Run

And these Pokémon were clean and healthy.

Eevee had seen far too many Pokémon in National Park that had grown thin from hunger. It had been the same—hungry one meal, full the next. Food had always belonged to the stronger Pokémon.

Actually... it didn't need to choose.

Eevee suddenly understood. It remembered when it had first arrived in Pokémon World. It had been too weak to snatch any food for three days and had nearly starved to death. Back then, it had constantly prayed that it would meet someone else from Earth.

He would protect it, pamper it, and indulge its every whim.

Just like what happened to every protagonist in female-oriented novels.

It had forgotten that unrealistic fantasy in the days that followed. Fighting for food every day had already exhausted it; it hadn't had the energy to entertain such wild thoughts.

But now, it seemed that half of its old fantasy had come true.

A male compatriot from Earth happened to be standing before it, and he had promised to take care of it.

There was no need to think about it, was there?

Eevee considered itself a very practical "person." When your stomach was empty, even the most beautiful scenery was hell.

"I-I have a request. Can I make it?" Eevee glanced at Heiduo. It had not communicated face-to-face with a person in a very, very long time. Earlier, it had been too hungry to care about such things.

But now that it was full, it became shy again.

A request?

Heiduo felt like some heartless exploitative landlord. Did it really need to be this cautious?

"Of course. Ask for whatever you want. As long as it isn't excessive, you can ask for as many things as you like. I'm not a capitalist. I won't exploit you." Heiduo laid his cards on the table. Eevee was different from Arbok. It had been educated and possessed the mind of a normal adult, so it could set conditions.

Eevee's eyes lit up. "Then I'll say it."

Heiduo nodded.

"First, if I don't want to, I don't want to go into a Poké Ball. I like breathing fresh air, and I don't want to be confined! I want to be like Pikachu!"

He understood. Staying in the cramped confines of a Poké Ball all day was not comfortable.

"Second, I want to eat food that people eat. I psychologically can't accept dog food."

That was easy enough to handle. He could just make Pokémon food look like human food. It wasn't difficult.

"Third, I don't want to battle—" When it brought this up, Eevee gave Heiduo a guilty glance. It could tell that Heiduo was a Trainer. How many of a Trainer's Pokémon didn't battle?

But Heiduo's expression did not change at all. "Anything else?"

"That's all for now..." Eevee was afraid that Heiduo would turn on it, so there were still requests it did not dare voice.

"Fine. I have no objections." Heiduo accepted Eevee's conditions. What he valued most was Eevee's healing moves. Since it did not want to battle, he would not force it. But it could still heal its teammates, right?

Heiduo's straightforwardness stunned Eevee. It had thought they would haggle for a while like they did in novels.

"Then I'll choose the first option. You have to treat me well. I'm young, so you can't trick me." Eevee jumped up, wanting to burrow into Heiduo's arms.

???

Young? Who knew which of them was younger!

Heiduo's face darkened as he picked Eevee up with one hand. Taking out three kinds of Poké Balls from his backpack, he said, "Pick one. The classic red-and-white model, the super-luxurious model, or the premium tycoon model. Personally, I recommend the premium tycoon model. Even Meowth says it's great."

Faced with someone from Earth, Heiduo couldn't resist being a little cheeky.

"C-Can I choose a different Poké Ball? I personally like Heal Balls. I don't know if you have one." Eevee felt that it had the right to choose its residence.

Heiduo raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, this isn't a game. Special Poké Balls are harder to get. Right now, I only have these three housing options. If I get the chance later, I don't mind switching it for you."

"Fine." Eevee sighed helplessly. What else could it do if he didn't have one?

So, it chose the Great Ball.

What a choice! Heiduo had only gotten two Great Balls from the Mole Poaching Group, and one was gone just like that.

A white light flashed as the Great Ball opened and sucked Eevee inside.

Since Eevee did not struggle, it was caught immediately.

Heiduo released Eevee.

"Whoa! It's so dark, so dark!" Eevee dug its hind paws into Heiduo's coat, its front paws resting on his shoulder—the typical way a cat crouched in its owner's arms.

"So what should I call you from now on? Your real name, or..." Heiduo wasn't sure how he should address Eevee. Its real name?

Eevee froze for a moment, then thought about it. "Are you going to give me a name?"

According to the rules in the games, players had one chance to name a newly caught Pokémon.

Heiduo was also stunned. "Why would you think that? Of course I wasn't planning to name you. I'm not your father or mother."

"...Just call me Eevee. Since I reincarnated and crossed into another world, it's time to say goodbye to my former self." When the subject turned to its old self, Eevee seemed somewhat embarrassed. Or perhaps, to the Eevee it was now, the old Zou Xue had acted strangely.

That was normal. People changed. Everyone had a past they did not want to revisit. Looking back at the things you did in high school or middle school would make you think your younger self was an idiot too.

Heiduo had no objections. Even if Eevee wanted to call itself Pangu, it had nothing to do with him.

