As the swarm of Bug-type Pokemon flew closer and closer, Yuga finally saw clearly what kind of Pokémon they were.
It was countless Yanma and Yanmega.
While these Pokémon were blindly flying forward, Yuga secretly released Gengar, Mismagius, and Dusknoir.
At this moment, he was incredibly thankful that he had brought Dusknoir along on this mission; otherwise, there would have been no way to capture all these Yanma and Yanmega in one sweep—the number was just too overwhelming.
Gengar, Mismagius, and Dusknoir each quickly ascended into the air, forming a triangular formation in the sky. Their eyes rapidly flashed with purple light, and then their psychic powers connected. An invisible space was instantly constructed.
The Yanma and Yanmega, with their heads down and unaware of any danger ahead, they just charged straight into the space created by the three Ghost-type Pokémon.
Once they entered this space, getting out was no longer something they could decide for themselves.
At first, when the Yanma and Yanmega entered the space, they didn't notice anything strange and just kept flying forward.
After flying for a while, some of them finally realized they were going in circles and had flown for a long time without making any real progress. They began to sound alarms.
Bzzzzz~
The strangely rhythmic wingbeats caused a commotion within the swarm, and the other Yanma and Yanmega also finally sensed something was wrong. They began to circle restlessly in the sky.
Yuga didn't rush to show himself. Since this group of Pokémon couldn't break through the space's barrier, he just stayed hidden and watched them grow increasingly frantic.
As time passed, the swarm became more and more chaotic. The Yanma and Yanmega began flying around like headless flies within the space. But no matter how panicked they were, it was no use.
There was no Pokémon in this swarm capable of breaking the space created by the three Ghost-type Pokémon.
"Mei~"
Suddenly, a high-pitched and piercing cry rang out from within the swarm. The previously chaotic swarm froze for a moment, and then Yuga was surprised to see that the swarm gradually began to regain order.
What shocked the swarm into submission turned out to be a Yanma that didn't appear particularly impressive at first glance. If not for that cry, Yuga wouldn't have noticed it at all.
At this moment, the normally quiet system inside Yuga rarely spoke up.
"Host, that is a Bug King!"
Hearing this, Yuga was startled and immediately activated his Insight skill.
...
Yanma (Bug King)
Type: Bug, Flying
Ability: Speed Boost
Gender: Male
Potential: Indigo
Level: 30
Moves: Quick Attack, Double Team, Supersonic, Sonic Boom, Uproar, Secret Power, Tailwind, Signal Beam.
...
It really was a Bug King—and one that was naturally born with indigo potential. No wonder it could command this swarm even while still in the Yanma stage.
Before noticing this particular Yanma, Yuga had thought that the eye-catching Yanmega, whose level was close to the Elite level, was the true leader of the swarm.
Now it seemed that Yanmega was likely just a figurehead pushed forward by the swarm to protect the real Bug King.
On this grassland, the Bug-type Pokemon swarm was not considered a powerful group. In order to ensure the survival of the species, it wasn't strange for them to use such a tactic.
Bug Kings were extremely rare and special beings among Bug-type Pokémon, possessing the power to command Bug-type Pokemon swarms. The reason for their birth was unknown, and the probability of one being born was extremely low. At least, Yuga had never seen or heard of another one elsewhere.
Yuga's Vivillon was a Butterfly King, able to command all butterfly Pokémon, which made it a special variant of a Bug King. If it hadn't been for the power borrowed from the Genesect fossil back then, Vivillon wouldn't have been able to complete its metamorphosis successfully.
He hadn't expected to have the good fortune of encountering a naturally born Bug King today.
Under the organization of the Bug King Yanma, the swarm began launching attacks on the constructed space. Row after row of Yanma and Yanmega took turns using Sonic Boom and Air Slash against the space.
However, this was completely ineffective. To break through the space, an attack must exceed the power limit of Gengar, Mismagius, and Dusknoir. Otherwise, no matter how many attacks low-level Pokémon released, it was useless.
And the highest-level Pokémon in this swarm was the Yanmega that Yuga had earlier mistaken for the leader. It wasn't even at the Elite level—how could it possibly break through the space seal?
Seeing that physical energy-based attacks were ineffective, the Yanma began organizing the swarm to collectively use Bug Buzz. The irritating noise nearly ruptured Yuga's eardrums. Fortunately, he was promptly teleported out of the space by Gengar and the others, or his heart might've stopped on the spot.
