Although riding on Suicune was comfortable, they couldn't keep doing this forever. Besides, after falling into the water just now, Qiao Ran figured he should change into a fresh set of clothes. Otherwise, he would definitely catch a cold.
"Aw."
Suicune lowered herself slightly, allowing Qiao Ran to get down from her back. Though her figure was slender and graceful, she was not small at all. She could be considered a relatively large Pokémon.
"Come to think of it, when we travel in the future, could we skip taking cars and ride... No... never mind."
A rather bizarre thought suddenly came to Qiao Ran, but he ultimately dismissed it. Leaving aside how many strange looks riding Suicune around would attract, if Suicune could take on a humanoid form in the future, he really ought to avoid such indecent riding behavior...
"Aw?"
Suicune blinked in confusion. She didn't understand why her master had suddenly abandoned the idea. Personally, she was actually quite willing to be ridden...
Humanoid form image temporarily unavailable =,=
Suicune's Functions
With Suicune joining them, Qiao Ran's journey continued.
However, the Pokémon designated by the system for the next Pioneer Points requirement gave Qiao Ran quite a headache.
"Water-types and Flying-types? Catch Water-types and Flying-types? Flying-types are easy enough; we can just go into the forest. But Water-types... I guess we'll have to find a water source."
That was right. After completing the first hundred, the system released the second batch of one hundred on the Rotom Dex. The required types were Water and Flying. Honestly, compared to Bug-types and Grass-types, these two types were much harder to find.
"Master, I recommend adjusting our route first. We should head deeper into the sparsely populated parts of the forest. The closer these two types of Pokémon are to human settlements, the fewer of them there will be."
"Mm..."
Qiao Ran nodded in deep agreement. Although he could find these two types of Pokémon in places where people lived, if he needed to collect a hundred of them, who knew how long that would take?
"We can follow a small river through this forest, then take a boat from the dock in the next town and travel by water to Jinling."
The Rotom Phone proposed what she believed was the best solution. Qiao Ran picked up her body and studied it for a while before nodding in agreement with her suggestion.
"Then that's the plan. We'll cross the forest, complete the mission, and then travel by water."
Though this would be much slower than taking a car, if they kept riding in cars, they would never catch a hundred Flying-types and Water-types in their lives.
"Let's buy some wilderness supplies first. If we can't carry them all, we'll take some to the pioneer area. We may be living outdoors for quite a while."
"Dianxi."
"Aw."
Dianxi, Suicune, and the other Pokémon all responded. However, they didn't really care about those things. Unlike Qiao Ran, who had always lived in the city, they were probably even more accustomed to living in the wilderness.
The forest expedition lasted three or four days. Qiao Ran and the girls advanced while grinding levels. To bring Suicune's level up to match the rest of the team, Qiao Ran had been specially training her this whole time. Before long, her level had already broken past twenty.
After spending this time together, Qiao Ran had basically figured out Suicune's personality. She was meticulous in everything she did, and when she stood beside Qiao Ran, she remained as still as though she were standing guard. She was not the lively, rambunctious type.
However, Qiao Ran also discovered that Suicune loved taking care of others. If anyone had trouble, she would absolutely be the first to help. Over the past few days, Qiao Ran, Dianxi, Rotom, and Vulpix had all received Suicune's care.
Even more frighteningly, after observing Qiao Ran cook a few times, Suicune began proactively applying for the daily cooking duties. Her cooking method was rather unique too: she actually used the two appendages beside her that Qiao Ran couldn't tell were ribbons or tentacles. According to his observations, she could control those appendages with incredible dexterity. They felt smooth to the touch and carried a faint warmth... Well... anyway, they were very unusual.
"If Suicune could take on a humanoid form, doing this would definitely be much easier."
At noon one day, Qiao Ran watched Suicune holding a spatula in one appendage and an iron wok in the other, and he couldn't help sighing. The scene before him was strange enough already. If other Trainers saw it, they would probably drop to their knees and scream about seeing a ghost.
A Pokémon could actually help with housework!
