[Name: Petilil]
[Gender: Female]
[Level: lv12]
[Ability: Chlorophyll]
[Moves: Absorb, Growth, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, Charm]
[Egg Moves: Sweet Scent, Ingrain]
Shadows at the edge of the clearing shifted, then sprouted legs. A Spinarak pack emerged from the gloom, their multi-eyed gazes fixed on the lone, trembling Petilil. Behind the first wave, larger, more menacing forms loomed: Ariados.
Wade's system panel flickered, instantly quantifying the threat. Thirty-five Spinarak, five Ariados. Levels 10-20. Cold data, but the reality was a creeping wall of venom and silk.
"Liss~"
The lead Ariados skittered forward, its mandibles clicking in a cruel parody of a smile. Wade tensed, a command for Gardevoir and Lopunny on his lips—but the forest moved first.
A blur of white and violet shot through the canopy like a whip-crack, landing between Petilil and the advancing horde with deadly grace.
[Name: Mienshao]
[Gender: Female]
[Level: 50]
[Ability: Regenerator]
[Moves: Force Palm, U-turn, Drain Punch, Close Combat, High Jump Kick…]
"Is that a Mienshao?!" Wade breathed.
The Pokémon didn't acknowledge him. Her red eyes glinted, and her arms—suddenly sheathed in fierce fighting energy—lashed out. *Force Palm*. Shockwaves ripped through the air, severing the anchor lines of hidden webs with surgical precision.
"Mino~"
She settled into a poised stance, arms raised, a cold dismissal in her gaze. Through Gardevoir's psychic link, her meaning sliced into Wade's mind: "A bunch of sneaky trash. Get out of my sight."
The insult was a spark in tinder. With a shriek of fury, the lead Ariados signaled the swarm. The forest erupted into a chaotic advance.
Mienshao became a storm. She flowed through the onslaught, a dancer of devastating blows. Every sweep of her arm sent a Spinarak tumbling, wailing into the underbrush. *Drain Punch* glowed on her fists, stealing vitality with each impact, but her breathing, Wade noted, was already sharp.
"Churu!" Lopunny cheered, impressed by the display.
"Agile, skilled, powerful," Wade muttered. "A true overlord of this forest." But his analytical eye saw what the fury of battle hid. "Wait… her rhythm is off. She's forcing it."
"Sha," Gardevoir affirmed coolly, her own senses reaching out. Old injury. Aggravated.
The battle-hardened Ariados saw it too. Its opponent's speed was a defiant flame, burning too bright, too fast. It hissed new orders. The swarm shifted from direct assaults to harrying, webbing, exhausting. They began to weigh down the dance.
"Mino!" Mienshao gasped, another Drain Punch landing true but costing her more than it gave. The lead in her limbs was returning—a familiar, dreaded weight from a recent, brutal fight with a Trainer's Ursaring. She'd won that battle, but her body had never fully recovered. And now, for a foolish moment of softness for a stranger's Petilil…
"LISS!"
Sticky cords shot from all sides—not to bind, but to distract. As Mienshao twisted to avoid them, a masterfully hidden net, spun by the Ariados itself, descended. She looked up, arms rising too slowly. The silk wrapped her tight, sapping the last of her strength as she hit the forest floor.
Is this it? Despair, a coldness deeper than any injury, seeped in. She had always imagined her end would come in a final, glorious challenge—not pinned down by a mob in the dirt.
Then, the world turned silver.
A full moon seemed to bloom in the heart of the forest, casting everything in an ethereal, cleansing light.
**"Gardevoir. Moonblast."**
The command was calm, absolute. A torrent of lunar energy exploded amidst the swarm, scattering spiders and shredding webs. In the devastating afterglow, Wade stepped forward. His eyes met Mienshao's, seeing not just the exhaustion and pain, but the fierce pride beneath.
His arm drew back, then swung forward. Not a weapon, but an offer.
A single Poké Ball cut through the silvery air toward her.
Mienshao, trapped in silk but with spirit unbroken, watched its approach… and felt the ghost of a challenge, and a chance, return.
---
"Yami~"
The petite Petilil, now safe behind Lopunny's protective stance, softly offered her thanks to the humans and Pokémon who had intervened.
"Sha," Gardevoir gave a slight, regal nod, her cool demeanor unchanged.
"You're safe now," Wade said, his voice gentle as he offered Petilil a kind smile.
"Chururu~" Lopunny, ever the nurturer, leaned down and gently patted the verdant leaves on Petilil's head with a careful paw.
Thanks to Moonblast's wide-area devastation and Lopunny's precise, thundering *Jump Kicks* to stragglers, the arrogant spider colony had been utterly expelled from this part of Hiyori Forest.
A soft groan drew Wade's attention back. He looked down at the injured Mienshao now cradled in his arms, her defiant eyes finally fluttering shut as the adrenaline faded, leaving only profound weariness and the first, tentative flicker of trust.