Carrying its comrade, the Bibarel leader continued running.
It was heading toward the site where the largest number of its kin had been left behind.
Now that the knights were no longer a burden, they could move much faster.
They didn't care what dangers lurked in other Pokémon's territory. Without hesitation, they barreled through the forest—rushing forward with all their might.
As the Bibarel sprinted forward, the leader suddenly halted mid-step, eyes narrowing with tension.
Ahead, it had sensed a familiar energy fluctuation—the same kind they had encountered outside that village.
'The Gloom and Oddish have caught up.'
The Bibarel leader thought, eyes sharp but also relieved.
If there was still fighting going on, then its kin must still be alive. They were still holding on!
It glanced back at its companions and saw determination burning in their eyes. Energy surged around them—they were ready to fight.
"Bii!"
"Let's go—let's rescue our kin!"
With a sharp, rallying cry, the Bibarel leader charged forward, its companions right behind it.
…
They were close now—so close. The leader called out as it broke through the dense foliage and burst into a clearing.
This clearing was once a base for the knights, and more importantly—it was where most of its kin were left behind!
The moment it emerged, the Bibarel leader saw many of its kind sprawled across the ground, their bodies glowing faintly with a soft green light.
Lifting its gaze, the leader saw across the field: Vileplume and Petilil stood with a gentle green aura emanating from them, enveloping the entire clearing in verdant energy.
Behind them, rows upon rows of Gloom and Oddish stood in formation.
Then, the Bibarel leader's gaze fell upon a human—this person was kneeling beside an injured Bidoof, carefully wrapping its wounds with long white cloth bandages.
As he moved, the injured Bidoof let out a painful cry that made the leader tense, ready to leap forward—
But then, it heard a familiar sound—more Bibarels and Bidoofs were rushing in from both sides of the forest.
These Bibarel and Bidoof dashed toward it, and as the leader swept its gaze over them, its vision blurred with emotion. Almost all of its missing kin had returned!
"Bii!, Bii!"
At that moment, the Bibarel leader's companions that had followed the leader finally caught up.
Seeing the scene before them, their faces lit up with joy and excitement.
Soon, Bibarel and Bidoof gathered together, chirping and exchanging information.
After a brief exchange, the leader and its group were left dumbfounded.
"Bii…?"
The Bibarel leader glanced around, bewildered.
It had imagined its tribe must be in the midst of fierce battle—but what lay before it was nothing like that!
Its gaze shifted to a nearby Bibarel, who now wore a peaceful expression. The green light wrapped around its wounds—it was being healed.
Then, it looked again at the human.
The man had picked up the injured Bidoof, holding it gently in his arms.
The Bidoof looked calm, even content—not struggling in pain as the leader had feared. This human wasn't hurting its kin—he was helping them.
…
"Is that the Bibarel? Has the Marina City Knight Order come to attack again?"
On the other side, Fruitvale Village's knights had also noticed the approaching Bibarel, their expressions growing tense.
Peter, accompanied by his Mightyena, stepped forward. The Gloom and Oddish behind him also readied themselves for battle.
Aven calmly observed the scene. He scanned the crowd—there were at least hundreds of Bibarel present.
He instantly understood—these must be all the Bibarel that had belonged to the Marina City Knight Order. Yet rather than fleeing the Black Forest, they had returned to this place.
"So, they really did come back."
He lowered his head slightly, exhaling slowly.
As a Pokémon Breeder, Aven understood Bibarel line's behavior all too well. For a social species like them, abandoning their kin was unthinkable.
From the moment he decided to isolate the Marina City knights, he had crafted a plan around this very trait.
The strategy was clear:
Let the knights continually abandon their injured Bibarel and Bidoof during their retreat.
Keep pressing them with relentless pursuit—until they had no choice but to leave the injured behind.
For the Bibarel, who valued kin above all else, this would be devastating. Each abandoned comrade would shatter their trust—until eventually, they would no longer follow the humans who had forsaken them.
