The battle ended.
Natsuhiko looked at the Blazing Beast.
This Blazing Beast was quite powerful. Although it was at Gym Leader level, it was among the stronger ones in that class, probably not far from Elite Candidate level.
In such an environment, rich in Fire Energy, there is a chance of breaking through to Elite Candidate level.
For a Wild Pokémon to reach the strength of an Elite Candidate, the difficulty is imaginable, far exceeding the Pokémon nurtured by Trainers.
After all, they can't enjoy various nurturing resources like Energy Blocks, and if they suffer some internal injuries after battles, they can't be fully healed.
Over time, these injuries become obstacles to their growth.
Among the Pokémon Natsuhiko encountered that reached or even exceeded Elite Candidate level, like Dragapult and Turtonator, without exception, they grew quietly in energy-rich environments with little conflict.
But in the underground space under this Flame Valley,
conflicts are unavoidable.
Yet, this Blazing Beast still possesses such strength and has the opportunity to reach Elite Candidate level, which must admit, its talent is not weak.
As for the Cyndaquil, the child of the Blazing Beast, it's expected that its talent won't be lacking.
However, this Chimchar, mingling with the Blazing Beast and Cyndaquil, and seemingly having a good relationship, its ability and talent are hard to judge.
Now all five Centiskorch are down.
As for the Sizzlipede, some are down, some scattered, leaving only Natsuhiko's four Pokémon and the Blazing Beast family standing.
The atmosphere became somewhat subtle.
If it were just Cyndaquil and Chimchar, Natsuhiko might have forcefully captured them, and dealing with relationships afterward would be manageable.
But now, with a Blazing Beast in the mix, trying to capture Cyndaquil and Chimchar will inevitably be met with resistance from the Blazing Beast.
And this Blazing Beast is not weak; the intensity of its resistance might not be small either.
Defeating this Blazing Beast to capture the two little ones might lead them to have a strong rebellious psychology.
Especially Chimchar, who previously showed an extremely strong and stubborn personality.
If they were just Pokémon to be captured for resource exchange, Natsuhiko wouldn't care about their mindset.
But as he's capturing them to be his main Pokémon, Natsuhiko must consider their thoughts and feelings. Otherwise, if a deep-seated thorn of resentment pierces into Chimchar's heart, even if the thorn is removed later, the wound will still leave a mark.
After capturing four Pokémon and being involved in so many battles, Natsuhiko knows best what is most crucial between a Trainer and a Pokémon.
It's momentum.
It's affinity.
It's mutual trust between the Pokémon and the Trainer.
Letting Chimchar develop resistance and rebellious behavior early on is definitely detrimental to later nurturing, growth, and battles. Resolving such discrepancies would probably take a considerable amount of time.
So now he's somewhat hesitant about how to avoid such troubles.
"Roar."
Seeing Natsuhiko not making any moves or doing anything outrageous, the flames on the Blazing Beast's back slowly receded. It growled softly towards Cyndaquil and Chimchar.
It crouched down and approached them, then tossed Chimchar onto its back and picked up Cyndaquil with its mouth, slowly retracing its steps.
Seeing them about to leave, Natsuhiko signaled to Togetic and also lifted his foot to follow.
He can think about what to do slowly, but he can't let these few Pokémon leave his sight.
"Roar."
Feeling Natsuhiko's steps following, the Blazing Beast looked back and roared a warning at him.
However, it didn't attack, just continued moving forward after the roar.
Natsuhiko did not stop his steps due to the Blazing Beast's warning.
If, because of worrying about leaving a bad impression on Chimchar, he lets them disappear from his sight, Natsuhiko would rather choose to capture them all right here.
But the Blazing Beast did not issue another warning, as long as Natsuhiko kept a safe distance, it allowed him to follow.
Togetic, receiving Natsuhiko's signal, quickly understood what it needed to do.
Teacher Poke came forth once again.
As a "Social Butterfly," Teacher Poke, leveraging its own cute, harmless appearance and the inherent amiability of Togetics, quickly built a "bridge" for communication between Natsuhiko and the Blazing Beast family.
With the previous actions of saving Cyndaquil and Chimchar, the cooperative momentum against the Centiskorch, and now the friendly engagement by Togetic, the Blazing Beast's wariness towards Natsuhiko decreased significantly.
It also allowed Natsuhiko to follow a bit closer.
On the way back to their nest with the Blazing Beast, they encountered many Pokémon living in this underground space.
However, it seems the Blazing Beast has some reputation here and didn't encounter any attacks.
Before long.
The Blazing Beast carrying Chimchar and holding Cyndaquil returned to their home.
A small nest, filled with big and small caves.
With the arrival of the Blazing Beast, heads popped out from these caves.
There were Cyndaquil, Quilava, and even other Blazing Beasts.
It seems this is indeed a Blazing Beast community, and this one must be the leader.
The group isn't large, only about twenty Pokémon, but they appear to be getting along harmoniously.
Natsuhiko's arrival piqued their curiosity, but seeing no reaction from the leader Blazing Beast, they did not express hostility.
The Blazing Beast glanced at Natsuhiko, who stood outside their nest without entering, and released the Cyndaquil from its mouth and Chimchar from its back.
Once on the ground, Cyndaquil immediately started playing with the other Cyndaquil.
But Chimchar seemed a bit out of place with them.
It quietly walked to the side, facing a smooth, concave rock in the corner, continuously swinging its little fists, the sound of fists hitting the rock echoing.
Cyndaquil didn't forget about it, though.
It approached Chimchar, trying to invite it to join their game.
Cyndaquil hadn't forgotten who courageously charged out earlier and punched it free from the Centiskorch's jaws, even though they eventually got captured, that courage moved Cyndaquil.
Listening to Cyndaquil's invitation, Chimchar was initially interested.
But turning around to see the subtle rejection expressed by the other Cyndaquil, it shook its head and softly nudged Cyndaquil, indicating they should play and not worry about it.
Cyndaquil, understanding Chimchar's stubborn nature, knew once it refused, it would not agree. Slightly disappointed, it returned to play with the other Cyndaquil, and that slight disappointment quickly faded in the joy of playing.
Meanwhile, Chimchar, with clenched fists, stubbornly hit the wall again and again.
The smooth and concave rock wall spoke volumes about its effort.
Not far away, the Blazing Beast watched, seeing the scene, could only helplessly shake its head.
Chimchar's difficulty fitting in, the subtle rejection from the other Cyndaquil towards this different Pokémon, left it with no solution.
Watching Chimchar and Cyndaquil was not only the Blazing Beast but also Natsuhiko.
As a fellow Pokémon and elder, the Blazing Beast might treat Cyndaquil and Chimchar equally, yet it couldn't see things as clearly as Natsuhiko, who observed as a human.
Why Chimchar lived with this group of Blazing Beasts and Cyndaquil, he did not know.
The only thing he could sense was the deeply hidden loneliness within Chimchar.
Even though it was living with a group of Pokémon, it seemed lonely.
Just as Natsuhiko, in his past life, lived in society surrounded by colleagues, yet still felt lonely.
"Ultimately, not the same type of Pokémon."