The sun dipped lower in the sky and the encroaching evening began to wrap its chill more tightly around Glaseado Mountain. For over an hour, Hassel had followed the Snover deeper into the thicket of pine trees and he was beginning to worry about the temperature turning dangerously cold. Unfortunately, the Snover were his best lead on the mysterious Pokémon so far and he did not want to let this chance to learn something new slipped through his fingers. That being said, he also did not want to freeze.
"Half an hour more," he thought, "I'll follow them for half an hour more but then I have to leave."
Under the cover of the trees, it had taken Hassel a while to notice that the snowfall had picked up. The thick canopy of needles caught most of the falling snow so that what actually fell to the ground appeared to be little more than a light flurry. On occasion a higher branch would accumulate enough snow that the weight would cause it to bend, eventually sending clumps of snow tumbling down to the branches below. This in turn would cause these branches to bend and send the snow downward and so on until large heaps of snow landed on the thicket's floor with a crunch.
Baxcalibur had been on high alert since he had spotted the Weavile markings and he whipped his head around every time he heard these crunches of snow. After the last one landed directly behind them, the Pokémon let out a low growl followed by a quick snort of annoyance once he had realized what it was that had startled him.
"Nothing to worry about." Hassel said as he gave his Pokémon a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
Though even as he spoke these words, Hassel admitted to himself alone that Baxcalibur's unease was beginning to sink into him as well. More than once he though he saw small, dark shapes darting between the shadows. The Snover however appeared completely unbothered by what was going on around them and continued their march with purpose filled steps.
At length, the half-hour had passed and Hassel let out a sigh of resignation. It was time to leave.
"Snover, it's getting late." He said.
The trio of Snover stopped and turned to him.
"I need to go someplace warm. I can come back tomorrow though."
They were not satisfied with his response.
"No, no, no!" they chanted.
Again they threatened to swarm Hassel. Baxcalibur tensed his muscles, straining to contain his growing frustration with the smaller ice-types, but before chaos could erupt between them, a single loud squeak of "Snover!" cut through the chorus of "no-s."
The Snover turned towards the cry and began waving their paws in the air. Hassel followed their gaze and saw a fourth Snover, an especially small male, rushing to greet them. Another snort of annoyance, one even louder than he had given the startling snow, left Baxcalibur as he saw the new Pokémon approach. He nudged his trainer's side then looked off in the direction they had come from as if to say that they could use this distraction to leave if they wanted to.
"No yet." Hassel whispered.
He pointed to the tracks left by the new Snover. Baxcalibur looked back along the trail and saw that it had come from a suspicious pile of tree branches that had been frozen together against a sheer incline. Behind the pile was the entrance to a cave.
"I think we've arrived at where they were taking us. Shall we take a look?"
Baxcalibur nodded.
"Snover," Hassel addressed the other Pokémon, "is that where your injured friend is?"
"Ver-ver," the Snover nodded.
Hassel approached the cave. Between the branches, snow, and ice the entrance had been made wide enough so that only the smallest of the Snover would be able to squeeze through. It was obvious that great care had been taken to make the entrance as secure as possible to protect their injured friend.
"We're going to need to open this up a little for me to feet through. Is that alright?"
"Ver-ver." Was the confirmation.
Crouching down, Hassel looked for a place where he could gain a grip on the branches and began to carefully pull back on the boughs. He kept tugging and then there was a snorting sound beside him. Hassel looked up just in time to see Baxcalibur crash his claws into the thick of the covering and clamp down firmly on a thick branch.
"Bax!" the Pokémon grunted and effortlessly tore open a hole in the barrier large enough for Hassel to be able to crawl through.
The Snover let out chirps of alarm as pine needles rained down.
"That works too," Hassel sighed, "but we're fixing that before we leave."
Baxcalibur rolled his shoulders in a shrugging motion. He raised his claws to tear the hole larger so that he could also fit through, but Hassel raised a hand.
"Let's not break their work anymore. I can get in. If you need to too, I can recall you to your Pokéball and let you out again inside."
Again Baxcalibur made the shrugging motion and took a step back so that Hassel and the Snover could enter the cave. One by one, they all went through.
When he saw what inside, Hassel gasped. A massive female Abomasnow, easily the largest he had even seen, lay resting in the cave. Her limbs were as thick as tree trunks and, had she been standing, she would have towered over Baxcalibur. But instead she was lying badly wounded in a heap. Burn marks far worse than the ones the Snover had covered her. On one spot of her arm, all the fir had been burned away, revealing the bark-like hide beneath. Adding to her injuries were a crisscross collection of claw marks slashed into her thick fir.
