And Vulpix was only level 26.
The opponent's level was so much higher that Qiao Ran had no way of knowing whether Suicune and Dianxi could handle them. Besides... there were four of them, and every single one was equally powerful.
This was going to be difficult!
"I'll go easy on you. As for your Pokémon... they look rather rare. We'll help take care of them too, fatten them up nice and plump."
The leader let out a sinister laugh and directed the Mightyena pack to surround Qiao Ran. The large black dogs moved swiftly, their astonishing speed and coordination making it obvious that they had undergone considerable training.
Moreover, to prevent Qiao Ran from escaping, the Mightyena surrounded him from all four directions. Since the other members had entered the cave, the leader had to handle this himself. Still, for such a minor situation, he alone was more than enough.
"Dianxi! Vulpix! Come out and help too! We'll break through in one direction!"
Qiao Ran did not dare hesitate and directly threw out all his Poké Balls. As for Rotom... she did not actually possess the strength to fight, so Qiao Ran did not call her out to embarrass herself.
"Awoooo."
"Di!"
The moment Vulpix and Dianxi landed, they understood the situation outside. Connected to Qiao Ran through their bond of affection, they immediately sensed his anxiety.
"Oh? More Pokémon?"
The leader's gaze swept over Vulpix and Dianxi before finally settling on Dianxi's gemstone.
That dazzling pink diamond drew the eye no matter when one looked at it.
"Another one I've never seen before... but whatever. It'll all end the same way."
He did not care about the two little ones who had appeared later. Most people thought that way—they believed a Pokémon's strength was usually related to its size and appearance. The bigger and more imposing it looked, the stronger it usually was. Pokémon barely over half a meter tall like these... could not possibly be that powerful. A larger Pokémon could crush them flat with one foot.
"Mightyena, Beat Up!"
The leader pointed and issued the command to all four Mightyena at once. The four large dogs viciously pounced on their opponents simultaneously.
Beat Up—although its name sounded plain and unremarkable, it was a genuine Dark Type move. Its number of attacks increased with the number of companions, making it exceptionally suitable for this moment.
Yet what happened next made the leader's eyes widen.
The little pink Pokémon he had ignored all this time suddenly charged to the front, stretched out both hands, and actually used her body to forcibly block the attacks of two Mightyena.
"This..." The leader was completely dumbfounded.
As for the other two, one was entangled by that blue wolf-like Pokémon, while the other had begun fighting Vulpix.
"Dianxi, are you okay?"
"Di! Di-di-di-di!"
Qiao Ran was a little worried about Dianxi. She was facing two Mightyena that were eleven levels higher than her, and he feared she would not be able to withstand them. But Dianxi indicated that she could take it. She was very confident in her durability. More importantly, the Dark Type Mightyena could not bring out their full advantage against the Fairy Type Dianxi—their Dark Type attacks would have their damage directly cut in half.
Dianxi might not be able to defeat them, but they definitely would not be able to take Dianxi down quickly either!
That was the confidence of a tank!
"Alright, I'll leave that side to you for now. Vulpix and I will deal with this one over here."
Though he was still somewhat worried, since Dianxi was so confident, Qiao Ran entrusted that battlefield to her. Dianxi and Suicune were both Pokémon known for their defenses. Even against Mightyena far above their level, they could hold them off for a while.
Instead, Vulpix's side was what worried Qiao Ran the most. Vulpix had neither a level advantage nor an advantage in base stats against Mightyena. He could only fight alongside Vulpix and search for a sliver of hope.
"Vulpix, dodge left, then jump! Yes, now! Use Powder Snow!!"
The Mightyena viciously lunged at Vulpix, but the snow-white little beast seemed to have another pair of eyes. She narrowly evaded every attack, then spat out a blast of Powder Snow that sprayed Mightyena right in the face.
"...????"
Watching the battlefield where they were fighting with such enthusiasm, the leader's mind was filled with question marks. His pack of elite Mightyena had always been unstoppable. They could even contend with powerful adventurers who had traveled for many years. So why were they now evenly matched with their opponents?
Shouldn't this have been a one-sided battle?
"Mightyena, keep using Beat Up!"
