Chapter 583: The Union of Sword and Shield
The Hakamo-o and Jangmo-o got up, took a look at Kazuya and Floette, and then looked at their patriarch.
Normally speaking.
The Hakamo-o clan is a group with a very strong sense of territory.
Anyone who dared to invade their territory without permission would be driven away.
Kazuya and Floette, in fact, were no different from having invaded their territory without permission.
But they had just helped the Hakamo-o clan; this was also an indisputable fact.
As for how exactly to treat them.
It still depended on the patriarch's intentions.
"Haka."
The Hakamo-o patriarch's attitude was very friendly.
He even invited Kazuya and Floette to stay as guests.
"No need, but what about you guys? With the injuries on your bodies, you probably won't be able to hold out against the next invasion from the Rampardos, right? These past few days, they must have been targeting you specifically, haven't they?"
Kazuya carefully observed the injuries on the Hakamo-o clan.
He found that many of the wounds had already scabbed over, clearly not caused today, but they didn't look like they had been sustained too long ago either.
"Haka..."
Hakamo-o clenched his fists, his eyes full of helplessness.
They were not afraid of fighting strong opponents; even death didn't matter.
Towards the Rampardos who could defeat them head-on.
The Hakamo-o clan didn't actually hold that much hostility.
But their territory could not tolerate invasion by others.
They had to fight.
However, Kazuya was not wrong.
With their injuries, they probably couldn't survive the next Rampardos attack.
Perhaps.
In another two days.
The Hakamo-o clan would no longer exist on this grassland.
"Take your clansmen and go to our clan, how about it?"
Kazuya grinned.
His objective was only now gradually revealing itself: to unite the forces of the Bastiodon and Hakamo-o clans to jointly fight against the Rampardos.
Ever since hearing from the Bastiodon patriarch earlier that the Rampardos would indiscriminately harass and attack surrounding Pokémon, this idea had already formed in Kazuya's mind.
Wanting to rely on the Bastiodons, whose offensive capabilities were minuscule, to defeat the Rampardos.
That was an almost impossible task.
More than enough defense.
Insufficient offense.
But the Rampardos feared enemy defense the least.
As long as they weren't beaten to the ground, they could charge over an infinite number of times once they recovered.
This issue had to be resolved.
And based on his observations just now.
Kazuya found that the Hakamo-o clan's close-combat abilities were quite decent and could deal some effective damage to the Rampardos.
It was just that they preferred using Fighting-type moves rather than Dragon-type moves.
Otherwise, the damage dealt would have been even more significant.
If the Hakamo-o and Bastiodon could be united.
Then it would be equivalent to Kazuya holding both an iron sword and a steel shield at the same time. Facing the Rampardos acting as spears, they would have the capital to win.
However.
The Hakamo-o clan completely missed Kazuya's underlying meaning.
They thought Kazuya wanted to shelter them.
While feeling grateful.
Their inner pride also made the Hakamo-o clan feel uncomfortable.
They didn't want to live under the protection of another clan.
So.
"Haka."
Hakamo-o shook his head very decisively.
"If you continue to stay here, you will die."
"Haka."
Hakamo-o's attitude was resolute.
Kazuya glanced at the other Hakamo-o and Jangmo-o.
They had no sense of fear towards death.
For this clan, dying in battle was not something to be feared; instead, it was an honor.
No wonder.
There was such a line in the Pokédex: "They are warriors who value honor, born with the pride of a warrior."
Kazuya pondered for a moment and changed his phrasing:
"What I meant just now wasn't to have my clan protect you, but I hope to form an alliance with you to deal with the Rampardos together."
"Haka?"
A hint of confusion appeared in Hakamo-o's eyes.
"My clan excels in defense but is not good at offense, and you happen to excel in that area. With the two clans allied, defeating the Rampardos will not be a problem. We need your strength."
Hakamo-o hesitated.
Kazuya's last sentence fully utilized the art of speech.
We need your strength.
To the Hakamo-o who revered martial prowess and the strong, this was no less than the most straightforward praise.
"Look, these Jangmo-o are still so young, they still need some time to grow. My clan happens to excel at guarding cubs and can protect them exceptionally well, while you can step forward to fight the Rampardos without any worries."
Kazuya spoke again, pointing to the few Jangmo-o standing among the Hakamo-o.
Among them, a few were particularly heavily injured.
Although their eyes were full of determination.
From the outside, they did look rather pitiful.
"Haka..."
Hakamo-o's expression struggled, very tempted.
His only concern.
Was this piece of land beneath his feet!
If he left with Kazuya, it would mean giving up this land they had desperately defended!
Pat pat.
Kazuya stepped forward and reached out to pat the scales on his shoulder:
"What is lost, we will eventually take back. A temporary departure is to better protect everyone. When you return to this land again, you will definitely have become much stronger."
"Haka!"
Let's do it!
At this.
Kazuya nodded with gratification.
He wasn't playing any tricks or schemes.
Everything he said was the truth.
It was full of sincerity.
With him, this Fighting Master, guiding them, it would be impossible for the Hakamo-o not to grow strong.
With this.
Kazuya successfully abducted the only Hakamo-o clan on this grassland.
He had to take the heavily injured Hakamo-o clan back first.
