The bounty hunters, each harboring their own fears and ambitions, scattered in all directions. Whatever fragile bond of trust had held them together had now completely shattered.
Bounty hunters running off like frightened birds and beasts wasn't unusual—but this time, Nozomi didn't bother stopping them.
First, these small-time hunters weren't worth chasing down personally. The League could handle the cleanup.
Second, and far more importantly—the real prize hadn't escaped yet.
With one look, Nozomi had already identified Denna as the ringleader of the Pokémon poachers. So from the very start, his gaze had locked on the man, never letting him out of sight, watching for the slightest attempt to flee.
Being stared down like that, Denna felt utterly miserable. His nerves were fraying, his heart sinking deeper by the second.
He cursed the fleeing bounty hunters viciously in his mind. How could they abandon him like that—just run off and leave him behind!
He could understand their reasoning on a rational level, but emotionally, it was unbearable.
"What now?"
Barking orders, Denna had his Pokémon fight tooth and nail just to hold off Nozomi's relentless assault while his mind raced for an escape plan.
He'd been cornered before—many times, in fact. And every time, he'd found a way out. This time, he told himself, would be no exception.
But as he searched desperately for a way to break free, his heart suddenly froze. His Aggron was being crushed in the coils of a massive Steelix, the sound of metal grinding against metal echoing through the night.
If this continued, he would be captured.
"No choice… I'll have to abandon them!"
Denna clenched his teeth. A ruthless man to the end, he made his decision without hesitation.
Though these Pokémon were his main team—partners he had trained for years, into whom he'd poured endless effort and care—he was still a professional poacher. And in moments of life or death, even abandoning one's own Pokémon wasn't beyond consideration.
"Seviper, take me away!"
He shouted to his Seviper, which was dodging incoming Shadow Balls from Nozomi's Pokémon.
At his command, Seviper reacted immediately, coiling back and opening its jaws wide. Denna grabbed its fangs, hoisted himself into its mouth, and let the serpent carry him—ignoring the sticky saliva drenching his clothes—as they darted off into the night.
"Running, are we? You think it's that easy?"
Nozomi chuckled coldly.
He snapped his fingers.
High above, Aerodactyl let out a piercing screech and dove from the sky, talons extended toward Seviper.
Sensing danger above, Seviper didn't dare strike back. It twisted and weaved frantically through the terrain.
Aerodactyl, however, didn't seem in any rush to finish things. It toyed with its prey from above, swooping in now and then with calculated strikes, forcing Seviper to constantly veer off course.
Ten whole minutes passed, and Seviper had barely moved a hundred meters from where it started. To evade the aerial predator, it was circling helplessly in place.
"That's enough. Stop playing, Aerodactyl."
Nozomi sighed. At this rate, dawn would break before Aerodactyl decided to end the chase—and he'd quite like to get some sleep.
At his command, Aerodactyl obeyed immediately. It folded its wings and dove like a thunderbolt, its iron-hard claws gripping Seviper's body in a crushing hold.
"SSSSHHHAAA—!"
Seviper hissed in agony, gagging and spitting out the man it had been carrying.
Denna hit the ground hard, completely unaware of what had just happened. He wiped the slimy saliva off his face and muttered, "Safe… right?"
He glanced around to get his bearings—
—and found Nozomi standing there, watching him with calm, piercing eyes.
Denna's heart nearly stopped. He leapt to his feet, panic rising like ice water through his veins.
"What… what's going on!?"
Confusion and disbelief twisted across his face.
He could've sworn Seviper had been moving constantly for ten minutes. At that speed, they should've been far, far away by now. Yet somehow, they were still in the same place.
Looking around at the devastation, Denna realized that all his Pokémon were either defeated or unconscious—except for his Slaking, which was snoring blissfully amid the chaos.
He had nothing left. No hope.
"Who the hell are you!?" he demanded.
Before being taken in, he at least wanted to know the identity of the man who had single-handedly destroyed his entire operation.
"You don't know me?" Nozomi raised an eyebrow. Then, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he said, "Looks like the lesson I gave you poachers in the Safari Zone wasn't deep enough."
So that was it. No wonder the fool hadn't recognized him and still had the guts to fight.
"...Nozomi!?"
Shock rippled across Denna's face.
He had thought the man merely resembled that infamous trainer, never imagining it was truly him. Curse this dim lighting—
He should never have chosen midnight for his ambush on Silph Co.'s camp.
But he still had one last question. "Why didn't you use Dragonite or Metagross?"
If those two monsters had joined the fight, Denna wouldn't have stood a chance. He wouldn't have dared to stay and fight—he'd have fled long ago.
"Why didn't I use them?"
Nozomi gave him a strange look. "Since when do I have to report to you about which Pokémon I use?"
With that, he turned away, collected Denna's Poké Balls, and handed the poacher over to the nearby security officers. Then, finally, Nozomi returned to his quarters, lay down, and drifted peacefully into sleep.
The next morning, the Pokémon League's agents arrived early, responding to reports that poachers had attacked Silph Co.'s camp.
But when they arrived, all they found was the aftermath of an intense battle—and an unharmed, orderly base.
One of the League inspectors surveyed the scene, utterly astonished.
"How did Silph Co.'s security team survive a battle of this magnitude!?"
It didn't make sense.
He knew Silph Co.'s security forces were strong—they even employed skilled Pokémon Trainers—but from the signs of destruction, the fight had been fierce enough that even he, an experienced inspector, doubted he could have handled it so cleanly.
And yet, somehow, the Silph Co. security division had repelled the attack completely.
That was a mystery that left every inspector speechless.
(End of Chapter)