Lone Beidou

After the Ariados attack, Yuga and Flannery became more cautious, as they didn't know when sudden danger might appear.

Although they were in a dense jungle, the surroundings were eerily quiet. Yuga and Flannery walked on a carpet of dry leaves and twigs, making an unpleasant creaking sound.

At that moment, both Yuga and Flannery heard a series of roars. They stayed alert and quietly moved towards the source of the noise.

Yuga gently pushed aside some branches and leaves and, through the gap, saw a Zangoose locked in a fierce battle with its natural enemy, a Seviper.

It was evident that this particular Zangoose had the Immunity ability, rendering the Seviper's poison ineffective against it. Moreover, the Seviper was notably weaker. Currently, the Zangoose had a firm grip on the Seviper's neck, swinging it around relentlessly. Even Yuga, an outsider, felt sorry for the Seviper.

The roars they heard were coming from the distressed Seviper.

Yuga gestured to Flannery, signaling her to stay away, as he didn't want to interfere in the battle between these two natural enemies.

Flannery, understanding Yuga's intention, nodded quietly, and both of them moved away from the scene.

Far from the ongoing battle between the Seviper and Zangoose, Yuga and Flannery continued their journey towards the dormant volcano at the center of the island.

As they walked, they came across a pond with several Lotad and Surkrit living in it.

These Lotad and Surkrit were not particularly strong, but when they saw Yuga and Flannery approaching, they didn't show any fear. Instead, they stared at the two with curiosity.

The Lotad, in particular, had a vacant look in their eyes, making them appear quite cute.

Yuga selected two Lotad with green potentials and two Surkrit with green potentials and captured them.

The other Lotad and Surkrit didn't resist at all. Perhaps they realized that they couldn't oppose Yuga's "authority."

Yuga thought that he could place these two Lotad in the ponds of his Grassland Sub-Ecopark and have them water the fields daily.

"If only there were more of them. It would be better if there were more," Yuga thought. However, it was challenging to find high-potential Pokémon.

He imagined the Lotad standing in the water, moving in an orderly fashion towards the fields, step by step. Oh, it would be so adorable.

The unscrupulous businessman Yuga had once again started thinking about how to exploit the labor of his Pokémon, not sparing even the weaker Lotad!

"Why did you only capture four of so many Lotad and Surkrit?" Flannery asked curiously.

Flannery knew that Yuga ran a Day Care, so his capturing Pokémon didn't surprise her. However, Yuga always picked and chose, and she couldn't understand why.

Yuga smiled and told a little white lie, "I select the ones that appear to have better development potential. It's about breeding value, not quantity!"

Flannery wasn't a breeder and couldn't discern which ones had better development potential and which didn't. She simply trusted Yuga's explanation.

After taking a short break by the pond, the two continued their journey.

While Yuga and Flannery cautiously made their way toward the center of the island, Beidou, along with a Delcatty, dashed out of the tall grass. Beidou's face was covered in dirt.

Seeing Yuga and Flannery, he shouted while running, "Run quickly!"

Initially, Yuga and Flannery were puzzled as to why Beidou was running. But then, they saw a swarm of Beedrill emerging from the grass behind him, looking menacing.

"Vivillon, set up an Electroweb!" Yuga ordered. Countless Electrowebs, crackling with electricity, attached to the branches ahead, forming a dangerous trap that blocked the Beedrill's path.

The Beedrill, fearing the Electrowebs crackling with electricity, didn't dare to proceed further. After briefly inspecting Beidou, Delcatty, and their surroundings through the Electrowebs, they reluctantly flew away.

Seeing the Beedrill retreat, Beidou and Delcatty breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much, Yuga," Beidou wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, still catching his breath.

Yuga found it strange and asked, "Weren't you traveling with your teammates? Why did you end up being chased by Beedrill like this?"

Upon hearing Yuga's question, Beidou's face stiffened momentarily, then he awkwardly chuckled, "Well... we got separated!"

Yuga could tell from Beidou's expression that there was more to the story than just getting separated, but since Beidou didn't seem willing to share, he didn't press further.

"So, what are your plans now? Are you going to look for your teammates or..." Yuga inquired.

Beidou remained silent, and an awkward silence hung in the air.

"How about you join us for now?" Yuga suggested. "Flannery, what do you think?"

Since the team wasn't solely Yuga's, he sought Flannery's opinion as well.

"I'm fine with it!" Flannery said nonchalantly. In fact, she thought the more people, the merrier.

"Really? That's great!" Beidou was delighted when he saw that Flannery agreed to have him travel with them.

Seeing how Beidou was more inclined to accompany them rather than search for his teammates, Yuga surmised that something must have happened between them.

"This is Flannery, and this is Beidou. We'll be traveling together for now, so let's get to know each other!" Yuga made a brief introduction, and after Beidou and Flannery exchanged pleasantries, a simple three-person team was formed.

As they continued their journey together, aside from Delcatty by their side, Beidou also released a Crobat to patrol the skies alongside Yuga's Vivillon. After all, it was easier to spot potential issues from the air.

Beidou's strength was quite impressive. Both Delcatty and Crobat had reached a level above forty. If it weren't for their potentials being inferior to Yuga's Pokémon, they might even surpass him in power.

At least Flannery's Houndoom, with its green potential, couldn't compete with these two Pokémon.

Not long after the three of them resumed their journey, they were blocked by a familiar Pokémon they had encountered earlier—a Zangoose.

This Zangoose was covered in purple venom, the same one they had seen tormenting a Seviper earlier.

It appeared that the Seviper had fallen victim to it.

This Zangoose had a ferocious disposition. Upon seeing the three individuals, it didn't hesitate and launched an attack right away, using its Slash directly towards Yuga.

But would Yuga's Absol allow it to have its way?

Absol's Sucker Punch directly collided with Zangoose's Slash. Consequently, Zangoose was sent flying and crashed into a large tree. Dazed and confused, it lay there, feeling embarrassed. To think that it had roamed the jungle for so many years, only to be humiliated by an insignificant adversary. What was the unsettling aura emanating from this insignificant adversary?

In the blink of an eye, Zangoose regained its footing, lifted its front paws, and prepared to use Slash again. However, this time its target was Absol.

Before it could get close to Absol, a barrage of Psycho Cut was sent directly at it, hitting it squarely in the face.

Its last thought before losing consciousness was, "After all these years roaming the jungle, to be..."

Leaving the fainted Zangoose behind, the three continued on their way.