"Brother-in-w, that guy didn’t try to do anything to yht?"

  When Barry returo his panions, the young man tending to the injured person quickly asked.

  As he spoke, the young man suddenly noticed the medie and... walnuts in Barry's hands.

  "Hurry up and apply the medie to Phil!"

  "Right, right!"

  The young man nodded quickly, l his semi-scious panion to the ground. A deep wound on Phil's thigh, so severe that the bone was visible, was still bleeding profusely.

  Due to signifit blood loss, Phil’s face had turned pale, and cold sweat dripped tinuously from his forehead.

  "Phil's injury is so severe... Do you think this medie will work?" The young man applied the medie while casting occasional goward Julian, sitting by the firelight.

  "This medie should work wonders."

  Barry thought about Julian’s identity. With someone of his status, the medie he provided had to be top-tier.

  Sure enough, as soon as the medie lied, the bleeding slowed dramatically, visible to the naked eye. Withihan a mihe bleeding stopped entirely.

  The young man’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Brother-in-w, this medie is incredible! Did it have Revival Herb in it?"

  As seasoned wilderness survivors, they had used tless types of medie, but nothing had ever been this effective.

  It reminded him of the rare healing salves infused with Revival Herb that occasionally appeared on the market.

  "Most likely."

  Barry nodded. Given Julian’s status, he didn’t doubt for a sed that the medie tained Revival Herb.

  "Brother-in-w, who is that guy? Let’s go thank him!" the young man suggested.

  Barry shook his head. "He helped us, but that doesn’t mean he wants our thanks. Let’s leave it at that."

  Iy, Julian indeed didn’t expect or want their gratitude. While he lent a hand, it was only out of solidarity as a fellow human being. His caution in the wilderness remained intact.

  The young man seemed to take Barry’s words seriously and nodded. "True. Any trainer who afford medie like this is definitely a big deal. If we actally upset him, we could be in serious trouble."

  In the wilderness, letting yuard down could be fatal. Even if someone helped you, trusting them blindly could lead to a tragid.

  "Let’s eat something. I’ll take first watch, then we’ll switch."

  Barry said, pulling out some dry rations from his bag. He ate the food with water, but what usually tasted fine now felt bnd and unsatisfying.

  All he could think about was Julian’s braised beef.

  Lighting a fire and cooking in the wilderness was usually a strict taboo. Firelight could attract wild Pokémon, and the aroma of food could draw them in as well.

  So eating cold, dry rations was always the safest option.

  "Brother-in-w, do you smell something...?"

  The young man she air, his witg, and his eyes lit up. "This smells like... braised beef!"

  He immediately turned his gaze toward Julian’s dire. Though the distance prevented him from clearly seeing Julian’s face, he was sure the entig aroma came from there.

  As expected of an expert—cooking beef stew over an ope night.

  "Hurry up a your food."

  Barry scolded.

  The young man shrank back at the reprimand and quickly started mung on his dry rations.

  After finishing their meal, Barry checked on their injured panion. The worry in his eyes noticeably lessened.

  "Alright, brother-in-w, I’ll rest first. Remember to wake me up ter tonight."

  The young man said, pulling out a b and leaning against a tree to take a nap.

  "Sure, just don’t give me trouble when it’s time to wake you."

  Barry replied, releasing his Noctowl.

  The Noctowl perched on a tree branch, its head swiveling a full 360 degrees. Its keen vision made it an excellent wat in the darkness.

  For trainers who frequently traversed the wilderness, owning a Noctowl was on, as they weren’t too expensive and were highly reliable for keeping watch.

  With the Noctowl keeping a, Barry could have rested too, but he didn’t. His gaze frequently drifted toward Julian’s campsite.

  In the faint light, he could make out Juliareating into his tent. The campfire had beeinguished, but a small nightlight hung ihe tent, glowing faintly.

  Ich-bck forest, the soft light from that ntern stood out starkly.

  Earlier, Julian had his Metagross drive away nearby Pokémon and sprayed Max Repel around the perimeter. Any Pokémon below pseudo-Elite level wouldn’t dare approach.

  At the terance, Lucario sat cross-legged, eyes closed, meditating to enhas Aura abilities. Its ears were perked up, keenly listening to the surroundings.

  Ihe tent, Julian aagross were already fast asleep.

  Meanwhile, the day’s ordeals and prolonged escape had taken a toll on Barry. His tense mind was slowly succumbing to the waves of exhaustion.

  His eyelids fluttered as he struggled to stay awake, but eventually, they shut pletely.

  Notig this, the Noctowl on the branch seemed to swivel its head faster, as if on high alert.

  "ROAR!"

  Suddenly, a ferocious roar echoed from somewhere deep in the forest.

  "Whoo! Whoo!"

  The Noctowl immediately souhe arm.

  Barry jolted awake.

  "What’s wrong, Noctowl?" he mumbled groggily.

  Before he could finish his sentence, another r out from the distance.

  "ROAR!"

  The roar was apanied by the sound of trees crashing to the ground.

  "It’s bad—it’s ing for us!"

  Barry’s expression darkened instantly as he scrambled to shake the young man awake.

  "Brother-in-w, is it my turn now?"

  The young man asked groggily, still half-asleep.

  "It’s chasing us! Get up, now!"

  Barry barked, smag the young man on the head to jolt him awake.

  "ROAR!"

  The roar sounded even closer this time.

  The young man jumped, his grogginess instantly repced by arm.

  "Didn’t we lose it? How could it still find us?"

  "Now’s not the time for that!" Barry snapped. "Help Phil! We o leave, immediately!"

  Without hesitation, the young man hoisted their unscious panion, preparing to move. Then he paused and asked, "Brother-in-w, should we warn that guy over there?"

  He gestured toward Julian’s camp.

  Barry hesitated briefly but nodded. "Let him know."

  Whether Julian was aware of the situation or not, the aggressive Pokémon was targeting them. It was only right to inform him—they were the ones who had brought the danger his way.

  "ROAR!"

  "CRASH! CRACK!"

  The rrew louder, apanied by the sound of trees being toppled. The oppressive aura e in the air sent a shiver through their spines.

  "How is that beast so fast?!"

  Barry muttered, his face a mix of fusion and terror.

  "CRACK!"

  Just as the words left his mouth, several rge trees ahead were smashed apart with raw power. Emerging from the destru was a t Ursaring.

  Its brown fur bristled with aggression, and the yellow circle on its stomach glowed faintly in the dim light. Standing on its hind legs, it gred at the trio with bloodthirsty, savage eyes.

  White breath escaped its mouth as its razor-sharp teeth glinted menagly.

  "ROAR!"

  Another roar echoed, but it wasn’t from the Ursaring in front of them.

  Barry and the young man froze, their faces turnihly pale.

  *****

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