The trainees looked up the tree that stood in front of them. They weren't sure how high up it was, but it was pretty tall. Someone like Pikachu could easily climb up without effort. Or Buneary, who could simply spring up to the top casually. Or Snivy with her vines. They weren't, however, experienced with running up a tree while wearing weighed gear. Plus, they had to actually run up the tree, not climb up it. Meaning, they weren't allowed the time to properly grip to the side.

Ryder sat on the sidelines, meditating. He could feel everyone's auras flowing around them. He could sense the discomfort and nervousness around them. They were unsure if they could complete this exercise. But he could also feel their determination to get it done, knowing they would soon combat the Darkmon. All that they needed was time and patience.

Oshawott paced back and forth as he studied the tree. Ryder said he could use what he naturally had to get up the tree. His scalchop would definitely help him keep his momentum up, using it like a climbing pick. The true problem was the weights on his body. He only now got use to walking and, even then, it was a pain to do. He would need to exercise some more in order to become more accustomed to their strain.

Snivy sighed and crossed her arms. "So, who's going first?"

"I nominate Pikachu!" Piplup exclaimed.

The mouse's eyes widened. "Piplup!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to be the first guy to mess up!"

Buneary groaned. "Come on, Piplup. No need to be a baby."

He glared at her. "Well, why don't you go if you're so confident about succeeding?"

"Are you crazy? I can't do that on the first try."

Snivy rolled her eyes and walked up to the tree. "I'll go first. If you guys are gonna keep arguing about it, I might as well give it a try." She narrowed her eyes at the tree, like she was preparing to take it down in a hunt.

She dashed forward at the tree and used her vines to elevate herself, keeping her momentum relatively the same. Unfortunately, her vines weren't use to supporting her weight and couldn't stay airborne long enough to plant her foot against the tree. She crashed into the ground and skidded into the tree.

"Snivy!" Oshawott ran over and helped her up. "Are you okay?"

She rubbed her head. "More or less." She held her vines up. "I may need to do more training with these."

Piplup stepped up and did some stretches. "Alright everyone, stand back! Let me take a crack at it!" He took a deep breath and charged at the tree. He placed his foot against the tree and tried to race up it. He successfully got two inches off the ground before feeling gravity deciding to take effect. He flapped his flippers frantically and hugged the tree to keep tightly. He slowly slid down and gently lay down.

Buneary giggled. "Nice try, Pip."

He sighed and slowly pushed himself up. "Tougher than it looks."

She stretched her arms. "Stand back, I'm going to give it a go." She bent down and bounced with all the force she could muster…ending up with her falling on her face. "Ow…"

Her mate helped her up. "Uh…A for effort?" he muttered, chuckling sheepishly.

She playfully glared at him and lightly bopped his nose. "Very funny."

Pikachu rubbed the back of his head and laughed. He decided to take his turn at conquering the tree. He jumped on it and tried to run up it. He normally had no problem running up a tree, so he was caught off guard by the weights pulling him down. He took a deep breath and tried to climb with all his might. He dug his claws into the bark as he hoisted himself up inch by inch. He cringe at the sound of his claws scraping against the bark as he began sliding down. He picked up the pace to keep himself from falling.

Ryder opened one eye and watched Pikachu slowly make his way up the tree. He's trying, at least. The idea is to run up the tree without stopping. Still, he's managing to stay on longer than the others. Plus, he's much more attuned to scaling obstacles such as this. He might get this done first.

Pikachu lost his grip on the tree and fell on his back, coughing harshly.

…wishful thinking.

Buneary helped her mate up. "You okay, sweetie?"

He rubbed his sore back and grinned weakly. "What? You kidding? That was nothing." She giggled and lightly kissed his cheek.

Oshawott rubbed his hands and took a few steps back. A few breaths later, he charged at full force. He planted his feet against the tree and used his scalchop to latch on, then pull himself up with all his might. Unfortunately, the weight crushing down on him loosened the shell out of the tree and made the otter slip, slamming his face into the tree and sliding back down.