Hassel imaged that her battle against the mysterious Pokémon had been a fierce one. As solitary as Abomasnow were known to be, they were also known to be fiercely protective of Snover, even those that were not their own offspring. There was little doubt in his mind that protecting the little ones was how she got so seriously wounded.
The Abomasnow shifted in her sleep. A lavender eye flicked open and, with a great effort, she lifted her shaggy head to look at Hassel and propped herself up on her arms.
"Ooooww,"
The sound she made was more of a moan than a growl but Hassel could sense the defensive unease in it.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly, "I'm here to help you. Your Snover friends brought me here."
The Abomasnow looked down at the Snover who were all waving their paws and nodding in agreement with what the human had said. Her eyes drooped shut in a long blink and she lowered herself back to the ground. As soon as she was still, the Snover spread around her and gently blew chilled air onto her wounds to coat them in a soothing layer of thin ice.
"Thank you for trusting me."
Hassel took a step forward but stopped as he heard his partner behind him.
"Baxcaliii-bur."
The Pokémon had crouched down and stuck his head and neck inside the cave. His eyes looked like sunlight through amber as he cast a warning look at the Abomasnow. He was ready to tear down what was left of the barrier and fight in an instant if she tried to harm Hassel. In response to this look, the Abomasnow just looked at Baxcalibur, said nothing, and rested her head back down on her less injured arm.
"I trust she's not going to attack, Baxcalibur. I know you're concerned. I'll be fine. Can you please keep watch outside?"
Baxcalibur nodded and pulled himself away.
Moving slowly, Hassel approached the Abomasnow and examined her wounds. If what she fought really was the mystery Pokémon, it was a massive creature. Judging by the size of the marks on her, Hassel had to guess that the Pokémon's claws were at least as large as his finger! Mercifully though, many of these slashing attacks were not able to fully cut through her thick fir. It was a small mercy though. The attacking Pokémon was clearly capable of fire-type attacks and the Abomasnow's cold weather defenses could do little to protect against those.
Hassel opened his pack and looked over his supplies. He had packed many freeze heals but no burn heals. He pulled out a gold tinted bottle and gave a nod. It was a full heal. As with the full restore, this would be an expensive solution but one he was more than willing to use.
"Though had I known, I would not have used that full restore earlier." He thought. "This will have to do for now though. I think she's going to need the help of Nurse Joy and Chansey if she's going to make a full recovery."
He went to where the injury was the worst.
"I have some spray medicine. It's going to sting when I put it on but you will feel better after."
The Snover Hassel had healed earlier squeaked words of encouragement to the larger Pokémon. Abomasnow looked between him and the trainer before leaning her arm towards Hassel in silent acceptance of his help. Hassel gave her a reassuring nod and began to apply the medicine. Hassel gave a reassuring nod and began to apply the medicine. A rumble that sounded like a distant avalanche came from Abomasnow but she did not pull her limb away.
As he applied the medicine across her injuries, Hassel was able to take a closer look at them. In one area he discovered a freshly blooming bruise, showing as a shade of purple so dark it was visible beneath ever her bark-like hide. The bruise was curious, having a pattern that Hassel recognized at once. It was the mark of a powerful, concussive Dragon Pulse.
"Anna was right. That thing is definitely a dragon-type Pokémon."
He emptied the full heal and reached for another when suddenly there was a cry from outside.
"BaaaAAAHHX!"
It was a cry Hassel knew meant danger!
He rushed to the entrance of the cave and scrambled out. Small, dark shapes darted between the trees. His eyes caught a bright flash of maroon feathers and realized at once which Pokémon that plumage belonged to.
"Weavile."
Baxcalibur took a step back and crouched beside his trainer, his golden eyes never turning away from the trees.
"How many are there?"
Baxcalibur moved his head, sweeping slowly from left to right. Hassel followed his partner's movements and counted the Pokémon hiding among the trees. They were surrounded. Seven Sneasel and three Weavile had spread out around the entrance and were steadily approaching in unison. This was a pack on the hunt.
