"It's rare to see both parents raising their offspring together," Barry said, his face grim.
The reason they were being hunted by the Ursaring was that they had secretly captured its child.
Most Pokémon mothers raise their offspring alone, while a few species have both parents involved.
However, Ursaring is a notable exception. In most cases, it's the female Ursaring that raises the cubs, while the males behave like classic "deadbeat dads"—leaving as soon as the female is pregnant to seek out another mate.
Their infamy has even made them a popular choice for certain social media avatars.
Only in extremely rare instances will a male Ursaring stay to help raise the offspring.
The one in front of them appeared to be male—its shorter fur was a giveaway—and the approaching Ursaring they had previously encountered was likely the female.
It was that female Ursaring that had injured the three of them earlier.
Now, they were faced with a second Ursaring—this one even stronger than the first—and their Pokémon were in no shape to fight.
"ROAR!"
The male Ursaring let out an earth-shaking roar. Its massive frame exuded an overwhelming, sinister aura, and its eyes burned with murderous intent as it glared at Barry and his group.
'You snuck into my home, kidnapped my child, and even injured my mate'
'Are you tired of living?'
"Exeggutor!"
The young man sent out his Pokémon—his only one still capable of fighting.
But as the Ursaring radiated its wild, bloodthirsty energy, Exeggutor's eyes showed fear. Its legs trembled, and it instinctively took a step back.
The Ursaring had already established absolute dominance in terms of presence. Seeing its opponent hesitate, it dropped to all fours and charged forward with terrifying speed.
Its powerful limbs propelled it like a cannonball, closing the gap in the blink of an eye.
"Exeggutor, Razor Leaf!"
Terrified though it was, Exeggutor did not retreat in the face of danger. Countless sharp, spinning leaves shot toward the charging Ursaring.
But the Ursaring swung its claws with lightning speed, each swipe leaving silver arcs in the air.
Torn and shredded leaves fell to the ground at its feet, unable to penetrate its defenses.
As the Ursaring closed in, it brought its claws down on Exeggutor, slashing deep into its body and sending it flying backward with a powerful blow.
At that moment, the Noctowl perched on a branch swooped down and positioned itself in front of the Ursaring. Its eyes emitted waves of hypnotic energy, attempting to put the rampaging Pokémon to sleep.
The Ursaring staggered, its massive body swaying as its eyelids began to droop.
Barry clenched his fists tightly, hope flickering in his eyes. But the next second—
"ROAR!!"
The female Ursaring arrived, and its roar instantly jolted the male Ursaring out of its drowsiness. The intense sleepiness it had felt moments ago vanished without a trace.
Looking at the Noctowl that had dared to use Hypnosis on it, the male Ursaring swung its massive paw down. Noctowl didn't even have time to evade.
With a heavy thud, its body was slammed to the ground. Before it could even bounce back, the male Ursaring pressed it down with one of its paws.
Crack, crack.
The sound of bones breaking was horrifying. Most of the bones in its body were shattered, blood trickled from its beak, and it was clear the Noctowl was at its limit.
Noctowl's main role was keeping watch at night, so its combat abilities were limited.
By this time, the female Ursaring had reached the male. Both Ursaring stared at the three humans who had dared to steal their cub, their gazes full of murderous intent.
Barry held a Poké Ball in his hand, his eyes flickering with pain as he looked at the critically injured Noctowl under the male Ursaring's paw.
"Sam, take Phil and head toward the tent. He's our only hope now," Barry said firmly.
"Brother-in-law, I'm staying with you," Sam replied, shaking his head. "If he wanted to help us, he would've acted by now."
The roars of the Ursaring were deafening; there was no way the person in the tent hadn't heard. Yet they hadn't made a move, clearly unwilling to get involved.
Or perhaps, Sam thought grimly, they were waiting for us to die.
The male Ursaring glanced down at the nearly lifeless Noctowl beneath its paw.
'Dare to steal my child? I'll eat this one first, then I'll deal with you all'
As its jaws opened wide, ready to devour the Noctowl, the injured bird Pokémon gave Barry one last, sorrowful glance before closing its eyes in despair.
"Luca!~"
Just as the Ursaring's fangs were about to close in, a shadow streaked forward like lightning, placing a paw firmly against the Ursaring's body.
A sudden, powerful force radiated from the intruder's paw.
Boom!
In the next moment, the male Ursaring's massive body was sent flying, crashing through several thick trees before landing with a heavy thud.
"Luca!~"
Lucario: 'You woke my trainer from his rest. Big mistake'
The female Ursaring, seeing her mate knocked down, roared with fury. She didn't care who this Lucario's trainer was. He had attacked her mate, and she would crush him.
With her claws glowing white, she raised them high, ready to slash Lucario in half.
To Barry, the attack seemed impossibly fast, but to Lucario, it was laughably slow.
In its paw, a glowing blue sphere quickly took shape. Just as the claws began their descent, Lucario pressed the Aura Sphere directly against the yellow ring on the female Ursaring's chest.
Bang!
The impact landed precisely at the center of the yellow circle.
That circle, in a way, seemed almost like a perfect bullseye.
Lucario had not delivered a fatal blow. The male Ursaring, which had been sent flying earlier, wobbled to its feet, its bear-like face filled with confusion, as if wondering how it had been launched into the air in the first place.
Crack, crack.
The sound of breaking branches reached its ears. It turned just in time to see a shadow barreling through the forest, smashing through tree after tree.
When the shadow finally came into focus, it realized with horror that the figure was its own mate, the female Ursaring, hurtling uncontrollably toward it.
Crash!
The female Ursaring collided headfirst with her mate, and the sheer force of the impact sent the male Ursaring sprawling to the ground, unconscious. Luckily for the female, her mate's body cushioned her fall, sparing her from further harm as she too fainted.
"So strong…"
Sam stood frozen in awe, his jaw hanging open as he stared at Lucario, who seemed almost godlike.
The female Ursaring, who had singlehandedly defeated all eight of their Pokémon combined, had been taken down just like that. And the male Ursaring, even stronger than the female, hadn't fared any better.
The way Lucario defeated both Pokémon so effortlessly gave Sam the strange illusion that maybe Ursaring weren't as terrifying as he'd thought.
From the moment Lucario appeared to the instant both Ursaring were defeated, only about five seconds had passed.
The fluidity, precision, and sheer decisiveness of Lucario's moves left Sam utterly amazed.
"Brother-in-law, that Lucario belongs to him, doesn't it?"
Sam watched as Lucario, after dispatching the Ursaring, turned and calmly began walking back toward the tent. There was no doubt now about who had saved them.
Earlier, Sam had been frustrated, thinking their savior had chosen to sit idly by. Now, reflecting on everything, he felt a twinge of guilt for having doubted them.
"Yes, that Lucario belongs to him"
Barry nodded.
But his thoughts quickly shifted as he remembered his Noctowl, its condition still uncertain. Rushing over, he carefully picked up the injured bird Pokémon, cradling it in his arms.
*****
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