Herdier the Sheriff, the Task of Finding Pidgey Is Yours!

At four in the afternoon, the sun had dipped lower, and its rays were no longer harsh and blazing.

Yet Mu Yun's heart was inexplicably growing restless.

"Pidgey isn't here?"

Though they had only spent a few days together, Mu Yun did not think Pidgey was the sort of Pokémon to disregard punctuality. They had agreed to meet that afternoon, yet Pidgey had not come. Something must have happened.

Could it be that Pidgey had not finished the extra sandwiches Mu Yun had given him, taken them back, and sparked a frantic scramble among his flock that left him injured?

No, if that were the case, Pidgey should not have been able to come that morning either.

After all, Mu Yun had given him plenty of sandwiches last night.

Or perhaps Pidgey had been scratched by some mischievous dog or cat Pokémon and was resting now?

That was not impossible.

After all, many elderly residents in the neighborhood kept cat or canine Pokémon for companionship. Their impressive intelligence, constant company, and exceptional self-care abilities made such Pokémon quite common in the area.

"Woooh~~"

Weedle beside him was also somewhat distracted.

Clearly, though he always called that Pidgey a crybaby, greedy idiot bird, their seamless cooperation over the past few days had left an unforgettable impression on his young heart.

To a Weedle that had only been born for a little over ten days, five days already amounted to nearly half his life.

"Xiao Du, should we go look for Pidgey?"

Mu Yun glanced at the equally downcast Weedle and asked.

"Woooh!!"

At that, Weedle raised his little head and nodded heavily.

As a mature Pokémon, being punctual was very important. Once they found that greedy idiot bird, he would definitely use String Shot Net to tie up that "late, crybaby, greedy idiot bird" and hang him from a tree so he could reflect properly!

"Come on. Let's head back first. I'll go find Grandpa Liu."

Grandpa Liu was Mu Yun's downstairs neighbor. He kept a Herdier that absolutely hated crickets.

As a species in the police dog reserve, Herdier not only had an exceptional sense of smell, but also naturally learned the move Odor Sleuth.

The neighborhood was so large—who knew where Pidgey was hiding? Without a "dog nose" to help them, Mu Yun did not think he and Weedle could find Pidgey on their own.

"Woooh!!"

Since they did not need to take any detours, the boy and Pokémon quickly arrived downstairs from Grandpa Liu's home.

Grandpa Liu was over seventy, yet his body remained robust. Mu Yun would occasionally see him putting on astonishing, vigorous displays on the horizontal and parallel bars.

At that moment, the sturdy old man was walking a large canine Pokémon nearly a meter tall. It had coffee-brown fur, black fur across its back like a shawl, and thick creamy-white fur on its face in the shape of a five-pointed star, making it look rather like a little old man.

It was none other than the target of Mu Yun's trip—Herdier!

[Pokémon: Herdier]

[Gender: Male]

[Type: Normal]

[Level: 29 (Veteran Level)]

[Ability: Sand Attack (In a sandstorm, its speed doubles)]

[Moves: Tackle, Leer, Odor Sleuth, Bite, Baby-Doll Eyes, Helping Hand, Take Down, Bite, Work Up, Crunch, Roar]

[Held Item: Head-mounted Electric Fan (When worn on the head, it constantly blows a gentle breeze)]

[Potential: Veteran Level]

[Base Stat Total: 370]

"It really does have Odor Sleuth. This is in the bag!"

Mu Yun's heart settled after he looked over Herdier's move list.

In the games from his previous life, Odor Sleuth allowed attacks to hit Ghost-type Pokémon and Pokémon with high evasion.

The effect remained the same in reality, except that the guaranteed lock-on had become the ability to smell the trail of Ghost-type Pokémon, along with a greatly increased chance of hitting Pokémon with high evasion rather than a guaranteed hit.

After all, reality was not a game. There was no automatic aim-lock effect.

Aside from those uses, Odor Sleuth could also greatly enhance the user's sense of smell for a short time in daily life. That was one of the reasons Herdier could become a Pokémon in the police dog reserve.

After Mu Yun briefly explained the situation, Grandpa Liu cheerfully handed Herdier's leash to him.

The old man happened to be itching to go find Old Lady Wu and show off his prowess on the horizontal bars, so the two hit it off immediately.

After thanking him, Mu Yun brought one bug and one dog to the old pavilion.

"Herdier, this is where Pidgey often stays. Try seeing whether you can smell something similar to this feather." As he spoke, Mu Yun appeared to reach into his clothes, but actually took out a brown feather from his storage space.

This was the feather Xiao Du had pulled off Pidgey when his improved String Shot had grazed him for the first time.

Because it held commemorative value, Mu Yun had kept it in his storage space.

"Herdi!!"

Herdier nodded. His stern little-old-man face moved close to Mu Yun's hand, and his black nose twitched gently.

After memorizing the feather's scent, Herdier raised his head and swiftly mobilized the Normal-type energy within his body.

Very quickly, that energy gathered from throughout his body at the tip of his nose.

Odor Sleuth, activated!

In an instant, countless invisible scents, mixed and intertwined in all kinds of ways, appeared in Herdier's perception like a complex web.

Like an experienced spot-the-difference master, he found Pidgey's scent trail within seconds.

"Herdi!!"

Herdier barked. Mu Yun immediately understood and let out more of the leash.

Letting go of the leash entirely would have been more convenient, but the League had regulations: when large Pokémon, including but not limited to large dogs and cats, were kept as pets, they had to be leashed when taken outside.

After all, pet Pokémon that had not undergone battle training often had instinctive stress reactions when suddenly startled.

Soon, led by Herdier, the human and two Pokémon left the neighborhood and headed toward a more secluded area.

After running for nearly two kilometers, a dense stretch of woodland appeared before Mu Yun.

"A suburban forest? Does Pidgey live this far away?"

Mu Yun was slightly surprised as he looked at the lush forest.

The term suburban forest was not the name of this particular forest, but a general term for all woodland near urban areas.

Some consisted of naturally growing trees preserved during city construction planning, while others had been artificially transplanted and gradually grown over time.

But regardless of which kind they were, wild Pokémon rarely lived there.

After all, there were no Berry trees for food, and because they were close to human cities, forest rangers inspected them regularly. They were unsuitable for long-term reproduction and survival, so naturally no Pokémon settled there.

Mu Yun had no idea why Pidgey had run so far away...

"Herdi!!"

Just as Mu Yun was thinking, Herdier barked again. He had clearly discovered something.

Mu Yun immediately followed, and there before him was the Pidgey he had been searching for!