Weakened as she was, the Abomasnow would stand no chance against the pack and the Snover would likely not fare better. Hassel understood that he and his Pokémon were their best chance at survival. He knew he was interfering with nature taking its course but he needed Abomasnow to recover so that she could lead him on his next step towards the mysterious Pokémon. He would have to fight. His hands drifted down to where his Pokéballs were.
"Baxcalibur is strong but he's going to need a partner if he's going to win this. Dragonite and Noivern are out, dragon and flying is the worst matchup against ice. It's the same with Flapple. Ah, the drawbacks of being a type specialist. That leaves me with Dragalge and Haxorus, and only one of them can move swiftly without water."
Hassel grabbed a Pokéball and threw it.
"Haxorus, I choose you."
There was a snap and a flash of white light and the armored dragon dropped down into the snow with a heavy crunch. Haxorus flexed his arms, lashed his tail in the snow, and let out a roar.
"Haxooooarus!"
Evolution was something that caused most Fraxure to mellow out in temperament. Hassel's Haxorus was not one of them. He loved battle just as much if not more than when he was a Fraxure and he always grew excited during the yearly Treasure Hunt in hopes of battling during a Champion Assessment.
Haxorus looked around at the approaching Pokémon and then back at Hassel. There was a wild gleam in his ruby eyes. The thought of fighting against such odds was stirring an eager thrill in him.
"Weavile, turn away." Hassel ordered.
He didn't think it was likely, but he still wanted to give the wild Pokémon an opportunity to leave.
"We won't let you pass. Take your pack and leave peacefully."
The pack halted their advance. All the Sneasel turned their heads towards the trio of Weavile in the center of the formation. The largest of the three, a female with several scars and a missing feather in her deep maroon crest, took another step forward from the two males that had been flanking her. She moved slower than Hassel expected, but whether this was age or an old wound he could not tell. What he could tell though was that this matriarch was the pack's leader.
With her arms crossed behind her back, the Weavile looked over Hassel. It was a human like posture and expression she held as she appraised him as if to say "I am not intimidated by you." She flashed a small smile to show her pointed fangs.
"Vile," she barked and nodded her head forward.
At the command the other Weavile and Sneasel crouched in preparation to attack.
"Get ready," Hassel told his dragons as they took fighting stances of their own.
Baxcalibur and Haxorus let out low growls in affirmation. Haxorus tilted his head upwards. No matter the lighting, the Pokémon always knew how to angle himself so that his tusks could glint menacingly. Though less of a showoff, Baxcalibur crouched low so that his razor edge of his spine was similarly flashing dangerously in the evening light.
"Vile!"
At her command, all the members of her pack rushed forward. Their steps were so light and quick that they hardly sank into the snow and were able to close the distance to the dragons in seconds. The two Weavile chattered something and the Sneasel following them began to fan out to a semicircle around their targets.
"Here they come."
Two at a time, the Sneasel sprang upon Baxcalibur and Haxorus. Always these attacks came from different directions so that even with Hassel acting as an extra set of eyes, Baxcalibur and Haxorus could not defend against them all. Baxcalibur swung his tail and knocked one Sneasel away only to be struck by another at his side. And just as Haxorus would take a swipe with his talons another would skitter by and claw at his legs. These strikes were little more than scratches, as Beat Up tactics prioritized speed over power in hopes of overwhelming foes with multiple attacks. It was Weavile's primary hunting strategy.
Baxcalibur's claws flung snow into the air as a swipe narrowly missed a Weavile. At the same time, a Sneasel dashed forward to try and capitalize on the opening and an idea suddenly came to Hassel.
"Baxcalibur, crouch lower."
Baxcalibur didn't know what Hassel was planning, but he trusted his trainer and dropped low.
"Now lean left!"
The Pokémon lurched over to the side. The Sneasel skidded to a halt, narrowly avoiding the glaive like spine as it plunged into the snow.
"Stand, quickly!"
With his spine acting like a shovel, Baxcalibur rose suddenly and tossed snow and a very confused Sneasel into the air.
"Now Haxorus, while Sneasel is vulnerable, Iron Head."
Haxorus spun around, lashing his tail out to deter any flanking enemies, and let out an excited growl. His tusks flashed like polished metal and he swung his head skyward. The blow connected! The Sneasel let out a pained yelp as he was knocked back into the trees and out of battle. Haxorus stamped his feet and let out a fierce cry. The odds were being evened.
"Back to back," Hassel instructed, "cover each other's blind spots."
The dragons moved as their trainer commanded and stood back to back. In this position they could not easily swing their tails to counter attack, but they could no longer be flanked.