"…ow."

Snivy helped him up with her vines, with struggle, of course. "That was pretty good, Oshawott."

He rubbed his head with a small blush. "Hehe…thanks Snivy."

Piplup shook his head and marched up to the tree. "Okay, one more time!" He raced toward the tree and tried to run up it. Again, he could barely get off the ground and landed on his face. He pushed himself up and slapped his cheeks to get himself amped up. "Again!" He attempted once more, but was met with the same results.

Ryder watched the penguin repeatedly fail and sweatdropped. Well…he's determined. He smiled a bit. However, he has the right idea. It'll slowly become easy to them. We may have to mash together reflex training along with this. He stood up and cracked his knuckles. Time to get started.

There was complete silence in the Pokémon Center. No one made a sound as they sat in the main room, awkwardly staring at the two members of Team Rocket who apparently snuck in for, as far as they knew, unknown reasons. But, judging from their lack of teammates at the moment, they figured it wasn't trying to steal Pokémon this time.

Jessie and James sat in some chairs, handcuffed for safety reasons, and stared back at the trainers they referred to as 'twerps' and the old man who had captured them. Leaning against the wall next to his was his partner Pokémon, Lucario, who had his arms crossed. The Azumarill was off to the side, sitting at a table and eating quietly, wishing to be alone.

The Rocket agents didn't know how to get out of this mess. They've gotten away from the police hundreds of times, thanks to their unfortunate blast offs over the years. They've disguised their identities for years and have kept silent, blending in and getting jobs to pay for their meals and for their robots needed to capture Pikachu and any other Pokémon they came across.

Now here they were, handcuffed, their Pokeballs and other gadgets confiscated, with no plan of escape…and sitting in front of their enemies and an old man who looked like he could fight. This has not been a good week for them.

Ash narrowed his eyes at them, mad considering they're the main reason they were in this mess. "What are you doing here?"

Jessie scoffed. "Trying to break the awkward silence? Our business is none of your concern."

Hank glared. "I know Officer Jenny. I can have you hauled off anytime I want. The only reason you're still here is because I need answers. Now talk. Why are you here?"

James sighed and looked at his partner. She glanced at him and nodded in approval. They had no choice. He nodded back and looked back at the agent. "Look, we weren't here to steal anything this time, honest. The reason we're here is because we're looking for our teammates."

"I was wondering where Meowth and Laura were," Iris stated, having noticed the missing cat and android, as did the others.

Jessie nodded. "After we blasted off, we noticed they fell into that weird forest Pikachu fell into."

"Naturally, we had to come back and rescue them. But after…what happened, we couldn't get anywhere near it, disguised or not. And, from all the rumors we heard, we were worried something horrible happened to them." The blue haired man sighed. "Fortunately, we found Laura's signal right before you caught. We figured Meowth was still alive too."

"So you just came here to boost your radar to track them?" They nodded. Hank rubbed his chin. "Makes sense, I suppose. But that doesn't mean I'm letting you two off the hook. You have a lot to answer for."

Jessie glared. "Spare us the lecture, old man. How about you explain that weird goop we saw?"

"Weird goop?" Dawn parroted.

James nodded. "There was black goop constricted around a machine. It looked like it was trying to spread around the room."

Cilan looked at Hank for answers. "Is that what you were working on back there?"

The old agent sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I didn't want to worry you kids about that…"

"About what?"

Hank pulled out a phone and showed them a picture of the goop spreading. "When I checked on the communications, I found this wrapped around one of our machines. I had to burn it to keep it from spreading." He put the phone away. "Immediately, we knew where it came from. And it only prove my theory."

"Theory?" Ash asked.

Hank placed his hands behind his back and paced around. "I was tasked with keeping track of the forest's growth. As more Darkmon were created, the more the forest spread. The valley it was in was large enough to keep most of it in. But now, things are starting to change.

"The Darkmon need energy to power their central bulb. They get most of it from Pokémon, but they can get it from other sources. That's why we need to be on our guards at night. Dark is the only Darkmon who can drain energy, so his followers try to steal machines and other electronics for him to take their power. That goop vine is proof they're getting closer to their goal. The forest is spreading even farther."

