Chapter 429: Peril-Filled Tropical Jungle

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Around 5 p.m., somewhere on an unnamed island in the southern part of the Kanto region.

Several emerald-green sword lights flashed through the air. Accompanied by sharp "swish swish swish~~" sounds, the sharp leaf blades in Bellossom's hands sliced through a small tree blocking the way and a large patch of man-high weeds ahead, reducing them instantly to fragments.

Holding twin blades, Bellossom continued to clear the way forward while Sato followed closely behind, accompanied by Pichu and Arbok.

At this moment, Sato had already ventured deep into the jungle of the unnamed island. The reason he changed his original plan of exploring the outskirts to delving into the depths was largely because he had found traces of a Grass-type starter Pokémon during his exploration.

This particular Pokémon was a Sceptile from the Hoenn region, impressively powerful and incredibly fast, reaching Level 39, and boasting a high individual value of 164 — a very high-quality Pokémon.

However, this Sceptile had outstanding concealment abilities within the jungle. Even Crobat couldn't track it down in time. The moment it realized it couldn't win, it immediately chose to flee, causing Sato to lose its trail during the chase.

At the same time, Sato himself had inadvertently strayed deep into the jungle.

Thus, Sato decided to simply explore the jungle's interior instead — partly to adapt to the environment, and partly to continue searching for signs of Sceptile, hoping to also discover a Treecko population deeper within.

Since a wild Sceptile existed here, it was certain that a group of wild Treecko must also exist somewhere on the island. The only question was, where.

The weeds were just the lower, more common vegetation of the tropical jungle. The truly towering pillars were the enormous trees whose dense canopies almost completely blocked out the sunlight.

For a moment, Sato felt as if he had entered a miniature version of a giant's kingdom.

'The vegetation here is just too dense and enormous. In an environment like this, there's no way to move quickly or safely. So this is what the interior of a tropical jungle is like — what a headache. Not to mention all the dangers too,' he thought to himself helplessly as he flicked away a scorched, unrecognizable bug that had been electrocuted by Pichu and landed on him.

At this moment, a medical bandage was stuck to his left cheek, covering a deep claw wound.

Not wanting to risk a scar, Sato had refrained from letting Bellossom treat the injury. Instead, he temporarily sealed it with a medical patch, planning to have it properly taken care of at a Pokémon Center later.

The attacker responsible for the wound was a Level 45 Ninjask. In fact, the Ninjask had aimed directly for his throat.

If not for Sato's quick reflexes — and Ditto at the critical moment transforming into a Pelipper to use Protect — Sato's life might have ended right then and there at the hands of that terrifying, lightning-fast assassin.

As a consequence of its failure, that fearsome jungle killer would never again soar or screech through the forest.

Suddenly, the sound of "rustle rustle rustle~" emerged from the tall grass on the left side of the group, growing louder and more frequent.

Bellossom, noticing this development, swiftly stepped in front of Sato. Together with Arbok, she stared intently at the rustling grass, ready for battle.

Moments later, a dozen or so brown wild Stantler burst out of the grass in a panic.

The moment they spotted the menacing Arbok, the fear in their eyes intensified. They immediately veered sharply to avoid him, accelerating behind the lead buck and dashing away at full speed.

Bellossom and Arbok paid little mind to the sudden appearance of the Stantler. They continued to maintain high vigilance, staring at the movement in the grass, prepared for anything.

From the behavior of the Stantler herd, it was obvious: they were fleeing from something terrifying chasing them from behind.

The creature that had been pursuing the herd now hesitated, sensing the powerful presence radiating from Bellossom and Arbok. It was debating whether to confront them, as this area happened to be its hunting territory.

Sato's expression also grew serious as he stared at the grass to the left. The deeper they ventured into the jungle, the fewer wild Pokémon they encountered — but the ones that remained were increasingly high-level.

In the outskirts of the tropical jungle, wild Pokémon generally averaged around Level 25. However, in the jungle's central regions, wild Pokémon commonly surpassed Level 35.

Not long ago, Sato had encountered a Level 48 Shiftry — yes, a powerful elder who viewed these intruders as a direct threat to his forest domain and had pursued them mercilessly.

Shiftry's long-range Hurricane, projectile Leaf Blade, and his ability to dart swiftly and flexibly through the trees made him one of the most dangerous long-range assassins of the jungle. For a time, Sato's only option was to run.

If not for Sato orchestrating a plan to expose a flaw in Shiftry's defense, allowing Crobat to land a surprise Aerial Ace and seriously wound him, the vicious and cunning Shiftry would likely have chased them to the death.

Although danger loomed at every step in the jungle's depths, it was equally a land of opportunity. Along the way, Sato had harvested numerous rare berries seldom found in Kanto and encountered many rare and high-potential wild Pokémon.

Among them, the most tempting was a gold rated Scyther boasting an individual value of 179.

Unfortunately, that Scyther was the direct descendant of the Scyther swarm's leader — a Level 52 powerhouse — and was tightly protected by its kin.

Given Sato's current strength, trying to snatch that Scyther from a group of more than 50 individuals, most of whom were around Level 35, with the elite members exceeding Level 40, would be nearly impossible.

After careful consideration, Sato decided to retreat for now. He made a mental note of the location of the powerful Scyther colony for future plans.

After a while, the "rustle rustle rustle~" sounds from the grass to the left began to fade. It seemed the creature had decided not to challenge them after all, sensing they would not be easy opponents.

Bellossom, who had been on high alert, finally breathed a slight sigh of relief. But just as she relaxed, the soil to her right suddenly bulged slightly.

The next instant, a giant purple sludge hand shot up from the ground, aiming a heavy slap at Bellossom as if intending to crush her in a single blow.

Bellossom's beautiful eyes remained calm and unflinching. In a flash, the leaf blades in her hands gleamed brightly with emerald light.

With two swift, crisscrossing slashes, she sliced the sludge hand into four pieces with Leaf Blade.

At the same time, the surrounding grass began to stir violently with "rustle rustle rustle~" sounds. Immediately afterward, an Arbok and two Koffing burst out from the vegetation one after another.