Misfortunes Never Come Singly (Early Bonus Chapter)

Tetsuya was currently in the outer region of Mt. Moon, where the Pokemon living there were mostly beginner- and Normal-level, with only a rare few at Elite level. The deeper one went, the stronger the wild Pokemon became.

A Pokemon like Rhyperior was exceptionally powerful even among Elite-level Pokemon.

Normally, Rhyhorn only evolved into Rhyperior after reaching level forty or so, though this varied between individuals.

That Rhyperior did not look like it had just evolved, which meant it was at least around level forty-five.

Let alone the fact that he could not release Pidgeot in such a cramped space, even if he did, Pidgeot would not gain any advantage against Rhyperior under such an unfavorable type matchup, no matter how good its aptitude was.

Combusken's Fighting-type moves did restrain it somewhat, but in close combat, it would only get utterly hammered.

The gap in height and weight was simply too great. Combined with the level suppression, it was no longer something superior aptitude and development could make up for.

After weaving through countless turns and running for nearly twenty minutes, Tetsuya finally relaxed a little once he was sure he could no longer hear any sign of that Rhyperior. What rotten luck.

Seriously? I ran into such a powerful Rhyperior this far out in the outskirts.

Good thing I made a habit of scouting with a drone. Otherwise, I'd have died the moment I went in.

Thinking of the drone that Rhyperior had spotted, picked up a boulder beside it, and smashed to pieces with a Rock Slide, Tetsuya's heart ached.

The drone was not expensive, but every little bit counted.

As long as the Navigator was intact, he could use the wreckage to exchange it for a new one at Devon Corporation. But how could he possibly dare to go back and collect the remains?

He could only spend money on another one.

A drone was essential for scouting. Otherwise, if he had charged in with his physical body just now, he would probably be nothing but a puddle of meat by now.

After checking his position following his escape, Tetsuya was relieved that he had paid some attention while running and had not headed deeper into Mt. Moon. He had only moved slightly farther outward.

Tetsuya found a fork in the path and resumed his journey to complete the missions.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey."

At the exit of a cave somewhere on Mt. Moon, a young man in somewhat ragged clothes ran out, gasping for breath. He was covered in dust.

A slightly exhausted and injured Combusken followed behind him.

Without even taking the time to clean himself up, the man threw out a Luxury Ball. "Pidgeot, fly me out of here."

A flash of red light appeared, and Pidgeot emerged on the ground. The man secured himself, recalled Combusken, and Pidgeot quickly flew toward Pewter City.

All that remained were several Pokemon that had just emerged from the cave entrance, watching him leave from afar.

"Not so high. Fly lower, a little lower."

Tetsuya was a little panicked.

Yes, that bedraggled man was none other than our protagonist.

After Pidgeot carried him back along the road to Pewter City, far away from that place, Tetsuya finally had Pidgeot set him down.

The moment he landed, his legs were still a little weak. Working at high altitude was terrifying. If not for avoiding that group of Pokemon, he never would have chosen to flee this way.

After removing the Explorer Suit's fastening gear from Pidgeot, Tetsuya recalled Pidgeot into its Poke Ball as well.

Brushing the dust from his body, Tetsuya hurried toward the Pokemon Center.

He first handed Combusken over to Miss Joy for treatment, then returned to his room and took a shower.

Only then did the handsome young man reappear in the mirror before him.

Tetsuya let out a breath. Only now did he truly relax.

Thinking back on what had happened in Mt. Moon, he could only sigh at how misfortunes really never came singly.

I caught that Pichu, so my luck should have been pretty good. Why did I start having such terrible luck this afternoon?

Perplexed, Tetsuya lay on the bed and only wanted to rest properly. He had fled for more than an hour just now and had nearly run himself to death.

Let us return to the time after he had escaped from Rhyperior.

Over the following hour, one man and one Pokemon had smoothly encountered three Paras and a small group led by a Sandslash.

Combusken easily dealt with them, and the three missions were considered complete.

But it was still early, only a little past noon.

So Tetsuya decided to explore a little longer and see whether his good luck might bring him any unexpected gains.

After all, he had already avoided Rhyperior. In these outskirts, it should have been the local tyrant, so he just needed to be careful elsewhere.

But just his luck, something went wrong the moment he continued exploring.

Mt. Moon covered a vast area and was home to no small variety of Pokemon. Drawn by the Moon Stones, not only did rare Pokemon such as Clefairy live here, but other Pokemon had also been attracted here.

They were Nidoking and Nidoqueen, Pokemon that needed Moon Stones to evolve into their Final Forms.

Normally, this would not have been much of an issue, since Nidoking and Nidoqueen generally only existed deeper within the mountain.

Although Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂ evolved soon after surpassing the beginner level, evolving again into Nidoqueen and Nidoking required Moon Stones, which only appeared deep within the Mt. Moon Mountain Range.

Moon Stones did not appear in places like the outskirts.

It was said that the meteor had fallen in the depths of the Mt. Moon Mountain Range, and that the power of the meteor was what created the Moon Stones. That was why none existed in the outskirts.

Nidoqueen and Nidoking generally appeared in pairs, so practically no one had ever seen these two Pokemon in the outer regions.

Yet Tetsuya had run into them. What a coincidence.

When he saw Nidoking and Nidoqueen getting intimate inside the cave he had entered, he nearly broke down on the spot.

He immediately turned and ran with Combusken.

Once Nidoking and Nidoqueen realized what had happened, they flew into a rage and chased after him like mad.

As for the idea of having Combusken fight the two of them, it sounded quite good, but it was simply courting death.

Because they were not going to fight him one-on-one.

At first, he had not realized it, but later he discovered that those two Pokemon were only around level thirty or so. Combusken should have been able to defeat them one against two.

Unfortunately, the other side called for backup.

A level-thirty-something Nidoking and Nidoqueen had a whole group of underlings in the outskirts. None of them had reached Elite level, but even ants could bite an elephant to death.

Just imagine an army made up of Zubat, Geodude, Magnemite, and Sandshrew closing in to hunt you down.

Would turning around to fight not just be delivering yourself to them?

Tetsuya and Combusken decisively chose to flee.

Fortunately, Mt. Moon's terrain was complex, and these Pokemon were generally not fast. The few fast ones were slowed by their companions, while Combusken occasionally fought to delay them.

Otherwise, Tetsuya suspected he would have needed to run for another hour or more, until he coughed up blood.

After opening up some distance, he found a cave he could exit through, leading to what happened afterward.

He did not know whether this counted as good luck or bad luck. Rhyperior aside, Nidoking and Nidoqueen were both very valuable on the Black Market even if they only had Elite aptitude.

Thinking of this, Tetsuya took out his Navigator and made a mark.

A gentleman's revenge can wait ten years.

Tetsuya thought angrily, I'll remember today's chase. Once Combusken evolves, I'll catch you two and sell you for money.

Please invest, bookmark, recommend, and send Monthly Passes!!!

I'll take anything!!

(The next two updates will still be at five and nine tonight.)