Comfey quickly settled on Lucas's head. To be safe, Lucas slung his backpack over his shoulders.
With everything ready, Lucas climbed onto Dragonite's back and nodded to the Delibird and the Dragonair staying behind on the small island.
The three Dragonair, led by the shiny one, surrounded Delibird and watched as Dragonite soared into the sky, heading for the flower field.
With Dragonite's speed, it took less than a minute to reach the island with the flower field. Soon, the outline of the field appeared in Lucas's view, and not far from it, he saw the culprit behind the midnight howling and the silhouette of the Deerling herd.
At that moment, the herd was fleeing in panic toward the land, chased by a Pokémon that Lucas immediately recognized.
This Pokémon had light brown fur and four distinctive stone-like tufts around its neck. Those features made it easy to identify the loud, disruptive culprit—
Lycanroc (Midday Form).
The Deerling, terrified by Lycanroc's intimidation, were fleeing for their lives across the narrow land bridge that connected the island to the mainland—narrow enough for only three Sawsbuck or four Deerling to cross at a time.
Desperate to escape the Lycanroc that terrified them, the Sawsbuck pressed forward with all their might. If any fell behind or were pushed into the water, they could only hope for the best.
The fear of Lycanroc, etched deep in their genes, made them lose all reason. Survival was all that mattered.
You just had to run faster than your kin to have a chance.
Lucas watched the chaos below, frowning. After this ordeal, the herd would likely be traumatized, jumping at shadows for a long time. His plan to befriend them was probably ruined.
Yet, he couldn't blame Lycanroc for this—this was the wild, and what Lycanroc did was natural. He had no right to interfere.
As Lucas was about to look away and return, two Sawsbuck behaving differently caught his attention.
Unlike their panicked herd, these two Sawsbuck, though trembling with fear, resisted the instinct to flee and stepped away from the group, standing in front of the taunting and predatory Lycanroc.
They kept calling out to the fleeing herd, trying to rally them to fight Lycanroc together, but apart from the two of them, all the Deerling and Sawsbuck were still ruled by terror, pushing onward toward the mainland.
Gradually, the two unheeded Sawsbuck gave up hope for their kin. Clearly, if they worked together, even Lycanroc would have to back off.
A determined light flashed in their eyes. Since it had come to this, they would fight alone. If they could drive Lycanroc away, maybe the others would finally realize Lycanroc wasn't invincible.
However, as the Deerling and Sawsbuck vanished into the night, not only did they not wait for the two who stayed behind, but they kept running, their figures soon fading into the darkness.
Though determined, the two Sawsbuck alone were no match for Lycanroc. Soon, Lycanroc's attacks left their bodies covered in wounds.
Gritting their teeth, the two injured Sawsbuck looked back and found their kin had all disappeared. In that stunned moment, Lycanroc's Rock Slide struck them several more times.
The two Sawsbuck, as if numb to pain, stared blankly at the mainland, unable to believe that even their leader, the one with the most beautiful and impressive antlers, had chosen to flee without looking back.
Lucas, watching from above, couldn't stand to see such noble Sawsbuck suffer any longer. He sighed, patted Dragonite's back, and prepared to intervene.
Dragonite, as if it couldn't wait either, performed another "Meteor Impact" in a flash, landing forcefully between Lycanroc and the two Sawsbuck.
Lycanroc crouched low, growling threateningly.
The meaning was clear—back off if you know what's good for you.
But Lycanroc's bluster without immediate action only proved that it wasn't confident it could beat Dragonite unscathed, so it tried to scare Dragonite away.
Since Lucas had chosen to intervene, he knew this would save the Sawsbuck but might endanger Lycanroc, who would have wasted valuable energy.
As compensation, Lucas took out a bag of emergency Pokémon food from his backpack and tossed it to Lycanroc, saying, "This bag of food should last you a few days."
However, Lycanroc seemed to take this as a sign of weakness. Glancing at the delicious-smelling food, it moved closer.
As an adult wolf, it wanted everything!
Lucas hadn't expected this Lycanroc to be so greedy. Unlike Kukui's silly Lycanroc, this one was the complete opposite. Frowning, he said, "Dragonite, show it some strength."
Dragonite nodded slightly, its gentle eyes turning sharp. A powerful Dragon Aura radiated from Dragonite, quickly engulfing Lycanroc.
Pinned by the Dragon Aura, Lycanroc froze, staring at Dragonite as if seeing a ghost, its heart pounding.
Its raised tail instantly drooped. Under Dragonite's warning gaze, Lycanroc didn't hesitate to grab the food bag, skirted around them and the Sawsbuck, and vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Comfey~"
A soft pink glow from Comfey's flowers enveloped the two Sawsbuck, healing their wounds and calming their nerves with a pleasant floral scent.
Soon, the two Sawsbuck had mostly recovered. They stood up and looked gratefully at Lucas, Comfey, and Dragonite, calling out in friendly tones.
Lucas got straight to the point, telling them why he had saved them: "I truly admire your courage to fight for your companions. But your herd is long gone. If you have nowhere else to go, would you like to come with me?"