Such a terrifying presence!
Those few Dragon-type Pokémon in the distance—only their silhouettes faintly visible—instantly sensed the overwhelming draconic might and Pressure radiating from Shiko.
Even though Shiko's level was lower than theirs, that dense, domineering dragon aura was even more ferocious than theirs!
After watching from afar for a moment, those Dragon-types immediately turned around, not daring to come any closer, and returned to their own mountain peaks.
Shiko watched their figures disappear, then shifted his gaze back to the Drampa right in front of him.
The pair of Drampa eyed Shiko warily, sizing up the hulking, savage-looking Pokémon before them.
Once their anger subsided, the two Drampa also calmed down.
"Rrr… rrr…"
A low, faint sound rumbled from their throats—like an old man's murmuring.
Shiko's arrival made the two Drampa abandon the idea of solving everything with violence.
They began trying to communicate instead.
Shiko listened slowly to their explanation. In his massive draconic eyes, a subtle ripple of emotion flickered.
"Great! We're out! The crisis is over!"
"Hahahaha! Let's go, let's go—hurry up and get out of here!"
"What are you idiots standing around for? Hurry up and get us out!"
"Forget it! Don't bother with these useless Military guys—we'll leave ourselves!"
Seeing the wild Pokémon withdraw and no longer press in with that oppressive encirclement, the two civilians were instantly overjoyed. In a fluster, they tried to leave at once.
When they noticed everyone else still had no intention of leaving, the two muttered a couple of complaints.
They hoisted the backpacks they'd been clutching to their chests and started to slip away, faces flashing with barely concealed excitement and glee.
Boom!!!
They hadn't even taken a few steps when a black shadow flickered over their heads.
In the next second, rocks on both sides of the valley shattered and came crashing down from above, sealing the exit.
The two were trapped.
Their steps froze. They jerked their heads up—
—and finally saw that the "black shadow" was Shiko's thick tail.
Like a sledgehammer, it struck so hard it ripped a chunk of the mountainside apart.
That power was undeniable.
"Fucking hell! What is this big idiot doing?!"
"Whose Pokémon is that? How is it trained?!"
Staring at the scene, the two started yelling again, furious.
What was this supposed to mean?
They were clearly out of danger and could leave—so why block the road for no reason?!
"Shut up."
Himeko turned back coldly, frost in her eyes.
Her expression was so icy—so devoid of warmth—that the two men's hearts instantly chilled.
"You stole those Drampa's egg?"
Himeko asked, brows knitting as anger surfaced.
Shiko had told her.
During the communication with the Drampa, Shiko had learned the truth.
The spark that set everything off was these two men—stealing the Drampa's Pokémon Egg.
That was why the Drampa were so enraged they'd gone this far.
The moment Himeko said it, the air fell silent.
The four members of the First Squad snapped their heads around, eyes locked on the two civilians.
"What Pokémon Egg?! I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Stop slandering us! Those Pokémon went crazy and attacked us out of nowhere!"
The two men stiffened for a beat, then denied it flatly, shaking their heads.
"Teruo!"
Aisa called out.
Teruo nodded and walked up to the two men.
"Hand it over."
He held out his palm, voice harsh—like thunder cracking overhead.
"I don't know what you mean!"
"This is how the Military does things? Listening to some little girl and accusing us with nothing but words?!"
They kept denying it, backing away step by step until they were pressed into a corner.
They even tried to seize the moral high ground, loudly condemning them.
"Give it here!"
Kantaro had somehow already circled behind them.
While their attention was fixed on Teruo in front, Kantaro yanked the backpacks off their backs in one swift motion.
He'd noticed long ago how obsessively the two guarded those bags.
And looking at their bodies—if they really were hiding a Pokémon Egg, there was only one place it could be.
In the backpack.
"What are you doing?! Give it back!"
"That's straight-up robbery!"
The moment the bags were taken, the two men panicked and rushed to chase Kantaro.
Teruo's iron-tower build stepped in, blocking them.
"Damn it! Beedrill—get it back!"
"Linoone, you too!"
The two men produced Poké Balls from who-knows-where and released two Pokémon:
A Beedrill and a Linoone.
Both were trained mediocrely—around Level 20, roughly early-career tier.
The moment those two Pokémon appeared, the First Squad members' anger flared even hotter.
So they had Pokémon?!
Of course they did.
If they didn't, how would they have dared come to a place as dangerous as Dragon Valley?
But the real issue was this:
They had Pokémon, yet they never once released them during the earlier fight to help.
Even if those two were weak, under a tidal wave of attackers, something was better than nothing.
In the end, it was simple—
These two were selfish, thinking only of themselves.
Once everyone realized that, they were furious—so furious they wanted to beat the two men senseless on the spot.
But the problem was…
All of their Pokémon were already out of commission.
Forget punishing these two—they could only watch as Beedrill and Linoone lunged at Kantaro.
"Watch out!"
Teruo, Tsuki, and Hina shouted instinctively, warning Kantaro.
Kantaro's hand, gripping the zipper, paused.
He turned—
—and saw the two Pokémon charging straight at him.
Beedrill's silvery forearm stingers gleamed razor-sharp, growing larger and larger in his eyes.
The situation was critical.
The other three First Squad members were frantic, but they could only stare helplessly.
They had no way to intervene.
Boom!!!
A yellow tail streaked with blue patterns slammed down.
Not off by even an inch.
It landed right in front of Kantaro.
Wrapped in Dragon-type energy, that tail lash exploded the earth, blasting dirt and stone into the air.
Dust rolled like smoke.
When it finally cleared, Beedrill and Linoone were already sprawled on the ground, unmoving.
