Hustle Nidoran♂

Cheng Tian ran north with Yamper without stopping, only slowing to a halt when he had no strength left.

Panting heavily, Cheng Tian took out some food and water, gave Yamper some, and had some himself.

He was utterly exhausted! After that frantic run, even Yamper had little stamina left. This incident had taught Cheng Tian one thing: kindness to an enemy in the wild was cruelty to yourself.

Cheng Tian would never make such a foolish mistake again.

"But what was going on with those two blobs of bubbles?" Cheng Tian puzzled over it but could find no answer.

If not for those two blobs of bubbles, that Beedrill would probably have gotten the message out, and Cheng Tian would have been hunted down again.

Judging by what had happened, those bubbles were no ordinary bubbles either. They were extremely sticky. What Pokémon had produced them? Cheng Tian couldn't figure it out.

Cheng Tian took out his phone again, opened Pidove Maps, and began looking for his current location.

In his panic, he had run without choosing a path, only keeping his sights on north. With all those twists and turns, he had no idea whether he had veered off course.

His luck seemed pretty good, though. Despite a few detours, his overall direction was still right. The question now was what to do next.

After that chase, it was already five in the afternoon. Should he keep looking for Pokémon, or find somewhere to set up camp?

After thinking it over, Cheng Tian decided it would be better to set up camp first. There was no telling whether he would find a Pokémon if he kept searching. If he found nothing and hadn't chosen a campsite either, the night would be dangerous.

Many Pokémon only appeared at night, after all, and they were nocturnal predators. Cheng Tian wasn't quite up to dealing with them yet.

Having decided on his next objective, Cheng Tian took Yamper along to look for a suitable spot, one with enough vegetation to conceal them without drawing too much attention.

After searching for about half an hour, Cheng Tian finally found a suitable place. It backed onto an enormous rock, with bushes screening it on all sides. It was a good place to camp.

Once he had made his choice, Cheng Tian and Yamper gathered some firewood from the surrounding area, piled it together, and lit it with a lighter.

With the fire burning, Cheng Tian nodded in satisfaction. It would help keep him warm.

Then Cheng Tian took out his sleeping bag and spread it on the ground. He also took out the bug repellent he had bought earlier and sprayed it in a circle around the site.

His simple campsite was finished!

Cheng Tian wiped the sweat from his forehead. "We'll rest here today." "Woof!" Turning to see Yamper wagging his tail, Cheng Tian crouched down and gently petted him. "Thanks for all your hard work today, too." Yamper had done a great deal in the earlier battle.

Yamper was delighted by the praise, and his little tail wagged even faster.

Ten tomorrow morning.

That was the deadline Cheng Tian had set for this trip. If he still hadn't found a Pokémon he liked by ten tomorrow morning, he would have no choice but to head back.

The return journey would take time too, after all.

While Cheng Tian and Yamper were busy setting things up, Yamper seemed to notice something. With a "Woof!" he ran toward a patch of grass.

"Wait! Don't run off, Yamper!" Afraid Yamper might run into danger, Cheng Tian hurried after him.

Pushing into the bushes, Cheng Tian saw Yamper poking his head out the other side, apparently watching something.

Cheng Tian poked his head out too and saw a Pokémon enjoying some Berries beneath a fruit tree in the distance.

His body was purple with dark purple patches. He had large ears with teal insides, small front teeth, and little red eyes. A poisonous horn grew from his forehead, and three rows of venomous spines ran along his back, the middle row slightly longer. His limbs were short, with two toes on each foot.

Cheng Tian recognized the Pokémon at once.

Pokémon: Nidoran♂

Gender: Male

Nature: Jolly

Ability: Hustle

Level: 13

Egg Moves: Supersonic (lv5), Poison Tail (lv5), Helping Hand (lv3)

Learned moves: Double Kick (lv6), Focus Energy (lv4), Peck (lv6), Poison Sting (lv5)

Tutored moves: Poison Jab (lv5)

Cheng Tian could hardly believe his eyes. What had he just seen???

A Nidoran♂ with the Hidden Ability Hustle, plus a Jolly nature-a top-tier Nidoran♂!!!

After evolving, a Nidoran♂ with Hustle would become a Nidoking with Sheer Force.

Sheer Force: Removes the additional effects of moves, but allows those moves to be used with greater power.

If Nidoking could be equipped with a Life Orb, he would become a terrifying frontline damage machine.

Life Orb: Increases move power by approximately 30%, but costs the user HP with every attack. When a Pokémon with Sheer Force uses a move with an additional effect, this side effect is ignored, and no HP is lost.

