After the young man and Renji left, the forest seemed completely empty. A heavy stillness settled over the trees, making the air feel especially quiet.
Roughly twenty minutes into his walk, Shiro came across a sign posted in the woods. It had a red background with bold black lettering that read:
[Bewear territory ahead. Extremely dangerous. Proceed with caution.]
He chuckled at the sight. Glancing around, he noticed several nearby tree trunks bore the same warning, crudely carved into the bark. The letters were jagged and worn, some barely legible, as if they had been there for years
Stufful and Bewear were indeed dangerous. Not only were they naturally aggressive, but their thick hides and immense strength made them tough to deal with. Regular Pokémon of the same level rarely stood a chance.
Gently stroking the feathers of Corvisquire, Shiro gave a slight nod. The bird took flight, soaring ahead to scout the path. He remained where he was.
With this many warning signs, there had clearly been plenty of stubborn trainers who had come this way before. It was better to play it safe and see what happened first.
But the moment Corvisquire rose above the treetops, it let out a sharp cry.
"Coor! Coorv!"
Shiro froze, then quickly backed away from the signpost area.
Suddenly, several pink figures burst out from behind the trees marked with writing. They lunged at the exact spot where he had just been, crashing with a heavy thud that made the earth tremble.
The impact cracked the soil, leaving deep fractures in the ground.
Five Stufful clumsily got to their feet. They looked like plush toys—round bodies, stubby limbs, and even little tags on their backs—but their glossy black eyes gleamed with a vicious light that sent a chill down Shiro's spine.
Who would've thought they had been hiding behind the very trees that bore the danger signs?
The forest ahead still stretched deep. Most trainers who made it this far probably saw the warnings, scoffed with overconfidence, and strode right in. They likely assumed the Pokémon lived deeper in the woods, only to be blindsided by the Stufful lying in wait on both sides, crushed before they even had a chance to react.
'No... these signs looked like they were placed a long time ago, and these Stufful probably just settled around them, using them as bait…'
Shiro speculated as he moved swiftly, not wasting a second.
"Corvisquire! Haunter!"
As he spoke, the Stufful charged low along the ground, their tiny legs kicking up dirt. But Corvisquire had already spotted them from the air. It dove straight down, flashing forward with Quick Attack, then pierced through one of the Stufful from behind with its steel-hard beak.
Haunter also floated out from beside Shiro with a mischievous snicker, both hands glowing with a soft pink shimmer of psychic energy.
Neither Pokémon needed detailed orders. After so many battles together, they already knew what to do.
These Stufful were only around level 20. Two were at 21, and three were at 22. They had just entered the Intermediate-level, not particularly strong, relying more on their stealthy ambush to gain the upper hand.
The one struck by Corvisquire died on the spot. The remaining four slumped to the ground under the influence of Haunter's Hypnosis.
Shiro let out a quiet breath of relief. As Corvisquire came back to perch on his shoulders, he turned his attention to the fainted Pokémon.
Stufful had a cute appearance, with pink bodies and brown limbs. Their fur was soft and incredibly pleasant to the touch, but they hated being hugged or handled by anyone other than those they were close to.
If touched by strangers, they would go into a violent frenzy, lashing out with terrifying strength. Anyone careless enough to reach for one would almost certainly be attacked with brutal force.
"Hmm... it really does feel nice to touch," Shiro muttered, running his hand over one of the sleeping Stufful, gripping it by the scruff with one hand and giving its fluffy body a thorough pat-down.
Then he pulled out four Poké Balls and caught the four unconscious Pokémon without resistance.
In Galar, Stufful and Bewear were still considered rare, especially among the wealthy, where they commanded a strong market presence. Even those with mediocre battle potential fetched high prices. They were seen as dual-purpose Pokémon: cute enough to be ornamental, yet capable of fighting when needed.
After defeating five of them, Shiro didn't immediately press forward.
The earlier ambush still lingered in his mind. He had a strong feeling that more trouble was waiting for him. A whole colony of Stufful and Bewear couldn't possibly be made up of just a handful, right?
It was very likely that more were hiding deeper in the woods.
Corvisquire took off once more from Shiro's shoulder, soaring into the air to survey the area from above.
Soon, it spotted a cluster of six more Stufful just over a few dozen meters away. They didn't appear to be lying in ambush, though. Instead, they were huddled together, seemingly gnawing on something.
Corvisquire swooped back down and landed beside Shiro.
"Coor! Coor!"
A couple of quick chirps were all he needed to understand. There were still plenty of Stufful ahead, and it would be unwise to drop his guard.
"Haunter," he called softly.
Almost immediately, Haunter's grinning face appeared from the shadows. With a chuckle, it floated forward, weaving between trees to take the lead.
Stufful and Bewear were Normal and Fighting types, and their move sets typically focused on those two categories. Neither of which could harm a Ghost-type like Haunter.
In other words, it could tank their attacks without worry.
Shiro followed closely behind, stepping as lightly as he could to avoid making noise and alerting the group in front.
After a short while, Haunter slowed down and drifted upward, having spotted the cluster of Stufful.
"Haunn-teeer~"
Its crimson tongue flicked out, licking both sides of its face with a sinister glee before it dived toward the six unsuspecting Pokémon.
Shiro ducked behind a nearby tree, silently observing the scene.
The Stufful were lined up in a loose row, all crouched low as they devoured something in front of them—dark, bloodied, and meaty. From a distance, it looked like some kind of carcass.
Their pink heads blocked Shiro's view, making it hard to see exactly what they were eating.
Hovering directly above them, Haunter's ghostly claws began to pulse with pink, sending waves of hypnotic energy drifting downward. At the same time, it made a grotesque face.
"Blblblblbl~"
The sound of its tongue squelching drew the attention of two Stufful, who lifted their blood-slicked faces and stared up at the purple ghost.
The hypnotic waves struck them square in the face, lulling them to sleep before the others even noticed.
The others didn't seem to care. If anything, they kept chewing even more furiously.
Less than a minute later, Haunter's relentless Hypnosis subdued every last one of them, leaving the clearing full of softly breathing, unconscious pink forms.
Only after the Ghost-type waved smugly at him did Shiro step out from behind the tree and approach, drawing six Poké Balls from his belt.
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