A Hair's Breadth

A long time had passed since Eevee ate the Sand Scale Fruit.

Fang Yuan estimated that they had been in the Secret Realm for at least six hours, and he could not help letting out a sigh of relief.

It should not be long before someone came to rescue them.

During that time, Fang Yuan and Eevee had cautiously hidden beneath the tree and had not been attacked by any Pokémon again.

What frustrated Fang Yuan, however, was that Eevee had not changed at all after eating the Sand Scale Fruit.

Wasn't it supposed to be a mysterious fruit filled with the power of the sky?

How had it ended up being no different from eating an apple for fun...

"Maybe it needs time to digest."

Fang Yuan still remembered the Sand Scale Fruit's description from the games: when the HP of a Pokémon holding this Berry fell below 1/4 of its maximum HP, its Speed rose by one stage.

Perhaps Eevee also needed to go through battle before it could absorb the Sand Scale Fruit's nutrients.

"Once we get out, we'll increase the intensity of your special training and see whether we can trigger the Sand Scale Fruit's effects." Fang Yuan looked at Eevee. "We should be safe soon."

"Eevee..." Eevee froze.

Getting out of danger soon was certainly something worth celebrating, but why could it not feel happy after hearing that the intensity of its special training would increase?

And then...

Eevee's eyes suddenly widened. Just seconds after Fang Yuan said they should be safe soon, a long cry rang out.

Within Fang Yuan's field of vision, the Pokémon hiding in the grass and leaves fled in panic at the sound, as though some powerful predator had appeared.

Eevee and Fang Yuan exchanged a glance.

It seemed Eevee had underestimated just how much of a jinx its Trainer was.

No matter how powerful its Anticipation Ability was, it could not withstand Fang Yuan's aura of bad luck.

"An accident... purely an accident..."

Fang Yuan awkwardly waved his hand, then looked at the black dot rapidly growing in the distance and immediately grabbed Eevee to run.

That was right. That black dot was definitely heading their way.

As he ran, Fang Yuan wore a troubled expression as realization dawned on him.

He should have thought of it earlier. How could there possibly be no Pokémon near such a rare Berry tree?

The fact that other Pokémon did not dare approach meant this was the territory of an apex predator.

Only he and Eevee had foolishly treated it as a safe place, even stealing the rare Berries that someone had carefully cultivated.

If nothing unexpected happened, this was probably the most dangerous place in the entire Secret Realm.

Yet Fang Yuan and Eevee had spent several peaceful hours in the most dangerous place.

"The most dangerous place is the safest place—I believe that now, but why couldn't it have come back later?"

Fang Yuan and Eevee sprinted wildly. Perhaps disgusted by how slowly Fang Yuan was running, Eevee jumped down from his shoulder and began running with all its might, quickly overtaking him.

"Wait for me!"

"Eevee!"

Fang Yuan felt like the most miserable Trainer in the world.

Just then, the cry sounded again. That mournful sound was enough to make anyone who heard it heartbroken, and it was easy to imagine just how much grievance its owner had suffered.

As the sound entered its ears, Eevee ran even faster. It sensed an enormous crisis.

Fang Yuan bared his teeth and desperately tried to keep up with Eevee, but the Pokémon they had provoked... was a Pidgeot.

At the Sand Scale Fruit Tree, a gigantic bird nearly two meters tall spread its broad wings. Within an instant, it soared into the sky, its sharp gaze locking onto the fleeing Fang Yuan and Eevee.

Pidgeot possessed exceptional flying abilities. Its chest muscles were highly developed, and its wings were incredibly powerful, capable of whipping up fierce winds strong enough to snap trees. Most importantly, its vision was extraordinary—it could spot the traces of prey even from a thousand meters in the air...

It could be said that even a fighter jet might not necessarily be able to defeat a Pidgeot.

In an instant, Fang Yuan and Eevee seemed incomparably small.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap! It's coming!"

In the blink of an eye, Pidgeot was above Fang Yuan and Eevee. Looking at that terrifying shadow, Fang Yuan and Eevee both swallowed.

There was no way they could outrun this thing...

"Eevee, prepare to fight."

"Eevee!"

Eevee nervously stared at the Pidgeot high above and stood in front of Fang Yuan. This opponent was stronger than any Pokémon it had encountered before.

Eevee's body was already frantically warning it, urging it to give up resisting. Fang Yuan looked at the trembling Eevee, but before he could come up with a suitable tactic, Pidgeot flapped its wings and stirred up a terrifying gale.

It was Fang Yuan's first time experiencing such powerful wind at close range. Under the gale, Eevee could not keep its footing, and in the next moment, its toes carved a deep trail into the ground.

"What do we do..."

Watching Pidgeot dive down along the wind, fear rose in Fang Yuan's heart. Although Eevee had prepared itself for battle, it had no idea how to deal with an enemy in flight.

We're dead...

Fang Yuan quickly took out a Poké Ball, prepared to recall Eevee at the critical moment and do his best to help it escape disaster. However, at that very moment, an icy beam suddenly swept across them. Frigid air spread wildly around the beam, instantly lowering the temperature in the area. Pidgeot was forced to halt its attack by this sudden change, and its bloodshot eyes locked onto another enemy.

It was a Cloyster.

"What's going on?!"

Before Fang Yuan and Eevee could react, another wave of heat rushed toward them. A Trainer riding a Charizard flashed past, grabbed both Fang Yuan and Eevee, pulled them onto Charizard's back, and rapidly ascended into the sky.

"Hey, Xiao Zhuang, I've rescued them first. I'll leave this Pidgeot to you."

"Kid, not bad. You managed to survive in the Secret Realm without a scratch. But how did you provoke that Pidgeot?"

Only then did Fang Yuan notice that, besides the Charizard Trainer, there was another Trainer not far from Cloyster.

The Trainer Association's rescue team had arrived.

Life's ups and downs really were this thrilling.

Fang Yuan hugged Eevee tightly and gulped in air. "Sir, you came just in time. Thank you so much."

"Eevee..." Eevee nodded as well, still shaken.

The outside was too dangerous. Baby wanted to go home.

"Sir?"

Yang Han's expression darkened. The hand holding Fang Yuan suddenly let go, nearly causing Fang Yuan, who was unfamiliar with riding Pokémon, to fall from the sky and scare him half to death.

Fortunately, Yang Han quickly grabbed Fang Yuan again. Even so, Fang Yuan's heartbeat had skipped several beats.

"I'm only forty. Isn't calling me 'sir' a little too old?"

"I called you wrong... Big Bro..."

"You're Fang Yuan, right? You should thank Lao He at the Pokémon Center. If he hadn't guessed that you might have accidentally entered the Secret Realm, our rescue would not have arrived so quickly."