Cheng Tian was sorely tempted. He wanted this Nidoran♂!

Nidoran♂ was eating Berries with his guard down. This was the perfect moment to strike. Cheng Tian immediately gave the order. "Yamper, get ready with Charge."

"Woof!" Dense currents of electricity began to appear around Yamper. Perhaps because he had used Charge so often today, the move had already reached level 4. There was more electricity around his body than before, too.

Charge (lv4)

"Quick Attack!" Yamper gathered strength in his hind legs, then suddenly charged out at tremendous speed, slamming straight into Nidoran♂'s head.

"Nido!" Nidoran♂ was knocked over and struggled to get up. Seeing that someone had ambushed him, he cried out angrily. A faint purple glow began to emanate from the horn on his forehead, and then a poisonous needle shot out at incredible speed.

"Dodge, then use Thunder Shock!" Yamper leaned left, narrowly avoiding the Poison Sting. Then he released a current of electricity that struck Nidoran♂.

Nidoran♂ winced in pain, then opened his mouth wide and released a powerful sound wave.

Supersonic. Cheng Tian quickly covered his ears. "Quick Attack, then Bite!" Yamper closed in again, Dark-type energy flashing over his little canine teeth.

But Nidoran♂ fought back. He jumped up and drove both hind legs forward, kicking Yamper's back one after the other.

Double Kick! Yamper's Bite missed, and he took considerable damage himself.

"When he comes down, use Nuzzle!"

Just as Nidoran♂ descended, Yamper's Nuzzle hit him, inflicting paralysis. For the moment, however, Nidoran♂ was still unaffected. His horn glowed purple as he used Poison Jab.

"Woof!" Poison Jab struck Yamper, and he cried out in pain. A purple tinge spread across his face. He had been poisoned.

Cheng Tian had underestimated Nidoran♂ a little. Just as Nidoran♂ tried to use Poison Sting again, his whole body went numb. The move was interrupted. The paralysis had finally kicked in.

Cheng Tian quickly took out a Poké Ball, enlarged it, and threw it at Nidoran♂.

The Poké Ball opened the instant it touched Nidoran♂, drawing him inside as a streak of red light. It fell to the ground and began to shake.

Once, twice. On its second shake, the ball's lid suddenly opened without warning, and Nidoran♂ emerged again with an angry cry.

"Damn it, even that didn't work!" Cheng Tian was speechless. Pokémon like Nidoran♂ had a fairly high catch rate. With his stamina already depleted and paralysis inflicted on top of that, he should have been caught. Yet Cheng Tian, the unlucky bastard, had still failed.

Yamper's Pickup Ability activated, and he ran back with the Poké Ball in his mouth.

Pickup: Regardless of the ball's grade, if it fails on the first turn, the Pokémon will retrieve it for you.

Cheng Tian recalled what an idiot he had been in his previous life. Seeing this Ability had excited him enormously. Thinking it could retrieve even a Master Ball, he had taken a Yamper along to test it and used the only Master Ball in his bag on a Slowbro.

Just as Cheng Tian waited for Yamper to bring the ball back, there came a "Ding-"

Slowbro had been caught!

What an idiot. A Master Ball had a hundred percent catch rate. What exactly was Yamper supposed to retrieve?

"Nothing for it. Looks like we'll have to knock him out." Just as Cheng Tian was about to give another order, another poisonous needle flew out of the nearby grass.

It struck Yamper. "Woof!" Yamper cried out in pain, one leg already buckling to the ground. He was in real danger now!

Cheng Tian's expression darkened. Nidoran♂ generally appeared in pairs, and the other Pokémon would be a Nidoran♀.

Sure enough, a pale blue Nidoran♀ charged out of the grass, baring her teeth and snarling at them.

Pokémon: Nidoran♀

Gender: Female

Nature: Modest

Ability: Poison Point

Level: 13

Egg Moves: Helping Hand (lv3), Supersonic (lv5)

Learned moves: Leer (lv6), Double Kick (lv6), Focus Energy (lv4), Peck (lv6), Poison Sting (lv5)

Tutored moves: None

Seeing her injured mate, Nidoran♀ was furious. With an angry roar, she fired a poisonous needle straight at Cheng Tian.

Yamper wanted to help, but the poison kept draining his stamina. He could no longer make it in time!

Fortunately, Cheng Tian was quick enough to jerk his head aside and dodge the Poison Sting. But just as he was feeling relieved, another poisonous needle shot toward him.

This time, he really couldn't dodge it!

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