"Screee!!!"
Dust billowed amid a tremendous crash, and Taillow's shriek rang out, mingled with the faint sound of rocks hitting the ground.
"Taillow!"
His earlier composure vanished. Even Kong, brimming with enthusiasm as he was, watched the battlefield anxiously.
After a long while, the dust gradually cleared. Taillow lay unconscious amid the shattered rocks.
Not far away, Mudkip lay quietly on the ground, panting softly.
"Taillow!"
"Mudkip!"
Yong and Kong hurried over to their Pokémon to check on them.
Mudkip was all right, just weak from exhaustion. After applying some ointment and recalling Mudkip into a Poké Ball, Yong approached Kong.
"Is Taillow okay?"
Yong watched Kong treating Taillow's injuries with a guilty look. He felt apologetic; he had gotten so caught up in the battle that he had completely forgotten to hold back.
"It's all right!"
Kong raised his head and smiled at Yong.
"That's what Pokémon battles are about, isn't it? Fighting with everything you've got, standing beside your partner, and leaving no regrets! I don't think Taillow would blame you two. If anything, Taillow would be even prouder!"
He gently stroked Taillow's feathers.
"You won this one. It was a great battle, wasn't it?"
Taking out a Poké Ball and recalling the sleeping Taillow, Kong smiled at Yong.
"Let's save our next battle for the Pokémon League tournament! Yong, you're going to enter, right?"
Looking into Kong's eyes, Yong understood how he felt. He smiled, nodded, and met his gaze seriously.
"I'll definitely be there. And when the time comes, I'll win again!"
"I'm the one who's going to win!"
They looked at each other, each sensing the other's determination. Kong held out his right hand and curled it into a fist.
"It's a promise!"
Thump!
Their fists bumped together.
"It's a promise!"
With small smiles, the two said their goodbyes. Yong continued his journey toward Rustboro City, while Kong headed for Petalburg City to visit Mr. Norman, hoping to learn techniques for commanding Normal-type Pokémon.
Different directions, the same goal. Someday, they would meet again. What kind of battle would they have then?
Ding! Battle ended. Mudkip drew the battle, earned 5 Training Points, and gained a large amount of experience! Ding! Proficiency increased for Water Gun, Supersonic, Rock Throw, and Rock Smash!
Yong checked the system messages. Although Mudkip hadn't leveled up, the battle had yielded plenty of experience and considerable increases in move proficiency. Not a bad haul.
As expected, evenly matched battles brought the fastest improvement.
Nodding in satisfaction, Yong followed the road ahead, reviewing the battle along the way and reflecting on what he could have done better.
Lost in thought, he failed to notice the growing number of Bug-type Pokémon quietly approaching through the surrounding grass.
On distant branches, more than a dozen pairs of butterfly-like wings fluttered gently, scattering yellow powder with every beat.
In an instant, String Shot attacks came from every direction, weaving a huge net that descended on Yong!
The boy froze briefly.
"Is that... String Shot!?"
He hurriedly rolled forward, escaping the web of silk.
Looking around, he saw Bug-type Pokémon crawling out one after another from the grass on either side and the trees.
Above him, several Venomoth and Dustox leading the swarm slowly approached on fluttering wings!
"So there were still some bugs that slipped through the net..."
Yong watched the Bug-type Pokémon closing in around him and gradually regained his composure. He no longer panicked as he had during his first encounter.
"Come out, Onix!"
"Roar!"
A flash of white light released Onix. Higher levels, training, and growing battle experience all gave Onix confidence now!
"Onix, hit the Bug-type Pokémon around us with a full-power Rock-"
"Please stop, young Trainer!!"
The sudden shout interrupted Yong. He turned to see a young man of about twenty running up to him, speaking urgently.
"Please let me handle this!"
Without waiting for Yong to answer, the young man faced the surrounding Bug-type Pokémon and called out.
"Stop, Venomoth! Dustox!"
But the Bug-type Pokémon gave no response.
The young man shook his head.
"This again. Come out, Roserade! Aromatherapy!"
He threw a Poké Ball, and a humanoid Pokémon appeared before them.
Roserade looked as though wearing a mask and cape, with a mostly green body and yellow feet.
The flowers on Roserade's hands remained blue and red, but had increased in number. Thorny whips coated in deadly poison lay hidden in the bouquets.
White material shaped like roses grew on Roserade's head, resembling hair.