He had once told Phyllis:
"Pokémon are simple. If you treat them with sincerity, they'll return that sincerity. But betray them… and they'll leave you without hesitation."
Now, the Bibarel had returned—proof that they had made their choice:
To abandon the humans who had abandoned their kin.
Aven's relief was mixed with a twinge of guilt. He had deliberately used his knowledge of Pokémon psychology to manipulate these Bibarel—forcing them into this decision.
But he didn't regret it. Some choices had to be made.
Compared to dying a pointless death on the battlefield, this was a far better outcome.
Now, with his care, more Bibarel and Bidoof would survive. Otherwise, they'd remain nothing more than tools—eventually perishing in battle, buried and forgotten in the dirt.
…
"Lord Aven…"
Peter spoke, worry on his face as he watched the gathering Bibarel.
To be honest, when he first saw these injured Bibarel and Bidoof, he hadn't planned to help.
But Aven had insisted on treating them—and even shared some of their limited Pokémon food to feed them.
Now, those healed Bibarel and Bidoof had rejoined their kin, making the enemy even stronger.
Peter understood this was just Aven's nature—he would never turn a blind eye to a suffering Pokémon. But it still made him uneasy.
In his view, he could just ignore these Bibarel and Bidoof for the time being. It wouldn't be too late to come back and deal with them after they had annihilated the knights of Marina City.
Instead of what is happening now, healing these Bibarel and Bidoof and letting them return to the enemy ranks.
This could be all the Knight Order had left. And if these Bibarel came with hostile intent, a fierce battle was inevitable.
…
"It's alright. They just came to find their kin."
Aven shook his head gently and set the bandaged Bidoof down on the grassy field.
"Petilil, thank you."
"Lil-"
Petilil nodded, glowing softly with green light.
At her feet, the grass and surrounding trees shimmered as well—this was Absorb, drawing energy from nature.
That energy was then transformed by her healing leaves into pure life energy, spreading across the grassy field.
The Bibarel leader and the injured companion on its back were bathed in green light, their wounds quickly mending.
In the Black Forest, Petilil was in her element.
If the battle between the Glooms and Bibarels had taken place here, the Glooms would've held the overwhelming advantage.
With Petilil's Absorb, she could continuously replenish the field with life energy, maintaining the healing effect of Grassy Terrain.
Thanks to this group healing, the wounded Bibarel and Bidoof were recovering quickly.
For those too severely injured, Aven personally checked and performed emergency treatment—but full recovery would take more time.
…
The Bibarel leader silently watched Aven's every move.
Its gaze lingered on the fully bandaged Bidoof. Under the healing light of the field, that Bidoof's expression softened—its pain easing.
..
"Only the Bibarel? Where are the knights from Marina City?"
Peter looked toward the depths of the Black Forest, but saw no sign of humans.
Yet these Bibarel were clearly the knight order's main force.
He frowned, still unsure what was going on.
His gaze returned to the Bibarel, and then—to the largest one, the leader.
Unexpectedly, the Bibarel leader broke formation and stepped into the Grassy Terrain, carrying another Bibarel on its back.
Everyone tensed, unsure what it planned to do.
But before anyone could react, the surrounding Bibarel suddenly stepped forward and blocked the leader's path.
"Bii—?"
The Bibarel leader paused mid-step, stunned.
It hadn't expected its own kin to block its way.
Before, such a thing would've been unthinkable. But now—these Bibarel and Bidoof were doing it for the sake of that human.
Yet the leader didn't grow angry. Instead, it slowly knelt down and laid its injured companion on the grass.
Then it backed away, turned toward Aven, and let out a low chirp—its voice carrying a note of pleading.
A moment later, green light enveloped the injured Bibarel.
Its wounds quickly healed, its clenched expression relaxing.
Seeing this, the leader finally let out a quiet breath.
It looked across the field—at the human standing at the front of the group—and its eyes filled with deep, complex emotion.
It didn't understand this human at all. Why was he helping them?
They had once attacked the very village he lived in.
(End of Chapter)