Dawn gasped and looked at the ground. "You mean it's right under us?!"

"Do not fret, Dawn. You all our safe for the time being. We're doing our best to keep the growth under control." He sighed. "Unfortunately, with them tapping into our communication, they're blocking any form of contact with Ryder. We can't warn him about anything."

"There has to be something we can do!" the raven-haired trained shouted.

"We can't. I'm sorry, Ash…" The trainer tipped his hat over his eyes and sighed.

"Uh, hello?!" They looked back at the cuffed Rocket agents, particularly Jessie, the one who spoke up. "Perhaps a little explanation?! What are you talking about?! What the heck is a Darkmon?!"

Hank glared. "That is none of your concern."

"With all due respect, our friends are in that forest with those monsters! If anything happens to them, it becomes our business!" James yelled angrily.

The old agent reached behind his back for his stun stick when Lucario held his hand up and shook his head. "You sure, old friend?" The jackal nodded.

The trainers and Rocket agents stared. It was like they were having a silent conversation with each other. It was almost spooky.

Hank sighed and took his hand off the weapon. "Alright, I'll take your word for it." He walked up the captured agents with his hands behind his back. "You two listen closely, because I'm only going to say this once."

Their day has not been going well. With Savage on the hunt for them and the others, they needed to stay on their guard. Fortunately, all the traps set up for them can be seen or detected with ease by other Darkmon, a safety measure for other Darkmon. And, luckily for the group, they had a Darkmon accompanying them.

Koda sniffed the path ahead of them and glared. "Landmines…we need to be careful."

"Landmines?!" Quilava asked fearfully. "How did they get their hands on landmines?!"

"Well, they're not actual landmines. Their just explosive properties found in the forest." He went over to a bush and grabbed a stick.

"Define special properties?" Dragonite requested.

The Dark Riolu flicked the stick in the air. It landed on a certain spot and, in a flash, the ground exploded, purple smoke washing over them. They coughed harshly while Koda walked over to the crater and pulled out a shriveled up rubber like substance.

"Like I said, this forest can create unnatural things compared to the outside world. This is only the tip of the deadly things we will encounter." He tossed the plastic material away and dusted his hands off. "Which is why we need to stay on our guard. One slip up and we all go 'kaboom'."

"Noted…" Dragonite muttered.

The Dark Riolu pointed ahead. "The path seems clear for the time being. But do not drop your guard even for a fraction of a second." He gestured them to follow and continued walking.

They followed closely behind. Pachirisu looked around. "Man, this place just gets weirder the more we learn about it."

"You get used to it when you live here as long as I have. Personally, it's basic knowledge to avoid these kinds of traps." He sighed. "You'd be surprise how many Darkmon tried to kill me with those traps. Never did, obviously, but it stung my heart every time. To think I can leave at any time, yet I bound here due to my weakness to sunlight…"

Pignite placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I'm sure we'll find a way to get around that."

He chuckled weakly. "I appreciate the idea, but it won't happen if things go the way they intend to."

"How so?"

"With the Shadow constantly trying to slow down our plans, there's only two ways things will end. The Darkmon either rise…or fall." He shook his head. "I personally hope for a third option: peace. I feel humans, Pokémon, and Darkmon can coexist with each other. Sure, we are inherently…malevolent, but that doesn't mean we are heartless."

"I've been meaning to ask about that." They looked at Pansage, who had his arms crossed. "Why do you guys suppress your emotions like that? Is it…poisonous to you or something?"

"Not…really…" He looked ahead. "Lord Dark believes that when a Darkmon feels compassion for someone, they grow weaker. Our power is based off the ability to instill fear into our opponents. If we show weakness, we become outcasts."

He picked a berry off a tree as they passed it. "Remember when I told you about those five Darkmon who were killed?" They nodded. "Well…no one really knows WHO did it. Everyone assumed Lord Dark did the deed, but he said he was only giving them mild punishments. He never threatened them with execution. Some just assumed they killed themselves out of panic or worry he was going to do something horrible. I have my doubts, personally." He took a bite of his berry.