Roserade had red eyes with yellow eyelids.
It was Roserade!
Roserade
Roserade waved both hands, releasing a refreshing fragrance that soothed the entire body.
The sweet scent also enveloped the surrounding, still-agitated Bug-type Pokémon. They swayed as though drunk, happy expressions appearing on their faces before they settled onto the ground.
Aromatherapy could cure status conditions. Roserade's Aromatherapy combined that effect with Roserade's own fragrance, giving it the power to influence Pokémon.
"Phew..."
Watching the recovered Bug-type Pokémon return to the woods, the young man sighed in relief and recalled Roserade.
"Thanks for your hard work, Roserade! Come back and rest!"
"Hello! I'm Yong. Could you tell me what's going on?"
After recalling the disgruntled Onix, Yong approached the young man and asked as he watched the Pokémon gradually disappear.
"Oh, hello!"
The young man addressed Yong with an embarrassed look.
"Hi, my name's Ryota. I'm a Pokémon League Investigator, though I'm still new. Ahaha..."
"Uh..."
Frowning, Yong asked in confusion.
"Then, Mr. Investigator, why are Bug-type Pokémon attacking travelers here again?"
"Huh? You know about this?"
Seeing Ryota's curiosity, Yong told him about the earlier attack, how Investigator Yamashima had saved him, and what he had learned afterward.
"Oh, it was Mr. Yamashima? That explains it."
Ryota nodded.
"The situation has mostly been resolved, just as Mr. Yamashima said. It's just that the affected Bug-type Pokémon may need some time to recover."
"So these Bug-type Pokémon are still under the influence of Miracle Honey?"
"Yes. This honey has a powerful effect on Bug-type Pokémon. And it isn't simply honey-it's a fully formulated drug!"
A drug!?
"Although the Pokémon League has already shut down the source and recovered the Miracle Honey, the Bug-type Pokémon stimulated by the drug won't recover that quickly."
Seeing the confusion in Yong's eyes, the young man explained in detail.
"They can only heal naturally over a long period. In the meantime, they'll still be affected, occasionally becoming confused and running wild. That's why the Pokémon League has sent investigators out to monitor them."
"So that's what happened..."
Yong nodded.
"Thank you so much, then!"
"Haha, it was nothing!"
He really is a rookie!
Amused by Ryota's delight, Yong knew he still had work to do. He said goodbye and continued on his way, intending to leave Petalburg Woods as soon as possible.
Somewhere in the forest, inside an underground cavern, a severely injured man in black lay with one arm missing. Beside him was a Nosepass, panting heavily and covered in damage.
"Damn it! Damn that Drake! Damn the Pokémon League!"
Enduring the pain, the man in black took out a Poké Ball. White light flashed, and a Golbat appeared in the cavern. He pulled a test tube from inside his clothes and carefully handed it to Golbat.
"Take this back. You know where!"
Golbat nodded and flew away through the tunnel.
"Hah... hah..."
Feeling the intense pain coursing through his body, the man in black took another test tube from inside his clothes. A glint of madness flashed in his eyes. Bug-types are nothing. He stared at the purple liquid in the tube.
"Soon. The time is almost ripe!"
Devon Corporation was a major company located in Rustboro City in the Hoenn Region.
Several years earlier, it had still been a small company mining iron ore and refining steel. Now, however, it had grown into a diversified giant capable of rivaling Silph Co.!
Its reputation had soared even further in recent years after it developed a machine that generated energy using magma as fuel!
More importantly, however, Devon Corporation's president was Mu Jin Stone!
He was the head of the Stone family!
He was also the father of Steven Stone, the Hoenn League Champion!
It was said that Mr. Steven's love of collecting stones came from his father's influence.
Most of the items produced by Devon Corporation were intended for Pokémon Trainers. The company had also developed different varieties of Poké Balls.
At the same time, it was researching Fossil Restoration and had made tremendous progress.
At that moment, in the president's office, Mu Jin Stone was entertaining Drake, the Dragon-type specialist of the Pokémon League's Elite Four!
"Then I'll have to leave this to you, Elite Four Drake!"
President Stone, normally so kindly, spoke with a grave expression.
"I'll notify Steven as well. Let's hope we're still in time!"
Drake nodded, stood up, and headed for the door.
"I'll keep a close watch! I'll be staying in Rustboro City for the time being!"
President Stone watched Drake leave, lost in thought. Then he picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"There's something I need to tell you..."