' weakness?" Yuga suggested after some thought.

Fostor was stunned, not expecting Yuga to say that.

"Are you serious?"

They had been worrying about this problem; if the number of weakened Tauros continued to increase, they wouldn't be able to participate in the riding competition this season.

If Yuga could really help solve this issue, then a partnership was definitely worth considering.

"Of course, I have no reason to deceive you," Yuga replied.

"If you can truly solve this problem, we can proceed with the partnership," Fostor said after a few seconds of contemplation.

"Then it's settled." Yuga felt pleased, glad he hadn't revealed this solution prematurely. Now it had turned into his bargaining chip.

Since the blood-sucking Golbat wouldn't appear during the day, Yuga planned to stay the night at the Wild Bull Club's pasture.

Unable to return for the night, Yuga called home to inform Audino and then took the time to survey the area around the pasture.

Because the pasture was established here, wild Pokémon were scarcely seen nearby, which explained why the Golbat had targeted the Tauros.

Yuga recalled reading an academic report that studied Zubat, Golbat, and Crobat. The report noted that while these Pokémon did have a bloodsucking habit, they didn't drink just any Pokémon's blood; they had their own preferences. Among their top choices was the blood of Tauros.

Yuga had found that quite interesting at the time and thought, "Could it be that Tauros' blood has stronger Yang energy, which attracts these little bloodsuckers more?" After all, Tauros were exclusively male!

Of course, this was just Yuga's wild speculation. While Tauros were indeed only male, Zubat, Golbat, and Crobat certainly weren't exclusively female.

That night, instead of going to the place Fostor had prepared for him, Yuga found a spot near the Tauros' stable, released Palossand, and made his temporary camp there.

To ensure he could catch the Golbat, Yuga had no choice but to keep vigil throughout the night. Fostor didn't understand why Yuga had decided to stay out here, but since Yuga was confident about resolving their issue, Fostor could only let him be.

Golbat were adept at silently moving around in the night, making it difficult for the average person to catch them after dark.

But Palossand was the key to Yuga's plan for catching the Golbat tonight.

On top of Palossand's head was a shovel with radar-like functionality, highly sensitive to life energy. If a Golbat showed up, it would certainly detect it.

If not for the fact that Mismagius and Gengar had gone to the Distortion World, capturing a Golbat would have been a breeze for Yuga; with their "Empty Talk" skill, any intruder would be trapped upon entry.

The pasture at night was very quiet. After a day of excitement, the Tauros lay peacefully in the stable, fast asleep, with only the occasional sound of a guard patrolling the grounds.

Yuga sat in the large hall inside Palossand's body, hanging a flashlight from the ceiling for light, and taking a table and chair out of his system backpack.

The long night stretched out before him, and since he couldn't sleep, Yuga couldn't just sit there doing nothing. So, he took out materials and tools to make Pokeblock, quietly waiting for Golbat to appear.

One of his system tasks required him to improve his Pokeblock-making skills, and although he practiced daily, he still hadn't met the required standard. With time to spare, he might as well work on honing his skills.

Time passed unnoticed, and soon it was midnight. By then, a pile of finished Pokeblock had stacked up on the table, yet there was still no sign of Golbat.

"Could it be that Golbat doesn't plan to come tonight?"

Stretching his sore wrist, Yuga muttered to himself.

Still, he reminded Palossand to remain on alert.

At that moment, Palossand gave a warning signal, alerting Yuga that a group of life forms was approaching. Yuga hurried outside and climbed to the balcony, but he couldn't see anything in the darkness.

A group of life forms approaching? That's different from what Tauros mentioned!

Yuga squinted, but he still couldn't make anything out. He knew Zubat, Golbat, and Crobat were silent fliers in the night.

After a moment, he picked up faint sounds—a few of the Golbat seemed to be making quiet calls. The Tauros remained deeply asleep, unaware of the impending danger.

"Take action!"

Yuga gave a quiet command to the Pokémon hidden in the shadows.

The first to move was Venusaur, concealed in the grass. Its Sweet Scent would disorient the intruders, causing them to react sluggishly.

In the darkness, shadowy figures swayed under the influence of Sweet Scent, as if intoxicated. Their flight slowed, and some even plummeted straight to the ground.

Yuga avoided using a light source, as he didn't want to startle them. If they scattered, capturing them would be difficult.

Next, it was Vivillon's turn. With the intruders dizzied by Sweet Scent, it released Sleep Powder over them using Tailwind.

One by one, the invaders fell to the ground, fast asleep.

Then Mimikyu and Breloom emerged, both wearing masks to avoid inhaling Sleep Powder.

Breloom carried a large sack, while Mimikyu picked up the sleeping intruders one by one, tossing them into the bag.

On closer inspection, they saw all of them were Golbat.

One after another, until soon Breloom's sack was more than half full.

"Screeech—"

Suddenly, a sharp cry pierced the night.

"It seems we've been detected," Yuga muttered quietly.

Crobat had intended to throw one last wild feast, unaware that they were walking into a trap. Had humans already known about them?

Crobat had never brought all its followers here at once, always taking turns. That's why Yuga only ever heard about Golbat's presence from the Tauros—Crobat was always cautious.

But after so many visits, it was bound to be discovered, so Crobat had already decided to relocate.

They hadn't lived here originally, having only settled in the area after being driven from their previous territory. With the Tauros nearby being so tempting, they couldn't resist staying a while.

In response to Crobat's call, the Zubat and Golbat who hadn't been affected gathered around it.

Seeing its followers reduced to only a few, Crobat was furious.

"Roooar—"

A pillar of flame suddenly shot into the sky, illuminating the area in red, and revealing Crobat and its remaining followers in clear detail.

By the light of the flames, Crobat could also see the source of the fire—a Charizard.

The moment Crobat spotted Charizard, it knew it wasn't a match and instinctively wanted to flee.

But its followers were still in the enemy's hands!