Chapter 12: Kenji & Melody vs. The Poacher
Kenji finally understood where Melody's reckless confidence came from.
She had a Pidgeot all along!
With a level 36 Pidgeot at her side, she could pretty much do whatever she wanted in the outer forest.
"What?!" The poacher's pupils contracted, his voice tinged with surprise. His expression hardened, becoming serious.
"Pidgeot! Use Air Slash on Golbat!" Melody shouted.
"SKREEE!—"
Pidgeot cried out, powerfully flapping its wings and launching a blade of compressed air straight at the Golbat.
"Golbat, dodge with Quick Attack! Use the trees for cover!"
Almost simultaneously with Melody's command, the poacher issued his own. Just as the Air Slash was launched, the Golbat became a blur of white light, zipping behind a nearby tree.
BOOM!—
The Air Slash slammed into the tree trunk with a deafening crash.
"Screech!" the poacher commanded.
"Eeeeeeee!—"
Golbat unleashed a piercing, horrific shriek that was especially terrifying in the dead of night. Kenji and Melody both clamped their hands over their ears. In the sky, Pidgeot's face contorted in pain.
It was clear that even though Pidgeot was at a higher level, both it and Melody were far less experienced in battle than the poacher and his Golbat.
"Aipom, use Astonish!"
While everyone's attention was on the aerial battle, the poacher suddenly gave a command to the Aipom hiding in the shadows. It leaped out, its face twisted into a bizarre expression as it let out a jarring, unnatural cry.
But Kenji had never taken his eyes off the Aipom. The moment the poacher gave the order, Kenji had already formulated a counter.
"Beedrill, use Focus Energy, then follow up with Fury Attack!"
In the split second it took for Kenji to issue his command, Aipom's Astonish took effect. For a brief instant, Kenji saw a flash of his laptop exploding in his old life. That was the core effect of the move Astonish—a small chance to trigger the target's deepest fears, causing them to flinch and be unable to move.
Beedrill, however, was already executing its own move. Focus Energy was a Normal-type status move that gathered a Pokémon's concentration to increase its critical hit ratio. But when used against a move like Astonish, the intense mental focus completely negated the fear-inducing effect.
Unaffected, Beedrill finished gathering its energy. Its crimson eyes locked onto the Aipom, and it lunged forward, its massive stingers poised to strike.
"Kiki!—"
Aipom shrieked in pain as Beedrill's Fury Attack struck it three times in rapid succession, its face twisting in agony. The boosted critical-hit chance from Focus Energy had made the blows devastating.
By then, Kenji and Melody had recovered from the effects of Astonish, their faces pale.
"You focus on the Golbat. I'll handle the Aipom," Kenji instructed, his attention now completely fixed on the ground battle.
Melody nodded. Freed from the threat of the hidden Aipom, she could now devote her full attention to the fight in the sky.
The poacher's expression soured. Controlling two Pokémon in a battle simultaneously was incredibly difficult. He had no choice but to focus on his fight with Melody.
The sky became a whirlwind of motion as Golbat and Pidgeot clashed. Below, the ground battle was just as intense. Despite the seven-level difference between Aipom and Beedrill, Kenji's Pokémon was no ordinary Beedrill. Its impossibly high base stats and dual abilities completely erased Aipom's level advantage. Without a trainer's guidance, the Aipom could only rely on instinct, repeatedly using Fury Swipes, but it never once managed to land a hit on the nimble Beedrill.
After a few more exchanges, the Aipom collapsed with a thud, its eyes swirling.
His Beedrill, however, was barely scratched. It was still buzzing with energy, ready for another fight. But Kenji knew better than to send it into the high-level battle raging above.
"Beedrill! Use String Shot!"
While the poacher was concentrating on Melody, he failed to notice Kenji's Beedrill quietly circling around behind him. At Kenji's command, a sudden sense of dread washed over the man. He spun around, but it was too late. A thick wad of white silk shot toward him, binding his hands first, then his feet.
Within moments, a human-shaped cocoon lay on the forest floor, only the man's head visible.
Up above, the Golbat, already outmatched by the fully-evolved Pidgeot, was quickly defeated without its trainer's commands.
"You're a dirty fighter," the poacher spat from the ground, glaring at Kenji with pure hatred.
Kenji's eye twitched. He walked over and, without a second thought, kicked the man in the head. "And you're a scumbag who hurts Pokémon for money. You don't get to call anyone dirty."
At his signal, Beedrill shot out more silk, covering the poacher's mouth and eyes, leaving only his nose free to breathe.
"Thank you so much, Kenji. If it weren't for you..." Melody said, her voice filled with gratitude. She trailed off, a look of fear crossing her face as she replayed the events in her mind.
Kenji just shrugged. After this, he had no intention of setting foot in the wilds again anytime soon. It was way too much trouble.
"Is that your Pidgeot?" he asked, nodding toward the magnificent bird beside her.
Melody shook her head. "Of course not. Even with my dad as the Gym Leader, I can't officially own a Pokémon until I'm a licensed trainer. This is my dad's Pidgeot. He lent it to me, just in case of an emergency."
"Oh," Kenji said, nodding.
They loaded the cocooned poacher onto Pidgeot's back and started heading back to the campsite. Before they had even broken through the tree line, they could see that all the tents were lit up again. The rest of the class was gathered in the clearing, their faces etched with worry.
"Look! It's Kenji and Melody! They're back!" someone shouted, pointing toward them.
A wave of relief washed over the group.
"Kenji! You scared the hell out of me! I'm so glad you're back!" Leo yelled dramatically, rushing over to give him a tearful bear hug.
Kenji just patted him on the back consolingly.
The other students, however, were more focused on Melody—or more accurately, the Pokémon next to her.
"Melody, is that your Pokémon?"
"Whoa! I'm so jealous! You have a Pidgeot?! That's so cool!"
"Hey... is that a person on the Pidgeot's back?"