Chapter 30 : A War?

Cedric was even more surprised this time than the previous time. Orion's battle tactics surprised him. It was something only experienced Trainers could do so easily. He muttered, "Looks like surviving in the Wild has had a very good effect on him. I understand why Lady Sabrina asked me to not interfere with him."

A minute later, Emma's Meditite managed to get close to Bellsprout and landed a few Fire Punches quickly. Though Bellsprout could heal through Ingrain, the recovery was just too slow. It fainted very quickly.

Emma's face lit up on winning her very first battle. Meditite was happy as well despite being very exhausted. The fight had drained most of her energy.

Cedric approached her and said, "You did great. But that's enough for today. Your Meditite is tired and needs rest."

Emma nodded. She could see how tired Meditite was. She turned her attention towards Orion who was already fighting his Third battle. She asked, "Did he win his first fight?"

Cedric replied, "He has already won two. Your battle went on for a long time due to your opponent's tactic. Orion had an easier fight in his first battle and managed to win the second battle with little damage as well."

He looked at Emma and said, "Don't feel bad. He already has some experience in handling Pokemon thanks to having Rhyhorn for a long time. So, he has a lot of advantages. You'll feel this advantage as well when you go on your journey."

Emma nodded. She was already able to win against someone who had become an official Pokemon Trainer and fought a few battles despite having a lower level Pokemon.

Orion continued fighting for some time and only stopped after a 5 match-win streak when Machop became tired and the damage he took piled on.

For the next one and a half weeks, Orion and Emma visited the place daily along with Cedric and fought against other Trainers. Emma's Meditite reached level 10 and had learnt Confusion and Detect, giving her the option to fight from a range. So tactics that she faced in her first fight became useless against her.

As for Machop, he reached level 12 and had learnt Low Sweep, giving Orion another method of reducing his opponent's speed. Considering that neither of his Pokemon were fast, this was an important debuff to have.

After Machop reached level 12, Orion thought, 'Most of the Trainers have already left. While there are still a few left, there is not much for me to gain by fighting them… It's time to return to the wild. With both Rhyhorn and Machop, I can explore even more deeper into the wild. I just have to avoid hives and colonies.'

Having made his decision, Orion stopped fighting against Pokemon Trainers and restarted his trips. On the other hand, Emma continued fighting against the new Trainers until they all left.

For the next month, Orion continued heading into the Wild. He generally stayed around the location of the Hard Stone. Thanks to having a second Pokemon, the risk became very low.

When he faced one single Pokemon, Orion made Machop fight while he stayed behind Rhyhorn. On the other hand, when he faced multiple Pokemon, Orion had Rhyhorn take the lead while Machop ensured that Orion stayed safe. Not to mention, thanks to months of being in such danger, Orion himself had become excellent at dodging any incoming attacks.

Thanks to this, Orion was able to venture much deeper into the wild. He found the Beedrill hive where Rhyhorn was attacked and also discovered the locations of several other hives and colonies that he needed to avoid.

During this month, another good thing that happened was that he completed the third step in his Psychic Training. He could freely control 100 blocks that weighed 10 grams each, becoming the second student after Emma to do so in their year.

One day, when he was roaming along with Rhyhorn and Machop, he suddenly felt something and looked in a direction. He thought, 'That's weird… Why does it feel like a huge battle is happening there?'

Rhyhorn and Machop felt it as well. The three of them stealthily sneaked closer until they could see what was happening. Hiding in bushes, Orion's eyes widened as he saw a battle happening a few hundred meters away! No, it couldn't be described as a battle. Instead, it seemed to be an all-out war between two Pokemon Species!

Hundreds of Beedrills and Butterfrees were fighting with the intent to exterminate the other hive. Orion could only see a few fights from where he was but could feel that the fight was much larger than what he was seeing.

He thought, 'Wow! I had read about different Pokemon hives going to war against each other. Even Rhyhorn's colony was destroyed in one such war. But, I never imagined that I'd be able to witness one myself so soon!'

Orion saw a Butterfree being pierced by a Beedrill's large stingers. It fell to the ground dead. Orion observed it and wondered, 'If enough Beedrills and Butterfrees die, could that opportunity be used to eliminate both hives?'

As he thought, Orion strongly felt that it could be done by the human trainers. He wondered, 'I wonder if such tactics are used when cities get expanded. Or do they only resort to brute force? Oh well, I don't have such strength right now. That said…'

Slight greed appeared in Orion's eyes as he thought, 'Every Pokemon hive has a lot of resources. They might even have some treasures. Though I can't expect much, every little bit will be a huge help for me right now! If I can steal it…'

Orion was very tempted. However, he controlled himself. He knew that if he tried stealing when the hive hadn't been damaged sufficiently, then his life would be in grave danger. Having already become slightly stable, he didn't want to take such a huge risk.

He decided, 'I guess I'll just watch. Getting a chance will be unlikely as the winners would usually plunder the defeated. The only way is if I can time my movement at the exact time. Unfortunately, I can't even see the entire war from here, let alone magically time it perfectly. Oh well. I can only hope.'

He softly whispered, "Rhyhorn, dig a hole as silently as you can. If they find us, we will escape underground and seal the entrance."

Rhyhorn nodded and got to work. In a few minutes, Rhyhorn had silently dug a nice underground tunnel. It would be sufficient to hide from Beedrills and Butterfrees.

Orion and his Pokemons continued hiding there for a few hours. Luckily, they weren't discovered as the Beedrills and Butterfrees rarely came that far from the hive. Suddenly, a change happened that neither Orion nor the two species who were fighting anticipated.