Since he had to command four Pokémon at once, the leader could only give rough combat instructions. On the other hand, Suicune and Dianxi could each fight independently, so Qiao Ran only needed to focus on Vulpix's precise maneuvers.
The battle was being dragged out longer and longer, and Qiao Ran had
been searching for an opportunity to escape. He knew this could not continue—the suppression from both level and numbers was real. However... perhaps because the battle had gone on too long, the situation he least wanted to see still occurred.
Several strangely dressed men and women rushed out of the cave. Each held a black bag, though no one knew what was inside. But when they saw the situation outside, they immediately charged forward, released their Pokémon, and joined the siege against Qiao Ran.
In an instant, countless flashes of light appeared. Qiao Ran, Dianxi, and the others were tightly surrounded by the enemy's Pokémon, and the battle began turning one-sided.
"This is bad... We can't hold on much longer!"
Qiao Ran took a deep breath. Commanding his Pokémon while walking the edge of a blade was an extreme drain on his mental strength. By now, his vision was beginning to darken slightly.
"Stop resisting. I told you, I'll make this easier on you. We'll take good care of your Pokémon too, hehehe."
The leader raised an eyebrow, as though victory was already in his grasp. He was already thinking about how much money he could get by selling Qiao Ran's Pokémon.
"Mightyena, Sucker Punch!"
"Wang-ao!"
The Mightyena transformed into a black shadow and lunged straight at Qiao Ran. This time, its attack was aimed at the Trainer himself!
"...!" Qiao Ran's eyes widened.
Yet at that critical moment, a figure wrapped in flames suddenly streaked across the sky and intercepted the lunging Mightyena.
Qiao Ran looked closely and saw that it was a Talonflame—an actual Talonflame had helped him block the move!!
Not only that, after colliding with Talonflame, that Mightyena was sent flying straight backward and crashed to the ground, completely unconscious.
"This..."
Qiao Ran blinked. What exactly had just happened?
At the same time, a woman riding a Skarmory appeared in the sky.
She looked to be in her twenties or thirties, with long sky-blue hair. Her legs were crossed and slightly raised, while her expression held a trace of teasing laziness.
"Let's see... who wants to be taken care of?"
"!"
The woman was extremely beautiful, but the moment they heard her voice, the strange people surrounding Qiao Ran trembled uncontrollably as if they had seen a ghost.
"The... Flying Heavenly King?!?!?!"
Why would someone like that be here!?
"Flying... Heavenly King?"
The instant he heard that title, Qiao Ran's expression became strange, and he involuntarily thought of a certain cape-wearing man with towering red hair.
However, after seeing that the other party was a woman—and a very beautiful woman at that—Qiao Ran realized that this Flying Heavenly King before him was not the person he had imagined.
"Move! Retreat! Everyone, retreat!"
The large group that had been besieging Qiao Ran instantly abandoned their attack and began fleeing in every direction. Against Qiao Ran, they could still bully the few with their numbers. But against an opponent at a Heavenly King's level, their numbers would not matter much.
Numbers might have some effect in battle, but when the opponent was overwhelmingly powerful, no matter how much the numbers increased, they were merely an accumulation of useless figures.
"Where do you think you're going, poachers?"
The woman leaned against Skarmory and lightly yawned. Her finger moved slightly.
The Talonflame in midair seemed to receive an order and instantly shot forward at incredible speed. Its wings gleamed silver-white, and in a few swift strikes, it knocked the hovering helicopter into the cliffside.
The fleeing poachers cried out in alarm. This move had completely cut off their escape route—they had nowhere left to run!
"Let's fight!"
The poachers rolled up their sleeves, preparing to fight the woman to the death. However, the Talonflame was like a deadly blade. Whenever it charged into the group of Pokémon, it could instantly knock down several enemy Pokémon.
"What incredible speed!"
Qiao Ran stood to the side, staring blankly. That extraordinary speed and grace seemed to seize all his attention. Was this the strength of a Heavenly King?
There were no flashy tricks at all. The moment she acted, the battle was already over.
Qiao Ran took out his Rotom Phone and checked the data. To his astonishment, Talonflame was an incredible level 52, while Skarmory had even reached level 54.
So... strong...
