Chapter 701: Nightfall

Chapter 701: Nightfall Joining them from the Rustboro Gym was another Gym Leader named Roxanne.

Roxanne was around the same age as Yuga and had recently taken over the Rustboro Gym. However, unlike Yuga, who had become a Gym Leader through selection, Roxanne's position at the Rustboro Gym was based on inheritance.

She inherited her Gym Leader status from the former Gym Leader of the Rustboro Gym.

This time, she had come to the Petalburg Forest to assist the Forest Rangers, likely as a form of training under the guidance of the former Gym Leader.

However, to hold the position of a Gym Leader successor, her skills must have been exceptional.

After the group of them met, they introduced themselves to each other, and Yuga learned the names of the other Forest Rangers.

The female Forest Ranger who had come with Roxanne was named Zinnia. She appeared to be the oldest among the four Forest Rangers and was effectively their leader.

The other two male Forest Rangers were named Zoltan and Liam, and they were both Zaden's seniors.

They had been working as Forest Rangers in the Petalburg Forest for several years, and this was not their first experience dealing with the mating and migration behaviors of Beautifly and Dustox. They were experienced Forest Rangers.

Zoltan, in particular, had been working in the Petalburg Forest alongside Zinnia for a long time.

Forest Rangers came in various types.

There were resident Forest Rangers who worked in a fixed location year-round, and there were roaming Forest Rangers who traveled to handle emergencies in different areas.

For example, the Forest Ranger Jack Walker that Yuga had met at the Sinnoh was a typical roaming Forest Ranger.

Zinnia and her team were resident Forest Rangers.

After getting acquainted with each other, the six of them began discussing their action plan.

"Based on the current gathering patterns of the Beautifly and Dustox, they should finish mating and start migrating no later than the day after tomorrow. So, the large-scale attacks by Taillow and Swellow should occur tomorrow or the day after. However, before that, they are likely to have continuous small-scale attacks, so we should not let our guard down," said Zinnia, the most experienced among them, as they watched the countless Beautifly and Dustox in the sky.

"Are Taillow and Swellow the only ones that attack the Beautifly and Dustox? Are there no other Pokémon? As far as I know, apart from Taillow and Swellow, there are also a few other bird Pokémon in the Petalburg Forest, like Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot," Roxanne suddenly inquired.

Roxanne was not very familiar with the relationships between bird Pokémon and bug Pokémon, which led to her question.

"Indeed, besides Taillow and Swellow, there are also some other bird Pokémon in the Petalburg Forest, such as Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot; Spearow and Fearow; Murkrow and Honchkrow, among others. However, only a portion of them would attack Beautifly and Dustox, and their numbers won't be too large. Most of them do not engage in such behavior. Many of them attack Beautifly and Dustox because they share territories with the Taillow and Swellow communities. Pidgey group, Spearow group, Murkrow group, for example, doesn't attack the Beautifly and Dustox," explained Zoltan beside Roxanne.

Everyone nodded in understanding, and even Yuga, as a newcomer, began taking notes.

Afterward, they discussed their respective roles and decided to monitor different positions around the canyon, preventing Taillow and Swellow from launching attacks from different directions.

In the end, Yuga and Zaden were assigned to the south bank of the canyon, while Roxanne and Liam went to the north bank. Zinnia and Zoltan, the two most experienced Forest Rangers, each went to one end of the river at the bottom of the canyon.

With their roles determined, the group that had just gathered split up once again.

Yuga and Zaden each rode on their Charizard and Skarmory to reach the south bank of the canyon, where they found a spot with a clear view and flat terrain to land.

After arriving at their designated location, their first task was to set up their tents because they were going to spend the night there.

By the time their tents were ready, it was already evening, and the remaining sunlight bathed the calm and peaceful canyon in a golden hue. S~eaʀᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

In the deep autumn of the Petalburg Forest, the river's water level had significantly dropped, and the once turbulent waters now flowed smoothly.

In the evening sun, numerous Beautifly continued their courtship dances, their wingbeats creating a constant rustling sound.

On the south bank, where Yuga and his team were stationed, there were mostly Beautifly, while on the north bank where Roxanne and her team were, it was the gathering place for Dustox.

Yuga's Vivillon had become the star of the Beautifly community, with countless Beautifly coming to court it, only to be relentlessly rejected.

If any became overly persistent, Vivillon would send them packing with a powerful Gust attack.

During their time on the south bank, Yuga and his team hadn't encountered any bird flocks attacking. Everything had been calm.

As night fell, Yuga noticed that many of the Beautifly had found their mates as well.

By deep into the night, Yuga couldn't sleep, so he sat on the edge of the cliff by the river, enjoying the nighttime scenery.

The autumn sky seemed exceptionally vast, even at night. The stars that dotted the sky appeared distant and unreachable.

At this hour, many Beautifly, like Yuga, were still wide awake, energetically performing their courtship dances.

It seemed that butterflies in their mating season were full of energy.

The night was exceptionally clear, with the moonlight casting a radiant glow. Some of it fell onto the river's surface, while some landed on the wings of the Beautifly.

Butterfly Pokémon had phosphorescent scales on their wings, and the moonlight made these scales shimmer like stars, decorating the pitch-black night.

Vivillon Accompanied Yuga looked at such the beautiful night and couldn't help to dance in the moonlight.

However, just at that moment, the otherwise quiet canyon was suddenly filled with a chaotic and unpleasant chirping. Countless slumbering Beautifly were startled and flew into the sky in a panic.

It was the cry of Murkrow, a sound Yuga was very familiar with.

However, these cries were not coming from the south bank where they were located, but from the north bank where Roxanne and her team were stationed.

At this point, the slumbering Zaden was also awakened.

"What's happening?" Zaden hurriedly put on his coat and ran over to Yuga.

"It seems that the north bank is being attacked by Murkrow."

Yuga faced the north bank and explained to Zaden.

"Do we need to go help?"

"No need. After all, there's a Gym Leader and an experienced Forest Ranger over there. They should be able to handle a few Murkrow."

"Oh, I see."

"You go back to sleep for now. I'll watch over for the first half of the night, and you can take over for the second half."

After listening to Yuga's words, Zaden nodded, then returned to his sleep.

Soon, the north bank became quiet again.