Badman

Axew were Dragon-type Pokémon with gentle temperaments, but they possessed an extremely strong sense of territory.

Therefore, they used the tusks on either side of their mouths to carve marks into trees and claim their turf.

Some researchers used these marks to determine Axew's primary habitats and track their movements.

Axew generally nested deep within forests. Hu Yang had not expected to find one in a cave.

[Species: Axew ♂]

Type: Dragon

Ability: Rivalry

Base Stats: 320 (HP: 46, Attack: 87, Defense: 60, Special Attack: 30, Special Defense: 40, Speed: 57)

Known Moves: Scratch, Leer, Bite, Dragon Rage, Dual Chop

Current Mood: Humiliated, helpless

Physical Condition: Exhausted, minor bruising

Friendship: -10

Axew ground its teeth in anger. Afraid that it would bite him, Hu Yang did not dare approach rashly.

He pulled Cramorant over and said to Axew, "You can understand me, right?"

Axew ignored him.

Seeing that, Hu Yang took out a Poké Ball. "If you don't say anything, I'm putting you in here!"

Perfect. Once he sold those ores, he would have enough money to raise a second Pokémon.

After three Evolutions, Axew's Base Stats reached an impressive 540, even slightly higher than the Starter Trio distributed by the Pokémon League.

Its Attack stat was an astonishing 147.

Moreover, wild Axew were extremely rare. They were usually the sort one could only encounter by chance, and any one that appeared would be fiercely sought after by Trainers.

"Axew!"

Upon hearing that, Axew finally turned its head around angrily.

Hu Yang could not understand it, so he asked Gengar, "Translate?"

Gengar floated nearby with its arms crossed. "It says that even if it dies, even if it jumps off here, it will never let a human catch it."

Hu Yang: "..."

For a moment, he did not know how to respond.

It was basically the Pokémon world's Wang Jingze.

Axew stared fixedly at the Poké Ball in Hu Yang's hand, as though it would rush over and Crunch it to pieces the next second.

Seeing this, Hu Yang hid the hand holding the Poké Ball behind his back, crouched down, and coaxed, "Come with me, and I can make you stronger."

"Axew!"

Gengar said, "It says it can grow stronger without you."

"Then do you want to eat this?" Hu Yang took a snack from his pocket that he had prepared for Roserade and Cramorant.

Axew did not even glance at it, still displaying intense resistance.

"Fine, then." Hu Yang put away the Poké Ball, stood up, and sighed helplessly. "You can go."

Only then did Axew turn around, its face filled with disbelief.

Hu Yang spread his hands. "If you don't want to, I won't force you."

"Axew?" Axew did not believe him.

Hu Yang said, "Really. I never force anyone."

Axew looked at Cramorant again.

Hu Yang held Cramorant in his arms and said, "It won't catch you again either."

Having regained a little strength, Axew climbed up from the ground and ran off without the slightest hesitation.

Gengar stood nearby, somewhat shocked. "Didn't you really want to catch it?"

The corners of Hu Yang's lips curled upward slightly. Looking at Axew's retreating figure, he answered with a question instead. "Do you think a Dragon-type like it can leave this place on its own?"

Gengar froze for a moment.

"That direction is Druddigon's territory. Dragon-type Pokémon are extremely sensitive to each other's scent. It won't let Axew leave," Hu Yang explained.

Between Druddigon, which would treat it as food, and a human who merely wanted to catch it, as long as that Axew was not an idiot, it would choose the latter.

Heh heh.

While he was mining in Meteor Falls, would it be difficult to win over a stubborn little dragon?

Not difficult at all!

Besides, Axew was still angry about being caught by Cramorant and held quite a grudge against him.

Of course, if it still refused to be caught by the end, Hu Yang would not force it.

It would only mean that he and this Axew were not meant to be.

Gengar said, "...You're really bad."

"Don't slander my good name without proof."

Hu Yang argued, "If it ends up refusing to be caught by me, I'll still have to feed it for several days. Even as compensation for being caught by Cramorant, I'm the one losing out here."

Gengar was rendered speechless.

Just then, a furious roar came from the distance.

Soon, a small figure came sprinting into Hu Yang's view.

Druddigon's vicious figure followed close behind, but its oversized body made it far slower than Axew.

That was also why Hu Yang had been at ease letting Axew leave alone.

Druddigon lived in caves year-round, and the wings on its back had degenerated to the point that they could no longer support flight.

Coupled with the cave's unique environment, it simply could not hunt like dragons on land by taking advantage of its speed.

Thus, they waited quietly in tunnels for prey to pass by, then launched sudden attacks from the darkness.

That was Druddigon's hunting method.

"Roserade, Stun Spore!"

The instant the order was given, Roserade brushed past Axew. A huge cloud of Stun Spore poured forth, and Druddigon's clumsy body collapsed to the ground in an instant.

It glared viciously at Roserade and the human behind it.

"Use Seed Bomb with everything you've got!" Hu Yang ordered.

"Roserade!"

A rich green glow immediately lit up in Roserade's hands.

The light condensed into a huge seed, which it controlled as it smashed viciously toward Druddigon's massive head.

With a bang, circles of stars immediately appeared in Druddigon's eyes.

"This place is my territory now." Hu Yang openly seized its turf.

Druddigon recovered from its paralysis and let out a defiant roar.

Purple energy gathered in its mouth, and Dragon Rage instantly took shape.

Druddigon's movements were far too obvious. Hu Yang saw through the direction of that Dragon Rage at a glance.

It was aimed at where he was standing!

"Roserade, use Magical Leaf with everything you've got!"

As he gave the command, Hu Yang ran toward the open space on the left.

The next second, Dragon Rage arrived and brushed past his shadow.

At the same time, Roserade's Magical Leaf condensed into a terrifying green vortex, striking Druddigon squarely as it used Dragon Rage.

Sharp Leaf Blades skimmed across Druddigon's body. Though its scales were thick, they still seemed somewhat fragile before such a dense barrage of Magical Leaves.

In the blink of an eye, numerous clear wounds appeared across them.

Druddigon cried out unwillingly in pain and stopped moving forward.

It was not the only powerful Pokémon in this place. If those Pokémon sensed that it was injured, it would inevitably suffer even fiercer invasions.

At that point, forget this territory—even it would likely be treated as prey by those creatures.

Forget it, forget it. It was only a small patch of territory. Let them have it!

Druddigon shot a furious yet helpless look in that direction, then immediately gave up attacking, turned around, tucked its tail, and fled.

Only after seeing that terrifying creature run away did Axew finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Hu Yang pretended to be puzzled. "Huh? Didn't you leave? Why are you back?"

Gengar, standing beside him, said, "..."

"Axew..." Axew wore an awkward expression.

Hu Yang checked its Friendship. It had changed from -10 to 0.

Sure enough, it had calmed down now.

He glanced in Druddigon's direction and asked, "Was it because of that guy?"

"Axew!" Axew nodded fearfully. It had nearly been eaten by that thing just now!

"You want to leave this place, right?" Hu Yang asked.

"Axew..."

"I see..." Hu Yang put on a thoughtful expression. "I'll be staying here for a few days, then I'll return to the surface. If you don't mind, you can come up with us then. Would you like that?"

Axew nodded emotionally. "Axew!"

He really is a good person! it could not help thinking.

Behind its back, Hu Yang flashed Gengar a V-sign.

Gengar said, "..."

Ah, poor kid!