"Tangela, use your vines to bind her in a kneeling position."
After finding a suitable spot, the pockmarked man gave the order.
"Huga~" Tangela nodded and adjusted its vines skillfully.
"Mmph—!" In an instant, Luna was restrained tightly, unable to move.
"…What the—this Tangela is way too practiced at this…" Icarus muttered under his breath, a strange sense of familiarity flashing through his mind.
"Alright, Tangela, turn around and keep watch."
"Huga~" Though confused by its Trainer's behavior, Tangela obeyed.
The man stepped closer, clearly letting his guard down.
From their hiding spot—
Icarus narrowed his eyes.
This was the moment he'd been waiting for.
"Get ready," he whispered.
"Airi, you still have the flashbang, right? When I say 'throw,' you throw it.
We ignore Tangela for now—focus everything on him."
"Got it." Stone nodded.
"Okay!" Airi gripped the flashbang, eyes sharp.
"Now!"
"Swish—!"
Two flashbangs flew out perfectly.
"Ah—!"
"Huga?!"
Both the man and Tangela were instantly blinded.
"Now—attack!"
"Whoosh—!"
"Woof—!"
"Hey-cha—!"
"Yo bo—!"
All their Pokémon launched attacks at once.
Throwing knives and water attacks followed immediately.
"Bang—! Sizzle—!"
"AHH—!"
Caught off guard and disoriented, the man had no time to react.
His already damaged protective suit tore apart under the barrage—
and the attacks hit him directly.
"Thud—"
By the time he hit the ground, he was already lifeless.
"Huga?!"
Seeing its Trainer fall, Tangela immediately went berserk!
"Whip—whip—whip!"
Vines lashed out wildly.
"Weepinbell, use your Vine Whip to block! Everyone else, defend!"
"Pidgeotto, Double Team, then Twister!"
"Poliwag, Water Gun! Knock them back!"
"Geodude, form a rock barrier!"
Stone's defensive move made Icarus glance at him briefly.
He figured that out himself… not bad.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
"Huga—!"
The Tangela was swept into the air by Twister, its body slashed by Flying-type energy.
"Bang—!"
It crashed down—but immediately tried to counter with Energy Ball.
"Now!"
"Rumble—!"
The ground shook—Geodude's attack knocked it off balance.
The attack misfired into the sky.
"Whoosh—!"
At the same time, Poliwag's Whirlpool trapped it.
"Perfect!"
"Pidgeotto, another Twister!
Houndour, add Ember into it!"
The vortex ignited—
turning into a blazing fire tornado.
"Huga—!"
The Tangela's cries grew weaker… then stopped.
"Thud—"
It hit the ground, completely defeated.
"Pidgeotto, finish it. Peck."
"Beep—!"
One precise strike ended it.
⸻
"Th-thank you… thank you for saving me…"
Luna stepped out from behind the tree, bowing repeatedly.
"Mm. No need," Icarus said, removing his mask.
"…You're—!" she gasped.
"It's me. Clean yourself up first. We'll escort you back to town."
He didn't give her room to say more—he had already turned toward the body.
Meanwhile, Airi and Stone began handling the defeated Pokémon.
"Take these. Sell them for materials."
Icarus tossed them the Poké Balls he recovered.
"Got it."
"Okay."
⸻
"Seriously… nothing?"
After searching the body thoroughly, Icarus frowned.
Not a single valuable item.
Just filth and frustration.
"Tch… then let's see your bag."
He opened it—
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Almost empty.
"Didn't you loot two families?!"
He kicked the corpse in annoyance.
Still, he sorted what little remained:
Two Fire-type energy crystals (one mid-grade, one low-grade)
A rough training notebook (for Tangela, Golbat, Arbok)
Then—
"…Wait."
He froze.
At the bottom were two worn books.
One read:
"Pure Yuan Manual"
He flipped through it—
More complex energy circulation paths.
Detailed annotations.
This was far superior to basic body-tempering methods.
The second:
"Earth Fiend Fist"
A martial arts manual.
"…A fist technique?" he muttered.
Not ideal against Pokémon—but useful.
"…Still worth learning."
He packed both carefully.
⸻
Icarus exhaled slowly.
"Even the weakest one had this…"
That meant one thing:
These fugitives had really looted something significant.
"…But only these two?"
He didn't dwell on it.
Right now—
This was already a huge gain.
And more importantly—
They had just taken down a real fugitive.
That mattered more than anything else.