The scent of blood spread through the undergrowth, attracting the unwanted attention of other predators. They converged on Giovanni's position.
Clink.
Beedrill tapped its stingers together twice, then its body blurred and vanished.
A mont later, Giovanni opened his eyes. He was untouched, not a single drop of blood on him. Around him lay a grisly scene of scattered corpses and viscera.
His Pokémon stood amidst the carnage, stained red with the blood and gore of their dispatched foes. He smiled helplessly. He knew they were protecting him, but still.
"Co back," he said. "I am well-rested. There is no need to linger here."
They imdiately returned and were recalled to their Poké Balls, all except for the fastidious Persian. It had the least blood on it, and it would accompany him for now.
It was unrealistic to expect to find the hidden base in a single day. He circled through the forest for two more days before he finally found traces of human activity: special markings carved into trees, likely to guide others ho; broken animal bones; and crude, sharpened wooden spikes. These were the signs.
During his search, he also sensed a Gym-Leader-level Pokémon nearby. He skirted its territory, avoiding a confrontation. Beedrill and the others were still not at a level where they could reliably challenge such a powerful creature, and Matt's Weezing was only a bodyguard; it would not obey his direct commands.
Thump.
An Ursaring, its power at the early Senior level, its body a tapestry of grotesque scars from a hundred battles, suddenly collapsed. Blood gurgled from a horrifying, penetrating wound in its neck, staining the forest floor red.
As it fell, Beedrill's majestic form was revealed. Its red eyes held nothing but disdain as it shook non-existent blood from its stinger. This, the so-called overlord of the forest, was nothing.
Not far away, Nidorino and Rhyhorn cornered two trembling Teddiursa. With playful, cruel eyes, they slowly closed in, watching as the terrified cubs covered their mouths and cried, a sight that brought them a twisted sort of joy. They were, without a doubt, so bad bullies.
anwhile, inside a foul-slling cave, Persian shook its blood-stained paws, flicking off tangled fur before ticulously licking them clean. In front of it lay the corpse of a female Ursaring, its face a mangled ruin of claw marks.
Giovanni stood deeper in the cave beside a sweating Machoke, whose own body bore a few fresh scratches. Persian had not been the only one working.
Giovanni stepped over the she-bear's corpse, moving toward the area it had been guarding. The first thing he saw was a pile of gnawed, white bones—so from Pokémon, a few unmistakably human— as expected of Ursaring. No matter the region, its habits were consistent.
Next to the bone pile were several large, crude stone bowls, filled to the brim with sweet, high-purity honey, rich with energy. It was no wonder there were two Senior-level Ursaring here.
Beside the bowls was a pile of ripe, fleshy Berries. Bear-type Pokémon certainly knew how to live.
The honey alone was too much to carry, and it would be difficult to preserve. So...
Smoke rose into the night sky. In the heart of the Ursaring's territory, it was unlikely to attract much attention. Ordinary Pokémon wouldn't dare approach, lest they beco another al for the bears. This ti, however, the bears themselves had beco the food.
Large, oily, collagen-rich paws roasted over the fire, their fragrance filling the air. Skewers of kidney sizzled, dripping fat onto the flas. Strings of at, brushed with a layer of sweet honey and sprinkled with salt, offered a truly primal flavor.
A gentle breeze blew. Giovanni sipped on honey water, listening to the rustling of the trees. This was the charm of the outdoors.
Nidorino was drooling a small puddle on the ground. Even Rhyhorn, a creature that ate rocks, couldn't help but constantly swallow its saliva. Machoke, Beedrill, and Persian were more disciplined, though their eyes were fixed on the roasting at.
Why eat raw flesh when fragrant, cooked at was available?
"Eat," Giovanni said, picking up a skewer. "I know you cannot wait."
At his command, Nidorino vanished, its speed in pursuit of food unmatched by even Beedrill or Persian. Soon, they were all eating, their mouths dripping with grease. Giovanni watched them with a rare, genuine smile.
As the night deepened, a strange cold began to spread through the air. Giovanni had just picked up another skewer of at when his eyes narrowed. He calmly finished the skewer, but his gaze darted around the clearing.
Whoosh.
Several skewers of at suddenly vanished from the grill.
Giovanni's eyes shifted, landing on a spot a short distance away. There, on the ground, lay the now-rotten skewers of at, and beside them, a black shadow. The mont it sensed Giovanni's gaze, the shadow vanished.
Giovanni's lips curved upwards. "Interesting. It seems tonight will be more entertaining than I thought."
He drained his honey water, put away the remaining at, and extinguished the fire. "Let's go," he said to his well-fed Pokémon. "It is safer here. We can get a good rest tonight." With the Ursaring's cave, they should have been able to rest peacefully. Now, however, that seed quite uncertain.
An hour after Giovanni and his Pokémon had settled inside the cave, a black shadow moved slowly across the ground near the extinguished campfire. It looked at the empty fire pit.
Within the shadow, a pair of malevolent eyes slowly opened, filled with malice and greed. It turned its gaze toward the dark maw of the cave. The shadow moved quickly toward the entrance, slowing only slightly before slipping inside, a soft, sibilant hiss echoing in the darkness.
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