Cooperation and an unknown creature

The moment it emerged, flames began coiling around its entire body, and it brimmed with fighting spirit.

A Phanpy that could breathe fire?

They had never even heard of such a thing. The Pokédex certainly didn't say Phanpy had a Fire typing.

The whole group stared, dumbfounded and unable to believe their eyes.

"Since when did Phanpy have a Fire typing?"

"Unbelievable. It looks pretty strong, too, and those flames aren't just one color."

Indeed, as its strength increased, the flames on Mutant Phanpy's body had become more distinctive.

They weren't simply fiery red. Flecks of golden light flowed within them, and the two colors blended together, making the flames look anything but ordinary.

Ito Hei sneered. "You can tell these guys are nothing like me. I wasn't nearly this surprised when I saw Mutant Phanpy."

"I calmly accepted that it was a mutated Phanpy."

Liu Xin said helplessly, "That's hardly something to mock them over, is it?"

"So, can we have a proper talk now? I'm not some monster who won't give you—"

Damn it!

Couldn't you wait until I finished speaking before attacking?

A fireball shot from its mouth, charging toward Weepinbell like a horse let loose from its reins.

Weepinbell wasn't stupid either. It spat out a stream of highly corrosive venom.

The two attacks collided, releasing hissing vapor between them before both vanished.

"Hmph. I was planning to talk to you, but apparently you had other ideas."

"Weepinbell, attack with everything you've got."

Stun Spore.

Yellow powder began spreading from Weepinbell's mouth, filling the air.

It drifted on the wind toward Phanpy.

Before long, Phanpy was surrounded by Stun Spore.

Flamethrower.

A pillar of flame erupted from Phanpy's mouth, burning away every last speck of powder in an instant.

It hadn't taken any damage.

The man leading the group sneered. "In that case, Weepinbell, use Poison Powder!"

Purple powder began spreading out, surrounding Phanpy.

Ito Hei said quietly, "We can't burn this. If Poison Powder is burned, it'll turn straight into poison gas. We'll all be in danger."

"Do you really have to go that far?"

The leader calmly took out a gas mask. "Did you think we wouldn't come prepared?"

"Burn it all you want. We've got proper protection against poison, so we're not afraid."

What exactly have you people been through to make you carry gas masks around?

Liu Xin said helplessly, "Use Ground Spike to form a barrier and block the poison gas."

Just as it had in the Special Energy Area, Phanpy formed a protective ring.

The Poison Powder landed on the ground spikes, corroding them slightly but failing to breach the defense.

"Now! Defense Curl, Tackle!"

After blocking the poison gas, the ground spikes vanished instantly.

Phanpy immediately curled up into a little ball.

Then flames surged around it as it unleashed Rolling Fireball, hurtling straight toward Weepinbell.

It moved so fast that the distance between them shrank in the blink of an eye.

Oh no!

The man tried to give an order, only to realize he was too late.

Bang!

Weepinbell was sent flying and crashed to the ground, flames engulfing its body.

Armor-Breaking Fire burned relentlessly. Weepinbell struggled in agony a few times before losing consciousness.

"Damn it! I didn't expect this Phanpy to be so strong!"

The man who had spoken first tugged at the leader. "Captain, they don't seem unreasonable. Why don't we talk things over with them?"

The leader shook him off, recalled Weepinbell, and said coldly, "If it wasn't you, then explain what's going on."

To keep Mutant Phanpy from acting up again, Liu Xin recalled it into its Poké Ball before speaking. "It's a long story, so I'll keep it short."

He started with how they had gotten lost, explained how their Pokémon had tried to find the way, and finished with how they had encountered this group.

Once they understood the situation, they realized it had all been a misunderstanding. The trio before them weren't the people they were trying to catch.

Seeing their expressions soften, Sen Anxiang interjected, "Then why did you try to catch Liu Xin in the first place? Did it have something to do with these pits?"

The other man said quietly, "Captain, there is a difference if you look closely."

"What appeared at our academy were tunnels, not pits, so they aren't the culprits."

He then apologized to the trio before him. "We're very sorry, everyone. We're students from the Pokémon Academy, sent out to catch whoever dug the tunnels at our academy."

"My name is Gaochen Dazhi. You can just call me Dazhi."

"And our captain is Shucun Zhenye. You can call him Shinya."

Shinya said irritably, "Are you the captain, or am I?"

"If we've confirmed they aren't the culprits, let's keep searching."

They turned to leave, but Liu Xin called after them. "Uh, could you please tell us how to get out of this area and reach Vermilion City?"

They weren't concerned about the Pokémon Academy. All they cared about was finding their way out.

If there had been anyone else to ask, they really wouldn't have wanted to ask Shinya.

Dazhi was about to speak, but Shinya stopped him. "The way out?"

"I could tell you, but shouldn't you give us something in return?"

"It's nothing unreasonable. Just help us catch whatever's digging these tunnels."

We have to pay just to ask for directions?

How is that reasonable?

However, the system's voice rang out in Liu Xin's mind.

Ding! Host has triggered a quest: find the culprit digging the tunnels and resolve the incident.

Quest completion reward: Poké Fruit ×2 and 300 points.

Three hundred points?

That much?

There was no reason to refuse. He nodded. "All right! We'll help you resolve this incident. In return, you have to lead us out of here and to Vermilion City. Deal?"

The corners of Shinya's mouth lifted. "A promise is a promise."

"First, I'll show you where these tunnels are."

They followed the group for a few hundred meters and saw a dozen or so tunnel openings. There were quite a few.

Looking into the dark tunnels, Ito Hei said, "So you followed the tunnels all the way here from the academy?"

"And then the trail went cold here?"

Dazhi nodded helplessly. "Once we reached this place, we were completely stumped."

"We have no idea where the culprit went. It's a real headache."

This was a rocky mountain path. Finding a Pokémon that dug tunnels in terrain like this was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

It was far too difficult. Even Liu Xin, a Ground-type Trainer, had no solution.

He could handle a fight, but searching for something was another matter entirely.

After examining the area closely for a long while, Sen Anxiang said, "Huh? I think there's a sound coming from inside the tunnels. It's very faint, but I can just barely hear it."

A sound?

That had to be a clue. They couldn't let it slip by.

Liu Xin immediately released his Onix and ordered, "Onix, use Dig and check what's happening inside the tunnels right away."

"If there are any other Pokémon, find a way to keep them there!"

Onix.

With a furious roar, its enormous body disappeared into a tunnel.

But less than a minute later, violent collisions sounded from within. Liu Xin shouted, "Something's attacking my Onix!"

Ding! An unknown creature attacked Onix. It's super effective!