Pignite looked up for a moment in thought before saying, "Didn't you say one of those Darkmon liked a Pokémon?"

The Darkmon smiled weakly. "Heh…yeah. According to the stories I heard, it was a routine check around the forest in search for wandering Pokémon. One was found and pleaded for her life. I guess the Darkmon that found her spared her. And they spent time together for…I'm not sure how long. I believe it was seven months. I'm surprised no one learned about it in that time.

"Anyway, one day, the five Darkmon lost a fight against Dark, trying to take his throne. That was the last time they've all been seen. They heard that the Pokémon escaped. A few Darkmon said they saw something kill the traitors. The popular conclusion is that the Shadow killed them himself."

"The Shadow did it?" Quilava asked.

"It's just rumors, but that's what they believe." He sighed. "I'm not surprised, really. He hates us for what we did to him, so I wouldn't put it against him to do something like that." He crossed his arms. "That's the problem with being a Darkmon. We have all the power we could ever dream of, but, when you show compassion towards the enemy, you're questioned. Then you're targeted. We suppress our emotions to survive. To live."

The group looked at each other in shock. As if they thought these creatures couldn't get any worse.

Pachirisu reached out to Koda. "I'm…sorry to hear that."

He waved it off. "It's fine. Don't…" His eyes glowed briefly. "Get down!" He pushed the squirrel down as an arrow flew over their heads. It made contact with the tree and exploded.

"Well, well, well…thought you could avoid me, Dark Riolu?" They looked at where the arrow came from and saw Savage with his pack of Dark Mightyena. "Lord Dark wants to have a word with you, runt." He slammed his bone club into his palm. "Come quietly and maybe he'll forgive you."

Koda glared. "I'm not afraid of you, Savage."

He smirked. "You should be. Bonemerang!" He threw his club at the group. They ducked, letting it sail over them and slice through a tree like a buzz saw. The bone came back to his hand. "Make this easy on yourselves and give up."

Koda glared. "I'm. Not. Scared." He placed his palms together as an orange aura surrounded him. "Copycat!" He held his hand up and created an orange construct of Savage's bone club. He mimicked his throwing movements and threw the bone at him.

Savage whacked the construct off course, knocking it into a tree which was sliced in half. "Not bad. Let's see how you deal with this!" He raised his foot and slammed it down, sending waves of energy throughout the ground.

The group stumbled as the ground rumbled and cracked from the force of the Earthquake attack. Koda steadied himself out, just when he got a brief glimpse into the future, where the Dark Mightyena snuck up from behind and bite down on him with Fire Fang and Thunder Fang. He turned around as he saw them pounce toward him. He slammed his palms into their faces and fired Force Palm. The evil mutts crashed into the trees.

Koda saw another future and dodged Savage's club. "You can't escape me!" He raised his hands and summoned a tidal wave of earth. "I have control over the ground!"

The Dark Riolu sidestepped the landslide and ran towards him. "You may have the earth at your disposal, but I'm a master martial artist!" He slammed his palm into his chest, knocking the wind out of his for a moment. He threw and uppercut to his jaw, then blasted him away with Force Palm. "We need to run, now!"

His allies nodded and followed him just as Savage was rising up from the ground. He wiped some blood off his skull and smirked. "Now this is a hunt." He whistled for the Dark Mightyena and chased after the fleeing group.

Pachirisu, who was riding Dragonite's head, looked back and squeaked. "Guys, they gaining up on us!"

Koda picked up some stones and threw them as hard as he could. It didn't do anything to slow them down. "We need to shake them off our tails!"

Dragonite glared. "With pleasure!" He skidded to a stop and fired Ice Beam, creating a thick wall of ice around them.

Savage stopped and glared. "Fool. Do you think a mere wall of ice can stop me?" He twirled his club and slammed it against the wall, cracking it greatly. "I am the greatest hunter around!"

