The first Sucker Punch caught the Oranguru off guard. However, unlike a comedian being slapped in a popular awards show, the Sage Pokémon showed no signs of being fazed despite his clearly bruised face. Subsequent Sucker Punches would fail, since the ape did not directly fight back, instead Instructing the brainwashed Aggron to ram straight into Banette with its iron-plated body.

While Memo's Galarian Zigzagoon was single-handedly taking on the hordes of feral monkeys like a champ, the dark-skinned youth urged Andrea to make a run for it while their enemies were distracted. "I can't go yet! I need to rescue my friends!" The young woman objected, taking a step forward, only to stumble on account of her still sprained ankle and fall flat on her face. "Ow! That hurt..."

The girl's pained cry caused Missy's eyes to shift back to normal, her overprotective, maternal instincts temporarily overwriting the Oranguru's influence on her mind. Capitalizing on that chance, Chomper hit the dazed Kangaskhan with an Outrage, being extra careful not to hurt the baby. The blunt force trauma was enough to completely lift off the brainwashing, as the large marsupial got up and gave an affirmative nod at the Deino.

Growing increasingly desperate (not that one could tell with his stony expression), Oranguru unveiled another stolen Pokéball, this one containing a brainwashed Salamence that immediately began spewing fire out of its gaping mouth, threatening to roast our heroes alive.

Missy quickly jumped in front of Andrea, shielding her trainer from the incoming flames at the expense of her own body. "Meatloaf, stop! It's me, Andrea!" The girl desperately pleaded, but the crimson-winged dragon did not listen.

Guillermo Marceliño

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Chomper's nimble, diminutive body allowed him to deftly maneuver around Meatloaf's blazing Flamethrower, which was a threat not only to the Passimian themselves, but also their houses. Turns out that huts made up of wood and dried up leaves were quite flammable. The little Deino jumped on top of the Salamence's back, biting into its neck with fangs coated in ice. The larger dragon writhed in pain.

Still stunned by the Aggron running him over, the tribal chief reached for another ball, only to find out that they'd all been taken away, leaving only the photograph in his hand. Staring at said photograph, the ape's body stilled, like a shell-shocked veteran having a flashback. A single tear trailed down his hairy cheek.

The Oranguru was woken from his stupor by the distressed cries of his people, who ran around erratically as the entire village had gone up in flames by now. Many of them sought refuge inside the temple, but some of them - especially the younger ones - remained trapped within the inferno. The Psychic type looked at the pandemonium surrounding him with a thousand yard stare.

This is just like the war... The horror... the horror...

"Meatloaf, Barron, return!" Andrea yelled, successfully calling her Pokémon back with the balls that Shivani had retrieved. "Okay, now we can go..." She said, holding unto Memo's shoulder for support as she tried to stand up on her defective foot. However, the sight of all those screaming Passimian made the girl change her mind. "No, we can't leave them like this. It doesn't matter what they did, we have to help them!" She urgently said.

Guillermo Marceliño

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"Something that can put out the fire... Oh, I have an idea!" The young PokéManiac replied, shuffling through her various Pokéballs (don't ask how she held unto them considering her tribal outfit had no pockets). Eventually, she found Sandy's ball, whom she sent out. "Water's not the only thing that can put out a fire! Go, Sandy!"

Indeed, as the Tyranitar's Sand Stream ability conjured up a roaring Sandstorm, the flames were slowly but surely extinguished, as they were deprived of their source of oxygen. The tradeoff was that, when all was said and done, the village looked like a dune-filled desert, but that was a small price to pay for everyone making it out in one piece. All that was left was for Zuza to heal the remaining burn victims.

"Yay, we did it! We saved the village, Chomper!" Andrea cheered, only for her joy to give way to confusion as she turned to look at her partner. "Chomper...?" The Deino's body had been enveloped in a brilliant luminescence. His radiant form grew in size, his neck elongating, a pair of small wings sprouting from his back, and lastly a second head. Apparently his battles against his brainwashed teammates had given him the experience needed to ascend into the next level...

"Chomper, you've finally evolved!" An elated Andrea leaped off Memo's shoulders and embraced the newly evolved Zweilous. "Waaaaah! You look so cooool!" She wailed, crying tears of joy. Surely Chomper would have a lot of questions regarding his newfound body, but for the time being he found comfort in his trainer's approval and affection.

Their celebratory moment was cut short, as the Passimian encircled them once again. This time, however, they didn't bear hostile intentions. The Oranguru was the first to get on his hands and knees, his head touching the ground in the typical dogeza pose used to apologize to or thank someone. The rest of the monkeys followed suit.

When the tribal chief pulled his head back up, he stared at the humans not with cold, merciless eyes, but with a look of deep, genuine gratitude. The question he was asking was obvious even before he spoke telepathically to the two of them.

Why would you help us?

Guillermo Marceliño

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"Hey, I'd love to become a monster- oh, you meant that metaphorically!" Andrea remarked. Taking a better look at what was left of the half-burnt village, she began to form an idea. "Say... We're gonna stick around till the end of the week, so how about we help you guys tidy things up here? On one condition, though: No more human sacrifices! Or any sacrifices for that matter!"

The monkeys nodded their heads in unison, agreeing to those terms. At Memo's request, they stopped bowing, but still treated the two humans with reverence. "That's what it's all about! Helping each other, not relying on some silly dragon god to fix everything!" The young PokéManiac continued, her newly evolved Zweilous yapping affirmatively. "Now let's get to work! But first... You! Gimme back my clothes!" She yelled at the Passimian that was still wearing her onesie.

Chief Oranguru regarded their stunning display of forgiveness and compassion with a nod of acknowledgment. Still grasping the old photograph in his simian paw like a treasured keepsake, he looked up at the sky with a wistful expression.

Who knew that there were still humans like you, my dear friend...

And so, for the rest of the week, everyone would work together in restoring the village to its former glory, getting to know and appreciate each other in the process. When all was said and done, Andrea and Memo would make a mutual agreement not to speak to anyone else about the mysterious island of apes, for fear of what some meddlesome humans might do with that kind of information.

Guillermo Marceliño

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