Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

"Yobo!" Poliwhirl, knowing this wasn't the time to get distracted, raised its white fist and smashed it down hard, knocking out a Krabby.

But Krabbies were still pouring in from every direction—they were surrounded.

"Grrh..." Rhyhorn panted as it stood back-to-back with Poliwhirl, scanning the battlefield swarming with Krabby.

All they could do was hope that Krabby and Butterfree could take down Kingler soon. They wouldn't last much longer like this.

"Yobo..." Poliwhirl tightened its fist, also breathing heavily. It met Rhyhorn's eyes, and as if reaching a mutual understanding, both drew deep breaths and charged into the swarm.

Poliwhirl kept punching, Rhydon stomped and kicked—they began coordinating attacks, covering each other.

Any sneak attacks they couldn't notice were intercepted by Pidgey and Spinarak.

Seeing the four Pokémon fight in sync, Reiji nodded to himself. That's what real partners should be—eat together, sleep together, fight together...

Even Pidgey was proving useful. It was great if it helped—if not, no big deal.

With Pidgey joining, the battle stayed fierce, but no Krabby could break through Poliwhirl and Rhydon's line to reach Reiji.

Most of the enemy's attention was locked on the fierce duo.

Pelipper continued maintaining Tailwind, boosting the team's overall speed.

As for why it didn't use Rain Dance?

Come on—would that help Kingler more, or Reiji's team more? The answer was obvious.

BOOM—

Just as the battle hit its peak, a loud explosion rang out. The ground beneath Kingler caved in, forming a pit. Caught off guard, Kingler fell straight in.

Butterfree immediately dove in, firing two Electrowebs at close range, wrapping the fallen Kingler. Then it quickly ascended to avoid getting flanked.

Kingler wasn't having a good time down there. Paralyzed by the webs, it soon found its claw joints locked in a vice grip—Krabby was already there, clamping down on the weak spot.

Being a Krabby itself, it knew exactly where the weak points were.

Before the outside Krabby could rush in to help Kingler, a loud crab-like shriek rang out from the pit, followed by a clean snap.

CRACK—

"Gughk...!"

Every Krabby on the battlefield froze at the sound and turned their gaze toward the pit.

A small claw emerged, then Krabby crawled out—dragging the Kingler it had defeated, still clamped in its claw.

Seeing that all eyes were on it, Krabby raised the Kingler high... and then slammed it into the sand with a furious screech.

BOOM—

The impact made the sand tremble. Grains of sand sprayed across the stunned faces of the Krabby.

Their leader—Kingler—was defeated?

No way. It couldn't be. Their Kingler would never lose. They refused to believe it.

But reality didn't care. Kingler lay knocked out, one claw shattered, limbs broken.

The Krabbies couldn't believe what they were seeing. That a Krabby—an unevolved form—could defeat Kingler? Impossible.

They'd never seen it. Never even dared imagine it.

In their minds, Kingler always beat Krabby. No contest.

But now, seeing their leader truly fallen, the Krabby who had been closing in on the wounded Poliwhirl and Rhydon...

...all stopped. Their heads lowered in silence.

Then they began to retreat.

They no longer wanted to fight. Their spiritual pillar was gone, and with Kingler defeated, their will had crumbled.

They couldn't defeat this trainer's team anymore—not without Kingler himself.

So they dispersed in silence.

Reiji gave no order to chase. There was no need—and doing so could backfire.

Poliwhirl and Rhyhorn were both wounded after taking on dozens of Krabby. The best outcome was already achieved: the battle was over.

The downed Kingler and Krabby, though? Those were their spoils. Over twenty Krabbies littered the sand.

Poliwhirl and Rhyhorn had done the bulk of the work—like harvesters on a battlefield.

Poliwhirl was practically knocking out a Krabby with every punch.

Rhyhorn's charge trampled countless foes.

Butterfree, Krabby, and Pelipper also played vital roles. Especially Krabby—its final blow decided the battle.

Spinarak and Pidgey too—they protected Poliwhirl and Rhydon's flanks, allowing them to hold the line for so long.

Everyone had contributed. Reiji was proud. Another crisis overcome.

"Poliwhirl, Rhyhorn—return," he said, calling back the injured two. He pulled out healing spray and treated their wounds.

Then he gave them food to recover. All that remained was rest.

The cleanup? That went to the others.

"Butterfree, Pelipper, Krabby, Spinarak—pile the Krabbies up. They'll be lunch later."

They'd planned to leave already—but this incident had delayed their departure.

As for Rhyhorn and Pidgey, especially Rhyhorn—it was injured. Reiji had no idea how he was going to explain that to its father. The wounds weren't from abuse, they were battle-earned.

"Fuyii!" Butterfree, seeing Reiji treating Poliwhirl, called the team to start hauling the Krabby.

Those that weren't dead were knocked out again with Electroweb, Sleep Powder, and Stun Spore.