After Kazuya and the others left.
Less than half an hour later.
Over a dozen Rampardos with completely unblemished bodies aggressively attacked from the north.
Among them, one Rampardos was a full ten meters tall!
An absolute Alpha-level Rampardos.
One bite from this giant beast could probably swallow a Jangmo-o whole.
One could only say.
This time, the Hakamo-o clan had great luck choosing to leave with Kazuya; otherwise, they wouldn't have even seen tomorrow's sun.
The territory of the Bastiodon clan.
Because Kazuya had suddenly brought the Hakamo-o clan back without informing everyone beforehand.
So when the Hakamo-o clan appeared, the Bastiodons immediately became vigilant, treating them like a formidable enemy!
Between the several Pokémon species nearby.
They had basically all fought each other before.
The Bastiodons naturally recognized the Hakamo-o.
The Hakamo-o were not like the Rampardos who only knew how to attack frontally.
They knew how to circle around and attack the Bastiodons' lower body.
This left the past Bastiodons with absolutely no countermeasures.
Thanks to the Hakamo-o being omnivorous Pokémon leaning towards justice, taking the initiative to fight other Pokémon was mostly for "sparring" to hone their strength, so they hadn't caused any casualties to the Bastiodons all along.
Otherwise.
The Bastiodons definitely wouldn't be able to deal with the Hakamo-o.
Including the Rampardos.
The three clans had this kind of mutually restraining relationship.
Hakamo-o relied on technique and could defeat the clumsy Bastiodon.
Bastiodon relied on defense and could block the forcefully attacking Rampardos.
Rampardos relied on power and could knock down the flashy Hakamo-o.
A very stable triangular chain.
Of course.
It wasn't impossible for such a situation to be broken.
To put it bluntly, the Hakamo-o's combat techniques were still not high enough, which was why they would be caught by the Rampardos and knocked over.
The Rampardos' power was also not strong enough, otherwise, the Bastiodons couldn't possibly block it.
And now, the Bastiodons learning Dragon Tail were also making up for this shortcoming regarding their rear, giving themselves a method specifically against the Hakamo-o.
"Don't be nervous! Our own people!"
Kazuya hurriedly took two steps forward at this moment, raising his hands and standing between the two clans to ease the tense, confrontational atmosphere.
In the Ancient Era.
When two species met, a tense atmosphere was the norm.
Especially right now, it constituted the Hakamo-o invading the Bastiodons' territory.
It was only because the Bastiodons had good tempers; if it were the Rampardos, they wouldn't have hesitated for a second and would have charged right in.
"Bastio?"
The Bastiodon patriarch tilted her head in confusion.
But she still chose to trust Kazuya and slightly lowered her guard.
The Hakamo-o on the other side did the same.
The aura radiating from Kazuya made him involuntarily trust him more.
But Hakamo-o was also puzzled in his heart.
Why did Kazuya's clan look a bit different from him?
It's just that Kazuya couldn't hear Hakamo-o's inner voice.
Otherwise, he would have definitely whacked his head, telling him to open his eyes wide to look at his face, and then look at the Bastiodon's big face.
Were the differences merely "a bit"?
"Rua! Rua!"
The slow-to-react Charmeleon, like an angry Donald Duck, howled and rushed in front of his older brother.
His agitated emotions made the flame on his tail burn fiercely.
Sparks even flew out of his mouth.
It had to be said.
This brother-kun's Fire-type talent was truly excellent.
Even his spittle could automatically turn into sparks.
"Silence."
Kazuya raised his hand and suppressed him.
A mere brother-kun.
"Roar!"
Bang!
Charmeleon sat heavily on the ground, his tail dragging on the earth, crossing his arms and turning his head away.
He hated his older brother.
He was never going to pay attention to his older brother again.
Kazuya didn't have time to deal with brother-kun; he walked over and explained the situation to the Bastiodon patriarch.
Regarding this.
The Bastiodons naturally had no objections.
Since they could accept Kazuya's trio, they could naturally accept the Hakamo-o clan as well.
It was just that the reasons for acceptance were different.
The former was out of pity for the three little ones, while the latter was because they felt the alliance had no downsides.
Especially since the Hakamo-o clan's strength was indeed not weak and could help them deal with the Rampardos; this was the most important thing.
And so.
The Hakamo-o clan settled down in this area.
By evening.
The imagined difficulty of integration did not occur.
Although the two clans had fought before.
Because of their personalities, they hadn't caused casualties to each other's clans.
Furthermore, neither side had ever snatched the other's territory.
So there was no deep-seated hatred between the two sides.
Instead, because everyone was a victim of the Rampardos' attacks, they actually managed to get along.
This made Kazuya feel much more at ease.
He didn't need to worry or put effort into this aspect anymore.
At night.
Kazuya and Floette helped the Hakamo-o clan apply medicine, and the Bastiodons and Shieldons also helped as much as possible from the side. The intimacy between the two clans increased once again.
Kazuya considered this alliance secured.
And it wasn't a temporary alliance.
Even if they defeated the Rampardos in the future, this alliance probably wouldn't dissolve.
"It's about time I leveled up too."
Kazuya turned his head to look at the Hakamo-o clan.
Especially those few lively and adorable Jangmo-o.
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