"Aww~"
Hearing Qiao Ran's sigh, Suicune chimed in. After talking with Dianxi, she too had begun looking forward to taking on a humanoid form. However, unlike Dianxi, who had always yearned for it, Suicune felt her current form was quite good too. Everything she wanted to do could be accomplished in this state.
"Mas... Master..."
Suddenly, a cute long-haired girl walked past Qiao Ran. Yet the words that came out of her mouth nearly made him spit blood.
"How many times have I told you? It's not 'pork master,' it's 'master'!... No, actually, you don't have to call me Master. You can just call me Qiao Ran."
Qiao Ran wanted to correct Vulpix's bad habit, but it was as though she hadn't heard him. She continued calling him that.
"Mas... ter, Rotom said Pokémon can... lay eggs."
"Pfft!"
This time, Qiao Ran truly sprayed out the water he had just swallowed.
Rotom... What exactly had she been telling children?
"Is... is that strange? Pork master...?"
Apparently startled by Qiao Ran's reaction, Vulpix began stumbling over her words again.
"It's strange. Of course it's strange." Qiao Ran wanted to explain these things to Vulpix, but after thinking about it, he realized he didn't really understand them himself. Nor did he know where to begin with such a topic.
"Of course they can lay eggs, Rotom. Once they take on humanoid forms, they'll definitely gain the Human-Like Egg Group, Rotom. Do you know what the Human-Like Egg Group is? It's the group that can produce eggs with humanoid creatures, so as long as they have the Human-Like Egg Group..."
Rotom, flying in from the sky, immediately cut in and took over Qiao Ran's words. Yet the more she talked, the stranger it became. Qiao Ran vaguely felt like a truck wheel was rolling straight over his face.
"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!"
Qiao Ran hurriedly shut down this dangerous topic. Couldn't she see that Dianxi and Suicune were both looking over with strange expressions?
"But, Master..."
Rotom still seemed reluctant to let it go. She wanted to continue the topic of laying eggs, but just then, a tremendous sound seemed to come from the distant mountains.
"Boom!!!"
The noise was incredibly violent, as though something had suddenly exploded.
Qiao Ran and all the Pokémon were startled, involuntarily shivering as they looked in that direction.
A long plume of black smoke rose from the mountain. No one knew what had happened there, but Qiao Ran's expression gradually turned serious. He had the feeling that something bad had already happened...
Uninvited Guests
Qiao Ran's premonitions were not always accurate, but most of the time, he still trusted the feelings in his heart.
"Master, what should we do?"
Rotom floated in front of Qiao Ran and asked.
"What do you mean, what should we do? Of course we go take a look."
Qiao Ran was someone who feared trouble, but he was not someone who feared troublemakers. Besides, the bad feeling in his heart was urging him toward the site of the explosion.
This place had always been deserted, and even the route forward was difficult to find. When they passed dangerous stretches, Qiao Ran sometimes even needed Suicune's help to get through. That was precisely why he truly couldn't understand why anyone would set off an explosion on such an empty mountain.
So what exactly had happened?
After packing up, Qiao Ran followed the gradually thinning black smoke and found his way near the explosion site. The mountain was covered in bushes of varying heights, making it easy enough to conceal themselves.
Qiao Ran crouched down cautiously and gently parted the grass in front of him, wanting to observe the situation on the other side first.
When traveling alone, it was better to be careful. Especially for cute and handsome boys, who needed to protect themselves even more carefully.
However, when he parted the bushes, the sight before him still surprised him slightly.
"What... is that?"
What appeared before Qiao Ran was not some wild, weed-covered wasteland, but a cave that seemed embedded in the mountainside.
The cave was covered by a thick gate carved with strange patterns. It was filled with bizarre, incomprehensible traces of artificial construction and clearly wasn't something that could have formed naturally.
Moreover, the gate was now shattered, with black smoke constantly rising around it. The ground was a complete mess.
A group of men and women in strange uniforms hurried back and forth at the cave entrance. Not far away, a helicopter hovered in the air, standing by.
"Captain... the ruins have been fully opened... ＆!...!..."
"Good... recover the ruins... fossils..."
A man who appeared to be the leader stood at the cave entrance, directing the others. Beside him lay a large black canine Pokémon—Mightyena, the same one Qiao Ran had battled before.
