Encounter In The Tunnel

Yuga and Floette encountered quite a few Whismur on their journey, but Yuga and his Floette didn't provoke them.

These Whismur lived in groups here, and who knew whether they might come out with younger ones to confront the intruders, or if they might swarm in response to an attack. Dealing with a whole group of them would be challenging.

Apart from the peaceful Whismur living here, Rusturf Tunnel had very few pedestrians. Ordinary people traveling from Verdanturf Town to Rustboro City typically used transportation, with the most convenient option being airplanes.

The number of trainers was relatively small compared to regular people, so there weren't people wandering around the wilderness all the time.

As a result, there were rarely pedestrians in Rusturf Tunnel, which was one reason why Whismur hadn't left the area.

In the dimly lit and quiet tunnel, there were only Yuga and Floette, and the only sounds were Yuga footsteps, creating an eerie atmosphere.

"Floette, Floette...tte."

Floette lay on Yuga shoulder, trembling and shivering, her voice quivering.

Feeling Floette trembling on his shoulder, Yuga spoke, "Floette, you're really skittish. There's nothing to be afraid of here except for the slightly dim lighting."

"Floette, Floette!"

Floette expressed her dissatisfaction with being called skittish, pounding Yuga shoulder with her hand. It was unclear whether she was venting her frustration or diverting her attention.

Although Yuga said that, he was also slightly nervous himself. It wasn't that he was worried about ghosts or anything, nor was it because he was easily scared. This could be considered a natural human instinct; in dim environments, one tended to feel fearful involuntarily.

Just then, both Yuga and Floette heard a series of hurried gasps.

"Floette!!!"

Floette screamed in fright, and Yuga was taken aback as well.

Yuga instinctively lowered his voice and asked, "What's that sound?"

"Floette."

Floette shook her trembling body and shook her head, indicating that she didn't know.

"Absol."

This time, not only gasping sounds but also a low growl could be heard.

Hearing this sound, Yuga realized that these sounds were probably coming from a Pokémon.

Carefully, he followed the direction of the sound and cautiously walked towards it. He finally saw the source of the sound when he turned a corner in the tunnel.

It was an Absol lying on the ground, not moving. Its snow-white fur stood out in the dim environment.

If it weren't for its crimson eyes continuously staring at Yuga, he might have thought it was already dead.

Yuga wanted to take a step closer to see what was wrong with Absol, but a sharp low growl came from the other side.

Clearly, this Absol was very wary of Yuga and Floette, who had suddenly appeared.

"Absol, relax a bit. I don't mean any harm. I just want to see if you're injured. Are you hurt?"

Yuga hadn't noticed earlier, but he now realized that there was a faint smell of blood in the air. Most likely, it was coming from this Absol.

Absol stared at Yuga for a while and then lowered its slightly raised head to the ground, indicating that it was letting its guard down.

Being a pure Dark-type Pokémon, Absol could sense that Yuga had no ill intent. Moreover, it was already at its limit and couldn't hold on much longer.

Seeing that Absol had relaxed, Yuga quickly approached to check its condition.

Yuga guess was correct; this Absol was indeed injured, and severely at that. Its injuries were already fatal. It had a huge horizontal wound on its abdomen, as if it had been sliced by something.

Not only that, but the wound was also contaminated with a large amount of toxins, causing the wound to keep bleeding.

In addition to that, its legs, back, and face all had injuries of varying degrees.

Just as Yuga was about to take out medicine from his dimensional bag to treat the Absol wounds, a series of footsteps suddenly came from the opposite direction they had arrived.

The footsteps were quite clear in the spacious tunnel.

As soon as the footsteps emerged, Yuga felt Absol previously relaxed body tense up immediately. A low and urgent roar escaped its throat.

"So, it was these people who injured you like this?"

Based on Absol reaction, Yuga quickly deduced the reason.

Absol didn't answer, but Yuga knew he was right.

He immediately moved Absol to the corner of the tunnel where they had arrived earlier, then turned to Floette and said:

"Floette, use Fairy Wind to disperse the scent of blood here, and then use Safeguard to hide all of us."

Upon hearing Yuga command, Floette understood the urgency and immediately used Fairy Wind. She directed it toward the spot where Absol had been lying just now, and the surrounding area, creating a powerful gust.

After Floette actions, the air in the tunnel instantly became much fresher.

Having completed those actions, Floette quickly returned to Yuga side. A green light flashed across her, and in front of Yuga, a gray screen appeared. This gray screen perfectly matched the color of the tunnel walls.

This screen then enveloped Yuga, Absol, and Floette, making them seem invisible.

This method was quite risky; they could easily be discovered if they weren't careful. But Yuga had no other choice. With Absol severely injured, they wouldn't be able to get far while carrying it. This was their last resort.

They hadn't been hidden for long when the footsteps of those people followed closely behind.

There were three of them in total. Their attire was peculiar, and each of them was accompanied by a Pokémon—a Seviper, a Skorupi, and a Murkrow.

Seeing Seviper, Yuga knew immediately that the massive wound on Absol body was caused by Seviper toxic tail.

They were all dressed in tightly wrapped clothing, with even their heads covered by hoods. On top of these hoods were small, horn-like decorations.

"Have you found the target?"

A rough male voice spoke, belonging to the owner of Skorupi.

"No, even though I saw it enter the tunnel, and it's so badly injured that it can't have gotten far."

This was another male voice, albeit slightly softer. This person was the owner of Seviper.

"Useless, you can't even handle such a simple task."

The rough male voice spoke again.

"Who are you calling useless?"

The softer male voice sounded offended.

"Alright, enough, you two. Stop bickering. Finding the target is more important."

This time, it was a female voice, the owner of the Murkrow.

"Hmph!"

"Hmph!"

Both male voices couldn't help but snort in response.

After that, the footsteps of these three people gradually faded away along with their conversation. They were heading in the same direction that Yuga and the others had come from.

Due to the tunnel dim lighting, Yuga couldn't see the color of their clothing or their appearances. However, this worked in their favor, making it less likely for Yuga group to be noticed.

When those three people passed by them, Yuga and his companions held their breath and remained completely still.