As the weather cleared, the pooled water began to slowly recede.
The battlefield in front of the village was a scene of utter devastation, with fallen figures scattered everywhere.
Aven stood silently atop a high slope, gazing into the distant sky without moving. A gentle breeze blew past, ruffling his hair.
Inside the village, the villagers were busy treating the wounded Pokémon.
Link was currently pouring a potion into the mouth of a Skuntank, his heart aching as he looked at the hideous wound on its body, inflicted by a Bibarel's bite.
"Is Lord Aven alright?"
Phyllis, who was helping Link with the treatments, glanced toward Aven on the slope, a look of concern in her eyes.
"Sigh... Quite a few Pokémon died in this battle," Link sighed softly. "You know how much Lord Aven cares for them…"
Indeed, from Link's perspective, their victory was a miracle—something worth celebrating.
"Yes… But perhaps it's precisely because of Lord Aven's love for Pokémon that so many of them were willing to protect him," Phyllis said gently.
Aven's feelings were indeed complicated. Any battle would bring casualties, but that didn't make the grief any easier to bear.
"Lord Aven, the battlefield has been cleared."
Sutter, clad in bloodstained knight armor, walked slowly behind Aven and knelt on one knee to report.
"Hmm. What are the casualties?" Aven turned to ask.
After a moment of silence, Sutter handed over a parchment with the tally of the wounded and dead.
Aven took the parchment and gave it a glance. He sighed again. The losses among the Gloom and Oddish were minimal, but the abandoned orchard Pokémon had suffered heavy casualties.
Seeing Aven's expressionless face, Sutter hesitated before saying, "Lord Aven, this battle was an overwhelming victory."
"I've been on many battlefields and faced many waves of magical beasts. Casualties are inevitable in war. But this time... the losses were minimal."
Sutter was genuinely impressed. After all, their opponent was the well-prepared knights of Marina City. Even the elite knights of Aspiration City would've paid a far heavier price in such weather conditions.
Of course, this was thanks to Fruitvale Village's exceptional healing capabilities—many severely wounded Pokémon had been saved. Without that, the cost would have been far higher.
"Yes, I understand," Aven gave a faint smile. "But in the end, we're still too weak."
Sutter looked up abruptly. In truth, he wanted to say that Fruitvale Village was anything but weak—they had already far surpassed most other territories.
But after a moment's thought, he lowered his head again. From Fruitvale Village's standpoint, they were still lacking.
In truth, it all came down to the village's short development time. If given a bit more time to grow, once their knights matured, the Marina City Knight Order wouldn't be a threat at all.
"Sutter, tell me the battle results. I doubt the Marina City knights fared any better than us." Aven closed his eyes.
"We captured over a hundred Bibarel and nearly a thousand Bidoof.
What remains of their forces is heavily wounded—their losses will only continue to grow."
Sutter snorted coldly. The knights of Marina City probably never dreamed they would lose—and so badly—at the hands of Fruitvale Village.
This battle had cost the Marina City Knight Order more than half their strength. A crushing defeat.
His gaze hardened. "Lord Aven, what do we do about the knights who escaped?"
"What to do?" Aven turned his gaze toward the distant Black Forest. "Don't worry, I don't plan to let them return so easily.
To get back to Marina City, they'll have to pass through the Black Forest, reach the Black Coast, and then cross the Coastal Mountains."
"From what we observed, they didn't bring many supplies. Add to that their many wounded Bibarel and Bidoof… unless they abandon them, they won't get far."
"Take a few knights and the Mightyena pack. Stay on their tail. Don't give them a chance to rest."
"Just remember—don't attack. Never corner a desperate enemy. Time will make the decision for them."
Hearing this, Sutter immediately knelt in a knight's salute.
"I will obey your orders. I won't let a single knight make it back to Marina City!"
…
Lord Paul still hadn't come to terms with the defeat.
It was supposed to be a simple attack on a weak village. He didn't understand how the Marina City knights had lost.
Those flimsy-looking defenses made of Oddish and Gloom should have been nothing more than a paper wall.
Yet that wall completely held off the Bibarel. They hadn't even been able to break through.
Was it because he had underestimated the enemy?
The thought crossed Paul's mind, but he rejected it.
He had prepared thoroughly—used a rain-enhanced Bibarel army to launch the attack swiftly.
But even with all that, they had still lost.
It wasn't because they underestimated the enemy, nor because they were weak. It was because Fruitvale Village was just too strong!
The three advanced-level magical beasts, the plant-controlling Grass-types, and the Sun-summoning evolved Cherrim—none of these were things he had accounted for.
If he could choose again, he'd never attack from the Black Coast. He'd rather take the long route and strike from the northeast.
But there were no "what-ifs" in war. All he could do now was accept reality.
The priority now was to bring the remaining forces back to Marina City. They couldn't afford any more losses.
…
The Bibarel stomped across the water in a hurried retreat.
After the intense battle, they were utterly exhausted. Healing potions restored some stamina, but not their mental fatigue.
Beside them were knights on foot, choosing not to ride the Bibarel to conserve their energy for future battles—especially with the Black Forest ahead.
At the rear were the Bidoof, many carrying their injured comrades.
Splash—
One Bidoof suddenly collapsed into the water, its body submerged.
Panting heavily, wounded and drained, it couldn't go on.
"Biii…"
It gave a weak call, but the others only glanced back before continuing on, their figures vanishing in the distance.
A knight also looked back at the fallen Bidoof, pity in his eyes, but didn't stop.
As the retreat dragged on, more and more injured Bidoof collapsed and were left behind.
Thump, thump, thump!
Three more fell. One of them looked up, eyes filled with despair.
It knew if it collapsed here, there would be no returning—this would be the end of its life.
But suddenly, it saw a knight with several Bidoof rushing toward it. Hope surged in its eyes.
Then it saw the knight go past it and rescue a Bibarel instead, placing it on a wooden board to be carried away by the Bidoofs.
So they weren't here to save me.
Despair returned. The Bidoof lay motionless, watching the rescuers disappear into the distance.
…
"We're almost at the Black Forest. We'll rest there for now," Paul said, pulling his gaze from a fallen Bidoof, exhaustion heavy in his voice.
There was nothing he could do for those left behind. If they tried to evacuate them all, no one would make it back alive.
After who knew how long, Paul finally saw the edge of the forest and let out a quiet breath of relief.
The knights didn't dare venture too deep—there were dangers in the Black Forest—so they camped on the outskirts.
"Assess the damage. We need to regroup, whether for enemy pursuit or to cross the forest," Paul ordered, weariness evident.
His adjutant got to work. Though no final tally was available yet, the losses were obvious—over a hundred elite Bibarel gone, and many more Bidoof.
Worst of all, they had marched in with little supply, planning to seize Fruitvale Village and use its resources.
That strategy had utterly failed. Now, they could only try to forage in the forest.
…
"Wing, wing!"
As the knights rested, a Wingull flew over and landed on Paul's shoulder, squawking urgently.
"Are enemies pursuing us?" Paul asked, frowning.
Before the Wingull could respond, a series of howls echoed from the forest's edge.
All the knights' faces changed. They recognized the sound—Mightyena.
Fruitvale Village had over a hundred of them.
The pursuers had arrived, and every knight instinctively gripped their weapons tightly.
(End of Chapter)