"Flamethrower!" Two streams of fire rammed into the ice and melted it, then turned it into a thick wall of steam.

The Dark Marowak jumped back and rubbed his eyes. "Arg! Where are they?!"

"We don't know, sir! We still can't identify their scent!"

He glared and aimed his club, an orb of dark energy forming at the end. "Then I'll flush them out myself." He gripped his wrist to keep the club steady and release Hyper Beam at full power. He spun around to make sure he covered a large section of the surrounding area. Tree could be heard toppling, being reduced to slinters that flew everywhere. The sound of plants being disintegrated from the power of this move. The sheer force was enough to push the steam away.

Once he stopped, he checked the results of his carnage. They were standing in a circle of dust, with scattered twigs and leaves remaining. Because most of the trees were taken down, beams of light peeked through the leaves above. He stepped away from one beam that was coming down on his face, leaving a burn that, of course, healed up.

He looked at his pack. "Report!"

They sniffed the ground for any signs of death. "No blood, sir. They managed to escape."

He laid his club against his shoulder. "Using the steam to escape, eh?" He smirked. "I've never been this excited to capture something in my entire life."

They saluted. "Should we continue ahead, sir?"

He shook his head. "Negative. I want you two to head out to where the cliff is and wait there. If you see anything living, attack it. They're going there, so that's where we will be expecting them." They nodded and ran off to do their assigned task.

Savage looked around him. Sprouts for new trees were already poking out of the field of dust under his feet. He stepped out of it and glared at the forest. "Alright, my prey, we can do this the easy way…" He slammed his club against a tree next to him and knocked it down. "…or the hard way."

He walked around, twirling his club, as his prey were hiding behind some trees, trying to stay out of his line of vision. This wasn't going to end well for them if they got caught.

"…and that's pretty much everything."

Hank finished explaining the situation to Jessie and James and, just as expected, they were shocked by what they were hearing.

"Our friends are stuck in a forest full of murderous copycats?!" Jessie shouted.

The old man raised his hands. "Calm down! They've survived for this long, so that's reassuring."

"Still, you expect us to sit here and not help them escape?!" James shouted as well.

"If I let you two go in there, you'll get killed."

"We survive falling from thousands of feet in the air without too much injury…hundreds of times! I think we can handle ourselves!"

Hank pinched his nose and shook his head, giving a brief glare to his partner Pokémon. "Tell them, you said. They'll be reasonable, you said." The jackal shrugged. He sighed and looked back at the Rocket agents. "Your concern for your friends is admiral, I'll give you that. Still, I can't let you put your lives at risk. The Darkmon are unlike anything you've ever faced. They aren't like Pokémon."

Jessie scoffed. "We've dealt with Legendary Pokémon before. We can handle something with great deals of power."

Hank glared. "And how well did most of those encounters go for you all?" The agents glanced at each other, not really sure how they should answer that. "That's what I thought. While it's true Legendary Pokémon are powerful, the Darkmon can be tricky to deal with. Heck, if I had the opportunity, I would ask for a Legendary to help us. But I wouldn't want to run the risk of one of them having a Darkmon replicate." He shook his head. I can't imagine dealing with a Dark Arceus or Dark Kyurem.

"So there's nothing we can do?" James asked.

"The only way we can truly defeat the Darkmon is by taking out their central bulb. But getting to it is hard on its own. The forest constantly shifts in appearance. You would get lost almost instantly. And then there's Dark, the one guarding it. A feat that's virtually impossible."

The two agents bowed their heads in worry. If there was ever a moment they doubted Laura and Meowth's ability to survive, it was now. After the entire explanation of the Darkmon and their capabilities, it was clear that life could be in serious danger for once. Laura could be saved on a backup drive, thankfully, but Meowth was the real issue. He had the least likely chance of surviving.

"Oh no…" They mumbled worriedly.

Ash's glare eventually softened as he stared at the Rocket members that have been constantly chasing after him and Pikachu. He didn't trust them, which was understandable, but he could see the sorry in their eyes over their teammates.

