It had been three days since Hill left Marina City alone.
Following the coastline and passing through the Coastal Mountains, he finally arrived at the Black Coast.
As long as he made it through the Black Forest ahead, he would reach Fruitvale Village on the other side, which also happened to be the territory governed by the Border Earl.
"Mightyena, I'll be relying on you again," Hill said as he patted the tall, imposing wolf Pokémon beside him.
Looking at the only remaining companion at his side, a trace of sadness appeared in his eyes as he thought of his Staraptor and Sneasel, who had been killed by that Froslass.
"Howl~ howl~"
The Mightyena affectionately nudged Hill's body with its head and then crouched down in front of him, allowing Hill to climb onto its back.
Without hesitation, it darted into the forest, swiftly weaving through the dense trees of the Black Forest.
As it ran, the Mightyena's nose twitched continuously, using its keen sense of smell to detect any potential threats that might be nearby.
Being a advanced-level magical beast, the Mightyena naturally emitted a certain aura from its body, which kept many of the surrounding wild beast from daring to attack it casually.
Gradually, Hill—riding on the back of the Mightyena—left the outskirts of the forest and entered the inner depths of the Black Forest. Upon reaching this part of the woods, he became noticeably more cautious.
The Black Forest was not short on advanced-level magical beasts. Even with the protection of the Mightyena, Hill still faced the risk of danger.
As they proceeded, the Mightyena's steps suddenly halted. It raised its head and sniffed the air.
"Did you smell something?" Hill leaned low on the wolf's back and asked in a quiet voice.
"Howl~"
The Mightyena stared solemnly ahead.
It could sense a particularly strong and concentrated beastly scent coming from the area in front of them—an indication that there were many magical beasts ahead, most likely a full-fledged beast colony.
Upon hearing this, Hill jumped down from the Mightyena's back and retrieved a map from his backpack.
He looked around carefully, then found a particularly conspicuous large tree and began marking it with notches.
After finishing the markings, he patted the Mightyena's side and hunched his figure low as he slipped quietly into the territory ahead. He intended to investigate what specific magical beasts resided in this area and to assess the scale of the group.
The reason Hill had come to the Black Coast alone this time was precisely to scout out a path—a route that would allow the Marina City's knights to pass safely through the Black Forest.
Don't be fooled by how freely he moved within the forest by himself. If it were a full battalion moving through, the situation would be entirely different.
The magical beasts within the Black Forest might not care much about a lone human wandering through their territory, but a large group would undoubtedly trigger their alarm, and the beasts would regard them as intruders—potential invaders from rival tribes.
In such a scenario, the local beasts might even band together to drive out the invaders. That's why finding a safe path was far more complicated than it seemed.
Carefully sneaking deeper into the territory, Hill soon noticed some claw marks on the trees.
"These are likely claw marks left by Raticate."
"And based on the varying sizes of the marks, there must be a large number of them."
Hill's expression grew serious. Rattata and Raticate were among the most common magical beasts in the Black Forest.
However, most Rattata groups only had a single Raticate as their leader, and such groups were not particularly powerful.
But if this was a colony made up of a large number of Raticate, led by a more powerful and dominant alpha Raticate, then the scale of the colony could be quite terrifying.
When he was younger and training in the Mt. Coronet, he had once encountered a Raticate that stood over two meters tall—a alpha Raticate with strength equivalent to an advanced-level magical beast.
One advanced-level alpha Raticate wouldn't be a big deal for Hill.
But that particular alpha Raticate had commanded an immense number of Raticate, and each Raticate controlled numerous Rattata. Together, they formed a massive colony.
Had he not relied on his Staraptor's flying ability to escape that situation, Hill was sure he would have died right then and there.
A colony of such magnitude, even if the majority were just weak Rattata, could easily overwhelm him with sheer numbers. Even a king-level magical beast might not be able to withstand such a swarm.
"Still, it's unlikely for the Black Forest to harbor such a massive swarm of rodents," Hill reassured himself and continued his cautious exploration.
The Mightyena followed closely at his side, always ready to defend its master, while its nose continued scanning for hidden enemies nearby.
Soon, Hill emerged into a clearing and spotted a tall tree near the edge of the meadow. He immediately saw eight large rats gnawing on something, surrounded by a dense crowd of Rattata.
Eight Raticate—all of them intermediate-level magical beasts. One of them was significantly larger and clearly the leader. The number of Rattata exceeded three hundred.
With this information, Hill silently retreated with the Mightyena and quickly left the Raticate colony's territory.
He returned to the large tree he had marked earlier and carved the newly gathered intel into the bark. Then he marked the spot on the map with a warning symPaul.
Still, this Raticate colony was within manageable limits. If no better route could be found, the knights from Marina City could focus on eliminating this group first.
After making the marks, Hill ventured deeper into the Black Forest, determined to chart every danger within the area and clear a path for the knights leading to Aspiration City.
…
Meanwhile, the first-ever Pokémon Tournament in Fruitvale Village was still ongoing.
Pete, commanding his Gloom, had defeated several opponents in succession and successfully entered the round of 32.
If he could win one more match, he would secure a place in the top 16—and with it, earn a spot among the knights.
"No pressure… I've got two chances."
"Even if I lose this match, I still have a chance in the losers' bracket."
Pete kept repeating these thoughts to himself to stay calm. Then his eyes turned to the lord onstage, who was drawing lots for the upcoming battles.
All the spectators held their breath as Aven reached into the wooden box and pulled out two paper slips.
As the names of the matchups were read aloud, Pete finally saw his own name—and immediately tensed up. He knew his opponent: a man named Paul.
Paul was a true native of Fruitvale Village and had been one of the earliest members of the patrol team. He possessed both a Gloom and a Mightyena, making him a formidable trainer.
Recalling everything he knew about Paul, Pete's expression grew serious. Paul would most likely send out his Mightyena in this match—how could Pete's Gloom possibly counter it?
Once the draw ended, the match began swiftly.
The first match featured a Mightyena against a Gloom.
The Gloom had clearly proven itself by reaching the round of 32, indicating its solid strength.
Yet under the Mightyena's assault, it didn't even last a single round—it was taken down instantly by a single use of Pursuit.
Seeing this, Pete sighed deeply. The Mightyena's advantage in type was just too overwhelming. If it had been a Poochyena instead, things would've been much easier.
Compared to the Mightyena, Poochyena was much weaker and didn't have such an edge against Gloom. That's why, in earlier rounds, even those who had captured Poochyena were all eliminated without exception.
As time passed, it was finally Pete's turn to take the stage. His opponent, Paul, looked calm and confident, clearly believing the match was already in the bag.
"He seems to be underestimating me. Maybe I can win this," Pete narrowed his eyes. He had already devised a viable strategy.
"The match is about to begin. Will both sides please prepare," Knight Sutter raised the red flag and addressed both competitors.
Originally, Lord Aven had been serving as the tournament's referee, but after half a day, Knight Sutter had taken over.
After all, Aven was a noble lord—it wasn't quite appropriate for him to serve as a referee. Since Sutter had shown great interest in officiating, Aven passed the responsibility to him.
After several matches, Sutter had become quite proficient and now fully competent as a judge.
"Begin the match!"
(End of Chapter)