"Ooh-zhi!"
Rillaboom slapped down two cards. "Pair of twos!" It only had one card left in its hand, and it couldn't hide the excitement in its eyes.
"Kaah!"
Corviknight flared its wings and threw down four cards. "BOMB!"
"Ooh-zhi-zhi?!"
"Are you STUPID?! We're on the same team!" Rillaboom fumed, grinding its teeth.
Corviknight turned its head away smugly. "Hmph! Victory means I finish my cards first, got it?" With that, it confidently placed down another card. "One left!"
"Hooh."
Oranguru calmly played its final card. "I win."
Rillaboom clenched its fists, smoke practically steaming from its nostrils. Right now, it desperately wished it could learn Blast Burn just to char this brain-dead bird to a crisp.
Corviknight, completely unbothered, snickered. "You lost 'cause you suck. Simple as that."
Watching the two bicker, Oranguru chuckled to itself. It had been a week since the Pokémon gang disbanded, yet somehow, it still found itself surrounded by this kind of chaotic energy.
Honchkrow had left the very next day, fueled by its desire for revenge. Before departing, it expressed gratitude for Oranguru's past care and vowed to become strong enough to one day return and defeat Sunset Forest's Pokémon. Then, it would carry out the plan Oranguru never could.
Perrserker had left for similar reasons. It was still bitter about its defeat at the hands of Spikewood Town's restaurant owner and declared that it would undergo brutal training until it could challenge him again.
It took half the Meowth army with it, leaving the rest—along with the abandoned Pokémon—to settle in Sunset Forest.
Over the past few days, Oranguru had seen firsthand that Summer had earned his authority here. Sunset Forest was far larger than expected, its environments bizarrely diverse, and it radiated a vibrant life force.
It truly was an ideal home.
The ex-gang members had quickly found their own places and settled in without issue.
Through all this, Oranguru had realized something—Summer was different. Unlike the human it once knew, he wasn't just some trainer exploiting his Pokémon's strength.
He was someone who saw them as equals.
"Honchkrow, Perrserker… I hope you both achieve what you seek. I was too much of a coward to follow, but from here, I will still wish you the best."
"Kaah!"
"Oi, Oranguru! Stop daydreaming! Shuffle the cards, we're playing again!" Corviknight squawked impatiently.
"Ooh-zhi-zhi!"
"Yeah! And I am not teaming with this idiot again!" Rillaboom snapped.
"Hooh…"
Oranguru sighed, gathering the cards and shuffling them. It still didn't quite understand why this game was called "Fight the Landlord"—humans had such strange names for things.
But… it was fun.
In just a week, they had played well over five hundred rounds.
As Oranguru shuffled, it glanced down from the tree.
Below, a once-abandoned Pokémon played happily with its new friends.
Yes.
Its decision had been the right one.
Inside the wooden cabin, Ogerpon sat beside the Pokémon egg, humming a tune while wearing its Hearthflame Mask. Ever since Summer casually mentioned that Flame Body Pokémon could speed up egg hatching, it had stubbornly taken on the role of an egg incubator.
Two weeks had passed since Summer obtained the egg, yet there had been zero signs of movement.
Including the time distortion effects from his journey through Hisui, the wait felt agonizingly long.
It was starting to seriously test his patience.
Oranguru's presence had at least brought some order to the once-unruly Nuzleaf gang.
That part was impressive.
The problem was… its leadership style needed work.
It wasn't until after the gang's disbandment that Summer learned these Pokémon had previously raided Spikewood Town—only to be thoroughly beaten into the dirt.
As part of their "rehabilitation," he made them apologize to the townspeople.
But to his surprise, the townsfolk laughed it off.
"Oh, it's fine! Been ages since anyone had the guts to stir up trouble here!"
They even invited the former gang members to spar with them again sometime.
The Pokémon violently shook their heads.
"No thanks! We've turned over a new leaf! We'll live peaceful lives in Sunset Forest from now on!"
…For a split second, Summer swore he saw disappointment flicker in their eyes.
Suddenly, he understood why Marnie was so battle-crazed.
Spikewood Town's entire culture revolved around combat.
When Summer brought this up to Gideon in passing, the old man simply laughed and shared some town history.
Turns out, Spikewood's ancestors were sea warriors—including some actual pirates. Galarian Meowth had arrived alongside them.
So when that Perrserker gang showed up, Gideon couldn't help himself—he might've gone a little overboard.
He didn't expect them to run so fast, though.
Summer sighed internally.
Perrserker had chosen the worst possible person to make its rival.
Honestly, all he could do was wish it good luck.
The days passed peacefully in Sunset Forest.
Celebi had returned briefly, exhausted but successful. After collapsing onto the shrine and napping for an entire day, it finally recovered and left again.
In the Dreamwood, Hatterene had been busy.
To unlock its Healing Heart potential, Summer had introduced it to Milotic—who, in return for being taught Misty Terrain, would now teach Hatterene Life Dew.
Hatterene, of course, had tried to milk extra training time just to play around more, but Milotic was strict.
Half a day. That was all it needed to learn the move.
No room for slacking.
Still, daily check-ups were necessary for proficiency, so Hatterene was overjoyed anyway.
After all, she got to spend time with Milotic every day now!
Meanwhile, the Jungle and Snowy Woods were still relatively quiet.
The only notable change was that a Steenee had evolved into a Tsareena.
Unfortunately, its hobby of stomping on other Pokémon hadn't exactly won it any favor.
It had, however, gained a small fan club—including that one Tropius.
"Bo-ni-oh!"
A tug at his sleeve broke Summer from his thoughts.
He glanced down.
Ogerpon was glowing with excitement, pointing frantically at the incubation machine.
Summer followed its gaze—
A crack had appeared on the Pokémon egg.
His eyes widened.
Finally… it was about to hatch!