The night color was as dark as ink.
The clearing in the forest was cut into fragmented interweavings of light and shadow by the flashing glow of moves from the distant battleground.
A fierce battle between Parasect and Shiinotic was in full swing.
Even more alarming was that a large number of originally weaker Paras and Morelull had also been swept into it, darting out from the depths of the forest in a panic.
Clearly, this was a turf war between the two clans.
Perhaps it was because their populations had grown too large after breeding, so they needed more territory?
...Either one side would flee in defeat.
...Or, after both sides suffered some casualties, the original ecological balance would be restored.
This is also the reason why humans are not suited to interfere.
There is simply nothing one can do!
As for forcibly taking one side away to migrate them... it is hard to say whether they would all die on the migration route.
Generally speaking, these wild Pokémon are not as sturdy or tough as those specifically trained by Trainers.
And after switching to a new environment, they might not necessarily be able to adapt.
Even humans suffer from acclimatization issues, let alone Pokémon.
After the Paras and Morelull also joined the battlefield:
These little guys were obviously disturbed by the great war, and in their panic, they also unleashed their weak Grass-type moves.
A few soft and limp Razor Leafs shot out from in front of a Paras, but they drifted lightly past the hard mushroom cap of a Shiinotic, not even leaving a white scratch.
On the other side, several Morelull tried hard to spew out specks of sleeping powder.
But mixed into the overwhelming gloomy blue spore mist of the Shiinotic, this weak powder was like water droplets entering the sea; it was instantly assimilated and annihilated, having very little effect.
"They... they are Grass-type themselves!" Misty looked at these almost ineffective attacks, her voice subconsciously carrying a trace of unbearable pity.
"These Grass-type moves have basically no effect when hitting their own kind! We... shouldn't we hurry up and leave here? It feels too dangerous!"
Although she couldn't bear to watch, Misty didn't plan to meddle too much.
Even if they mediated this battle, battles would still happen later.
It is the norm that wild Parasect and Shiinotic find it difficult to coexist.
"Wait a little longer!" Ash's reaction, however, was completely different.
At some point, he had already taken out his Pokédex, the lens aimed at the chaotic battlefield in the distance.
"This is first-hand video footage of a large-scale wild Pokémon clan conflict."
"Anyway, let's record it first!"
Ash carefully adjusted the shooting angle, trying to capture the unusually pale eyes of the Parasect and the highly aggressive spore sprays of the Shiinotic.
While doing so, he muttered to himself: "A conflict of this scale... is it environmental change? Or is there interference from external factors?"
The greatest possibility was a territory conflict, but there were other possibilities too.
"It's good to witness it as well." Brock stood slightly behind Ash, his arms crossed.
Those eyes, which were always narrowed, were now sharply scanning the battlefield, especially those Parasect whose movements were stiff, as if controlled by invisible threads.
"This kind of abnormal berserk state and territorial expansion behavior is extremely unusual. Especially the Parasect... their condition is very wrong; it doesn't look like a natural fight for territory."
The problems Brock could see were obviously more numerous than what Ash and Misty could see.
Of course, exactly what the problem was wasn't that easy to discern.
His gaze followed a particularly manic Parasect, watching it wave its giant pincers without any technique, even knocking away its companions: "It looks like they've lost control..."
"Record it, perhaps we can discover the root of the problem."
Compared to the territory dispute and external factors Ash thought of, Brock felt it was also possible there were internal factors.
For example...
A powerful individual had appeared among the Parasect.
This individual wanted to control the other individuals and expand the territory.
Considering that no super-powerful individual was visible among this group of Parasect.
...Perhaps the source causing the problem was already unable to move.
This is also a defect of the Parasect species.
In the [Paras] stage, the bug below and the mushrooms on its back can barely be considered to have an equal relationship.
Although the mushrooms on the back are the primary factor and the bug below is secondary, with most nutrients being snatched by the mushrooms, the bug itself can still retain some self-awareness.
But once it reaches the [Parasect] stage, it's different.
The mushroom on the back will completely take the lead, and it grows even larger than the insect body below.
Brock pondered the information regarding the Parasect family.
This is a rather [sorrowful] Pokémon.
It can be said that wild Paras are destined for their future from the moment of birth.
They can't even achieve something like not wanting to evolve.
The Paras as the insect doesn't want to evolve, but the Paras as the mushroom wants to evolve.
And the Paras as the mushroom is the main body.
The vast majority of the nutrition eaten by the Paras as the insect will be absorbed by the mushroom.
The day the mushroom absorbs enough nutrients and decides to evolve, is the time when the insect dies.
...However, it's not without exceptions.
Paras individuals captured by Trainers can have the mushroom's growth controlled through medicine and other methods.
But these are just a few individual cases.
Humans cannot, and will not, interfere with this kind of ecology in the Pokémon world on a large scale, and they lack the motivation for such artificial intervention in Pokémon ecology.
In the research of some scholars, the mushroom is even regarded as the main body of [Paras · Parasect].
...The insect is just an indifferent extension, much like a placenta.
Although Brock's main profession is a Pokémon Trainer, his sub-profession is a Pokémon Breeder.
He has carefully studied research related to Pokémon.
The knowledgeable Brock~
"Mai mai!" Misdreavus floated above Ash's head. She seemed both a bit afraid of the spore mist diffusing over and attracted by this chaotic scene she had never seen before, letting out excited low cries of unclear meaning.
Having been protected very well by the Thousand-Year Gastly all along, Misdreavus indeed hadn't seen much of the outside world.
Mengmeng: So exciting~ □(●'□●)□
"Pika—" Pikachu stood firmly guarding Ash's feet, electric sparks flickering occasionally on his cheeks. He watched the battlefield vigilantly, ensuring those chaotic moves wouldn't affect his Trainer.
The gloomy blue spore mist was like a living tide, constantly expanding with the advance of the Shiinotic group, enveloping more Parasect and Paras within it.
The vegetation clearly withered as the mist swept past. The shrieks of battle and the humming of spores intertwined, acting out a bizarre and fierce struggle for survival in this forest clearing.
This war wouldn't end in a short time.
No one could determine exactly how long it would last either.
Perhaps they had been waging such a war all along?
"...I have an interesting idea, follow me." Brock decided to go look at the rear of the Parasect clan.
Perhaps he could get an answer.
Although the answer was already in his heart.
But it also needed to be verified as right or wrong.
"Acting all mysterious, can't you just say it straight?" Misty complained.
"Alright, alright, let's go~" Ash was actually very curious—what had Brock discovered?
"You guys will know in a moment... it might be a scene that stirs up quite some shock, right?"
Although he said that, Brock still made preparations.
Once the situation went wrong, he would have Onix take everyone and run.
"Pika?" Pikachu looked at Misdreavus.
"Mai~ Mai~" Misdreavus wasn't afraid at all; on the contrary, she quite wanted to watch the fun.
"...Pika..." Pikachu, who felt he was the big brother, suddenly had a bit of a headache... babysitting or whatever... is suffering.
____
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