"Baxcalibur, prepare a Brick break. Haxorus, get ready for another Iron Head."
Haxorus snorted, his breath visible in the cold, and hunched low. His ruby eyes darted from Sneasel to Sneasel, daring each to approach and feel his tusks. Behind him, Baxcalibur did much the same.
"Keep your guards up."
Undaunted, the Sneasel charged again. Each dragon locked their attention onto an opponent, each in opposite direction from the other's. As they did, a Sneasel sprang around, attempting to attack from the side that wasn't being watched.
"Get ready."
Despite the odds, his voice remained calm and steady, just as a good dragon tamer's should.
The Sneasel being tracked tensed their limb, ready to spring away the moment the dragons' attacks came, while those approaching from the back raised their claws. Hassel watched.
One. . . Two. . . Three. . .
"Now! Strike at the Sneasel attacking the other's flanks!"
At the very last second, Baxcalibur and Haxorus spun and, using the momentum of the motion to add more power, counterattacked. Their strikes caught the Sneasel off guard and both the Iron Head and Brick Break connected with their targets. Both Sneasel were sent skidding over the snow, unable to battle anymore. The other two Sneasel retreated in alarm to regroup with the other members of their pack.
"Good work," Hassel nodded before turning to address the alpha Weavile. "I ask you again that you take your pack elsewhere."
The Weavile pulled back her lips in a lopsided sneer that showed off her pointed teeth. She made a clicking sound that sounded like a human scolding "tsk-tsk-tsk." With her arms still folded behind her back she looked over her pack and barked new orders to them.
"Weave-ve-ve." She chattered.
A series of chirps came from the other Pokémon as they reformed their circling formation.
"Weavile!" the alpha suddenly barked.
At once, the air around each of the dark-type Pokémon began to sparkle as the vapor in it was flash frozen. The Ice Shard each made flew through the air faster than the dragons could react. Ice peppered them from all directions. Baxcalibur shook his body and snorted in discomfort as the ice bounced off his scales. Haxorus did not fare as well. The cold chilled his dragon blood and the stinging the shards caused had him letting out a pained growl.
The alpha watched their reactions and nodded in the direction of Haxorus. She barked the order again. This time her pack prepared to focus all their attention on Haxorus. A chill ran through the air as shards began to fly towards the vulnerable Pokémon.
"Dragon Claw, knock them down." Hassel directed.
Purple flames of draconic energy engulfed Haxorus's claws. He slashed at the air in front of him. The energy shattered the ice shards it collided with but his claws could not catch them all. Ice struck Haxorus down the length of his body. He staggered back even as another wave of shards flew towards him.
"Baxcalibur!"
Hassel didn't even need to finish his command. Baxcalibur let out a roar, broke formation, and stepped before Haxorus to take the attack for him. With a sound like icicles falling onto pavement, the attacks collided with Baxcalibur's scales.
"Rus," Haxorus grunted in gratitude.
Baxcalibur huffed and rolled his shoulders as if to say "don't mention it."
But this response was exactly what the Weavile had been hoping for.
A blur of motion caught Hassel's attention. With his Pokémon occupied, one of the Weavile was able to slip by and close the distance between himself and Hassel. The Weavile raised his claws. With dawning horror, Hassel realized that he was the target.
"Baxcalibur!"
The Weavile was at his side. The devious Pokémon's claws glinted in the dim light, he pulled back his arm to strike, and let out a surprised yelp as his face was suddenly sprayed by seeds.
"No!"
Hassel looked to see the Snover he had healed pushing his way out of the cave to defend him. His fir was all bristled to look as fierce as possible.
"No!" he yipped and sprayed another salvo of seeds at the Weavile.
"No-no!"
"That's the spirit!" Hassel cheered. "Keep up that Bullet Seed!"
Even with Snover's help, Hassel knew he was still in danger. He grabbed a handful of snow and formed it into a snowball as quickly as he could before throwing it at Weavile. No sooner had Weavile shook the shells from his face than he was hit square in the nose by the snowball.
"This arm is good for more than throwing Pokéballs!" Hassel said as he formed a second snowball.
The Weavile scrunched his face in a snarl. He lunged at Hassel but was caught midair by a pair of powerful arms.
"Excellent catch, Baxcalibur! Now, Brick Break!"
"BaaAAAhhx-"
Baxcalibur threw the Weavile into the air. The smaller Pokémon tried to flip himself upright but Baxcalibur was faster.