Both Meowth and Laura have been a pain in their sides for quite some time. But he knew they cared for Jessie and James as well. Plus, there have been times where Team Rocket would reveal a side of themselves that showed…they weren't totally evil. It would be wrong not to help them reunite with their lost comrades.

"Hank…maybe we should help them out." Hank and the Rocket agents looked at him in shock.

Iris glared at him. "Ash, did you hit your head or something? They've been trying to catch our Pokémon throughout our entire journey!"

"I don't mean let them escape. But they're worried about Meowth and Laura. They may be evil, but they are their teammates. We should at least give them a hand."

She crossed her arms. "Still…"

"They're in the same boat as us. You're worried about Axew and Emolga. They're worried about Meowth and Laura. Consider that for a moment."

She continued giving him a cold stare, then sighed. "Well…I guess…"

Hank put his hands in his pockets. "You sure about that, Ash?"

He nodded. "Positive."

He looked at the trainer's face carefully, trying to see if he was dead serious. He didn't see any doubt in his expression. He was confident. "Alright. Get up, you two." Jessie and James stood up and he took their cuffs off. "Don't bother escaping, though. Now that Lucario has recognized your auras, you won't be able to escape without him noticing. Is that clear?"

They rubbed their wrists and nodded nervously. "Crystal." They heard a low growl and looked at the Azumarill who was glaring at them. "What?!"

Hank sighed. "Pay no mind to her, she's usually grumpy."

"We can see that. Why?" Jessie asked, nervously backing away as if the rabbit's stare was coming closer to her.

"I…rather not say. She's tends to be cranky, but she's nice once you warm up to her…not so much you two, though."

"Gee, thanks…" James mumbled.

Jessie looked at Ash. "Alright twerp, what's the catch here? Why are you helping us?"

"I'll be honest, I'm still pretty ticked about what you did to Pikachu."

"Trust us, Buneary delivered the message VERY clearly when our balloon exploded," James reminded, still feeling where the scorch marks burned him after blast off. Out of all of their blast offs, that one was probably his least favorite.

"However, that doesn't mean we should lock you both away while your teammates are still missing. It wouldn't feel right."

"So…a temporary truce until they come back?" Jessie summed up for him. He nodded. She looked at James for his input and he seemed on board with it too. She nodded back and held her hand out, shaking his. "Deal."

"Well, I suppose I can whip up some food for you both, if that isn't an issue," Cilan offered.

The Rocket agents felt their stomachs growl upon the mention of food. Two days of worrying about Laura and Meowth and they haven't had anything decent to eat in that time. "Yes please!"

Savage knocked another tree down as he searched around the area. He knew they were still around. He may not be able to smell them out, but he can definitely hear them. And he hasn't heard any running or any attempted escapes yet. It was only a matter of time before he locked his sights on them. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Koda peeked around the tree he was behind, thankful that Savage had his back turned to him. Diverging his attention won't work. He knows all the tricks. Throwing something to direct his attention away from them, ambush, waiting him out until he believes they were really gone…none of them will work. It was either run or fight. Both of which aren't good options as of now.

He could see Pachirisu hiding in the leaves, trying to stay as still as possible. He looked likely he was shaking. Savage was getting closer and closer to his hiding spot. They needed to help him before Savage hurts him.

He looked to his left, where Pignite was hiding behind a bush. "Pignite, I may need your help." The pig nodded in understanding.

Savage smacked another tree down. "You're gonna run out of hiding spots eventually." Another topples. "Don't worry, I've been order to bring you in alive. There was nothing in my orders about bringing you in on the verge of death." Another topples. "So make this easy on yourselves and surrender."

The hunter was right under Pachirisu's hiding spot. He squeaked quietly and shook. His tail brushed against the leave, knocking them off their stems.

Savage saw the leaf fall from the tree and looked up with a smirk. "There you are." He aimed his club up and charged another Hyper Beam.

"Fire Pledge!" The hunter canceled his attack when he noticed two trailed of fiery columns racing towards him, fired by Pignite and Koda, who was using Copycat.

