"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Juan fired his rifle while retreating, aiming at the Swellow swarm rapidly closing in on them.
As a seasoned hunter, Juan knew full well that they had no chance of outrunning a flock of Swellow. His only hope was to scare them off with the threat of gunfire.
If they had encountered a wild group of Swellow, the plan might have worked.
Unfortunately for them, this was a trained, highly coordinated flock—Swellow that considered Rex Farm their home and had undergone specialized drills under the Totem Swellow's command.
These Swellow weren't about to let gun-wielding intruders trespass unchallenged.
Thanks to their elite speed and agility, Juan's bullets couldn't even come close to hitting them.
Now completely surrounded by sharp-eyed Swellow in tight formation, Juan was already regretting taking this job.
He never imagined Rex could be keeping so many Swellow on his farm. If he'd known, he wouldn't have dragged his team into this suicidal mission.
"We're lost! That's all—we'll leave right away!"
Seeing they were surrounded, Juan raised both hands and forced a smile, addressing the lead Swellow.
He was hoping to bluff his way out, seeing that the Swellow hadn't attacked yet.
But the birds remained cold and unmoved. Rex had given strict orders: anyone entering the farm armed and uninvited was to be detained immediately and a message sent to him without delay.
If they resisted, the Swellow had permission to strike back—so long as they didn't kill.
With the birds' piercing eyes fixed on them in silence, sweat poured down the faces of all three intruders.
As for fighting back? That thought had already vanished from their minds. Even if they released all their Pokémon, they'd be no match for this many trained Swellow.
They would probably be overwhelmed—and killed in the process.
So the three were frozen in place, stuck in a standoff where only one side held the upper hand.
Not long after, Rex arrived—led in by a Swellow messenger.
One glance at Juan gripping a rifle with white-knuckled fingers was enough for Rex to guess the truth: these were Hunter Guild operatives sent to exact revenge.
Juan's gaze flicked to Rex, and his grip on the weapon tightened instinctively.
Rex took note of this but stayed calm on the surface, silently keeping his guard up.
"I know you're with the Hunter Guild. So what's it going to be—fight, or surrender?"
Rex gave them no time to think.
"Boss… let's just give up. Worst case, it's a few years in jail."
Shalin, swallowing hard, broke the silence.
He was the brains of the group—not because of strength, but because of strategy. He understood that in this situation, resistance would only give their enemy an excuse to strike harder.
"You coward! You're always about surrendering. I'm not giving in!"
Valen barked, then released his Mightyena and ordered it to attack Rex.
In his muscle-filled head, Valen believed that taking Rex hostage would solve everything.
At the same moment, Juan raised his rifle, seizing the distraction to aim and fire at Rex.
"Bang!"
The gun went off, and Juan grinned—convinced he'd landed the hit.
But his face froze when he saw the shimmering protective shield that had appeared around Rex, blocking the bullet.
Gengar, hiding in the shadows as always, had activated Protect just in time.
Meanwhile, the charging Mightyena was suddenly shredded by a barrage of wind blades—Swellow's Aerial Aces tearing into it before it could even get close. It hit the ground with a pitiful howl, bloodied and defeated.
"Mightyena! Get up and fight!" Valen yelled, not in concern but in frustration that his plan had failed.
Rex didn't give them a second chance.
Still shaken from the gunfire despite Gengar's shield, he dashed forward—his training with Machamp finally paying off.
In a few steps, he was face-to-face with Juan. One hand grabbed the barrel of the rifle. The other curled into a fist—and smashed into Juan's face.
The force of the punch twisted Juan's face grotesquely. He fell flat on his back, teeth and blood spraying from his mouth, twitching violently before blacking out cold.
"Boss! You—bastard!"
Valen roared, charging at Rex with a wild punch.
Rex dodged with a sidestep and drove his knee into Valen's gut.
The impact made Valen's eyes bulge and his expression twist in agony.
But Rex wasn't done. An elbow to the temple followed, sending Valen crashing down like a sack of bricks.
Luckily for him, Rex had pulled his punch—otherwise, Valen wouldn't have gotten back up.
"I surrender! I surrender!"
Shalin, seeing both his comrades flattened in seconds, raised his hands before Rex even looked his way.
Seeing him give up so quickly, Rex simply tied up all three of them with a thick rope.
Once that was done, he called Officer Jenny and briefly explained the situation.
Not long after, her police cruiser rolled into view.
After a quick conversation, she loaded the trio into her vehicle, smiling as she prepared to haul them back to the Fallarbor Town precinct.
To her, this was a reward gift-wrapped and delivered to her doorstep—and she intended to squeeze every bit of intel out of them.
(End of Chapter)