"Wah!"
A childlike, innocent cry suddenly echoed from the dense forest, accompanied by a pink, fleshy... tongue!
"Cacturne, Retaliate!"
The soft pink tongue lashed against Cacturne's body, but in the next moment, it swiftly retracted!
Cacturne's body was covered in thorns!
In a moment, Cacturne's attack struck back with doubled power thanks to Retaliate!
Cacturne lunged forward, its supposedly stubby arms firmly grasping the tongue before it could retract.
Swing it! Toss it!
Cacturne's entire body was enveloped in a dark energy that surged through the tongue. With a powerful motion, it flung a rare Pokémon into the open!
Lickitung!
At this moment, Lickitung had completely given up on resisting.
The excruciating pain from the Dark-type energy, combined with the thorns on Cacturne's arms digging deep into its tongue, left it in agony.
Just as Cacturne was about to finish off this Lickitung, several more pink tongues shot out from all directions!
This time, they weren't targeting Cacturne. They were aiming for Sato!
"Cacturne, Spiky Shield!"
While issuing the command, Sato quickly crouched and dashed toward Cacturne.
Cacturne immediately abandoned its "flailing weapon" and lunged to shield Sato. The thorns on its body rapidly extended, creating a dense layer of spikes that completely enveloped both of them!
"Wah!"
"Wah!"
"Wah!"
…
Every tongue that touched the spikes rebounded at twice the speed, accompanied by the agonized cries of the Lickitung!
"Cacturne, Swords Dance! Then use Pin Missile!"
Cacturne performed a peculiar motion, swaying its extended thorns as its aura rapidly intensified!
In the next instant, every thorn on Cacturne's body glowed with a dazzling white light before erupting in a powerful blast!
Dozens of Pin Missiles shot out in all directions, triggering multiple explosions!
Lickitung, as a species, wasn't known for its combat prowess. Their primary attack methods revolved around using their long tongues for slapping and binding.
But against an opponent like Cacturne, whose body was covered in even more spikes than a hedgehog, they were utterly devastated!
We just wanted a taste of that sweet honey... Why is this happening to us?!
Even the Lickitung that had been tossed around earlier was now desperately fleeing.
Within moments, all of the Lickitung had vanished into the distance.
Cacturne, as if nothing had happened, calmly returned to Sato's side.
However, Sato could see the glint of joy in its eyes. It was clearly satisfied with its progress.
"Alright, let's keep going!"
Sato gently patted Cacturne's leafy hat, the only spot on its body that wasn't covered in spikes.
"Cac-tuurne~"
With the battle over, Sato didn't put away the honey, because Cacturne hadn't even used its full strength.
After all, Cacturne didn't rely on its spikes alone. It had incredible strength and a powerful Ability!
Thanks to the honey's aroma, after walking for just a few more minutes, another Pokémon that couldn't resist temptation appeared!
Pinsir!
This time, the Pokémon that appeared were a group of aggressive Bug-types, infamous for their fiery tempers: Pinsir!
They were much stronger than the Lickitung from before, and their numbers had nearly doubled!
Relying on just Cacturne would be troublesome! Sato thought to himself as he flicked his right hand, releasing the now-rested Umbreon from its Poké Ball.
Umbreon, as usual, instinctively tried to jump onto Sato, but he quickly stopped it, pointing to the surrounding Pinsir to remind it that now wasn't the time for affection.
"Umbreon!"
The moment it realized there was a battle, Umbreon didn't complain. Instead, it turned to greet its good friend, Cacturne, before standing alongside it, facing off against the Pinsir horde.
"Pin!"
Finally, one of the Pinsir couldn't hold back any longer. It rushed toward Sato with its stubby legs at full speed!
That charge seemed to be the signal, the rest of the Pinsir immediately followed, swarming toward Sato in unison!
At the same time, Cacturne made its move!
The thorns on its body rapidly extended and glowed brightly. With a wide-range Pin Missile, it launched a barrage of spikes indiscriminately at the Pinsir, halting their advance!
This move had a similar effect to Zoroark's Night Daze, though its sheer power was slightly weaker.
Umbreon stood by Sato's side, automatically taking on the role of protecting its Trainer. At the same time, it kept a close eye on Cacturne, ready to provide support at any moment.
And this was when Cacturne finally showcased its true strength!
Boom!
A Pinsir was suddenly sent flying backward. In its original spot, Cacturne stood with one hand glowing green from Drain Punch and the other holding a swirling energy, retracting it toward its waist.
A dual-technique attack: Needle Arm! Drain Punch!
Although Bug-types resisted both Grass- and Fighting-type moves, Cacturne's raw attack power was so overwhelming that it simply brute-forced its way through!
And so, Cacturne's stage began!
Its left hand wielded Drain Punch, draining the opponent's energy upon contact.
Its right hand unleashed Needle Arm, a powerful Dark-type move unique to Cacturne!
That wasn't all. Cacturne's Water Absorb Ability continuously restored its stamina with each successful hit!
Almost every Pinsir fell with just a single punch. Even if they managed to get back up, it was only a matter of time before the second strike took them down!
Occasionally, a Pinsir would slip past Cacturne's defenses, but Umbreon was quick to intervene. Though it couldn't take them down as swiftly as Cacturne, it was more than capable of stalling them.
Then, all it had to do was wait for Cacturne to return and finish them off!
Punch after punch, for the first time, Cacturne fought without restraint.
Whenever its body felt tired, a new surge of energy would flow in from its defeated opponents.
Aside from some mental exhaustion, Cacturne felt like it could fight Pinsir for another three hundred rounds!
Finally, when the last Pinsir collapsed, Cacturne dispersed the energy gathered in its hands. Only then did it start feeling a wave of dizziness!
"Umbre!"
Umbreon rushed to Cacturne's side and used Heal Bell through its Soothing Bell.
Once Cacturne's mental fatigue had eased slightly, Umbreon followed up with Wish to help it recover its stamina.