The columns surrounded the hunter and caught him in a fiery eruption. He growled in pain and endured it. After it ended, he was bombarded with a Flame Charge, then felt a palm rest on his head. A powerful force of energy blasted him into the ground.

Koda landed on his feet. "Pachirisu, get out of here!" The squirrel didn't have to be told twice and scampered off.

The ground underneath them exploded, with Koda taking a bone club to the face. "Good! Keep up the fun!" Savage demanded gleefully. He grabbed the Darkmon by the throat and strangled him. "You think you can get away with a move like that?!"

The Dark Riolu glared. "Yeah…I…can!" He slammed his palms into both sides of his head and fired Force Palm. He fell out of the hunter's grasp and jumped away.

Savage's head was disfigured from the blank point attack. The bone mask slowly regenerated, sealing the damaged cracks. "I do not fear you fools…" He saw blue light from his peripherals and jumped, dodging the lightning like beam known as Ice Beam.

Dragonite rushed him with Dragon Rush, coated in the blue draconian energy. Savage pushed against the attack as it collided. The dragon didn't stop there as he doubled the assault with a blank point Ice Beam, freezing the hunter's face in ice. He gripped his club and socked the dragon across the cheek before breaking the ice off his face. Dragonite recovered quickly and used Flamethrower, engulfing the Darkmon in flames.

Savage's bone club flew out and slammed into his gut, smashing him against a tree. The bone flew back to Savage, who stepped out of the flames. He aimed the club and charged Hyper Beam. However, Pansage intervened by smashing Rock Tomb on top of his head.

Dragonite stood up and held his shoulder with a grunt. "I could have handled him myself…"

"Whether you like it or not, we're in this together," Pansage reminded, sitting on top of the rocks.

Black light pierced through the rock burial. Pansage barely had time to react as a column of black energy exploded upward, reducing the rocks into fine particles of dust. The grass monkey flew temporarily in the air, watching the dust fly by him. He then felt a cold chill zoom behind him, before feeling a tremendous force strike against his back. The force of his impact with the ground uplifted the earth around him, sending rocks scattering.

Savage landed on the ground and smirked. "Nice try, monkey. But you're only delaying the evitable." He threw his bone club at him. Pansage reacted by digging underground to avoid. But the Dark Marowak was expecting this. "This is your burial ground!" He raised his foot and slammed it down hard, sending seismic waves throughout.

Pansage dug through the dirt and felt the waves bombard the dirt tunnel he was in. Dirt and rocks shifted and fell on top of him. The tunnel was going to collapse. His eyes widened in fear. "Oh no!" He dug up, towards the surface, but the shaking of the ground made him keep losing his grip with the earth. "Come on, come on!"

Savage repeatedly stomped on the ground, collapsing the ground under him. "Won't be long now!"

Pachirisu dashed from behind and used Super Fang, slamming into him like a buzz saw. "Leave my friend alone!"

The hunter could feel a large chunk of his stamina deplete from the fierce blow. He growled and grabbed the squirrel by his tail. "Be gone with you!" He threw him up and batted him away like a baseball. Pachirisu ricocheted off some branches and crashed into a bush.

"Ooh…look at the Torchic…" he muttered dizzily, his eyes spinning and imaginary Torchic circling his head.

Savage dusted himself off and raised his foot. "Now, where was I?"

He prepared for another Earthquake assault, but he was caught off guard by Pansage springing from the ground and delivering an uppercut to his jaw. "Bullet Seed!" The grass monkey fired a rapid fire barrage of seeds into his face.

The Darkmon skidded to a halt and threw his bone at him. Pansage dodged and fired Bullet Seed at it. The attack knocked the boomerang like bone out of the sky. Savage growled and got ready to charge him, but saw a green light near him. He turned and saw Koda using Copycat again, mimicking Pansage's actions and firing Bullet Seed. He crossed his arms and endured the attack.

