The Raticate Pack

Yamper led the way, with Cheng Tian following behind as they continued deeper in.

Cheng Tian held his phone, studying the Pidove map. Throughout their trek, he had kept their exploration depth at around eight kilometers without venturing too far in.

Just then, Yamper suddenly stopped up ahead, curiously sniffing a clump of grass.

The grass was peculiar. Five leaves stood noticeably taller than the surrounding grass, with the middle leaf curving slightly backward. While the other grass swayed in the wind, this clump remained perfectly still.

"Yamp?" Curious, Yamper took a bite.

"Odd!" The moment Yamper bit down, the clump of grass moved. A blue, bulb-shaped creature emerged beneath the leaves, with no arms and only two little feet.

Yamper jumped in fright and barked. Cheng Tian, who had been following behind while checking the map, was startled too.

"Huh? An Oddish?"

Information about the Oddish instantly appeared in his mind.

Pokémon: Oddish

Gender: Female

Nature: Timid

Ability: Chlorophyll

Level: 10

Egg Moves: None

Learned moves: Synthesis (lv8), Ingrain (lv5), Leech Seed (lv3), Stun Spore (lv4)

Taught moves: None

Oddish were very timid creatures. They usually sought out fertile soil and buried themselves in it to absorb nutrients.

Seeing that Yamper had discovered an Oddish, Cheng Tian had no intention of catching her. He soothed Yamper a little, then left under Oddish's wary gaze.

The sun climbed higher. Cheng Tian checked the time and found that it was already noon. He called to Yamper, "All right, Yamper, time for lunch."

Cheng Tian had only brought some coarse flatbread and water for himself. He took out Yamper's food bowl, tore open a bag of New Orleans chicken-wing-flavored dog food, and filled the bowl to the brim.

"Yamp, yamp!" Yamper gazed happily at the heaping bowl of food. Cheng Tian smiled and petted Yamper before they began eating.

After walking all morning, they would have been lying if they said they weren't tired. Yamper ate quickly, finishing the entire bowl in no time.

Cheng Tian smiled at Yamper. "Want some jerky?" "Yamp, yamp!" At the mention of jerky, Yamper's eyes lit up, and that little head bobbed eagerly.

Cheng Tian took a bag of jerky from his backpack. "Here. Sorry for the trouble, but I'll need your help for the rest of the trip too."

Just as Cheng Tian took out a strip to feed Yamper, something unexpected happened.

A small figure suddenly sprang from the nearby grass, raced toward Cheng Tian at incredible speed, and snatched the jerky away.

"Rat!"

"Holy crap, ow, ow, ow!" Cheng Tian felt a sharp pain in his hand. Looking down, he found six thin, bloody claw marks.

He focused on the purple figure, which was chewing the jerky and squeaking at them as though taunting them.

Information about the Pokémon quickly appeared in Cheng Tian's mind.

Pokémon: Rattata

Gender: Male

Nature: Brave

Ability: Run Away

Level: 10

Egg Moves: None

Learned moves: Leer (lv3), Tackle (lv6), Quick Attack (lv6), Bite (lv5), Sand Attack (lv4), Focus Energy (lv3)

Taught moves: None

Seeing Rattata scratch Cheng Tian, Yamper was furious.

And he had stolen Yamper's jerky too! Even if Uncle could stomach it, Auntie certainly couldn't!

Rattata chewed the jerky disdainfully, turned his rear toward them, and unleashed a barrage of Sand Attack, leaving them covered in dust.

"Damn it, how am I supposed to put up with that? Yamper, Quick Attack!" Cheng Tian ordered at once.

Yamper became a streak of white light, appeared in front of Rattata in an instant, and slammed into him. "Rat!"

Rattata was knocked over. He scrambled back up, angrily opened his mouth, and lunged to bite Yamper, faint Dark-type energy flickering over his teeth.

It was the Dark-type move Bite.

"Hmph, we'll use Bite too," Cheng Tian ordered. Yamper's mouth was much bigger than Rattata's.

Both Bites landed at the same time, but Yamper clearly dealt more damage, especially with the level advantage.

Realizing things were going wrong, Rattata backed up two steps, turned, and tried to flee. His Ability was Run Away, which was why he had dared steal the jerky despite knowing he was outmatched.

For one thing, he had never tasted anything so delicious. For another, he was confident he could escape even if he couldn't win.

This time, however, he had clearly kicked an iron plate.

"Since you're here, don't leave! Yamper, Nuzzle!"

