Pokemon: The Legendary Trainer

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Compared to Ranka's tragic end, the situation of Noda—who had a good sense of timing—was undoubtedly far better. The moment he saw Vanna and Kommo-o, he surrendered without hesitation.

Although both Vanna and Kommo-o looked down on Noda for being such a coward, they held back from beating him to death since he surrendered willingly and handed over all his valuables.

Still, while he was spared death, he wasn't spared punishment. After obtaining his space backpack to temporarily resolve her inventory shortage, Vanna and Kommo-o returned to Diamond Canyon to continue mining gems.

As for Noda, his plan to use a special device to return to base fell through. Due to his sturdy and robust build, he was instead forced by Vanna and Kommo-o to work as a miner and servant.

So, while Ranka was battling Sato, Noda was miserably digging for gems on Vanna's orders.

With an additional miner like Noda—who actually understood the difference between good and bad gem quality—Vanna and Kommo-o's gem collection speed increased considerably. Not long after Ranka was defeated and fled, the two once again faced the issue of running out of storage space.

It was then that Noda, who harbored deep resentment toward Ranka, immediately tattled to Vanna. He told her that Ranka possessed an even larger-capacity space backpack and that he carried many items far more precious than gems.

Vanna didn't care much about the treasures Ranka carried. In her eyes, high-quality gems were the real treasures. But the large-capacity space backpack on Ranka—that caught her interest immediately.

Her mining operation was severely hampered by lack of storage. If she could obtain that oversized backpack from Ranka, it would be perfect.

So, Vanna ordered Noda to lead the way in tracking down Ranka—which was how the two of them ended up in the territory of the large Aron colony.

Unfortunately, the Aron colony had just killed Ranka, a human they hated with a vengeance, so the two intruders ended up bearing the consequences.

Without a doubt, Noda had dragged Vanna into a trap. Shortly after entering the Aron territory, they were surrounded by a swarm of Aron, Lairon, and Aggron. The situation was grim.

"Lady Vanna, we have to run now! These Aron, Lairon, and Aggron have totally lost it—they're in a full-scale frenzy!"

Protected by his Poliwrath, Noda barely avoided a massive boulder flying at high speed toward him. He rolled across the ground and landed next to Vanna, his face full of fear as he spoke.

But behind that fear, a faint flicker of delight gleamed in his eyes.

In truth, Noda had anticipated this. The reason he told Vanna about Ranka's large space backpack wasn't just to pit her and Ranka against each other—it was also to regain his freedom.

Though Vanna hadn't killed him, Noda realized she had no intention of letting him go either. Other than the clothes on his back and his Pokémon, everything else—his number badge and the special device used to provide the base with his coordinates—had been confiscated by her.

He was basically her mining slave now. At the slightest misstep, Vanna and Kommo-o would beat and berate him. He had no dignity left—no human rights to speak of.

Noda had come to understand that despite Vanna's outwardly innocent and straightforward demeanor, her personality was just like most Dragon-type Pokémon—prone to bursts of violence and utterly dismissive of the weak.

She only showed proper respect to equals. To those weaker than her, unless she happened to like or value them, she treated them as disposable slaves, unworthy of mercy.

As a budding powerhouse in Team Rocket, Noda naturally had no intention of living a humiliating, precarious life as a slave. That was a fate worse than death.

So when Vanna began complaining about running out of space for her high-grade gems, Noda immediately came up with the scheme to pit her against Ranka in a mutually destructive trap.

Of course, being ambushed by the large Aron colony was also part of his plan, though he was a bit surprised by how extreme their reaction was.

Still, Noda welcomed this unexpected outcome. Compared to him, Vanna and her brother Kommo-o were far more dangerous in the eyes of the Aron.

As a result, Vanna and Kommo-o attracted over 90% of the enemies' firepower—giving Noda hope of escape.

Though he regretted not seeing Vanna and Ranka tear each other apart, an opportunity like this wouldn't come twice. Noda had already made up his mind to flee while he could.

"Hmph! What are you so afraid of, you coward? Just hold the left flank, and leave the rest to me."

"Brother, take down that Aggron giving out orders up ahead."

"Kingdra, use Rain Dance again and expand the rainclouds—follow it up with a sweeping Hydro Pump!"

"Drampa, go for a wide-area Surf."

"Ampharos, hit that commanding Aggron with Thunder!"

"Exeggutor, keep the Grassy Terrain up—and use Grass Knot on those Aggron whenever you can."

"Sceptile, keep moving through the battlefield while scattering Leech Seeds!"

When she heard Noda's spineless plea, Vanna—wielding a long black-and-blue whip—shot him an annoyed glare and barked the command. Then she swiftly issued orders to her team of Pokémon in a calm and orderly manner.

Despite the severe situation, Vanna remained completely composed. She had far more experience in large-scale battles than Noda, who was clearly lacking in wilderness survival skills.

In fact, she had subdued many Pokémon colonies before—always winning despite being outnumbered.

Her vast experience in swarm battles told her it wasn't time to retreat yet. If they could take out that larger-than-average Aggron leading the enemy, the tide of the battle would turn.

Once combat began, Vanna seemed to transform. If she was a naïve dragon princess before, she now radiated the authority of a Dragon Queen—exuding overwhelming pressure.

"ROAR!!"

Kommo-o, now at Level 59, let out a mighty Roar in response to Vanna's command, instantly stunning the enemies before him. Then, with a single Focus Blast, he blasted aside all the Aron and Lairon blocking his way.

Immediately after, he charged at the leading Aggron, which was heavily protected by numerous Aron, Lairon, and a few fellow Aggron.

At the same time, Kingdra and Drampa provided support from the rear. Kingdra used Hydro Pump to blow away any enemies in Kommo-o's path, while Drampa took advantage of the rain-soaked terrain to unleash a wide-area Surf, drawing enemy attention away from Kommo-o.

Meanwhile, the Level 51 Ampharos floated via Magnet Rise, her two antennae sparking with massive electrical current. She directed the charge skyward into the rainclouds overhead.

Amplified by the storm clouds, the charge grew rapidly and gathered above the head of the commanding Aggron. With a single thought from Ampharos, a lightning bolt as thick as a barrel crashed down, striking the Aggron directly.

Instantly, the 62-level Aggron—one of the sub-leaders of the Aron colony—screamed in pain from the Thunder attack and was left unable to continue commanding its troops.

With their leader incapacitated, chaos broke out among the Aron ranks—relieving much of the pressure on Vanna's side.

Meanwhile, the Alolan Exeggutor, with its long neck and tall body, maintained Grassy Terrain to heal allies while using its height advantage to launch Grass Knot attacks at other Aggron still trying to command their kin, further deepening the chaos.

Lastly, the fast-moving green blur weaving through the Aron and Lairon was Sceptile. Following Vanna's instructions, it used Leaf Blade and Giga Drain to take down enemies while scattering large amounts of Leech Seeds along its path.

The moment those seeds hit the rain-soaked ground, they absorbed moisture and nutrients rapidly, sprouting instantly and entangling many of the Aron and Lairon in their vines.