"Awoo~"
Suicune came over to Qiao Ran and licked the scrape on the back of his hand. She seemed to sense his emotions, which was why she approached him.
"Mm, we'll become this strong someday too... No, we'll become even stronger than this."
Qiao Ran stroked her cheek to show that he was fine. He would not retreat in fear after seeing the strong. On the contrary, he felt admiration and longing.
On the other side, after Talonflame brought down the helicopter, it began clearing out the criminals. Watching its body blaze with roaring flames, Qiao Ran's fighting spirit was ignited as well.
If he possessed such strength, he too could deal with his enemies like this...
"Get stronger," Qiao Ran murmured.
While Qiao Ran was still immersed in that extraordinary power, the woman riding Skarmory had already dealt with that group of criminals. After leaving them under the watch of her Pokémon, she came over to Qiao Ran.
"Little brother~ Were you the one who reported the information to the Alliance earlier?"
She brushed aside her sky-blue hair and looked Qiao Ran up and down.
"Yes, I reported it because it felt strange."
The woman was observing Qiao Ran, and Qiao Ran was observing her as well.
He had to admit, she was an exceptionally beautiful woman. Her entire body gave off the mature yet slightly youthful air of a girl-next-door older sister. Moreover, she possessed a unique and incredibly lazy temperament.
Just looking at her gentle face made Qiao Ran feel like finding a bed and lying down to sleep.
He was really getting sleepy.
"Mm... You're quite perceptive. You actually noticed that there was something wrong with those people. They're poachers operating within Huaxia, criminals who do things like stealing Pokémon. This time, they even set their sights on the ruins here... Also, your Pokémon seem quite unusual. They're children I've never seen before."
The woman nodded lightly, finally turning her attention to Qiao Ran's Pokémon. Qiao Ran's Pokémon truly were unusual. There were two among them that even she had never seen.
However, she did not pay too much attention to that, merely assuming they were undiscovered species. More importantly, there was no concept of so-called "legendary Pokémon" in this world. Seeing Pokémon they did not recognize, people would only assume that they were undiscovered Pokémon.
A very, very long time ago, this world had not been like this. Pokémon had only appeared within the last few hundred years, so this world did not possess the fertile ground that had nurtured Pokémon legends. And something else Qiao Ran cared about deeply was this—did Legendary Pokémon truly exist in this world?
"Let me introduce myself first. I'm Yi Ruoyun, a Heavenly King of the Huaxia Alliance. I'm also serving as an Alliance inspector at the moment. An Alliance inspector... think of it as a special police position."
The blue-haired older sister jumped down from Skarmory and shook Qiao Ran's hand.
"My name is Qiao Ran. I just started traveling, and I only have one Badge so far."
Qiao Ran extended his hand and briefly introduced himself as well. Though his introduction sounded much less impressive than hers, that did not matter.
However, after they shook hands, Qiao Ran noticed that she seemed to be staring straight at him, as though waiting for something.
"Mm...? Is... is there a problem?"
"No... Aren't you going to ask for an autograph or something? I've met many boys and girls around your age, and they all seem to like autographs."
Seeing the expectant look in Yi Ruoyun's eyes, Qiao Ran could not help swallowing.
"N-No? This is only our first time meeting, isn't it?"
"It doesn't matter if it's our first time meeting. Do you really not want an autograph? I can write it on your clothes too."
"N-No need. I really don't need one."
As Yi Ruoyun steadily approached him, a drop of cold sweat trickled down Qiao Ran's forehead. Why was this woman so obsessed with autographs???
And don't come any closer!!!
From Qiao Ran's perspective, he could only see two enormous sources of evil closing in on him, blinding his eyes.
"Awoo."
In the end, Suicune ran over from the side and blocked Yi Ruoyun's approach. She stared at the female humanoid primate that had suddenly come close to her master with eyes full of vigilance.
"Oh? Such a perceptive Pokémon."
Yi Ruoyun looked at Suicune in surprise. In this Pokémon's eyes, she seemed to see emotions even richer than those of humans.
Generally speaking, many Pokémon did not possess such rich emotions or inner activity. Thus, they usually needed their Trainers' commands to act in battle. But when a Pokémon possessed "spirituality," it also gained the basic ability to fight independently.
"This one..."
Before you continue