"Anything?"
"Meta!"
Metang pointed to the right, signaling Haruki to go take a look.
Pushing through the dense bushes, Haruki followed Metang's direction and quickly discovered the Pokémon Hunters' campsite.
Two massive tents, one off-road pickup truck, and a still-smoldering campfire with roasted meat sitting on top.
Clearly, the Pokémon Hunters were living quite comfortably.
The truck's tailgate was covered with a tarp. Haruki gestured for Metang to lift it using Confusion.
Sure enough, the cages underneath were filled with wild Pokémon the hunters had captured, all tightly bound with String Shot.
Shinx, Combee, Cherubi, Gligar, Budew, Leafeon…
Wait… hold on…
"LEAFEON!" Haruki's pupils dilated as he instinctively stepped forward to peer into the cage holding the barely breathing Pokémon.
Its entire body was pale yellow, ears and tail shaped like curled banana leaves, and the green leaf on its forehead had wilted, making it look utterly withered.
"Metang, put them all on the ground, but don't open the cages yet."
"Meta!"
Soon, the ground was covered in cages. Along the way, quite a few Pokémon had woken up and were struggling wildly.
"Skiploom, Aromatherapy."
"Skip~ Skip~"
The refreshing scent of flowers filled the air, bringing with it a calming power.
As the pain inside them began to ease, the once-struggling Pokémon slowly relaxed and looked toward Haruki and Skiploom with wary hope.
"Keep going. Grassy Terrain."
"Skip~"
Skiploom never hesitated to help. It cast Grassy Terrain with maximum coverage, spreading it over the entire area of cages.
At the same time, Haruki stepped forward with Metang.
"I'll help open the cages and cut the webbing. Please don't struggle during the process."
Whether the Pokémon understood or not, Haruki didn't wait. He started with a timid Cherubi.
"Metal Claw."
"Meta!"
With a sweep of Metang's arm, the iron lock was effortlessly sliced apart.
Haruki opened the cage door and looked inside at the Cherubi.
Cherubi had no arms, but was still tightly cocooned by String Shot, with only its two tiny eyes peeking out, looking pitiful.
"Don't be afraid. You'll be safe soon."
Haruki reached in and lifted Cherubi out, then took out a pair of scissors and began cutting away the threads.
Throughout the process, Cherubi trembled uncontrollably with its eyes shut tight, too scared to look at Haruki.
Seeing this, Haruki couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Full-time Pokémon Hunters never captured Pokémon through proper battles. For the sake of efficiency, they never did things the right way.
Bombs, electrowebs, poison… as long as the Pokémon didn't die, anything was fair game.
So stories about disobedience, escape, or even Pokémon turning on their Trainers were all too common.
And the root cause? It all started from the very beginning.
Someone like Haruki, who caught Pokémon to earn a bit of money while traveling, was already considered conscientious.
Although selling these kinds of Pokémon was technically not permitted by the League, they didn't really enforce it either.
Anyway, back to the present.
Only after Haruki finished cutting away all of Cherubi's threads and placed it back into the Grassy Terrain did the eyes staring at him start to come alive.
There's hope!
Then, with Metang, Haruki began freeing the Pokémon indiscriminately.
One by one, the wild Pokémon were rescued from cages of all shapes and sizes.
Soon, Haruki walked up to the cage holding the Leafeon.
Leafeon silently looked at Haruki, eyes filled with hope.
"Relax. I won't hurt you."
"…Lea~"
A muffled cry came from Leafeon, it was saying it would behave.
At this moment, Aromatherapy and Grassy Terrain were still active, and most of the Pokémon had already recovered significantly. Some were starting to stir.
While lifting the cocooned Leafeon from the cage, Haruki addressed the group.
"Pokémon who've been freed can help each other out."
As soon as he finished, the Pokémon who had already been released didn't flee. Instead, they followed Haruki's lead and joined the "rescue" efforts.
Even though they were from different species, in that moment, helping one another made them truly companions.
Before long, Leafeon had been freed as well. Its large chestnut eyes looked up at Haruki, and it gently nuzzled his leg.
"Looks like you're a Grass-type too. If you've got the strength, go lend a hand."
"Lea~"
Leafeon nodded obediently and ran to the cage next to it.
With a slight flick, its leafy tail glowed green and slashed precisely at the lock.
The move was Leaf Blade.
This Leafeon wasn't weak. Just one Leaf Blade was enough to cleanly cut through the iron latch. But considering the three Poison-types the hunters had, it made sense it had lost earlier.
With the help of the other Pokémon, the rescue sped up significantly.
Soon, nearly a hundred Pokémon were released, though many were still injured and crowding within the Grassy Terrain.
"I don't know where each of you was captured from, but that way leads to the flower fields, and the other direction goes deeper into Eterna Forest. If you want to go home, it's up to you now. Go on!"
As soon as Haruki finished speaking, many Pokémon started to leave, but not before bowing slightly to him on their way out.
Some of the younger ones were clearly still lost: Cherubi, Budew, Buneary, and the like.
Seeing this, Haruki sighed. If he caught them and handed them over to Team Rocket again, it might only bring them more harm.
But catching them all himself was out of the question, he didn't have a Professor backing him.
Although… a Professor…
Just as Haruki was hesitating over whether to contact Professor Rowan, he saw Leafeon step forward, gathering the young Pokémon around.
"Leaf~"
Leafeon let out a soft cry, releasing a fresh breeze around it, instantly boosting the spirits of the little ones.
Then it turned and nodded at Haruki, clearly intending to lead the little ones away.
"Wait, you want to take care of them yourself from now on?"
Leafeon nodded again, as if it were no big deal.
Haruki's emotions were complicated. Compared to himself, who helped with motives behind his actions, this Leafeon was genuinely kind.
"If you trust me, maybe I can help find them a better place to live."
"Lea?"
Leafeon tilted its head, then sat down obediently. So cute it made Haruki feel like he was bleeding inside.
Seeing this, Haruki didn't hesitate. He turned on his communicator and called Rowan.
After a few rings, the call connected.
"Professor Rowan, are you busy?"
"Haruki… what's the matter?"
The familiar stern voice on the other end instantly put Haruki at ease.
"Well, here's the thing, something just happened here..."
Aside from disguising the hunters as having escaped and temporarily keeping Leafeon's existence a secret, Haruki explained everything that had just taken place to Rowan.
"…So, that's the situation. Professor, do you have any suggestions?"