It was the male Scovillain who took action.
The male Scovillain was at a higher level than Espartha, so despite its special attack individual values being similarly lackluster, it was still beyond Espartha's ability to counter.
After Espartha's Lumina Crash was shattered, the fast male Scovillain immediately used Sunny Day, causing the sun to intensify in the sky.
With the boost from Sunny Day, the female Scovillain raised both of its heads. Light gathered on its heads, and in the next moment, the green head shot out a golden beam of light toward Espartha.
It was the Grass-type move Solar Beam, which, thanks to Sunny Day, could be fired instantly without the usual charge-up time.
However, Espartha was incredibly fast, and with its Speed Boost ability, it used Agility just as the Solar Beam was about to hit. Its speed increased even more, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared from its original spot.
Boom!
A huge explosion echoed as the ground was blasted into a deep crater by the Solar Beam.
At this moment, the Scovillain couple hadn't noticed that Komala had already sneaked up behind them. With a flicker of dark light from one of its paws, a huge ghostly claw formed around its hand.
It was the Ghost-type move Shadow Claw!
Komala swung the Shadow Claw toward the female Scovillain. Due to the effect of Sunny Day and the male Scovillain's Chlorophyll ability (which doubles speed in sunny conditions), the male Scovillain noticed the attack just in time. However, it couldn't warn its mate in time and could only rush forward, slamming into the female Scovillain and knocking her out of the way, taking the full brunt of the Shadow Claw.
The male Scovillain screamed in agony, tumbling away, its two heads flopping to the side as it lost consciousness. It hadn't even been able to withstand one hit from Komala.
"Scovillain!"
The female Scovillain cried out in distress and immediately rushed toward her husband. But Espartha quickly crossed its long legs, blocking the female Scovillain's path.
Lumina Crash!
Distracted, the female Scovillain was struck head-on, tumbling and crashing to the ground.
Her special defense was already low, and Lumina Crash greatly reduced it. Taking advantage of her disorientation, Espartha casually released another Psybeam, and the female Scovillain collapsed shortly afterward.
Seeing her parents knocked out, the three Capsakid immediately shouted and charged at Espartha.
Angie quickly reassured them, "Don't worry, your mom and dad are fine. They'll wake up soon."
"Capsakid~"
Bad guy!
"Capsakid~"
Villain!
"Capsakid~"
I'm going to beat you!
However, the Capsakid didn't stop. They continued to charge at Angie with fierce expressions.
"Oinkologne~"
Just then, a female Oinkologne stepped forward. It twirled its tail, and a rich, pleasant fragrance spread out from it. Upon smelling the scent, the three Capsakid immediately became drowsy and, with starry eyes, started following the female Oinkologne's tail, chasing it around.
The floral fragrance released by the female Oinkologne helped calm the excited Pokémon down.
After the Capsakid had been calmed, the female Oinkologne playfully winked at Angie.
"Thanks, Oinkologne!"
Angie shot the Pokémon a grateful look before walking over to the two Scovillain. He fed each of them a berry to restore their energy and then sprinkled some Rock Salt from Garganacl on their wounds.
Miraculously, the wounds of the Scovillain disappeared the moment the rock salt touched them!
Indeed, Garganacl's Rock Salt had a powerful healing effect. No wonder it was so popular in Paldea.
Before long, both Scovillain had regained consciousness. Angie asked, "How are you two? Are you alright?"
Both of the Scovillain shook their heads simultaneously.
Angie's gentle tone deeply moved them. Feeling the pain dissipate, they looked at Angie with greater satisfaction.
This Trainer is reliable!
"Can I catch you now?" Angie asked.
"Scovillain~"
"Scovillain~"
The Scovillain couple nodded in unison and called out to their three Capsakid in the distance.
Responding to the call of their parents, the three Capsakid ran over.
The family of five sat in a row in front of Angie, who took out five Poké Balls and placed them before them.
"Please take care of me in the future!"
The Scovillain couple nodded to Angie, then called out to their three Capsakid. After the Capsakid nodded, they pressed the buttons on the Poké Balls, and the Scovillain couple was sucked into them in a flash of red light.
Seeing this, the three Capsakid also stretched out their hands, pressing the switches on the Poké Balls, and they too disappeared into red light.
Angie picked up the five Poké Balls, a look of excitement on their face.
The Scovillain family, GET DA☆ZE!
After putting away the Poké Balls, Angie turned to Arven and the others, saying, "Let's head back."