The fight came fast, ended faster—and flipped even faster.
They'd thought Kantaro was about to be hurt.
Instead, Shiko casually used a single Dragon Tail to settle both Pokémon.
Exhaling in relief, Kantaro looked up.
He met Shiko's draconic gaze and showed sincere gratitude.
His body trembled involuntarily.
Only after he noticed Shiko giving him a slight nod did he fully come back to himself and open the backpack.
Sure enough—
No surprises.
Inside that bulging bag was a Pokémon Egg.
Its shell was covered in cloudy patterns, and a faint Dragon-type pulse could be clearly sensed within.
This had to be the Drampa's egg.
To be absolutely certain, Himeko activated the Eye of Appraisal and checked the egg's data.
When she saw "Drampa" clearly listed under Species, she finally relaxed.
So Shiko's information was correct.
These two really had stolen the Pokémon Egg from this Drampa couple—
and that was what drove these normally gentle Pokémon into such an extreme reaction.
Kantaro carefully took the egg out and set it on the ground.
The two Drampa approached and cradled it away.
Their eyes softened.
That warm, harmonious scene made everyone present, for a moment, forget the earlier tension and deadly danger.
"Now we can leave, right?!"
"Fuck, what bad luck… thought we were gonna make a killing."
Watching the egg be taken back, the two egg thieves felt their hearts twist in pain.
That was the offspring of an Elite Four-tier Dragon-type Pokémon!
The potential went without saying.
Even if Drampa weren't the absolute strongest among Dragon-types, they had one huge advantage:
Their temperament was gentle.
Sell an egg like that, and even a mediocre Trainer wouldn't have to worry much about the Pokémon disobeying—or, worse, attacking its own Trainer.
On the black market, an egg like that started at an absurd price.
Watching that fortune slip away—watching their dream of wealth vanish—
they hurt so badly they could barely breathe.
But at this point, what could they do?
It was obvious no one here was on their side.
So they could only accept the outcome and leave resentfully.
Looking at their faces, the First Squad members were full of rage and resentment.
They wanted nothing more than to make those two die right here.
But they couldn't vent it.
Because they didn't have the right to judge.
Even knowing the men had committed a crime, the final judgment and sentencing had to be left to the League.
That frustration made each of them seethe.
They'd nearly died in this valley trying to save two poachers.
And those two bastards never told the truth to the end.
They treated the squad like tools—like slaves.
If Aisa and the new squad member, Himeko, hadn't arrived in time…
If, at the most critical moment, that powerful dragon beast hadn't appeared to turn the tide…
then today, they really might have buried their Pokémon here along with themselves.
"Cuff them and take them with us."
"After we return, file an operation report—then transfer them to the League."
Aisa gave the order.
"Understood."
Tsuki nodded, shooting the two poachers a disgusted look.
"Transfer, transfer—hurry up and transfer!"
"You wanna mess with us? We've got connections in the League! Over this little crap, we'll be out in a few days!"
The two poachers exchanged a glance and laughed with contempt.
That brazen, fearless attitude hit everyone's nerves again.
Teruo's fists clenched so hard they cracked.
Even so, they didn't strike.
Because that was Military regulation.
For Military personnel, the most basic rule was obedience to law and discipline.
Seeing the First Squad members grinding their teeth, furious beyond measure yet powerless—
the two poachers laughed even harder.
The contempt and mockery in their eyes weren't hidden at all.
Whoosh!!!
Suddenly, a tearing gust cut through the air.
A thick yellow tail snapped out, coiling around both men's waists—
—and lifted them up.
Straight up to more than three meters off the ground.
Bound tight, the two poachers couldn't move at all.
They looked down at the jagged ground below, littered with sharp rocks—
and panic exploded in their faces.
"What are you doing?! Put us down!"
"Where's the Trainer?! Who's the Trainer of this Pokémon?! How do you control it?!"
Terrified, they screamed at the top of their lungs.
Shiko stared at them with draconic eyes.
A crushing dragon aura flooded out and covered them.
His tail tightened just slightly.
A monstrous force surged—
—and both poachers went deathly pale, vomiting a mouthful of blood.
Two absolute idiots.
Shiko couldn't help cursing internally.
These humans were stupid beyond belief.
They didn't even look at what situation they were in, and they still dared to provoke everyone so openly.
Other people might have rules.
But Shiko didn't.
Right now, he was essentially just a Pokémon.
Those were human rules—
not rules for Pokémon.
If others couldn't do what needed to be done…
Then he would do it himself.
From his earlier conversation with the Drampa, Shiko had genuinely felt their fury and grief after their child was stolen.
"Rrr… rrr…"
The two Drampa looked at Shiko and rumbled in those low voices again—there was even a pleading note in their expressions.
Oh?
So that's how it is?
Understanding the message the Drampa were conveying, Shiko felt a sudden burst of delight.
Then—
His long tail stretched out and flicked toward the Drampa.
The two poachers screamed as they were hurled away, crashing down in front of the Drampa.
At the same time, the Drampa produced a faintly glowing, light-blue object—
which Shiko caught steadily.
Next—
Before anyone could even ask what was happening—
this Drampa couple took their Pokémon Egg…
and, together with the two poachers, threw them back this way.
That sudden chain of events left the scene silent for a moment.
"You know how to write the report when we get back, don't you?"
Aisa was the first to break the silence.
Tsuki lowered her head, thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Illegal criminals stole a Pokémon Egg and were discovered, then were attacked by Pokémon. When we arrived, both sides were already gone. We searched for a long time with no results. Based on traces at the scene, it is highly likely they were killed."
"Good. Report it like that."
(End of Chapter)
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