Pignite saw the Darkmon was preoccupied and smirked. He stomped on the ground, pumping himself up, and charged at him using Flame Charge. Savage saw it coming, but couldn't move out of the way. He took the hit with all his might and landed in a bush.

The fire pig blew smoke and cheered. "Alright!"

Savage picked himself up and wiped some blood off his mouth. Lord Dark wasn't joking. These guys are much tougher than what we deal with. He smirked. Well then…I guess I should stop fooling around and start trying. He held his shoulder. I'll need time to plan a new strategy to hunt them down. But now that I've evaluated their strengths…I can plan accordingly.

Dragonite picked up the still disoriented squirrel and placed him on his shoulder. "Alright, let's end this joker and get moving."

The group nodded and looked towards the fallen Darkmon, readying their attacks. But they were shocked to see he has disappeared, including his bone club. "Where'd he go?" Pignite grunted angrily.

"Koda, can't you sense him?" Pansage asked.

"I can, but he's out of my range. He must have retreated."

Dragonite smirked, then crossed his arms with his eyes closed. "Well then, guess we showed him who the top dogs are around here."

Koda narrowed his eyes with unease. "I don't know, Dragonite. Savage is a trained hunter. He wouldn't retreat unless he had something up his sleeve."

"What's there to worry about? We beat the guy."

The Dark Riolu frowned as he stared at where the hunter last was. Savage wasn't someone to take lightly. He trained himself to hunt down any Pokémon that enters this forest without remorse. For years, he has been capturing them without issue. But now, for the first time in his five years of life, he was finally presented with a challenge. Pokémon that were actually putting up a fight. There's no telling what he's going to plan now. To them, this was survival. To him…it was a game that he refused to lose.

"I…rather not tempt fate." He slowly shuffled back before turning around. "We better find somewhere to rest." The group was hesitant, wondering what he was getting worried about, before following him.

"Come on, Pikachu! You almost got it!" Buneary cheered as her mate was getting farther up the tree as time passed.

A few hours have passed and the group was getting significantly better. It was almost unbelievable. Pikachu managed to run halfway up the tree without stopping before having to resort to clinging to it. Oshawott was in the same boat, having made it up to the mouse's current level. The others were getting better, too. They were close to besting their current height.

Pikachu landed on the ground and took a few steps back. "One more time…one more time…" He got on all fours and raced towards the tree, dashing up it with his claws digging into the tree. The weights became less unbearable as he made his way pass his previous record. He stopped and clung to the bark, panting. "Phew…this is one heck of a workout."

Ryder smiled, impressed with how well they were improving. And, unbeknownst to them, they were also conditioning their auras. What they didn't know was that the training weights do more than improve strength, speed, and stamina. Those weights were specially designed to heighten their potential. If he did consider giving them aura training, this was the best way to speed up the process. Meditating for hours wasn't in their time schedule right now.

"Alright, my turn!" Oshawott shouted. Pikachu slid down and gestured him to take his turn. He rubbed his hand together and charged. He dashed up the side and used his scalchop to propel himself up farther. "I got this! I got this!" He passed his record by a few inches before feeling gravity push down on him. He jabbed his scalchop into the bark and hanged there.

Snivy clapped. "You're getting better, Oshawott."

He blushed and rubbed the back of his head, giving a prideful smile. "Yeah, well…no one's as naturally gifted as me." He crossed his arms. "I got the skills!" In his boasting, he completely forgot he was still in the air. He flailed his arms and grabbed his scalchop as he fell, but it got dragged along with him. The ride down left a slice mark alongside the bark.

Piplup laughed and help the otter up. "But clearly not the brains."

Oshawott smirked at the penguin and poked his chest. "Oh yeah? Try beating my record!"

He smirked back. "With pleasure!" He stepped back and ran at the tree.

The cloaked Charmeleon nodded at their resolve. They were dedicated to completing this training. He liked that kind of tenacity. And so far, he already saw two prime candidates to take up aura training. Once the week is up, when he's done training them all in, he can get started on their aura training.

Pikachu and Oshawott…get ready for some intense physical and mental training.