Pokémon: Above the Top

"Krow!"

In the Forest of Shadows, dozens of Murkrow circled above Sato's head.

A Murkrow noticeably larger than the others hovered near him. Thanks to its mother Honchkrow's status as the Totem, it could command many of its kind.

"Let's get started. Let's try to finish clearing the public road over this ridge today."

"Krooow!"

Sato's Murkrow replied, then flew a bit higher and called its companions in the air to follow behind him.

Sato swung himself onto Houndoom's back and began casually strolling along this public road that led to Olivine City.

"UUUUUR!" "UUUUR!"

Soon, two angry roars echoed from nearby, and the Murkrow flock in the sky began to stir slightly.

Not even thirty seconds later, two furious Ursaring were driven straight to Sato by seven or eight Murkrow.

"Houndoom, Dark Pulse."

Houndoom, who had long been raring to go, immediately launched its attack. In the blink of an eye, a ring of purple-black energy slammed into the nearest Ursaring.

"Uuu~"

One moment the Ursaring was raging, the next it was on the ground wailing in pain.

The other Ursaring's eyes flashed with fear, but it still charged at Sato and his team without hesitation.

"Krow!"

A chilling Icy Wind suddenly blew down from above. The Ursaring hadn't even taken a few steps before its legs were frozen in place.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~

The sound of air being split rang out twice. Both Ursaring were captured by the Poké Balls Sato had thrown.

Capture Ball: high-success-rate, single-use capturing devices that are automatically discarded after releasing their contents.

They're perfect for relocating wild Pokémon and were once popular with Pokémon hunters until better alternatives were found.

"…Running into Ursaring right at the entrance… No wonder Shadownight Town hasn't developed much," Sato muttered, his resolve to carry out the Sweep Operation thoroughly growing stronger.

"Murkrow, let's keep going!"

"Krow!" Murkrow nodded and ascended once again, leading its companions to proactively lure out wild Pokémon that posed a threat.

Using the threat level to ordinary Murkrow as a filter, they could effectively single out high-level wild Pokémon without scaring off everything indiscriminately.

Before long, a group of Weepinbell led by several Victreebel were lured out.

Houndoom and Murkrow coordinated perfectly, dual Heat Wave attacks leaving the Pokémons' almost completely helpless.

Sato swiftly tossed out a pile of Capture Balls and caught the entire group of these dangerous "man-eating flowers" for relocation to the deeper parts of the Forest of Shadows.

With the help of dozens of Murkrow, Sato's "Sweep" efficiency was nothing short of astonishing.

After all, sweeping doesn't just mean walking the public road once and chasing off any Pokémon encountered.

It means conducting a full survey of the Pokémon population within one kilometer on either side of the road, and relocating any high-risk Pokémon to minimize the chance of strong encounters along the route.

As the local rulers of the Forest of Shadows, Murkrow knew the area like the back of their wing. They even had the next wave of lures already planned out.

After all, crows are smart.

Ariados, Misdreavus, Scyther, Pinsir… dangerous small wild groups were all drawn out one after another.

Among them, the Ariados group alone gathered several dozen individuals at once, and for a moment, they even managed to completely surround and overwhelm Sato's team.

Unfortunately, the gap in raw strength was too big. Even the dense Sticky Webs only forced Houndoom to use Heat Wave twice more before the swarm was completely wiped out.

Sato mechanically threw out Capture Balls. Any Ariados he saw was given the honor of capture, none were left behind.

As for the Spinarak that didn't even qualify as background extras, Sato simply ignored them. Not even worth relocating.

Glancing at the backpack, now already half full, Sato realized the difficulty of the Shadownight Town "dungeon" was no joke.

"Krow! Krow!"

Just then, over a dozen Murkrow suddenly flew back in a panic, and behind them came the echoing sound of howling canines.

"Awooooo~"

The Houndoom beneath Sato flinched, then stood tall and firm as it stared at the wild Pokémon charging toward them.

"A whole pack of Houndoom… no wonder they're so excited," Sato thought to himself as he leapt off Houndoom's back.

"Six Houndoom, dozens of Houndour… can you handle it?" Sato asked casually as he stroked Houndoom's black fur.

'Hmm… the texture felt pretty nice.'

"AWOOOO!"

Without a hint of hesitation, Houndoom leapt out and unleashed a powerful Snarl toward the wild pack. The Houndoom group, who had been mocking the fleeing Murkrow just moments ago, instantly froze.

More than half the Houndour were intimidated by Sato's Houndoom alone. They immediately dropped to the ground in submission.

"Grrrr…"

The six Houndoom cautiously began to surround him, but Sato's Houndoom gave them no chance to complete the encirclement. It launched a preemptive strike.

With a sudden leap, it landed right in front of the nearest Houndoom, bit down hard on its vulnerable neck, and flung it aside.

One-shot KO!

At that moment, the other wild Houndoom arrived. Shadow Ball, Flamethrower, Crunch… every move came flying toward Sato's Houndoom at once.

"Substitute, Iron Tail, Thunder Fang!" Sato called out three commands in quick succession, all deliberately vague.

If it had been any ordinary Pokémon, it would've panicked, but the clever Houndoom instantly understood.

First, it created a Substitute and positioned it in front to tank most of the incoming attacks.

Then its teeth and tail glowed blue and silver. With a powerful twist of its body, Iron Tail slammed one Houndoom back, while Thunder Fang struck another.

Zzap~

Lightning flashed, a pained howl rang out, and the hit Houndoom could only pant on the ground, its ability to battle virtually depleted.

Now the three uninjured Houndoom finally finished the Substitute and launched the rest of their attacks at Sato's Houndoom.

"Rest, Snore!"

Sato's voice rang out again. Faced with the incoming attacks, Houndoom shut its eyes and fell asleep instantly!

The moment the attacks landed, its health dropped… then fully recovered in a blink.

Rrrrhh~ Rrrrhh~ Rrrrhh~

The booming Snore echoed, immediately interrupting the three wild Houndoom's attempt to press their assault.

Next second, Early Bird activated. Sato's Houndoom instantly woke up. "Houndoom, Sludge Bomb."

"Awoo!"

Purple toxic bombs launched through the air with sharp whizzing sounds. The three Houndoom scattered in retreat, unwilling to take them head-on.

That worked perfectly for Sato, and before he could even give the next command, Houndoom had already chased down the nearest one on its own.

Crunch~

"Houuuu!"