Although the forest fire had reduced the number of wild Pokémon chasing the poacher, the fire had been started by him. Initially, many wild Pokémon were reluctant to hunt him, but now, enraged by the destruction, they had fully committed to the pursuit.

Some fled, others stayed furious. Some kept chasing.

Under the watchful eye of the lead Pidgeot, the Pokémon poacher and his remaining Pokémon were forced to rest. Every time he tried to flee the island, the Pidgeot would beat him back.

Not that it mattered—his six remaining Pokémon were exhausted from fending off the wild Pokémon. They couldn’t fight anymore, much less carry him away.

The fire he started had caused chaos not only among the wild Pokémon, but also trapped him in place. He had reaped what he sowed.

Both the poacher and his Pokémon needed rest.

So did the leader of the Pidgeot flock—Totem Pidgeot—as well as the Pidgeotto, Pidgey, and other wild Pokémon still involved in the chase.

And so, an unspoken truce settled between both sides. The intensity of the hunt subsided. The poacher caught a break. The wild Pokémon rotated in shifts, harassing him. Both sides got some rest.

But the wildfire raged on.

And it wasn’t stopping. It was beginning to spread toward the edge of the island. Many wild Pokémon had already fled to the beach or the central grassland for safety.

If the fire continued unchecked, the entire island would be reduced to ashes.

Countless wild Pokémon would perish in the flames. The trees would be consumed. The Pokémon’s habitats would vanish. Everything on the island would be destroyed.

The lake would boil. The grassland would burn. The forest would disappear. Even the ocean near the shore would start to heat up. No one, not even Reiji’s group along the island’s edge, would escape unharmed.

Even if they survived, the cost would be immense. Don’t assume jumping into the ocean would save them—the fire would boil the seawater near shore.

And as more and more Pokémon gathered along the beach, the waters became a feeding ground for carnivorous Pokémon. Sharpedo and Carvanha lurked silently, waiting for unlucky victims to fall into the sea. Tonight, they would feast.

After watching the battle between the Trainer and the Totem Pidgeot end in mutual exhaustion, Reiji and the others finally descended from the tree.

But he wasn’t satisfied with the outcome.

Totem Pidgeot hadn’t shown its true strength. It had fallen into a trap out of desperation to save its child.

Still, it had taken down two of the poacher’s Pokémon—barely an advantage.

The Pidgeot had withstood multiple powerful attacks:

Three status effects: Confusion, Toxic, and Paralysis.

Three lethal blows: a direct Poison Jab to the vitals, an Explosion from Voltorb, and a final Thunder attack.

It looked miserable, but it wasn’t fatal.

This was the difference between an Elite Pokémon and everything below it.

Even after all that, the totem could still fly and command its flock. It never lost consciousness.

Perhaps it was anger, or desperation. Either way, it refused to collapse. Its child was still in the poacher’s hands. Even if it had to grit its beak and endure, it could not afford to faint.

If it went down now, not only would it fail to save its young—the flock could fall into internal chaos.

As for the poacher—he had severely wounded the Pidgeot but lost three Pokémon: Fearow, Beedrill, and Voltorb.

It was Fearow’s preemptive strike that bought time, Beedrill’s Poison Jab that inflicted poison, and Golbat’s Toxic that sealed off the Pidgeot’s most powerful weapon—its wings—making pursuit impossible.

Had the totem been alone, the poacher would’ve claimed total victory.

But with the flock behind it, the totem had edged out a win.

The poacher should’ve fled when he wounded the totem, but he got greedy—and missed his chance to escape.

Poisoning the totem’s wings had been a delaying tactic, but it cost him everything.

Now, without taking down Pidgeot, he would face relentless pursuit.

Only by defeating it could he break the flock’s cohesion, throwing them into leaderless infighting.

Until the flock chose a new Leader, the chaos would give him a chance to escape.

But he missed that chance. And now, he’d pay for it.

Reiji, still replaying the battle in his head, hadn’t noticed the roaring wildfire creeping closer.

They had been about to sleep. But the spreading fire and fleeing wild Pokémon rushing toward the coast had shocked them into staying alert.

When he saw Pokémon fleeing the inferno and the encroaching flames, Reiji knew they couldn’t just sit and wait for death.

Even if they couldn’t stop the fire, they had to try to protect their side of the forest.

“Poliwhirl, Wingull, Krabby—use Water Gun to put out the fire!” Reiji released the three Water-types and shouted for them to act. This was all he could do.

But the fire was too large. Their Water Guns were a drop in the ocean. Useless.

