"Go, hurry!" Eichi shouted to them.
Under the protection of the Pokémon, Kelly and the other two girls managed to charge out. Eichi remained at the rear and released his final Pokémon.
"Beedrill, I'm counting on you!"
The moment Beedrill appeared, it surveyed the surrounding Arbok, Ekans, Golbat, and Zubat—there were even a few Crobat. Understanding the situation, Beedrill's eyes glowed with an intense red light, radiating an astonishing aura.
Countless sharp needles materialized in the air and were launched. Under the barrage of Pin Missile, not a single Pokémon could get near Eichi. With the cover provided by Scizor and Beedrill, Eichi finally ran out of the encirclement.
He caught up with the main group, though they were still being pursued. Beedrill moved with incredible speed, repelling the Pokémon chasing from behind. Using Brick Break and Twineedle, its stingers flashed with a metallic luster; no Pokémon could withstand its assault.
One Crobat leader, noticing Beedrill's outstanding performance, made its move. It launched an Air Slash, but Beedrill's intuition warned it of the danger. With a tilt of its body, it dodged the Crobat's blade. The Crobat was surprised that the Beedrill had evaded, but it didn't care.
The Crobat leader charged toward Beedrill again. It was at a very high level, and Beedrill could clearly feel the immense energy contained within its body. But so what? it thought. If you dare to start trouble, you're finished.
Scizor was no different. It was used to being outnumbered. These Golbat and Zubat were far inferior to the Scizor it had faced before. Scizor moved like a ghost, appearing and disappearing; every strike sent a Pokémon crashing to the ground.
Sato and the others withdrew their slower Pokémon into their Poké Balls and released their faster ones to sweep away the pursuers at the rear. Soon, as they ran further away, the number of Pokémon they repelled grew larger.
Finally, after Beedrill and Scizor successfully drove off every last pursuer, they could finally rest. They had unknowingly run a great distance—roughly seven or eight kilometers. Those Arbok and Crobat were remarkably persistent to have chased them for so long.
Everyone was exhausted, stopping in place to rest and gasping for breath. Beedrill, Scizor, and Heracross gathered around Eichi.
Shinta walked under a large tree. He probably felt quite humiliated; they had never encountered such a dangerous situation before. He was terrified, and the others were much the same. Eichi walked over toward them.
Suddenly, Beedrill froze, sensing something. Eichi also seemed to have a premonition. Shinta kicked the tree next to him in frustration. The tree shook slightly, and then countless golden Pokémon dropped down from the branches.
"Ah! This is..."
Everyone's gaze was drawn to where Shinta was looking. One by one, Kakuna were hanging from the tree, tied up by silk threads.
"There are so many Kakuna here!"
The faces of several people changed. This is bad, Eichi thought. He shouted, "This is bad! Everyone, run! This is Beedrill territory!"
As soon as he spoke, more than a dozen Beedrill suddenly darted out from the foliage of the large tree, their eyes gleaming with ferocity. The group immediately scrambled to run again. One Beedrill wasn't scary, but a whole swarm of them was terrifying. Eichi had no choice but to lead the retreat; even his own Beedrill wouldn't be enough to stop them all.
They used moves while running to hinder the swarm's pace. After another ten minutes of fleeing, Eichi felt they were far enough. He pulled a large bag of Pokémon food from his backpack and scattered it. He simultaneously released his Bug Force. One of the Beedrill leaders, seeing they couldn't catch up, led the swarm to eat the food and then returned to their territory.
Seeing the Beedrill retreat, Eichi shouted, "Alright, stop! The Beedrill have gone back."
Hearing this, they turned to look back. Seeing no pursuit, they finally stopped. This time they were truly drained, sitting on the ground, drenched in sweat and panting heavily.
Eichi checked the time. "Everyone, take a break. We'll find a place for lunch in a bit, rest up, and continue in the afternoon."
No one spoke. Even Sato was too tired to talk. Everyone rested in silence. Their Pokémon were also quite fatigued. Eichi said, "Scizor, Beedrill, scout the perimeter. Don't let any other Pokémon get close."
Scizor and Beedrill flew off like two bolts of lightning. While the others rested, Eichi looked around and found a suitable spot nearby for their midday break.
Meanwhile, the stout teacher was observing Eichi and the others from a distance. He looked at them with approval. These kids are alright. It had been so dangerous just now that he was prepared to intervene, but he hadn't expected them to resolve it themselves. Eichi, in particular, remained calm during the battle and commanded everyone to break the deadlock; he truly had the talent of a leader.
In the afternoon, they continued forward, but Eichi noticed the dynamics among the ten of them had changed. Specifically, Ishida and Matsumoto were walking very fast, keeping a significant distance from Eichi's group. Furthermore, everyone seemed to dislike Shinta, ostracizing him so that he walked alone in the corner.
The afternoon wasn't as disastrous as the morning, but it wasn't easy either. They encountered a group of Ursaring. It was currently the season for Ursaring to give birth, making them exceptionally irritable. They attacked the moment they saw Eichi's group.
Fortunately, there weren't many of them. Although their strength was decent, the group could handle it. After spending some effort driving them away, they moved on.
However, their relief was short-lived. They encountered more Ursaring—this time not just one or two, but a large swarm of over twenty. Nearly all were at the Elite level. This wasn't a fight they could win.
Everyone had to run for their lives. Because the two girls were slower, the group was forced to decelerate. They had to defend against the Ursaring's attacks, barely escaping the encirclement.
Back at the campsite, the atmosphere was oppressive. Kelly and the other two girls looked upset. Konan felt the same; although she was a powerful trainer, her physical stamina was slightly lacking, which had held the group back.
During dinner, Matsumoto suddenly spoke up, "Let's just split up. Tomorrow, Ishida and I will travel together. You guys can do as you please."