Chapter 61

Swampert leaned their exhausted bodies against the rock wall. They knew how dangerous this battle had been; their territory, which they depended on for survival, had nearly been seized by the Sharpedo.

Fortunately, the Swampert leader had mustered all her strength to withstand the Sharpedo leader's attacks and intercept several high-level Sharpedo.

If not for Qing Wu's support, the Swampert tribe would have suffered heavy losses even if their territory had not been breached. At the very least, they would not have recovered in over a decade.

"Here, eat one of these to restore your stamina." Qing Wu handed the Swampert leader a Poffin.

Gratitude showed on the Swampert leader's face. She accepted the Poffin Qing Wu offered and swallowed it in one bite.

After a while, the Swampert leader finally felt herself recover.

"Right, these are your Pokémon Eggs. The situation was urgent just now, so I put them straight into my bag. Please forgive me." Qing Wu spoke sincerely to the Swampert leader, pointedly avoiding any mention of taking care of her child.

However, after accepting the four Pokémon Eggs, the Swampert leader raised a hand to stop him. She gave Qing Wu a meaningful look, then turned away and stopped looking at the Pokémon Egg.

In the Swampert leader's heart, one Blue Quality Pokémon Egg was enough. It would become the next leader.

If Qing Wu had not helped the Swampert leader resolve her strange illness, and if Qing Wu had not helped protect the tribe, the Swampert would never have been willing to give up this Blue Quality Pokémon Egg.

Qing Wu's help to the tribe had been far too great. Though the Swampert leader was deeply reluctant, such kindness could not be repaid easily.

Qing Wu excitedly put the Blue Quality Pokémon Egg into his bag.

Pokémon: Mudkip (Blue)

Gender: Male

Level: Unhatched (N/A)

Type: Water

Ability: Torrent.

Egg Moves: Ancient Power, Double-Edge.

Basic Skills: Mud Shot, Tackle, Water Gun, Rock Smash, Bubble, Growl.

It was a pity that it had not hatched yet. Qing Wu regretted missing out on the Swampert leader's full list of skills.

If it followed the Swampert leader for some time, that Mudkip might even become a god-tier Pokémon.

Qing Wu saw the Swampert leader remove the Mystic Water hanging around her neck and hand it to him. Her eyes were full of reluctance toward the Pokémon Egg.

The quality of this Mystic Water was actually comparable to that of the Flame Orb.

This was the Swampert's motherly love for her unhatched Pokémon.

Qing Wu solemnly accepted the Mystic Water and said solemnly to the Swampert, "Don't worry, Swampert. In the near future, after Mudkip hatches, I'll definitely bring it to see you."

The Swampert said nothing and merely closed her eyes. Qing Wu knew this meant she was seeing him out.

If he did not leave, the Swampert leader's tears might start falling.

"Thank you for your help. This is the medicine for your strange illness. I made five doses in total. If you encounter another Pokémon in the same situation, just have it drink one in a single gulp. These are Poffins I made as well. Use them sparingly—they're enough to last all of you for a year."

Qing Wu chattered as he took items from his Wristband and placed them beside the Swampert leader. Then he resolutely walked out of the cave.

At that moment, the Swampert leader opened her eyes, which were filled with reluctance toward her child.

The Swampert beside her—the Swampert leader's husband, a Green Quality Swampert—patted her on the shoulder.

"Kamo." The Swampert leader, like a child, sprawled on the Swampert's shoulder and burst into loud sobs.

When Qing Wu walked out of the cave, the sky after the rain looked clearer than usual.

The endless canopy of sky brought a refreshing feeling. A rainbow stretched across the azure sky, as if smiling at the earth.

"Let's go." Qing Wu placed a hand on Golbat's sturdy leg and flew toward the distance. At that moment, the sky was filled with flying Wingull and Pelipper.

Many Wingull and Pelipper spat Water Gun at Qing Wu and launched attacks when they saw him flying high in the sky.

These were Wingull and Pelipper captured by Team Rocket specifically to guard the skies. After Golbat easily dodged their attacks, it reluctantly descended to the ground and began walking to avoid provoking the Wingull and Pelipper further.

Qing Wu considered the Pokémon currently in his possession: Golbat, Kecleon, Squirtle, Deino, Torchic (Egg), and Mudkip (Egg).

Tricolor Piranha was still within Qing Wu's considerations. After all, he already had quite a lot of Water-type Pokémon.

If he had too many Pokémon, Qing Wu would not have enough resources to raise them.

As luck would have it, Qing Wu had just extorted a large pile of resources from Cang, most of which were for Dark-type Pokémon. In addition, he still had the blood essence of an Elite Four level Sharpedo, and the Tricolor Piranha's aptitude was not bad.

After weighing everything, Qing Wu decided to grit his teeth and keep the Tricolor Piranha. As long as he persevered, he would eventually see the light.

·· ········ Please send flowers ····· ·······

If he failed to raise it in time, the Nurturing House could also serve as Qing Wu's backup and help take care of his Pokémon.

Qing Wu planned to treat Golbat, Deino, and Tricolor Piranha as the Pokémon belonging to his hidden identity. After all, Deino could not be exposed either. The League might easily target him, surround him, intercept him, and force him to hand over Deino.

As for Squirtle, Kecleon, Torchic, and Mudkip, these four Pokémon would serve as his public Pokémon—the Pokémon belonging to the owner of the Nurturing House in the Hoenn Region.

After all, most of these Pokémon were native to the Hoenn Region, so they would not easily attract attention.

"Stockpile grain extensively and delay claiming kingship. The ancients truly did not deceive me." Now that he had his Pokémon, Qing Wu only lacked time to grow in hiding.

"What the—?" Qing Wu suddenly turned his head and saw four Trial Participants dressed in Black Robes and wearing masks appear behind him.

Three Pokémon stood behind each of them. What surprised Qing Wu was that all those Pokémon had evolved.

Raticate, Persian, Fearow, Arbok, Grimer, and Tentacool.

"We are the Four Swordsmen under Lord Kuraki. We have been ordered to take your head." One of the masked figures spoke in a voice that sounded like a robot.

"You want my life? Then let's see whether you're qualified. The trial is almost over, yet all kinds of monsters and demons are popping up. You all want to see what I'm capable of, right?" Killing intent surged in Qing Wu's eyes, while Golbat quietly concealed his presence.

"Besides, Kuraki is a smart man. Even if he wanted to kill me, he wouldn't expose his own name. You've gone too far. This scheme of redirecting the danger elsewhere is pretty good, though." Qing Wu analyzed the situation.

While no one was paying attention, a Poké Ball slid down along his trouser leg and landed on the ground.

The Poké Ball opened the instant it touched the ground. The Pokémon emerged from inside, then quickly escaped through Dig.

"Raticate, use Rage Fang!"

"Persian, use Swift!"

"Fearow, use Drill Peck!"

"Arbok, use Acid!"

"Grimer, use Mud-Slap!"

"Tentacool, use Supersonic and stand guard!"

The four men issued their commands one after another, never expecting Golbat to have already crept up to one of the Black Robes. He extended his sharp wing and slashed at the man's throat, only to see countless sparks erupt.

With a thunderous boom, the Black Robe exploded, and the components on his body flew in every direction. Golbat was even badly injured in the blast.