Unfortunately for them, even the terrifying Bug Buzz didn't work. The Yanma and Yanmega kept flying around inside the space, growing more and more agitated as their freedom remained locked down. Gradually, even the Bug King could no longer control them, and the scene became increasingly chaotic.
But the more chaotic they got, the more rapidly their stamina drained. No one knew how much time had passed, but eventually, the lower-level Yanma and Yanmega collapsed to the ground from exhaustion, leaving only a few dozen Yanmega and the sole Yanma (Bug King) still airborne.
At this moment, Yuga finally stepped out with Florges.
The moment the Yanmega and Yanma on the ground saw Yuga and Florges, they instinctively tried to take flight again, but countless green vines suddenly sprang up, catching them off guard and binding them tightly. A soft glow flickered on the vines, and all the bound Yanma and Yanmega instantly collapsed from exhaustion.
These Yanma and Yanmega, already at their limit, simply couldn't withstand a single Giga Drain from Florges!
This Bug-type Pokemon swarm was massive in size. If they had all been full of energy, Florges might not have been able to subdue them in one go.
The Yanmega surrounding the Bug King immediately launched an assault toward Yuga, sending wave after wave of Air Slash attacks in his direction.
But unfortunately for them, most of the Yanma and Yanmega were already down. The ones remaining, although the strongest of the swarm, still posed little threat in front of Florges.
Before long, all the Yanmega were defeated—only the single Yanma remained.
The Yanma looked at Yuga approaching step by step with a frightened gaze and unconsciously began to retreat. Though it commanded the entire swarm, it was still young and had yet to fully mature. In front of Yuga, it felt like it was facing a terrifying beast.
Yuga deliberately threatened it: "You'd better surrender obediently. Otherwise, your kin are going to suffer."
To Yuga's surprise, the Yanma realized he could understand it. Trying to appear calm, it replied, "You want to capture me? But if you use force, even if you get my body, you won't get my heart."
Yuga almost burst into laughter at the meaning it conveyed and asked with a smirk, "Oh? Then what do you want?"
Although the Yanma was young, it was very clever. Realizing it couldn't escape Yuga's 'clutches,' it decisively made a proposal: "If you help me with one thing, I will willingly lead my entire swarm to serve you."
Yuga was immediately curious. "Oh? Tell me what it is."
The Yanma said, "Not far from here, there's a wetland with a group of Druddigon. If you help me teach them a lesson, then my heart will be yours from now on…"
The Yanma had always known that it was special and highly attractive to humans, so it figured it might as well use itself as a bargaining chip—after all, it couldn't run anymore anyway.
'Your heart'… Yuga had no idea where Yanma had learned such bizarre expressions.
Yuga was both amused and exasperated by what Yanma said, but deep down, he felt that this was actually a pretty fair deal.
Most of the Pokémon on this grassland were wild and unruly, making them especially difficult to tame. That was also the reason why most Trainers chose to hand over the Pokémon they captured to the League in exchange for merit points. If he could settle things so easily with Yanma and its entire tribe, Yuga didn't mind lending a hand this once.
Yuga looked at Yanma and asked, "Do you have a grudge with that group of Druddigon?"
Yanma hesitated and said nothing. The reason their swarm had been fleeing in such a sorry state was precisely because their territory had been taken over by the Druddigon.
They obviously had a grudge! Judging from Yanma's reaction, even if it didn't say anything, Yuga could already guess.
"Alright, I'll listen to you," Yuga said. "But you also have to keep your promise. Otherwise…" Yuga's expression suddenly turned "fierce."
Yanma didn't understand Yuga very well and was startled by his sudden change of expression. In a small voice, it replied, "I… I will."
But when Yuga looked over at the countless Yanma and Yanmega lying all over the ground, he felt a bit of a headache coming on. This swarm really was huge—if he were to capture all of them, just how many Poké Balls would he need!
Although he could purchase Poké Balls directly from the system store, once the number went up, the cost wouldn't be small. Even if he had money, it wasn't something to throw around!
Besides, the vast majority of these Pokémon had very low potential and didn't meet Yuga's standards for capture. What he wanted were only those with yellow-grade or higher potential.
In the end, Yuga decided to use the League-issued Poké Balls for the low-quality ones, and only use his personal Poké Balls for those with good potential.