"What are we doing now?" Eevee swung its little paws, climbed onto Heiduo's shoulder, and turned around. Its hind legs rested on Heiduo's backpack while its front paws rested on his shoulder.

Luckily, Eevee was small and skinny, weighing around five kilograms. Heiduo could handle it.

Heiduo waved at the four little ones waiting behind him. "We're waiting for the Police. They should be here soon. Everyone, come meet your new companion. Its name is Eevee. Take good care of it."

The four little ones answered in unison, while Eevee hurriedly introduced itself and greeted them with a string of "Eevee!"

Pokémon couldn't understand Chinese.

The poaching incident was finally coming to an end...

Was it?

Heiduo sat on a protruding rock, fully alert.

Half an hour had passed since the incident, but Officer Jenny had not arrived with the Police.

Even Tuo Nan had seen no sign of them.

"The Police are so slow. Did they stand you up?" Eevee curled up on Heiduo's lap, completely at ease.

Heiduo frowned. "Impossible, right? Would the Police stand someone up? Something we don't know about must have happened."

It was probably related to the Mole Poaching Group's other two squads.

The Mole Poaching Group had three squads in total, each led by a different captain. The person lying on the ground now was the Third Squad's captain. There were still the First Squad captain, the Second Squad captain, and a boss.

Judging from the Third Squad captain's Pokémon levels, the other two captains' Pokémon should not be above level fifty-five. As for the group's boss, that was uncertain. He might be a businessman rather than a Pokémon Trainer.

They were not particularly powerful, but they were cunning enough. Otherwise, they could not have escaped the Pokémon League time and again.

"Hey! Are those the Police you're waiting for?"

Suddenly, Eevee shouted.

In the direction it indicated, a convoy approached from several kilometers away, trailing rolling clouds of dust.

Heiduo narrowed his eyes, and his body jolted.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Eevee asked after noticing Heiduo's body tremble.

Heiduo placed it on his shoulder, quickly got up, and ran toward the truck. "Police my ass! They're thieves! Everything's gone to hell! The Police aren't even as fast as the thieves! Goddamn it!"

"Huh? No way?" Eevee went blank, but then it was shocked by Heiduo opening the cargo compartment and the cages.

Eevee shouted, "What are you doing?! What are you doing?!"

"Taking them with us, obviously! Should I leave them here for those people to sell?" Heiduo used every Poké Ball on him to put the sleeping wild Pokémon into Poké Balls one by one.

He also grabbed a large sack from the ground.

It contained the Third Squad members' Pokémon, all gathered together by Heiduo's compulsive organizing habit.

Now was the perfect time to take them all away.

"Can you even carry all that?! There are so many things!" Eevee stared at Heiduo in shock. All those bags and bundles weighed thirty or forty kilograms! And that was without counting it. Even someone with Huge Power couldn't manage that!

Heiduo grinned. "Carry them? What nonsense are you talking about?"

He opened a Poké Ball and released Gible, then said seriously, "Take these things and go to the Police station in Azalea Town! You understand Police stations, right? Dig faster! And call for reinforcements while you're at it! Meet us where you found that green stone last week!"

Heiduo was not stupid enough to run while carrying all that. Being physically fit did not mean he should abuse his body like that.

Gible nodded, hugged the bags and the black sack containing Vaporeon, and quickly began digging downward.

The little guy was slowed considerably by the heavy load.

"Seal up the hole, quickly!" Heiduo put Eevee down and used both hands and feet to fill in the hole.

Eevee kicked dust and sand backward with its hind legs, quickly covering the hole Gible had dug.

After finishing all that, Heiduo took Eevee and climbed up the cliff using both hands and feet.

When he looked back, the convoy was less than a kilometer away. He could clearly see the lead vehicle's masked young driver, veins bulging on his forehead. Above his head flew a large bird with sharp teeth and a snake-like neck, its feathers brilliantly colored.

"Six people... a level thirty-five Archen. Is that—Pawniard?" Heiduo saw a Pokémon covered in blades bracing itself on the masked young man's shoulder.

Level forty. He could handle it!

But judging by this guy's appearance, he was neither the First Squad captain nor the Second Squad captain. Who was he?

A new member?

Heiduo frowned and turned to run.

He had already destroyed the truck's tires. On top of that, the Third Squad no longer had a single Pokémon. Six against one gave him great odds.

Pah, one against six gave him great odds...

Holy shit!

Heiduo suddenly stopped running. Another convoy was coming straight at him, and judging by their appearance, they were also members of the Mole Poaching Group!

There were at least ten of them!

A wolf in front and a tiger behind—what now?

Heiduo looked around. The terrain was bare, with barely anything to hide behind.

He opened the map. The nearest forest was the Seaside Jungle near Route 33.

"What do we do? It looks like we can't get away!" Eevee's face turned pale with fright. There were too many pursuers.

Heiduo took a deep breath and ran toward the Seaside Jungle.

"We have a chance. Talk less!"