There are many different groups of pokemon in Redwater Valley. Pokemon from all different types organize together into groups called hordes, with the most resilient ones to persevering.
The weaker groups either leave the plentiful area of Redwater or die off. Emmet begins by informing Booth with how he likes to deal with hordes. Booth thinks about his advice.
'Fighting them as a group, huh. I remember we did something similar at the competition. It should be a bit easier in this case.
Emmet said the key to fighting a horde is our position in their group, and how fast we can reduce their numbers.'
Booth and Emmet look for a small horde to fight. Since it's the outskirts of forest, they are able to find a manageable horde after a little searching. They hang back at a safe distance and discuss their plan.
"Their group has a Stunky, Cufant, and two Roselia. I'd say Cufant will have the scariest attack power on their team. Stunky has a pretty nasty Poison Gas, but it probably won't use it so close to its group. Lastly are the two Roselia, they have a rather large amount of attack power in addition to having a long range for their moves.
When we start our attack we'll want to do as much damage to one of the pokemon. Which one do you want to focus on first?"
"I say we focus on the Stunky first. It seems like it's the most mobile on the team. I also think that we'll have a better time the less we have to deal with its Poison Gas." Booth offers his confident opinion.
"Alright, let's do that. I'll use my Luxio. What are you going to use?" Emmet prepares his pokemon and Integrator for the battle.
"I'll use my Magnemite. I learned a pretty powerful combo recently. I should be able to deal significant damage in a short amount of time with just it."
Emmet is a little curious as he lets out his Luxio. Booth sends out his Magnemite and activates his Integrator with Emmet. They sit a few hundred feet away from the horde as their pokemon approach quietly.
Booth prepares his combo attack with Magnemite starting with a Magnet Bomb. Luxio moves across the ground at a slow crawl. While Booth's Magnemite floats above the ground with three gray orbs.
Booth lays against a tree and focuses his senses on Magnemite. He sees the Stunky is resting, unsuspecting of any danger. From the side, Booth can hear a low hum from each of the silver orbs. He examines the horde one last time before starting his attack. Emmet nods indicating he is ready to start.
Booth flings the silver orbs at Stunky. The orbs make a static crackle as they are flung. Stunky springs up, but can't avoid the orbs.
"Clack!" Two of the orbs smack into each other as they attach themselves to the Stunky.
Magnemite becomes completely visible and zips out from its hiding place. Booth is undeterred by the sight of the rest of the horde as he targets the Stunky. Booth builds up electricity and accelerates in a straight line.
The Magnet Bombs start to shine causing the Stunky to panic. Booth activates his Spark and slams into his target. Stunky is knocked back and stunned. At this point the Magnet Bomb explodes.
'Alright, that's a good hit.' Booth celebrates the successful ambush.
To Booth's surprise the attack finishes the Stunky. Stunky skips across the ground and faints. The other three pokemon turn to the Magnemite. The knockout was remarkably quick, but none of the pokemon stop to enjoy it. The larger Roselia is the first to react. Several glowing leaves are created and sent flying into Magnemite.
With the other pokemon's attention on Booth, Emmet launches a surprise attack with his Luxio. He attacks the smaller Roselia that is hiding in the back of the group. A Thunder Fang tears through the second Roselia and stops it from preparing an attack.
The Magical Leaf strikes Booth's defense as the Cufant stomps in. Booth pulls his Magnemite back some, to try and separate the group. The Cufant is already close to Booth and continues to chase him.
Cufant powers up with an Iron Head. It tucks in its body and gets a little lower. Booth realizes the incoming danger a second too late. The Cufant powerfully thrusts its body forward. Its head rocks back a bit when it comes into contact with Magnemite.
"Chink!" Magnemite is knocked away from the Cufant.
'What has that thing been eating?' Booth exclaims in his head.
Cufant's small size is somewhat contrary to its extraordinary weight. Booth had put power into his defense, but Cufant's attack ate right through it.