With that decision made, Yuga took out his Poké Balls and began capturing the Pokémon.
Actually, there was no need for Yuga to capture every single Yanma and Yanmega, because the target of the League-organized mission was specifically the high-level Pokémon left behind after the main expeditionary forces advanced.
Once the high-level Pokémon were taken care of, the remaining low-level ones would no longer pose a threat to the survival of others, nor would they pose any danger to the expeditionary army. It would be a win-win situation.
So Yuga really only needed to capture the high-level, high-potential Pokémon in the swarm and let the rest survive on their own. Unfortunately, he hadn't thought of that at the time.
After capturing all the Yanma and Yanmega, Yuga, under the guidance of the Yanma (Bug King), set out toward the wetlands it had mentioned.
On the other side, Yoshino and the others successfully brought the injured back to the base.
After sending that squad member to the doctor, Raizo said with a worried expression, "Mr. Shimizu hasn't returned yet. I wonder how he's doing now?"
Yoshino reassured him, "I'm sure he's fine. You've all seen Mr. Shimizu's strength over the past two days. It's just a bunch of Bug-type Pokémon. Mr. Shimizu can definitely handle it."
Allard, meanwhile, sat silently in a daze. After a while, he suddenly stood up and said, "No, I have to go report this to General Toyama!"
Yoshino and Raizo's eyes lit up, and they stood up to follow, saying, "Right, right, we'll go together."
After General Toyama learned what had happened from the three of them, he said with a serious expression, "I'll arrange for people to go support Mr. Shimizu right away."
However, just as he was about to leave, the communicator on his body suddenly rang. He picked it up and looked at it. His expression immediately relaxed, and he turned to the three and said:
"It's a message from Mr. Shimizu. He's safe now, but due to some unexpected matters, he might be returning a bit later."
"As long as he's safe, as long as he's safe," the three of them said, immediately letting out a long sigh of relief.
Yuga only remembered to send a message back to the base to report his safety halfway along his journey. By then, he was already not far from the wetlands that Yanma had mentioned.
However, before he even reached the wetlands, he saw a group of people being chased around wildly by several Druddigon, screaming as they ran.
Since the Druddigon group had the strength to force such a large swarm of bugs to flee from their own territory, their power was clearly not to be underestimated. Their group didn't have large numbers, but most of them were elites.
Additionally, the Druddigon group had also been one of the main forces that attacked the pioneer army's base. After their defeat, all of their low-level members were wiped out, leaving only a small number behind to cover the retreat of the their leader at the time. These few were ultimately left behind.
Seeing that those few Trainers were about to be caught by the Druddigon, Yuga released Florges. With one sweeping Moonblast from Florges, those Druddigon were immediately knocked out.
Seeing the Druddigon defeated, those Trainers collapsed to the ground along with their Pokémon, all looking like they had just survived a disaster.
Yuga swam over and asked, "Where are your other team members?"
All of them recognized Yuga. Although they didn't know why he had come to their assigned area, they still honestly replied, "We got separated while being chased by a group of Druddigon."
After briefly asking them about the environment in the wetlands, Yuga said, "Hurry up and go find your teammates. I'll go check out the Druddigon."
"Yes, sir!" The group thanked Yuga and then rode off on their Pokémon.
Before leaving, Yuga didn't forget to capture those few Druddigon into Poké Balls.
The wetlands where the Yanma had originally lived was a very beautiful place. When Yuga arrived, his eyes were immediately drawn to the breathtaking scenery before him.
On the emerald green grassland were embedded patches of water pools, like gems scattered across a green carpet. The field was also full of blooming flowers of all different colors. Even though Yuga had already seen the beauty of his own floral secondary garden, his eyes still shone with admiration.
But before he had time to admire it for even a short while, his mood was interrupted. One after another, ferocious-looking Druddigon emerged from the pools, shaking their heads and swaggering about. In no time at all, they had trampled the grassland and the flowers beyond recognition.
Such a beautiful place, and yet it was being occupied and ruined by this brutish group of Druddigon—what a waste.
The Druddigon were naturally aggressive and domineering. They didn't care what Yuga thought as they rolled and splashed about in the grass and pools, making the place extremely chaotic.
Seeing their home being destroyed by the Druddigon like this, Yanma was furious and unconsciously let out an angry screech. In an instant, all the Druddigon turned their eyes toward Yuga.