Ralts

4:30 p.m.

The field study of wild Pokémon ecology officially came to an end.

After walking all day, Hu Yang was exhausted in body and mind. After eating in the cafeteria, he returned to his dormitory and collapsed into bed, completely failing to notice that after he fell asleep, a small white figure poked its head out of his backpack.

"Caw?"

Cramorant slowly turned its head, its vacant gaze locking onto the Ralts on the desk.

Ralts quickly shrank back into the backpack.

Cramorant tilted its head.

After a while, when no new sounds came from outside, Ralts cautiously poked half its head out again, nervously observing the situation outside.

After confirming that the other party posed no threat, Cramorant flew to its usual spot on the bed and closed its eyes.

Ralts let out a sigh of relief and gently floated out of the backpack with its Psychic powers. Looking at the human belongings around it, its eyes shone with excitement and curiosity.

It floated over to the desk and stretched out its little hand to poke the desk lamp.

"Click!"

Its hand touched a button, and with a click, bright light instantly illuminated the entire desk.

Ralts stiffened, then flashed away and vanished from the spot.

The person on the bed did not move.

Ralts's tense heart finally settled again.

It returned to the desk, sat atop the pile of books, and leisurely swung its legs.

Its gaze fell on the human boy lying on the bed.

In the middle of the night, Hu Yang was awakened by a sound.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a Gardevoir in his room.

Not far from it, a Ralts was hanging its head in grievance.

Like a little girl who had secretly run away from home and been caught and scolded by her mother.

Hu Yang was startled. Once he came to his senses, he was utterly confused.

Had something happened that he didn't know about?

Gardevoir's eyes were filled with sternness.

Hu Yang instinctively used his ability on it.

[Race: Gardevoir ♂]

Type: Psychic, Fairy

Ability: Telepathy

Base Stats: 518 (HP: 68, Attack: 65, Defense: 65, Special Attack: 125, Special Defense: 115, Speed: 80)

Known Moves: Confusion, Teleport, Double Team, Moonblast, Wish, Calm Mind, Psyshock, Future Sight

Current Mood: Angry

Physical Condition: Perfect

Friendship: 1 (Just a tiny bit)

Gardevoir... Ralts...

Could they be the two he had met before?

Hu Yang shifted his gaze to Ralts.

[Race: Ralts ♀]

Type: Psychic-type, Fairy-type

Ability: Trace

Base Stats: 198 (HP: 28, Attack: 25, Defense: 25, Special Attack: 45, Special Defense: 35, Speed: 40)

Known Moves: Growl, Double Team, Confusion, Teleport

Current Mood: Aggrieved

Physical Condition: Perfect

Friendship: 40 (You are a hero who descended from the heavens in its eyes)

Hu Yang was certain now. This Ralts was the one he had encountered before.

Hu Yang did not dare move. That Gardevoir's presence was simply too overwhelming. It clearly looked like the kind that was above level sixty.

Mother and daughter—no, more accurately, father and daughter.

That Gardevoir was male.

The father and daughter faced each other, seemingly communicating through telepathy.

After a while, Ralts let out an aggrieved cry and dejectedly walked over to Gardevoir's side. It glanced sadly in Hu Yang's direction, and the next second, the father and daughter vanished from the room.

Hu Yang was completely baffled.

He had only slept for a while. Had he missed something?

Judging by how angry Gardevoir had been, it seemed that Ralts had secretly run away again.

But how had it ended up in his dormitory?

Could it be because he had saved it by chance before, so it wanted to be caught by a human, just like in anime?

Things like that were normal in anime, but now that it had happened to him, Hu Yang found it unbelievable.

Only then did he realize what he had missed.

But thinking about it carefully, even if Ralts was willing, that Gardevoir might not agree, right?

Hu Yang could tell that it seemed to hate humans.

If he wanted to catch Ralts, getting past Gardevoir would definitely not be easy.

Unless he caught Ralts and won over Gardevoir at the same time.

Still... catching both father and daughter would be way too strange, wouldn't it?

There was no way he could beat Gardevoir right now, unless he sacrificed himself first and triggered Cramorant's automatic protection mechanism.

Hu Yang felt regretful, but Cramorant did not give him much time to regret it.

The next morning, when Hu Yang saw the struggling Pikachu in Cramorant's beak, ten thousand wild alpacas stampeded through his mind.

"Let it go!" Hu Yang cried out in alarm.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

That Pikachu had not resisted earlier, yet it chose this exact moment to fight back.

"Pika—chu!"

With a full-force cry, a powerful current surged out of Pikachu's body.

Electric light instantly filled the entire room. This time, Hu Yang truly felt numb.

"Caw!"

Cramorant opened its beak wide, and Pikachu seized the chance to wriggle free and leap out, warily eyeing Cramorant.

After the Thunderbolt ended, Cramorant was still completely unharmed, while Hu Yang was in terrible shape.

But what surprised him was that after taking that Thunderbolt, he had not fainted?!

So humans in this world really were a special kind of Pokémon, weren't they?!

In truth, however, most of the power had been absorbed by Cramorant. The current that affected Hu Yang was only an insignificant fraction.

"Pikachu!"

At that moment, a startled cry came from outside.

"Pika pi!"

Pikachu's ears twitched, and it quickly leaped out through the open window.

Hu Yang lay on the floor, blackened all over from the electricity, and said weakly, "Don't bring strange things back from outside anymore!"

Cramorant stared blankly. "Caw."

Hu Yang wanted to cry but had no tears.

The door was pushed open, and a girl holding Pikachu ran in. She anxiously looked at the charred figure on the floor. "Teacher Little Yang, are you okay?"

Hu Yang let out a breath and looked at the newcomer, realizing she was a student from another class he taught. "I'll be fine once the paralysis wears off."

Five minutes later.

Hu Yang had recovered. He listened as the girl explained, "Pikachu and I were playing by the river when this Pokémon flew over, grabbed Pikachu in its beak, and flew away."

Hu Yang apologized to her with a bitter expression. "I'm really sorry. It was my fault for not keeping a close enough eye on my Pokémon."

"It's fine as long as everyone's okay." The girl hugged Pikachu and breathed a sigh of relief. "Then, Teacher Little Yang, I'll be heading back!"

Hu Yang personally saw her off. When he returned to the room, he looked at Cramorant's vacant face.

Cramorant tilted its head. "Caw?"

Hu Yang: "..."

Yesterday it brought back a Magikarp, today it brought back a Pikachu. He didn't even dare imagine what it would bring back tomorrow!

If he kept letting it run wild like this, it might bring him a little Kyogre someday.

Hu Yang sighed.

It seemed he needed to limit how long Cramorant could stay outside its Poké Ball.