"-caliee!"
He swung the Brick Break high in an uppercut motion and struck. The Weavile was sent skyward. He crashed into a tree branch, shaking snow to the ground below, and desperately dug his claws into the bark to keep from falling back into Baxcalibur's reach. Baxcalibur glared up at Weavile and growled a warning to stay up there if he knows what's good for him. Once he was sure that Weavile got the message, he turned to Hassel and nudged his snout against his trainer's chest.
"I'm fine, my friend. Thank you. Haxorus needs your help now though. Go."
Alone and surrounded, Haxorus was doing his best to hold his own. The Sneasel harried him with more quick Beat Up attacks as Dragon Claws swiped through empty air. Haxorus gave a frustrated snort as yet another Sneasel dodged his attack. He focused all attention to the next Sneasel charging him and waited until his target was within arm's reach before lashing out. The Sneasel tried to dodge away as the others had but Haxorus tracked the movement and caught his opponent in the side with a Dragon Claw. The Sneasel skidded away across the snow defeated. But dedicating that much focus to a single enemy came with a cost. With his attention focused on the Sneasel, a Weavile snuck around and raked his claws across Haxorus's side.
Haxorus bellowed in anger. He swung his whole body around to meet the Weavile as it prepared a second Metal Claw. Then the air before Haxorus froze and icicles crashed down towards Weavile. Even with the surprise attack, Baxcalibur's attack only managed a glancing blow as the nibble Weavile rolled away. Haxorus looked to his side to see the other dragon beside him once more.
"Haax-rus-rus-rus." He rumbled with a low chuckle as if to say 'I thought you were going to let me have all the fun.'
"Baarh-uh," Baxcalibur harrumphed back, insisting that he had a very different idea of fun than his companion did.
"We need to stop that Weavile," Hassel said, "Baxcalibur, use Icicle Crash. Isolate him."
Freezing air shot from Baxcalibur's mouth. Flecks of ice within it grew larger by the moment until massive icicles formed in the air above the Weavile. This time, the Pokémon was more aware of the impending attack and he dodged forward without any difficulty. The second his paws touched the snow, the ground erupted into spines of stone.
"Rock Tomb."
While all the Pokémon had been focused on avoiding the icicles, Haxorus had the time needed to line up a perfect attack on the Weavile. He stopped the ground, directing the force to where the Weavile was. The stones pressed against Weavile's legs, pinning the Pokémon so the next attack was guaranteed to hit.
"Brick Break."
Cracking through ice and stone, Baxcalibur swung and struck the Weavile. The smaller Pokémon was sent spinning through the air and landed at the feet of the alpha Weavile with a groan. At this, the alpha's veneer of confidence began to crack and she bared her fangs in anger.
"Brrrr," Baxcalibur growled, flashing his fangs right back at her.
Haxorus threw his head back and roared haughtily.
"Good work."
No sooner than the cheer left Hassel then then it turned to "Watch out!"
The alpha Weavile at last unfolded her arms from behind her back and, in doing so, revealed why it was she had been moving at such a labored pace. A dark lump of iron was cupped in her claws. With a sudden movement, she flung the ball at Haxorus. It streaked through the air with remarkable speed, a testament to her strength, and slammed into the side of Haxorus's throat. His triumphant roar was cut off in an instant. He collapsed to the ground.
"Haxorus!"
The Pokémon tried to respond to his trainer's voice but could do little more than gasp in pain. He curled his arms under his chest and tried to push himself upright but he could not muster the strength.
Now unhindered by the excess weight, the alpha moved as swift as the wind. Her steps did not even make a sound as she raced across the snow.
"Catch her Baxcalibur!"
The dragon charged forward with a roar. Another Brick Break was readied as he began to track the Weavile's movements. Weavile barked a quick order to her pack and two Sneasel ran to her uncaring of the charging Baxcalibur. The Sneasel crouched in the path before their leader and locked their claws together. Weavile stepped onto their paws and the Sneasel gave her the extra boost she needed to soar right over Baxcalibur with a single leap. She landed on the ledge above Hassel. For a moment, their eyes met and she smirked at him before kicking off rock face to land on Haxorus's back.