"Mm~"
Arven nodded and climbed onto the back of Espartha.
Angie, holding Komala, followed and also mounted, waving to the Pokémon behind them. "Let's go home!"
"Espartha~"
Espartha responded with a chirp, suddenly picking up a struggling Pawmi by the nape of its neck in its beak and galloping off at full speed.
"Oinkologne~"
"Oinkologne~"
"Mabosstiff~"
The two Oinkologne and Mabosstiff also howled excitedly, picking up their pace to follow Espartha.
"Pawmi~ Pawmi~ Pawmi~"
Pawmi's screams echoed in the air.
Angie and their companions, initially full of excitement, were stopped by a Pokémon as they passed through a rocky area.
Espartha, which had been running smoothly, suddenly stopped as a fire pillar shot out from somewhere. Fortunately, Espartha braked in time, or they would have crashed into the flames.
Then, the ground trembled violently, and a Camerupt appeared with a wild expression. Thick smoke billowed from one of its humps, and hot flames spewed out, sending nearby Pokémon fleeing in all directions.
A young Rockruff, unable to escape in time, was about to be hit by the flames. Angie quickly shouted, "Espartha, Lumina Crash!"
"Espartha~"
Espartha cried out, its eyes glowing with colorful light. A colored ball of light shot out immediately.
Boom!
The light ball collided with the flames, extinguishing them just in time, and saving the Rockruff.
Angie called to the stunned Rockruff, "Why aren't you running yet!"
"Rockruff~ Rockruff~ Rockruff~~"
Rockruff quickly scrambled to its feet and rushed off into the distance.
Camerupt was still rampaging, causing chaos for many Pokémon living in the rocky area, who now hid in fear, watching as their homes were destroyed by the frantic Camerupt.
Angie used the Eye of Observation skill to inspect Camerupt.
...
[ Camerupt ]
Type: Fire, Ground
Ability: Anger Points
Gender: Male
Level: 61
Moves: Rock Slide, Tackle, Roar, Instant Amnesia, Spark, Earthquake, Flamethrower, Stomp, Earth Power, Smoke Screen, Earthquake, Fire Blast, Dig, Yawn.
...
[ Individual Value (IVs) ]
HP: 25
Attack: 28
Defense: 14
Special Attack: 24
Special Defense: 21
Speed: 18
...
The level of this Pokémon was even higher than that of the male Scovillain, and its individual values were far superior to those of the two Scovillain. It was clear at a glance that it would be a tough opponent.
Angie really wanted to just walk away, but looking at the pitiful Pokémon around, they couldn't bring themselves to do it.
They looked at Komala in their arms and asked, "Komala, could you please stop Camerupt?"
Komala didn't respond but silently wriggled out of Angie's arms and landed steadily on the ground.
"Please, Komala, I'll buy you a bottle of good wine later!"
Upon hearing this, Komala visibly became energized.
At that moment, a fire pillar rushed toward them. Komala quickly rolled away, landing near Camerupt, and raised its Shadow Claw to strike at it.
"Camerupt~"
Camerupt let out a cry of pain as it was knocked to the ground. It quickly got up, and smoke and flames erupted from the hump on its back. Its entire posture grew more imposing.
Seeing this, Angie immediately realized something was wrong and yelled at Komala, "No good, Komala! You've triggered Camerupt's ability, Anger Points. Its attack has been raised to the maximum level. Be careful!"
Hearing this, Komala's body began to glow rapidly. It used Psych Up (copies the opponent's stat changes), and its aura similarly surged.
"Camerupt~~"
Camerupt roared loudly, raising its front hooves high before stomping them down onto the ground with tremendous force.
Komala wasn't about to sit idly by. It raised the tree pillow it carried, which began to glow with a yellowish light, and slammed it into the ground with all its might.
Both Pokémon used Earthquake.
Boom!!!
Cracks spread across the ground, and the shockwaves from both Earthquakes collided violently, causing the earth to tremble so much that Angie and the others could barely stay on their feet.
The difference in levels meant that Camerupt's Earthquake was ultimately no match for Komala's. With a tremendous crash, Camerupt's shockwave was shattered, and Komala's shockwave hit it directly.
Camerupt howled and collapsed, finally silenced. The Pokémon that had been hiding behind rocks slowly began to emerge, one after another.
Angie dismounted from Espartha and scooped Komala into their arms, patting its backside, saying, "Well done, I'll buy you some wine tonight."
