The Mankey Attack Incident (Please Keep Reading!)

Eevee suddenly thought of a very serious problem. In her memories, the place hiding so many Evolution Stones was inside the Wild Pokémon Reserve.

Given Xia Chen's low risk threshold, he probably would not enter it voluntarily. After all, in his eyes, she was still just a weak, pitiful Eevee who happened to eat a lot.

How was she supposed to trick her timid Trainer into going inside?

Pretend to find a Pokémon item and run in herself?

He would probably scoop her up and carry her back, saying something like, "Safety is more important than money."

Seriously, he had such a strong Pokémon, yet he was still being overly cautious!

Eevee looked toward the boundary between the scenic area and the Pokémon Reserve, which was already drawing near, and quietly began plotting.

"About time to head back, right? If we leave now, we'll get home just in time for dinner."

Xia Chen looked up at the setting sun and muttered to himself.

Eat, eat, eat. All you know is eating. At your age, how can you even eat that much?

Can't you be a little more ambitious?

Eevee grumbled inwardly, but her feet obediently followed Xia Chen's pace.

Forget it. They had not discovered that place until a year later in her previous life, when she and Xia Chen went there. She could just treat it as money deposited in Misty Mountain Bank.

Including the Golden Pineapple Berries and several Pear Berries they had picked, this trip had earned them over ten thousand.

Sigh, raising a Trainer really wasn't easy.

As Eevee took stock of today's gains, her sensitive ears caught the sound of a child crying in the distance.

Was there a Pokémon attack?

It might have just been a brat throwing a tantrum for no reason, but she did not dare gamble on that possibility.

After making her decision in an instant, Eevee turned and ran toward the source of the cries.

"Hey, Eevee, where are you going?"

Eevee was too fast. By the time Xia Chen reacted, she had already run quite a distance away.

Xia Chen could only shout after her as he gave chase.

Humans in the Pokémon World might have ridiculously strong physiques, but they still could not compare to Pokémon that wielded extraordinary powers.

After chasing for roughly three minutes, Xia Chen had already been left so far behind that Eevee was nowhere in sight.

But now he could hear the child's cries too, and he understood why Eevee had suddenly bolted. She was going to save the child!

Then Xia Chen heard another burst of hurried footsteps behind him, along with a woman's breathless, frantic shouts.

"Give Xiao Han back to me! I'll give you lots of food!"

When Xia Chen turned around, he saw the young mother he had encountered on the bus earlier.

She seemed to have been running even longer. Her legs were trembling uncontrollably from exhaustion, tears streaked her face, and her delicate makeup had been completely ruined by crying.

The moment she saw Xia Chen, it was as if she had found a lifeline. She tightly grabbed his arm and pleaded hoarsely, "Please save my child, I'm begging you!"

"I know. My Eevee already went after him. What Pokémon took your child? Did you bring any Pokémon with you?"

Even in an emergency, Xia Chen's mind was exceptionally clear. He concisely asked the most important questions.

"It was... three Mankey. We only brought one Torkoal with us this time." The woman panted heavily as tears continued to stream from her eyes.

Xia Chen did not let panic cloud his judgment. He took out his phone and called the scenic area management.

The call connected with a beep. Xia Chen spoke rapidly, "A child has been taken by Mankey. We're near the boundary line in the middle of the foothill forest. Send rescue immediately!"

The person on the other end did not dare delay. "Understood. We'll immediately dispatch the nearest ranger for rescue!"

After hanging up, Xia Chen left everything except his phone where it was.

Then he turned to the woman. "Give me Torkoal's Poké Ball. I'll chase them."

The woman looked at Xia Chen gratefully and shoved a Luxury Ball into his hand. "I'm counting on you!"

Xia Chen ran north toward the cries at a steady, moderate pace.

He knew this was a long-distance race. Sprinting at full speed would leave him unable to keep up later on. Only by doing this could he conserve enough strength to catch them.

Fortunately, the morning runs with Eevee over the past two weeks had clearly improved his stamina. If it had been his past self, he would have collapsed long ago.

Xia Chen did not know how long he had been running. He only felt his heart pounding faster and faster, while something sweet and bitter seemed ready to rise from his throat.

But the increasingly close cries made Xia Chen grit his teeth and keep going.

Finally, after crossing a patch of low brush, Xia Chen saw Eevee by a stream, along with several monkey-like Pokémon with pig noses—Mankey.

The little boy was trapped behind the three Mankey, his dirty face filled with fear.

Eevee was panting heavily as she faced off against the Mankey. Judging from the dust and injuries on her body, they had probably just gone through a fierce battle.

Xia Chen had no time to think about how Eevee had managed to hold off three Mankey alone. The most urgent matter was rescuing the boy.

"Listen, I'll give you what you want, but don't hurt him, okay?"

Xia Chen wanted nothing more than to tear these Mankey apart, but for now, he could only suppress his anger and try to communicate with them.

Eevee was clearly almost unable to run anymore, and Xia Chen himself felt as if his lungs were about to burst.

If the Mankey decided to carry the boy away and keep running, there was nothing he could do to stop them.

And expecting the only Pokémon with any stamina left, Torkoal, to catch them?

That would probably be harder than making Groudon fly.

"Chitter—"

In response to Xia Chen's attempt at negotiation, one of the Mankey stepped forward and held out a hand toward him.

It seemed to be saying, "Talk is cheap. Show us the goods!"

But to lighten his burden before setting out, Xia Chen had brought nothing except the phone he needed for communication.

What could he give the Mankey? His phone?

With no other option, Xia Chen really did hand it over.

"This is the most important thing to us humans. We feel awful if we're separated from it for even a few minutes. I'll give it to you as collateral first. Later, I'll trade you lots of Pokéblocks, or any other food you want. Deal?"

That reasonable, well-supported explanation might have convinced ordinary Pokémon, but what kind of Pokémon were Mankey?

Pokémon with explosive tempers and virtually nonexistent intelligence.

After taking the phone, they gathered around it and studied it for a while before reaching a consensus.

This metal shell was completely useless!

Was this human messing with them?

The three Mankey instantly flew into a thunderous rage. They abandoned the little boy and surrounded Xia Chen instead.

Xia Chen felt a small flicker of joy. He gave Eevee a look, signaling her to quickly take the boy and leave.

But Eevee did not know Xia Chen had a Torkoal with him. How could she abandon her own Trainer for the sake of a little boy?

She stepped in front of Xia Chen and glared furiously at the three Mankey.

"Eevee! (If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one. What kind of skill is three against one?!)"

The Mankey, being social creatures, sneered. Three against one?

Wasn't that simply a righteous group beating?

As the three Mankey closed in step by step, Xia Chen, standing behind Eevee, did not immediately release Torkoal. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and observed the distance between the Mankey and the little boy.

As long as they came a little closer, he could throw out Torkoal and rush over to save the boy without the Mankey catching him.

Xia Chen held his breath and focused, ready to unleash the last of his strength at any moment.

Just before he could pull the Poké Ball from his pocket, a gray, ugly little fish with a pockmarked body surfaced from the stream no one had paid attention to. It spat a thin Water Gun straight into a Mankey's face.

The Mankey froze, wiped the water from its face, then angrily turned toward the source of the attack.

When they discovered it was a Pokémon that looked ugly and weak, they became even more enraged.

"Chitter! How dare you!"

The Mankey immediately shifted targets, directing their furious gazes at the stubborn-eyed Feebas in the stream.

(These next few days of continued reading are extremely important. Dear readers, could you please try to read through to the last page so the continued-reading count registers? Many thanks!)