Chapter 289: Rare

After tidying up everything in the camp, Rex and Mai arrived at the final marked location.

This marked location was completely different from the others. It was situated on a subterranean cliff, where the cliff face was covered with dense impact marks, and the other side led to a bottomless abyss.

Looking at the abyss, dark as ink, and hearing the eerie whistling wind, both Rex and Mai couldn't help but shiver.

The environment of this place was indeed unsettling. If Rex had been alone, he might have just explored briefly and left.

However, to avoid showing fear in front of Mai, he forced himself to act unafraid, not revealing a hint of his apprehension—this was his final act of stubborn pride as a man.

In truth, Mai was even more scared than Rex. Although she was a powerful trainer, the eerie atmosphere of this place filled her with dread. However, she gritted her teeth and endured, determined not to let Rex look down on her.

Thus, these two headstrong individuals began striking the cliff face. The rock was incredibly hard, so Mai stopped after a few attempts, realizing her strength wasn't enough to make a dent.

Rex, on the other hand, managed to chip off some fragments of the rock, but after a while without any discoveries, he too stopped and let Machoke and Sandslash take over. At this point, whether they found rare items or not wasn't as important to him anymore.

Bored, Rex and Mai sat on chairs, idly chatting while surveying their surroundings.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a sound resembling a young dragon's roar echoed from the depths of the abyss, reverberating in the unique environment for a long time before fading.

"What was that? It sounded like it came from the bottom of the abyss."

Rex leaned over to peer into the depths, but all he could see was pitch-black darkness, not even a glimmer of light.

"It's probably just the wind passing through the cracks in the rocks. Nothing to worry about," Mai said.

By now, Mai had somewhat adapted to the environment and wasn't particularly interested in the sound, assuming it was merely the wind.

"That must be it," Rex nodded, taking Mai's explanation at face value, and returned to watching the Pokémon dig at the cliff.

After a while, the same roar echoed again. This time, it piqued Rex's curiosity. He knew there were rare Dragon-type Pokémon in Meteor Falls.

"Mai, I'm thinking of riding Swellow down to take a look. Want to join me?" Rex asked.

"Um, no thanks. Are you sure about this? There might be danger down there," Mai replied, glancing nervously at the abyss, its darkness unsettling her. She shook her head firmly.

"Alright, you stay here and keep watch. I'll head down for a look. Who knows? I might find something unexpected!"

Seeing that Mai wasn't interested, Rex didn't press her. He summoned Swellow, had Haunter use Flash to light the way, and then mounted Swellow to descend into the abyss.

At first, Mai could still see the light from Haunter's Flash, but it grew smaller and smaller until it was completely swallowed by the darkness.

Rex found the abyss to be even deeper than he had expected. Swellow had been descending for quite some time, yet the bottom was still nowhere in sight, only endless darkness.

After a few more minutes, Rex finally caught a glimpse of the uneven rocky ground below.

"Roar!"

At that moment, Rex heard the roar again. Being closer now, he could roughly pinpoint its direction and directed Swellow to fly toward the source.

Swellow searched the abyss for a while before spotting the source of the sound on a steep cliff.

A small creature stood on the cliff, taking a few steps back before leaping off the edge with determination, plummeting rapidly downward.

"Bagon!"

Upon seeing the Pokémon, Rex couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Although he knew that rare Dragon-type Pokémon lived in the depths of Meteor Falls, he hadn't dared to hope he'd encounter a pseudo-legendary like Bagon. Yet here it was, right in front of him. How could he not be excited?

Bagon's body was blue, its teeth protruding, and it had a tough skull and small arms.

Bagons don't live in groups and prefer solitary lives. They dream of soaring through the skies and jump off cliffs daily to train their bodies, hardening their heads to be as tough as steel. A single headbutt from them can split solid rock in two.

It's said that Bagons repeatedly bash their heads to stimulate evolutionary cells. Despite their small size, their bodies are packed with muscle, making them extremely powerful Pokémon. With their trained neck muscles and iron-hard heads, they can crush massive boulders with their Headbutt attack.

Whenever Bagons see Flying-type Pokémon soaring through the skies, they become envious. Influenced by their genetic inheritance, they believe they'll fly one day. To vent their frustration at being flightless, they relentlessly smash boulders, awaiting the day they grow wings.

Rex landed and noticed the Bagon lying in the crater it had created from its fall. The impact had clearly taken a toll on it, and it needed a moment to recover.

After some time, the Bagon shook its head and climbed out of the crater. But upon noticing Rex nearby, it immediately adopted a defensive stance, growling as if to warn him not to provoke it.

"Bagon, I want to capture you. Let's have a battle!" Rex declared.

"Roar!"

Hearing Rex's challenge, Bagon began hopping side to side, seemingly eager to fight.

Evidently, Bagon was often bored in the darkness of the abyss, and its Dragon lineage made it naturally combative.

"Go, Combusken!"

Rex wasted no time and sent out Combusken.

Upon seeing its opponent, Bagon charged forward with a Headbutt, its small legs propelling it rapidly toward Combusken.

Initially, Combusken underestimated the small Pokémon. But when Bagon's powerful attack landed, Combusken was taken aback and became fully engaged in the battle, countering with Brick Break aimed at Bagon's head.

Unexpectedly, Combusken's attack didn't gain the upper hand. Instead, Bagon's strength pushed Combusken back several steps before it managed to steady itself, though it remained unhurt.

(To be continued...)