Booth stops fueling power for his defense and works on avoiding the Cufants attacks. The large Roselia keeps its distance at first, but soon gets impatient. It lets out a high pitched cry and moves in with the Cufant.
At the same time, Booth's Integrator flashes on with a red light. His heart starts to beat excitedly along with the connection. When a good amount of his power is recovered, Booth switches to offense.
His link with Magnemite gives some of the momentum back to him. A great amount of electricity begins to circulate. The Cufant who was originally approaching, quickly changes its mind and decides to take cover.
Unfortunately, the Cufant's retreat is in the way of the Roselia's line of fire. Booth follows behind the Cufant and slowly increases the power of his Electro Ball. This already frustrated Roselia becomes even more annoyed. It finally gives up and makes a run for it.
Booth almost laughs, 'I'm guessing either side isn't looking good if it's choosing to flee. Well, it's too late for that.'
Booth doesn't mind the Roselia's escape, and activates his ability, Magnet Pull. Cufant encounters a sudden resistance, which causes it to trip and fall. With the link, Booth creates his most powerful Electro Ball yet. A flash of yellow appears and the orb surges forward.
The Electro Ball shows no sympathy to the Cufant and swallows it in electricity. Cufant convulses on the ground like mad. Booth shudders seeing the Cufant faint.
Emmet already finished the other Roselia and chases after the one fleeing. Booth follows with his Gyro Ball to catch up. Emmet's Luxio uses Scary Face and Roselia's steps become unstable.
Booth tries to stop the Roselia with a Gyro Ball, but the Roselia manages to jump out of the way just before the hit connects. Luckily, Emmet isn't slow on his follow up, he sinks his electrified fangs into the Roselia and bites down hard.
Emmet drops the Roselia before it can counterattack. Booth takes his turn next with a simple tackle. Roselia tries and fights desperately against the two pokemon's attacks. Meanwhile Booth and Emmet's teamwork just gets smoother and smoother. They coordinate a double Thundershock against the Roselia when they find a good opening.
"Fzzzsh" Roselia collapses from the electric duo's shocks.
Four pokemon lay unconscious, while Booth and Emmet's pokemon are left standing. Luxio drags the Roselia back to the other pokemon in the horde.
Emmet and Booth get up and go to where the other pokemon are located. With all pokemon the defeated Emmet moves in to finish them, starting with the Roselia.
"Pay attention Booth. It isn't complicated to kill a pokemon, but you need to do it right unless an accident could occur. When pokemon are unconscious the power in them is weak so you should have a much easier time piercing their skin. But if you fail to kill them they could wake up and lash out, seriously injuring you or your pokemon.
The quickest way I know to kill them is to strike them through the head. More specifically the brain. I'll give an example first." Emmet explains the process slowly and makes sure Booth understands.
In one powerful swipe, Emmet's Luxio slashes into the Roselia's head. Booth watches the scene and takes careful note of how Emmet performed the action.
'I won't say it didn't freak me out before, but seeing it now doesn't seem so cruel. Emmet's meticulous explanation helped me remember this is for our own safety too.
Also we will use the meat to feed us and our pokemon, which puts my mind at ease a bit.'
Booth keeps his link on and has his Magnemite approach the Stunky. Magnemite puts a magnet to the Stunky's head and sends a blast through it. Booth gets an unexpected power up which confirms the kill.
This power up once again feels different than normal. Booth helps Emmet finish the other pokemon, before asking his question. When they are done Booth explains the new power up to Emmet.
"I got a new power up. It's fierce, but also more limited than the last one. Do you know what kind of power up it is?"
"It sounds like the Solid power up. It's powerful and runs out quickly, like you said. The power up is very good. Since power ups are essentially an additional bonus from the trainer, any kind of power up is good.
I'll teach you how to use power ups later. For now we should celebrate our first horde victory."
Emmet and Booth work on preparing the pokemon meat for a meal. With the help of Booth and Emmet's other pokemon. They eat most of the meat with their pokemon and prepare the rest for later.
With the hunt over, Booth and Emmet travel back to a safer place. They set up their tent and get some sleep in the valley.