Silas knew they had to flee, this was a hopeless situation. Although he had conquered his trauma with Beedrill, now was not the time for bravery. He used the healing time to return his pokemon and ran to Madam's side.
Madam returned all her pokemon except for Arcanine and they jumped on its back. Arcanine took off with a burst of speed but King Beedrill intercepted them with a Poison Jab. Arcanine surprised King Beedrill with a Fire Blast in its face. Beedrill had to dodge and Arcanine used the opening to break through.
Several advanced and pseudo elite Beedrill and Combee followed close by. Vespiquen couldn't move while using Heal Order so it focused on helping its injured subjects.
Although Arcanine put some distance between them, the Beedrill & Combee were still pursuing them. The chase continued for several minutes. Arcanine's stamina saved the group as the Beedrill got tired. They were slowing down while Arcanine kept his pace so the distance between them was steadily growing.
Unfortunately, this wouldn't last. Vespiquen had rejoined her swarm in the pursuit and Silas felt intense winds gathering around her. To their horror, the wind seemed to propel the Swarm at nearly twice their current speed. Madam turned around and frowned. "Damnit, of course the queen knows how to use Tailwind." Madam knew they would catch up within a few minutes if this continued.
As the sounds of buzzing got louder, Madam turned around with a look of determination on her face. "Silas, you will stay on Arcanine and keep running. I will hold them off."
Without waiting for his response, she jumped off of Arcanine. Madam brandished her blade, ready to stand off with a swarm of pokemon to buy him time. Seeing this, Silas hated himself for being so weak that others had to protect him.
However, soon after Madam jumped off of Arcanine, the ground began to shake. Several holes appeared in the ground as a Rhyperior and 6 Rhydon came out of them.
The Rhyperior was the angry one from before. Silas speculated it was the buzzing sounds of the Beedrill that brought them here. This was good news. Without their arrival, Madam would have surely died. Arcanine swiftly turned around and grabbed Madam with its mouth, tossing her on top of him in 1 motion.
The Rhyperior saw this but didn't interfere.
"Hermes, if a fight breaks out, who would win?" A response quickly sounded but only Silas could hear it.
"It is hard to tell, but the Beedrill have the advantage due to their sheer numbers. However the Rhyperior cannot be underestimated. At level 76, it can change the course of the battle at any time and the Rhydon can do serious damage too. However, it's unlikely they will fight to the death. Someone will back down."
Silas agreed with the analysis but the destructive power Rhyperior displayed on the Golem left a deep impression on Silas. It was one of the strongest pokemon he had encountered since entering the pokemon world. He couldn't see it losing.
"Ok, we will soon see. Please start watching and analyzing everything through me. I may need some quick assistance in the near future."
"Understood. I will be monitoring and standing by."
A fight soon broke out between Vespiquen and Rhyperior. It had been Vespiquen who struck first by sending a blade of wind at Rhyperior. Without even using a move, he punched the energy apart and took minimal damage.
The problem was the response, Rhyperior was a hyper aggressive pokemon. He used a powerful Rock Blast attack and then followed up with Stone Edge. WIth Rock Blast, he was just firing boulders at random Beedrill but the force was so great, it was killing any Beedrill in its path. Then Stone Edge killed at least 10 of them. The king Beedrill was understandably angry and began to rotate like a drill and shot straight for Rhyperior.
This had escalated from a simple dispute to a blood feud. The pokemon here were too hot headed. The power displayed by Rhyperior was terrifying. Every time it attacked, it was a kill shot.
Every pokemon joined in on the battle. Despite their overwhelming numbers, the Beedrill were struggling. The only move they collectively had that was effective was Drill Run.
However even then, Rhyperior's ability was Solid Rock so it reduced supereffective damage done to it. Seeing this bloody battle unfold, Silas and Madam directly escaped.
After running for another 15 minutes, Madam had Arcanine stop. He was tired from battling and running with people on his back and needed a break.
"Great work, Arcanine. We would have been dead 10 times over without your help today." Arcanine barked in satisfaction as Madam patted its head.
"I think we need to keep moving. There are probably more than those 2 tribes inside the mountain caves." Silas didn't want to take any chances as they'd been attacked in rapid succession since entering. Seeing Silas so cautious, Madam couldn't help but laugh. Silas earlier insisted on capturing a Beedrill which led to the current situation but now he wanted to be cautious.
"Kid, you have some nerve speaking of caution now." Madam smacked Silas on his back as she spoke, nearly knocking him off of his feet.
Silas laughed. "At least we are alive, right?" Madam joined in the laughter. "Hahaha so that's your logic? Anyway, let's make camp." Nidoqueen came out of her pokeball and started to use her Earth Power to open up a cave for them. Pseudo elite pokemon like Nidoqueen had no problem carving out a space like this.
The cave space was extremely simple. Nidoqueen had simply opened a spherical space so the walls were smooth and hard from being condensed by her power. Along the entrance were numerous hidden Toxic Spikes and a Stealth Rock ready to be sprung on any would-be intruder.
"Let's rest up for now. We can head back the way we came when it's quieter." Even from far away, everyone could still feel the tremors from the battle. No doubt it was that Earthquake fist combination move.
"Hermes, what do you think the next course of action should be? Explain the reasoning."
"Your best option is exactly what Madam is doing. The battle between the 2 tribes will be fierce and the battle could drag on. Your group needs time to allow Madam's pokemon to restore themselves so you are better protected. You can potentially proceed unimpeded if your timing is good.."
There was no lie there. Madam and her pokemon did the heavy lifting while Silas helped where he could. In real combat, he would slow her down. His only job was to prevent himself from becoming a hostage. Allowing them to restore to top form would be the best move.
Silas sat in silence and meditated the way Bruno taught him back in Pallet Town. As air entered his lungs, he felt like his whole body was being soothed. This went on for over an hour.
Soon Madam had Nidoqueen venture out as a scout. She returned 20 minutes later conveying that it was safe.
"Let's go, we don't know how much time we have." Hearing this, Silas got ready to leave. After Nidoqueen removed her Toxic Spikes, the group set out. Riding on Arcanine, they covered a lot of ground and quickly returned near the site of the battle.
The scent of blood filled the air. Arcanine slowed his pace down to a cautious walk. The ground was littered with bodies. The vast majority of them were Beedrill and Combee but there were 3 Rhydon corpses among them.
After confirming there were no scavenger pokemon around, Madam called out her Nidoqueen. Immediately, Nidoqueen started going to each Beedrill and striking the area above their lower stinger. Every time, Nidoqueen's hand would have a purple orb which she would then eat.
Silas was surprised when he saw this but Madam came over to him and explained. " My Nidoqueen can increase its strength by absorbing the poison cores from other fallen poison types directly. Normally you would need to convert it into a Toxic Orb to be easily absorbed but she is unique and can bypass the extra step."
Silas nodded his head in understanding. He would remember these helpful facts in the future.