Komala yawned in Angie's arms, then rolled over, burying its head in Angie's chest to continue its peaceful sleep.
After calming Komala, Angie approached Camerupt, starting to check its body. It wasn't possible for Camerupt to just go on a rampage without a reason.
Angie had noticed something during the battle: Camerupt had two humps, but only the front one spewed fire, while the back one only emitted smoke, which slowly leaked out rather than shooting straight into the sky like normal.
Sure enough, when Angie looked into the back hump, they saw a small, black Pokémon stuck inside. It could only be Rolycoly.
"Rolycoly~"
Upon seeing Angie, Rolycoly let out a pitiful cry.
It turned out that Rolycoly had accidentally fallen into Camerupt's hump while the Camerupt was sleeping and got stuck inside.
With the hump blocked, the lava inside Camerupt couldn't flow properly, causing it great pain and making it lose control.
Fortunately, Rolycoly had the ability Flash Fire; if it had been any other Pokémon, it would likely have been burned to ashes by the intense magma inside Camerupt by now.
Angie said, "Rolycoly, wait for me. I'll get you out right now!"
"Rolycoly~ Rolycoly~"
Tears welled up in Rolycoly's eyes.
Angie waved at Espartha, saying, "Espartha, can you come over here for a moment?"
"Espartha~"
Espartha responded with a sound and strode over to Angie and Camerupt.
Angie pointed to Rolycoly stuck in the hump and said to Espartha, "Espartha, could you please use your Psychic to grab Rolycoly and pull it out of Camerupt's hump?"
Espartha nodded, its eyes glowing with colorful light, and its powerful psychic energy enveloped Rolycoly.
"Rolycoly~~"
"Espartha~~"
With a strong pull, Rolycoly was pulled out of the hump with a soft "pop," rolling across the ground for several circles before finally stopping.
"Rolycoly~ Rolycoly~"
Now freed, Rolycoly happily bounced around, clearly excited.
Angie sighed in relief.
Psychic are so useful! Without Espartha getting Rolycoly out would have been really difficult. The Rolycoly was scalding hot from the flames, and it was impossible to touch it, let alone pull it out of the hump.
Not to mention, the temperature inside Camerupt's hump was extremely high, so no one could have reached in there.
"Be more careful next time and don't make this kind of mistake," Angie said to Rolycoly.
"Rolycoly~ Rolycoly~"
Rolycoly nodded, then bounced away happily.
Next, Angie fed Camerupt some berries. It wasn't long before Camerupt slowly woke up, looking at Angie with gratitude.
"Camerupt~ Camerupt~"
Thank you!
"It's no problem. I'm sorry about earlier, for having Komala attack you," Angie said, patting Camerupt.
Camerupt shook its head, signaling that it was okay. Thanks to Angie stopping it, it didn't know how long it would have suffered otherwise.
"Rockruff~ Rockruff~~"
At that moment, a cheerful barking sound rang out beside Angie. Looking down, Angie saw that, at some point, a Rockruff had appeared next to him.
"It's you!"
Angie crouched down and petted the Rockruff's back.
This Rockruff was the one Angie had saved from Camerupt's fiery attack earlier. It had come to thank him.
"Rockruff~~"
The Rockruff immediately flipped over, exposing its fluffy belly, looking absolutely adorable. Angie couldn't resist lifting it under its armpits, bringing it close and rubbing his cheek against its belly a couple of times.
Ah, so refreshing! This is so healing!
"Lycanroc?"
At that moment, another bark was heard. Angie turned around to see a Midday Form Lycanroc giving him a strange look.
Angie froze and awkwardly smiled at the Lycanroc. "Don't misunderstand, I'm not a pervert. I just think Rockruff is really cute."
With that, Angie gently placed the Rockruff back on the ground.
"Rockruff~ Rockruff~~"
The Rockruff affectionately leaned against Angie, rubbing its head against his palm.
The little one is quite clingy.
The Lycanroc dropped the weird expression and barked twice at Angie. It was the Rockruff's mother, and since Angie had saved its child, it had come to express its gratitude.
Angie rubbed the Rockruff's head. "Next time, if you encounter danger, you need to run quickly, understand?"
"Camerupt~"
Camerupt beside them looked guilty, apologizing to both the Rockruff and the Lycanroc.
"Lycanroc~"
The Lycanroc and Rockruff knew that Camerupt hadn't done it on purpose, so they graciously forgave it.