"I can't hear what they're saying at all. Ruins? Fossils?"
Lying in the grass, Qiao Ran couldn't hear the voices from over there. He could only catch a few keywords now and then. However, judging from their behavior and scattered remarks, these people didn't seem like good people.
First of all, that gate had clearly been blown open. If this were an official excavation of ruins, they probably wouldn't use such a method. Second, judging from the helicopter hovering in the air, they likely didn't intend to stay here long. This entire operation would rely on fast helicopter deployment.
Why were they in such a hurry? Were they afraid of something?
"Master, what should we do?"
Rotom displayed words on her screen and began a silent conversation with Qiao Ran. She also sensed that something was wrong and asked for his opinion.
"Take pictures first and notify the League. Include the satellite location."
Qiao Ran tapped out a line on Rotom's screen. This was the best way he could think of to handle it right now. Rushing out rashly would not be a good idea. As a qualified Trainer, he could not send his Pokémon into danger.
If those people really were bad guys, they definitely would not be as friendly as the Trainers from those Pokémon battles before.
"Received."
Having received Qiao Ran's order, Rotom immediately got to work. She floated in midair, secretly took a few photos, then connected to the League's internal network.
As someone who had obtained adventurer qualifications, Qiao Ran could access the League's internal network. Of course, with only one badge, he could not receive any special privileges. At most, he could ask the League for help if he encountered danger during his travels. Other than that, it was only useful in situations like this.
"Master, it's already been sent. The signal here is pretty good, so it didn't take much time."
"Good work."
Qiao Ran typed a line, then rubbed Rotom's screen as praise.
Having sent the message to the League, Qiao Ran had basically fulfilled his responsibility. He prepared to leave first and observe from farther away. However, just as he stood up, he accidentally stepped on a branch beside him, producing a crisp snap.
"Crack."
"...!"
Qiao Ran's expression changed. He swore he had been extremely careful, but some things were just that coincidental. Who could have expected a branch like that beneath his foot? Why was the wilderness full of traps everywhere?
Qiao Ran still held onto a sliver of hope. Perhaps those people hadn't heard it. But to his complete dismay, after stepping on the branch and taking another step, he snapped several more hard objects in succession. Looking down, Qiao Ran discovered that the ground was covered in branches! Who had such terrible public manners?!
That Mightyena sounded as though an alarm had gone off, howling madly, "Woof woof woof woof woof!!!"
"Who's there?!"
Seeing his Mightyena barking wildly in one direction as though it had gone mad, the leader instantly noticed something was wrong. He shouted and gave an order.
"Mightyena! Snarl!"
"Woof-ao!"
Mightyena let out a fierce roar, and a black sound wave burst from its mouth, rapidly spreading outward.
Snarl, one of the signature Dark-type moves. Though its damage was not particularly high, its additional effect would definitely lower the opponent's Special Attack by one stage, making it incredibly annoying in actual combat. The leader was probably using this move now for its wide-area destructive power.
The black sound wave swept through the bushes like a whirlwind, shredding them to pieces. Its power was truly astonishing.
"Who is it?!"
The leader looked toward the chaotic patch of bushes, only to see a light-blue wolf-like Pokémon he had never encountered before standing within it. The Pokémon possessed an incomparably magnificent and proud bearing. Beside her, all wind seemed to have frozen solid.
"Aw!"
And beside that Pokémon stood a boy who looked rather young.
"You..."
Seeing these uninvited guests who had suddenly appeared, the leader's face darkened. He threw several more Poké Balls from his hand.
Three more Mightyena emerged from the balls, glaring viciously in the boy's direction.
"Since you've been discovered, we can only ask you to disappear... Sorry, kid!"
Living on the Edge
"Damn."
Damn, damn, damn.
In an instant, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and Qiao Ran's expression became grave. Their reaction had been so swift, and they had acted as though they intended to wipe him out from the very start.
He took out the Rotom Phone and checked their levels, only to discover in shock that these Mightyena had all reached the astonishing level of thirty-seven.
Level thirty-seven!
His Suicune was only level twenty now. Even Dianxi...
Before you continue