Only after they were all paralyzed and asleep were they stacked together, waiting for Reiji to finish healing his team.

Scree—!

Just then, a sharp cry echoed in the air. Reiji and the Pokémon all looked up—a large bird was flying toward them.

Seeing it was Pidgeot, Reiji glanced at Pidgey—time to go home.

After Kingler's ambush and Poliwhirl's injury, Reiji really wasn't in the mood for this, but he didn't show it.

He was angry—but kept it under control. He didn't blame Pidgey or Rhyhorn—they'd helped.

"Bo-bo," Pidgey chirped, knowing it was time. They had only come to say goodbye anyway.

Now that things were settled, it was time to head home.

Pidgey tried to call Rhyhorn along—but it was still eating, not even pausing.

Getting this foodie to leave? Unless its dad came himself? Yeah, right.

"Biyaoo! Why are you back again?" Pidgeot, the boss, landed on a treetop and questioned its child.

"Bo. They're leaving. We came to say goodbye," Pidgey replied.

"Biyaoo? Huh? What happened here?" Pidgeot noticed the wrecked grass, the craters, the piled-up Krabbies—and the injured Poliwhirl and Rhydon.

"Bo-bo. We were ambushed by Krabby. Just fought a big battle," Pidgey explained.

"Biyaoo—Krabby?" Pidgeot looked westward. A Kingler dwelled near that shoreline.

Thankfully, it wasn't that monster who attacked. If its child had been harmed, it would've brought the whole flock down on the attacker.

"Biyaoo. Well, the farewell's done. Time to go home," Pidgeot said. It didn't care about the human's fate—its child was safe. That was enough.

"Bo-bo. What about Uncle Rhydon's kid?" Pidgey glanced down—Rhyhorn was still eating.

"Biyaoo... That big dummy came too? Let him finish." Pidgeot figured since the trainer was leaving soon, it was fine to wait.

As Pidgeot finished speaking, thud-thud-thud—heavy footsteps approached. Even wild Pokémon turned their heads and began converging.

This wasn't normal. The sound was headed toward the treehouse. Curiosity filled the forest—what was happening that even the boss Pokémon had shown up?

Reiji, still tending to his team, heard the steps too. Their breakfast was over. He already had a good guess about who it was.

Before the newcomer arrived, he recalled Slowpoke, Spinarak, and Krabby into their Poké Balls.

The mountain of Krabby was wrapped in waterproof bags and stuffed into his space backpack.

The ones still alive were sealed in Poké Balls.

Even the honey he'd collected—he left a little for Rhyhorn and stored the rest.

With everything packed, Reiji stood with only Pelipper, Poliwhirl, and Butterfree. They were about to leave the island.

Just then, Rhydon emerged from the trees—followed by a crowd of wild Pokémon: Oddish, Beedrill, Pinsir, Rattata... many familiar faces.

But when Rhydon saw its child still eating, it snorted white-hot steam from its nose. Its fists clenched.

This brat! Came here to mooch again?

He didn't have wings—he had to walk all the way here! And this kid dared to cause trouble again?

He was gonna beat some sense into him this time.

"Rhyhorn, look who's here." Reiji gave a gentle reminder.

Rhyhorn looked up—Reiji was packing up, ready to leave on Pelipper.

It didn't want to part yet.

Then came the stomps behind it. Rhyhorn turned—

—and saw the furious face and gaping jaws of its father.

"ROOAARR! You little brat! You think you're fast? I'll break your legs and see how far you run!"

"Wait—wait! They're leaving today! We just came to say goodbye!" Rhyhorn pleaded, trying to explain.

"Hmph! You think I'll believe that?" its father growled, unconvinced.

"...Fine. I actually wanted to go with them," Rhyhorn admitted. Might as well be honest.

"Tch." Rhydon didn't get angrier—instead, it calmed down, studying Reiji.

Three Pokémon. A full pack. Clearly about to leave. No signs of forcing Rhyhorn along—this was Rhyhorn's own choice.

Whether it was food or curiosity, it wasn't something he could stop.

But he still didn't trust humans. Not even a little.

So he simply said, "No."

"Huh? Why?" Rhyhorn asked.

"I don't trust humans. So you can't go." The father explained and reached out to grab Rhyhorn.

But Rhyhorn dodged—and hid behind Reiji.

Reiji's heart skipped a beat. Rhyhorn, don't do this. I don't wanna get flattened...

Seeing Rhyhorn unwilling to leave, Reiji turned to walk away.

But Rhyhorn followed right behind—like a shadow.

Reiji was speechless. He didn't even dare to fly off with Pelipper—what if Pidgeot slapped him out of the sky?

In the end, he just raised his hands in surrender and looked at Rhyhorn's father.

With his eyes, he asked:

"So what now? Your kid's this stubborn—are you gonna stop him or not?"

(End of Chapter)

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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