The force of her landing pushed the weakened Pokémon back down into the snow. Her claws shone with wicked intent as she raised them above her head. In the light, Hassel could see that she had coated them in ice. Baxcalibur tried to turn and rush back to his partner, but the two Sneasel jumped before him, ready and willing to face the larger foe to buy their pack leader time to land a decisive blow. He knocked one to the side with a Brick Break but the second pelted his face with Ice Shard. Even resistant to cold as he was, a ball of ice thrown into his face was uncomfortable enough to stagger his movement.
Realizing Baxcalibur would not be able to reach Haxorus in time, Hassel turned to the wild Pokémon still standing beside him. Hopefully it would trust him enough to listen to him.
"Snover, please help me again. Bullet Seed."
Snover looked up at Hassel and nodded.
"Snow-no-no-no!"
Shimmering green seeds flew from Snover towards Weavile. She saw them and swiped her claws through the air before her. The seeds became coated in ice and dropped harmlessly to the ground. Again, the Weavile smirked and prepared to strike Haxorus.
Then Hassel was shoved forward a step. From inside the cave, two more Snover pushed their ways past the human and added their attacks to that of the first.
"Snow-no-no-no!"
Under the combined power of three attacks, Weavile had to flee. She could not knock down all the seeds. The attacks were small, but under such a barrage, they stung and struck Weavile all over her body. She jumped from Haxorus and tried to weave through the rain of seeds but no matter which direction she turned, one of the Snover was ready to attack.
"Yes! Yes, that's it!" Hassel could feel himself tearing up at the bravery of the little Pokémon but he had to keep it together just a little longer. "Herd Weavile towards Baxcalibur. I know you can do it!"
Working together, the Snover kept Weavile on her toes. She dodged and darted best as she could as the Snover steadily directed her towards the dragon.
"We might only have one shot at this." Hassel thought. "We need to make it count. I didn't use the Terra Orb earlier because I didn't want Baxcalibur to lose his resistance to the cold, but we need to make this attack count."
"Baxcalibur, your crown awaits!"
Baxcalibur looked towards his trainer and saw the small crystalline orb in his hand. He nodded.
Sparkling light spiraled around the Tera Orb until it glowed with an inner light. Hassel threw the orb towards Baxcalibur where it sent a shower of scintillating sparks over the Pokémon. Massive crystals glowing with white light enveloped Baxcalibur. A strange sound, like a rock being kicked through a deep cave, echoed from within the crystalline cocoon before it shattered and Baxcalibur, bejeweled with his Tera Crown shaped like a draconian head with unfurled wings, emerged. The glow from the Tera Crown made his scales shine red and blue while flecks of light similarly colored flitted through the air around him.
"Baxcalibur, finish this. Glaive Rush!"
Baxcalibur's chilling howl rang out with more ferocity than it had the entire fight. Draconic energy radiated from him and the brilliant reds and blues reflected off the surrounding snow to create a spectacular light show. Then, showing far more agility than his size would suggest, Baxcalibur leapt into the air and curled himself for a somersault.
Weavile tensed her legs, ready to dodge. But when she was about to spring away she discovered that her feet had sunken through the ground or rather, the ground had risen to catch her up to her ankles. A deep chuckle to the side had her whipping her head around to see Haxorus with his claws plunged into the earth. He forced a single chuckle more as he channeled what was left of his strength into a final Rock Tomb.
The Tera energy gathered around Baxcalibur's spine as its blade like edge glowed purple. An intense jet of cold air blasted from dragon's mouth, propelling him downward at a sudden speed. Unable to dodge, Weavile coated her claws in ice and crossed her arms before her to block as best she could. Their attacks met with the sound of ringing metal. Weavile struggled against Baxcalibur, but the force of his attack bolstered by Tera energy was too much to resist. There was a snapping sound and she was sent hurtling away.
Everyone watched as Weavile slowly pulled herself back to her feet. She raised her paw, trying to force herself to fight on, but realized with horror that the claws on one of her paws had been shattered in the exchange. Baxcalibur let out a challenging roar and shook his back so his spine would glimmer with the draconic energy of the Tera Crown, promising the Weavile that he would do the same to her other paw if she tried to continue the fight.
"Weavile, you have lost. Take your pack and leave."
For a long moment, Weavile and Hassel stared at each other then, with a quick bark, Weavile ordered two of her Sneasel to hear. Each one took on of their alpha's arms over their shoulders to steady her. She gave a final cold glare at Hassel and then ordered her pack to retreat. Once the pack had scurried and limped out of sight, Hassel let out a sigh of relief. It was over. They had won.