As a curious ghost, Haunter didn't mind this kind of friendly physical interaction.
After all, it was immune to Normal- and Fighting-type moves. Against a Pokémon like Bewear, it had a natural advantage.
Even if that bear only looked friendly but secretly planned to sneak in an attack, Haunter wasn't worried in the slightest. It floated forward happily.
Bewear looked just as pleased. It took a couple of eager steps and hugged the Ghost-type tightly.
"Beeeweaaaar!"
Its strong arms showed off firm muscles, but the expression on its face was soft, like a mother checking on her baby.
Haunter puffed up its cheeks and pretended to hold its breath. Its body swelled with dark mist, turning into a round, black-and-purple balloon. The bear hug squeezed it slightly, deflating it just a bit, but not enough to force it out of form or make it slip away.
A few seconds later, Bewear loosened its grip. Then it raised Haunter into the air. The latter responded by making a funny face with its claws.
"Hauunn~"
"Weeaaar!"
Bewear placed the Ghost-type on its head, then walked toward Shiro with big, steady steps while Haunter giggled.
"Uhh..." Shiro looked up at the towering creature that stopped in front of him. Even though he could tell it seemed good-natured and unlikely to lash out, he still felt a bit uneasy.
Mostly because he wasn't strong enough.
Unlike Haunter, he couldn't just turn intangible and escape. If this thing decided to hug him the same way, and accidentally broke his spine, he'd be in serious trouble.
"Forget it. Let's just move," he said, scanning the surroundings as he pulled out his communicator.
As expected, there was no signal at all.
The Dynamax energy here was too intense. It had already formed a special magnetic field that interfered with all electronic devices.
"Let's go." Shiro put the communicator away and motioned for Corvisquire and Haunter to move forward.
But before they could take a step, Bewear—still carrying Haunter on its head—let out a deep roar, then suddenly burst into a run. With one massive arm, it scooped Shiro up under its armpit and rushed straight into the woods.
Dazed from the sudden motion, Shiro blinked in confusion. Meanwhile, as it ran, Bewear swung its big paws left and right, knocking over trees in its path and pushing forward without slowing down.
Corvisquire flapped its wings and followed closely above, but even it couldn't figure out what was happening.
Soon, the air filled with high-pitched cries. Dozens of Stufful emerged from the forest, trying to block their path. But Bewear didn't stop or hesitate. It slapped the leading one aside without mercy, and the rest scattered in a panic, clearing the way.
Within minutes, Bewear barreled out of the forest like a fully loaded freight truck, racing into a short stretch of grass.
Ahead of them loomed the eerie, red-tinged boundary of the Dynamax Den. Just a little further and they'd be out.
"Run! Don't stop! Faster!" Shiro shouted. Haunter waved its claws and yelled as well, while Bewear ducked its head and charged at the strange crimson barrier.
Boom!
A deafening crash echoed as ripples surged across the red wall. Bewear and Shiro were thrown backward like ragdolls, both landing flat on their backs across the grass.
"What the heck…" Shiro winced, groaning as he rubbed his waist, now sore and numb from the impact. He pushed himself upright and staggered toward the edge of the den.
Staring at the red border that looked no different from an ordinary Dynamax Den, he slowly reached out his hand to touch it.
Unlike the previous den he encountered that could be passed through directly, Shiro quickly felt a layer of searing heat blocking his hand at the very end of the barrier.
"This is..." he muttered, realizing it was something the hunters had set up to stop their prey inside from escaping. But if this thing stretched over such a large area, how strong could it really be?
"Drakloak! Dragon Rush!" Shiro commanded. The Pokémon leapt from his shadow, locking onto the boundary of the Dynamax Den.
A streak of blue-green Dragon-type energy burst to life. In a flash, Drakloak shot forward like a missile, slamming hard into the barrier.
The attack sent a shockwave through the red wall, instantly blasting open a massive hole. But the pink energy shield underneath surged in intensity. At the very point of impact, its soft hue darkened into a deep, blood-red glow.
Visibly, the rest of the barrier around it dimmed.
Vrrrmmm—
A deep hum echoed out, spreading across the energy field in pulsing waves like water rippling from a stone's splash.
"A distributed-force barrier?" Shiro murmured, watching the vibrations spread. "So single-point attacks won't work… a multi-point strike might do it, but we don't have time."
"Drakloak."
He waved his hand to stop the Pokémon from trying to charge again. The Dragon-type stared in disbelief, unable to accept that its powerful move had done absolutely nothing.
If Shiro's guess was right, the violent quaking from the attack wasn't just a side effect—it was a signal. A way for the hunters to be alerted. No wild Pokémon would strike the boundary of a Dynamax Den just because it appeared out of nowhere.
Only a trapped trainer would.
Which meant the hunters were likely already on their way.
"Is it Renji...?" Shiro mumbled. Then he raised his voice sharply. "Drakloak, use Light Screen and Reflect. On all of us. Then follow up with Dragon Cheer."
The two shielding moves would help reduce incoming damage, one for special attacks, the other for physical. Dragon Cheer would boost morale and improve the odds of landing critical hits for allies.
As Drakloak began to unleash the moves in rapid succession, Shiro turned to the other two.
"Corvisquire, Hone Claws. Haunter, stay hidden in the shadows and be ready to strike."
"Coorv!"
"Haunn-teer!"
With two sharp cries, Corvisquire crossed its claws, dark energy welling up around it in a menacing aura.
Haunter on the other hand slithered into the shadow of Bewear, who had just gotten up from the grass and was still scratching its head, utterly confused.
It didn't know what was happening—only that the dark, floating Pokémon was its friend, and it had to protect it.
It kept looking around, softly calling out for Haunter, until a gentle voice came from behind. Hearing it, Bewear finally relaxed and continued forward, following its friend's whispered directions.
Above the forest canopy, three black-cloaked figures approached at high speed.
The one on the left was tall and broad-shouldered, surrounded by a faint shimmer of psychic energy. The one in the center stood atop a Noivern, whose massive black-purple wings spread like those of a giant bat. The one on the right simply sat astride a Pidgeot.
"Drakloak!" Shiro called out the moment he spotted them.
He didn't believe they'd have the luxury of talking peacefully at a time like this. The only option now was to strike first and hit hard before they had the chance.
**
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