The Herdier was temporarily blinded from the pink light, and stood there, stunned as he tried to regain his composure. Cressida sent a barrage of Magical Leaves his way, cutting the Herdier's skin. He howled in pain and let out a whimper, a glimpse of his former self beamed through.

"H-Help… Help…" He cried out.

"Is he calling for our help?" The Slurpuff stepped back. "Should we spare him…?"

"I bet he's just trying to trick us!" Elizabeth looked down at the Herdier, "Just beat him until he's unconscious, these Shadow Pokemon are nasty!"

She then Trop Kicked him on his head, slamming the Herdier head-first into the ground. "Hah! Now, finish him off before he gets back up, ladies!"

Before they could get close enough to gang up on him, he suddenly sprang back up onto his feet, growling at the Tsareena. He roars at her, emitting a loud sound wave that sent her flying towards a rock. Dashing towards Elizabeth, he bared his fangs for a Bite, then proceeded to gnaw on her leg fiercely. She screamed, kicking her legs as she tried to get him off.

"Eeeeek! Get him off, get him off, get him off!"

The battle caught the attention of Team Discovery, who decided to spectate from afar, only deciding to get involved if the Pokemon got close enough to them.

"I know they're mean and all, but… should we help them out? They seem to be struggling there." Timothy suggested.

Kyle shook his head, "Nah, let them have a taste o' their own medicine."

"Don't worry, Eliza, I got you!" The Slurpuff decided to Play Rough with the Herdier, then followed up with a Drain Kiss, which made him considerably tired. He weakly attempted to Take Down the Slurpuff, not giving up on his assault.

"Candy, watch out!"

The Slurpuff's agility wasn't the best, so her attempt at dodging the move was somewhat unsuccessful. She was sent up into the air, in which the Herdier tackled her mid-air, pummeling Candy down into the ground.

Before he could follow up with yet another Bite, however, a mysterious figure appeared from behind.

"?!" The Herdier sensed another force, turning around to see what appeared to be a Escavalier. This time, the Escavalier appeared to be normal, with no signs that he was a Shadow Pokemon.

However, that didn't mean he wasn't here to mess around.

The Escavalier showed no mercy. With one X-Scissor, he was able to weaken the Herdier considerably, slamming him against a boulder. The Herdier refused to give up, and attempted to tackle the Escavilier. However, he managed to dodge the tackle, following up with a Smart Strike. Herdier, now down on the floor, attempted to get back up once again.

But, before he could get back up onto his feet, he was cut up by Escavalier's Fury Cutter, slicing at him considerably. Now badly injured, the Herdier was close to fainting. But that didn't stop the Escavalier from his assault.

Peanut was uncomfortable by Escavalier's attitude towards the near-fainted Herdier. Before he could stab him once more, Peanut intervened, albeit with a nervous tone. "U-um…"I-I think you can stop now, sir… He's barely even conscious…"

"Stop?" He turned to face her. "This is a Shadow Pokemon we're dealing with. They are nothing but a threat to the general public, and as such, we must kill them on sight."

"K-Kill!? But, sir… Isn't killing them a bit much? Considering the fact that we're searching for a cure and all... "

"But, what if there was no cure? What if it was nothing more than a mere rumor? We mustn't idle for something that might not even exist. We must take action, no matter what it takes. Even if it means ending their lives, even if it means that we must annihilate them."

"What!? N-no! We shouldn't kill them regardless! The best we could do is knock them out. What if they have family or friends? What if it is really possible to cure them? Who even are you?!"

"Sir Arthur, madame." He looked back at the now-fainted Herdier, "Now, while you excuse me… I have a job to finish."

He approached the Herdier once again, preparing his sharp, sword-like arms to stab the Herdier in the heart.

"Stop! Please, spare his life! He may be a Shadow Pokemon, but that doesn't mean he should die for something he can't control!" Peanut cried out. "

Arthur sighed. "You're an interesting bunch..." He retracted his arms, "Fine. I shall spare him. But just this once."

Emmett let out a sigh. "Yeah, even if we don't agree on many things, a good chunk of exploration teams do not kill their opponents. We may knock em' out, but killing them is a bit extreme…"

He glared at Emmett. He sensed something off with the Machamp, an aura that was somewhat similar to the Shadow Pokemon he fought. Yet, he didn't mention it to him, after all, Emmett wasn't a Shadow Pokemon, but it was rare to see a Pokemon with an aura that was similar to one. If only a Lucario, or someone who could read auras more clearly, was nearby...

"Something about you... just doesn't settle right with me." He thought.

"Something about you… Isn't right."

Lost in thought, he began to seem fixated on Emmett, staring at him intensely without a word.

Emmett tilted his head, "Hmm? You there?"

Arthur jumped back into 'reality', looking up at the Machamp's eyes. "O-oh. My apologies. For I was thinking of something… intriguing. Now, since my job here is done, I shall be heading off, so take care everyone. But remember, this will be the only time I ever show mercy to a Shadow Pokemon."

And with that, the Escavalier disappeared into the fog. With Arthur out of the way, Elizabeth confronted Emmett, flirting with him once again. "Oh, there you are, Prince! Seems ze airhead went out of her way to save that mon's life. What a weirdo, am I right?"

"I think she had a point there. We shouldn't be needlessly killing them off if there exists a cure…"

"Well, you'd be right if they weren't needlessly killing innocent Pokemon…"

"Except, the Shadow Pokemon themselves are also innocent..." Peanut butted in. "They're victims to the Shadow, who controls and dictates what they…-"

"Quiet! I was busy talking to Prince here!" She wrapped an arm around one of Emmett's arms, "Sheesh, hogging up my time with Prince..."

"Hey, remember what I said about picking a fight with her…" He leered at her.

"Oh, fine~ Well, airhead, it doesn't matter if they're 'victims', they're still killing innocents. I personally wouldn't have killed him on the spot, but I definitely would have beaten that Herdier into a pulp if I had the chance.

"So since thare be Shadow Pokemon lurkin' around 'ere, shouldn't we shift elsewhere, or at th' very least set up barriers?" Kyle suggested.

"Now that you mention it, some sort of barrier before we set up camp is a good idea…" Timothy added, "Who knows how many of them could be out here, I don't want to be attacked in my sleep!"

"Hm… Yeah, we probably should. I'll probably go set em' up as soon as possible."

"So, my Prince, is this goodbye?"

"Unless you really want to stick around with Peanut, then yes." Cressida commented.

Peanut gave a mean look to Cressida, but didn't say anything.

"Well, I suppose we shall meet again, Prince…" Elizabeth sighed, "But don't forget about that date I mentioned…~"

She gathered up her lady friends and left off. Once they completely disappeared from sight, Emmett turned his head to Kyle, "Well, now that's out of the way, we should probably be working on that barrier."

"Yep, we probably should. Th' earlier, th' better."