"Yamp!" Yamper rushed forward and pressed a cheek against Rattata. A current passed through him, and his body stiffened as he was immediately afflicted with paralysis, unable to escape.

Seeing Rattata paralyzed, Cheng Tian flashed a wicked smile. "Where are you rushing off to, little guy?"

"Yamp, yamp~" Naturally, Yamper wasn't about to let the jerky thief off the hook. Under Yamper's attacks, Rattata soon lost the ability to fight.

"Yamp!" After the victory over Rattata, Cheng Tian noticed that Yamper had gained a level, and Nuzzle had leveled up too.

Nuzzle (lv9)

Yamper had also learned a new move, Thunder Shock (lv0).

Cheng Tian was delighted. Honestly, most of Yamper's moves required close contact, with not a single ranged attack among them. Now that Yamper had learned Thunder Shock, even if it wasn't very powerful, they finally had a way to attack from a distance.

But why was it level zero? Puzzled, Cheng Tian tried giving an order. "Yamper, try using Thunder Shock on that tree."

"Yamp?" Yamper tilted that little head in confusion. "Gather your electricity into a single stream and release it," Cheng Tian explained.

After several attempts, Yamper successfully unleashed Thunder Shock, though its power and reach were indeed rather limited.

Cheng Tian nodded thoughtfully. Did a move's level represent its power? Yamper had only just learned the move, so it was normal for it to be a little weak. With more practice, it would gradually reach its normal strength.

Yamper's Thunder Shock was no longer level zero. It had risen to level one: Thunder Shock (lv1).

After the battle, Cheng Tian gave his wound some basic treatment. Although the injured area wasn't large, it would be bad if it became infected.

Once he had treated the wound, he took out another strip of jerky and fed it to Yamper as a reward. Finally, he looked at the unconscious Rattata.

If he left him lying there, Rattata would surely die. After some thought, Cheng Tian picked him up and placed him in a tall bush.

Only after doing all this did Cheng Tian wave Yamper over and continue onward.

As he walked, he sighed. "Ah, I really am kindhearted."

The human and Pokémon headed onward, unaware that after they had gone some distance, a little blue figure in a distant tree watched their retreating backs with a thoughtful expression.

After considering for a moment, the figure followed them.

They walked for roughly another two hours. It was now afternoon, and Cheng Tian was already a considerable distance from National Highway 488, where he had started.

"Let's take a short break, Yamper." Cheng Tian drank some water and gave Yamper some too.

While they were resting, the grass in the distance suddenly began to rustle.

"Yamp!" Yamper barked alertly. "What's that?" Cheng Tian looked over too.

An enormous yellow rat leaped out of the grass, its most distinctive feature a pair of massive front teeth.

The Pokémon that had appeared was a Raticate, Rattata's evolved form.

Pokémon: Raticate

Gender: Male

Nature: Adamant

Ability: Guts

Level: 34

Egg Moves: Payback (lv5)

Learned moves: Scary Face (lv5), Tackle (lv4), Quick Attack (lv6), Focus Energy (lv4), Bite (lv8), Take Down (lv5), Pursuit (lv6), Crunch (lv10), Sucker Punch (lv7), Super Fang (lv9)

Taught moves: None

Seeing this downright terrifying panel, Cheng Tian swallowed hard. Then more and more Rattata emerged from different patches of grass and gathered beside Raticate-roughly thirty or forty of them!

Raticate cried out, and one Rattata stepped out from the crowd. Cheng Tian looked closely. It was the very one he had fought earlier!

Damn it, I should've left him to fend for himself! Now look what's happened. Beat the little one, and the big one comes knocking-with an entire pack! Cheng Tian thought bitterly.

At the sight of Cheng Tian, Rattata let out two aggrieved squeaks and nodded to Raticate.

They're the ones who bullied me!

Cheng Tian slowly took out his Poké Ball and recalled Yamper, then put on a harmless smile.

"Um... can I help you?"

The Raticate leader stared at him menacingly. Suddenly, Cheng Tian's expression changed. He pointed at the sky behind the pack and shouted, "A flying saucer!"

The Raticate pack remained unmoved. Cheng Tian's eyes darted around. "A Yungoos!"

Hearing the name of their natural predator, the pack was clearly startled. They all looked behind them warily, only to find nothing there.

When they angrily turned back, Cheng Tian had already taken to his heels and run far away. His faint voice drifted back. "See ya!"

"Raticate!" Furious at being tricked, Raticate gave a command and led his pack in pursuit of Cheng Tian.

The chase had begun! On a distant tree trunk, the blue figure watched the scene with considerable interest and continued following.