A perfectly ordinary move had actually triggered a collapse.
'This... how was that possible?'
"OOON"
From within the dust cloud, a deafening roar startled both Sato and Golem. Sato quickly pulled Cacturne and Umbreon back to a safer distance.
As the dust cleared, they finally saw the massive yellow-green head.
"…Shiny Onix," Sato said in a low voice, his eyes flickering. Looking at the enormous crater that was almost identical to the one on the public road, it was clear now that the one who had destroyed the road was this very Onix.
However, regular Onix were iron-gray in color, while the one in front of him was entirely yellow-green, clearly an extremely rare Shiny Pokémon.
Clatter...
At that moment, Onix began emerging from underground. When its full body appeared, Sato felt that being shiny wasn't even the main issue anymore.
Normal Onix were only about seven or eight meters long, and even when standing upright, they barely reached two or three meters, about one and a half stories tall.
…But the one in front of Sato was at least four stories tall just standing, and in length, easily over twenty meters.
Crack crack…
Suddenly, the sound of digging came from not far away. Sato and Onix turned to look at the same time, only to see Golem furiously digging a hole near Onix.
But Golem had forgotten… it was on rocky ground. Trying to dig a hole here was incredibly difficult.
BOOOM!
Sato's eyes widened as he watched the nearly 300-kilogram Golem get effortlessly smacked away by Onix's tail, sent flying like a shooting star.
Thunk!
Sato held Sharpedo's Poké Ball in his hand, calmly watching as the enormous Onix slowly turned its head toward him. He had no idea what it was planning.
"GRUUAAAAARH!"
Another thunderous roar, this time directed only at Sato. The blast of wind it created blew Sato back several steps.
Just as Sato was about to send out Sharpedo to Mega Evolve and go all-out, Onix suddenly whimpered and then collapsed heavily to the ground.
As the dust settled, Sato looked at the fallen Onix, thought for a moment, then chose to approach and inspect it.
"...These injuries are severe," Sato frowned. This Onix was strong, but judging by its current state, it seemed like it was strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
Around the middle section of Onix's body, Sato could clearly see that only a palm-sized connection remained between two boulders, desperately holding them together.
If that part broke, Onix would split in two.
And Onix wasn't an Ekans; it wouldn't survive being divided. If it broke, that would mean certain death.
Staring at such a severe wound, Sato hesitated for a moment before taking Ralts out of his backpack.
"Go back to the Pokémon Center and bring Joseph here. Tell him to bring the best Potion."
"Ralts!" Ralts also saw Onix's tragic state and nodded obediently before using Teleport to return to the Pokémon Center.
After all, this was such a rare and massive Shiny Onix, if it could be saved, then it should be. That was Sato's thought.
In less than five minutes, a white light flashed beside Sato. Ralts had returned with Joseph, and tagging along was the ever-curious Mark.
"Whoa, look at that snake! It's so thick and long!"
"..."
Though Sato had long grown used to Mark's constant madness interrupted by moments of sanity, right now he just wanted to... draw his […]
At that moment, Joseph had already sprung into action. This time, he released all the Pokémon on him at once.
"HELP ME, SATO!" Joseph shouted.
"Okay, what do you need?"
"Keep pouring Gogoat's Grass Milk into Onix's mouth, here's the feeding tube. Get the milk from Gogoat."
"Got it." Sato quickly took the feeding tube and ran with Gogoat to Onix's mouth.
"What about me? What about me?!" Mark rushed over when he saw that, but Joseph, already focused on the treatment, ignored him completely.
Florges began emitting a greenish glow, and from beneath Onix's massive body, tender blades of grass began sprouting from the rocky ground.
After using Grassy Terrain, Florges was panting slightly; it clearly wasn't easy to make grass grow on such solid rock.
Immediately after, Joseph pulled out a large bag of black sand from his backpack. He laid down a sheet of aluminum foil under Onix's wound and wrapped the black sand all around the injury.
"Wigglytuff, Kirlia, and Chansey. When I give the signal, use Heal Pulse together."
The three Pokémon responded in unison, clearly ready to cast their Heal Pulse.
"Umbreon, can you use Heal Bell at the same time?"
"Umbre~"
Umbreon, who had been quietly watching nearby, trotted over and nodded obediently.
"One, two, three… start!"
At Joseph's command, the three Pokémon simultaneously cast Heal Pulse at the wound, while Joseph also placed his hands, imbued with Viridian Power, directly over the injury.
Ting-ling~
The sound of Heal Bell echoed, gently entering everyone's ears. Most importantly, it reached Onix.
"Wurm~"
Suddenly, a Wurmple crawled out from the grass, secretly watching Joseph using Viridian Power. It looked like it wanted to approach but didn't dare.
Shroomish, Taillow, Nuzleaf, Zigzagoon... many common and uncommon Pokémon appeared from the forest, surrounding the group.
Sato remained alert as he watched the Pokémon. Several of them had even been previously defeated by him.
Fortunately, none of the Pokémon made any sudden moves. They seemed to be quietly observing this "grand rescue" operation.
And grand it was.
This was the first time Sato had seen Joseph use Viridian Power on himself while also coordinating the use of Heal Pulse, Heal Bell, Grassy Terrain, and Gogoat's Grass Milk to assist.
Sato was convinced that Onix's injuries were even more terrifying than they appeared.
Mark looked left and right, realizing there was truly nothing he could help with. Surrounded by so many wild Pokémon, he didn't dare move an inch.
So he simply held Togepi in his arms and nervously prayed for the massive Onix in front of him, hoping it could be healed successfully.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes... The three Pokémon's Heal Pulse, Umbreon's Heal Bell, and Joseph's Viridian Power showed no signs of stopping.
Sato maintained a steady pace, slowly pouring Gogoat's Grass Milk into Onix's mouth.
Cacturne helped pry open Onix's jaws; Sato wouldn't have managed to do it alone.
After another five minutes, the three Pokémon using Heal Pulse were starting to reach their limits, while Umbreon's Heal Bell persisted thanks to its Soothe Bell.
Suddenly, Sato noticed a dazzling blue light appear behind him. As it faded, a black Gardevoir materialized before them.
"Voir!"
Gardevoir raised its hand, and a Heal Pulse far surpassing the combined power of the other three struck Onix directly.