Reiji collapsed to the ground in despair, staring at the flames that lit up the night. “How did it come to this? Why… a wildfire…”

The fire raged like a beast, fangs bared, devouring everything in its path.

The heat and smoke were suffocating. Trees crackled and snapped as they burned. Green turned to black.

“F***ing bastard! That scum should’ve gone back into his mother’s womb! Arsonist trash!” Reiji cursed the poacher in fury—but it changed nothing.

Only villains did this kind of thing. By comparison, Reiji felt like the good guy.

At least he’d never set a forest on fire. Even in countless brushes with death, the thought had never crossed his mind.

He sighed, eyes on the burning trees. “Useless… just the three of them can’t stop this…”

He was about to call them back.

“Poliwhirl, Krabby, Wingull—come back. Let it burn. We can’t stop it, just come back, Poliwhirl…”

Reiji shouted toward the blaze, hoping they could hear. Since they couldn’t stop it, he didn’t want them to get hurt.

“Poli! Poli!” Poliwhirl heard him. It wanted to stop.

But it saw the endless wave of fleeing wild Pokémon—terrified, crying, helpless.

It couldn’t just walk away.

“Poli! Poliwhirl!” it cried back, voice resolute.

Then it turned and kept fighting the fire.

It wasn’t just saving the wild Pokémon—it was protecting Reiji. It couldn’t let the flames reach him.

Seeing Poliwhirl’s tall, unyielding figure, the tearful, despairing Pokémon nearby all froze.

Right now, the three of them—Poliwhirl, Krabby, Wingull—were heroes, battling the fire at the front line, saving those caught in the flames, pushing the blaze back.

Their courage moved the onlookers. Sadness turned to awe.

Inspired, the wild Pokémon joined in. Those still able to move charged in to help.

Even without Water Gun, they used dirt, stomped the flames, swung branches, attacked the fire with moves.

“Beedrill,” buzzed forward, using its stingers to fling dirt.

“Pinsir” charged up with its horns to shovel earth.

Spearow, Pidgey, Oddish, Bellsprout, Rattata, Ekans… all rushed to the front.

Poliwhirl relaxed a little, seeing so many had joined.

Pinsir, noticing Poliwhirl’s gaze, nodded in apology. They’d fought before—but now they stood together.

As a Bug-type weak to fire, Pinsir had every reason to stay back. But Poliwhirl gave them the courage to face the flames.

Together, they declared war on the wildfire.

Seeing them all in action, Reiji stood up. Even with so many helping, it still wasn’t enough.

He rushed to the shore. Countless Water-types had gathered there.

What they needed now… was a real downpour.

At the water’s edge, Reiji called out to the Water-types:

Krabby, Horsea, Seadra, Gyarados, Magikarp, Chinchou, Lanturn, Tentacool, Tentacruel, Seel, Dewgong, Goldeen, Seaking, Staryu, Lanturn…

He brought Butterfree to help translate and shouted, “Does anyone know Rain Dance? Anyone?”

“Seadra?” it tilted its head, confused, looking at the others.

“Gyarados!” roared, then shook its head—also didn’t understand.

“Butterfree, tell them—they need to use Rain Dance. Please.”

“Freee!” Butterfree got it, flying above the Water-types. “Freee—who knows Rain Dance?”

At first, they all just stared blankly.

Then Butterfree explained what it meant.

“Me! Me!” Tentacruel raised a tentacle.

“Seeeeel!” Dewgong joined in.

“Goldeeen!” Seaking added.

“Staryu!” chimed in too.

More and more stepped up. Butterfree nodded back to Reiji.

“Tell them—use Rain Dance together,” he said.

“Rain Dance! Everyone—Rain Dance!” Butterfree urged.

“Cruel!” Tentacruel began.

“Seeeeel!”

“Seadra!”

They closed their eyes and chanted, gesturing skyward.

Reiji exhaled in relief. If they could make it rain, the fire might be stopped.

But they kept chanting, and the sky remained dry. The moon still hung high.

No rain came.

“Why… no rain?” Reiji stared upward in dismay. He tugged at his collar—drenched in sweat, throat dry. He felt like he was roasting alive.

Still, he didn’t give up. His mind raced—there had to be a reason.

Then it hit him.

“It’s too dry!” The collar tug had reminded him.

He turned to the raging wildfire. The air was so dry, there was no way Rain Dance could work.

At the shore, the wild Pokémon looked up, hoping for rain. But nothing came.

Their hope faded. Heads lowered in despair.

“Don’t give up! There’s still a chance! Believe in me!” Reiji shouted, trying to reignite their spirits—and had Butterfree translate for him.

(End of Chapter)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep