Chapter 92: Progress

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This trial arena is said to consist of only one mountain, but in reality, it more closely resembles a mountain range.

Stretching endlessly, ancient and vast, it extends far into the distance.

After climbing from the mountainside all the way to the summit, Li Xiang stood on a large rock, stretching and yawning as he looked down at the scenery below and around him.

 "Ah~~~" 

Seeing him yawn so contentedly, Riolu couldn't help but yawn as well.

Qiong Island is actually quite large. 

From the mountain, the city only occupies a portion of the coastal area, with little development towards the center of the island. 

It's like the Johto and Kanto regions in the games—no matter how advanced technology becomes, the areas above them remain vast, untouched, and winding mountain ranges.

Humans, Pokémon, and nature seem to have an unspoken agreement, developing only to a certain extent and maintaining a reasonable boundary, not interfering with each other. 

"Coocoo coocoo—"

A series of urgent bird calls.

Li Xiang looked up and saw a Pidgey clutching a camera in its talons, flapping its wings above him, calling out like a hen. 

It was probably urging him to keep moving and not linger.

"Are you tired? Even if you're not, I am. Hand over the camera, let's take a break." 

Li Xiang beckoned to the Pidgey.

The organizers naturally wouldn't make a Pokémon carry a heavy camera all day, staying by someone's side. No one could handle that.

These Pidgey "cameramen" work in shifts, but if they could openly slack off, the Pidgey wouldn't refuse. 

However, the camera absolutely could not be handed over.

It gave Li Xiang a wary look, then flew to a nearby tree, carefully perching on a branch, one talon holding the camera and the other gripping the tree trunk. 

"Tsk, quite alert."

 Li Xiang clicked his tongue and sat down on the rock. 

After running for so long, with the mountain path being rough and unlike the well-paved trails of famous mountains he'd climbed before, he was naturally exhausted.

If it weren't for the half year of martial arts training that had toughened the soles of his feet, he probably would have developed blisters by now.

He needed to rest for a while, and taking this opportunity, he decided to tally up his gains. 

The competition started at nine and now, at eleven, two full hours had passed. 

In the first half hour, he had encountered quite a few wild Pokémon on the mountain, roughly one per minute, but after that, the number of wild Pokémon appearing in the forest dwindled. 

After all, with two hundred participants, there was a limit to how many wild Pokémon the organizers could release.

"Thirty-two... is that a lot or a little?"

Li Xiang rubbed the Poké Balls like they were mahjong tiles. 

These were the fruits of his two hours of hard work, having used up most of the Sweet Honey in his backpack to capture these wild Pokémon.

There were all kinds of Pokémon. 

Among them was an exceptionally large Tangrowth, standing three meters tall. 

To be honest, this strange creature covered in writhing vines was truly unsettling, triggering Li Xiang's trypophobia.

Of course, he wasn't the only clever one. 

Along the way, he had seen many traps set to lure Pokémon, with Sweet Honey traps being among the more basic ones.

As he glanced down again, something peculiar caught his eye. 

A black and red figure leaped onto a branch, its claws glowing with a bloody light as it struck a nimble purple monkey off the tree. 

Dark-type moves often have a bloody or black hue, looking quite eerie at night, but in the end, it's just special effects.

"Weavile and Aipom?" 

Li Xiang blinked, quickly pulling out a telescope from his pocket.

Sure enough. 

Although the view was obstructed by vegetation, he could still make out Abigail's faint figure in the forest.

In the air, he spotted a Magnemite almost blending in with the camera.

Wow!

Finally, a familiar face!

Li Xiang hurriedly stuffed the Poké Balls back into his bag and patted Riolu, who was gazing at the distant horizon, inexplicably moved. 

"Let's go, let's go!"

Hearing this, Riolu reluctantly tore its gaze away and followed Li Xiang.

...

"...Forty-five." 

Abigail picked up the water-blue patterned Poké Ball, her expression cold and her breathing steady. 

Beside her, Weavile narrowed its eyes, licking its sharp claws with a sly grin.

As time went on, wild Pokémon were becoming scarcer, and the efficiency of finding and capturing them was dropping.

It was time to rest—

"Hmm?"

As if sensing something, Abigail frowned, her hand instinctively reaching to her waist, while Weavile also assumed a defensive stance.

A chilling aura began to swirl around its claws. 

But the next second -

A boy with a joyful expression and a humanoid dog emerged from the dense bushes, parting the thick foliage to appear before her. 

"Senior Abigail!" 

Li Xiang wore a smile but didn't rush forward, maintaining a respectful distance as he greeted her:

"Good afternoon, finally meeting someone familiar."

Abigail silently observed Li Xiang for two seconds before nodding slightly.

Still, she said nothing.

Li Xiang didn't mind this minor detail and got straight to the point: "Senior, I'm really sorry to bother you, but may I ask how many Pokémon you've captured so far?"

He had been wanting to find a reference point to compare his progress, but the kids these days were all quite wary, not giving him a chance to strike up a conversation.

The reason he came to the mountaintop was also to look for Song Ji, hoping the elevated view would help.

Seeing that Abigail still didn't speak but remained standing, Li Xiang turned his backpack around, opening it to reveal the Poké Balls inside, and said candidly:

"I've captured over thirty... You don't need to give me an exact number, just let me know if the gap between us is huge, so I can get a sense of where I stand."

There was no other way. If he wanted information from others, he had to show some sincerity first.

If Abigail didn't want to engage, she could have just walked away, but she stayed, indicating that she also needed a reference point. 

Information was important to both sides. 

Thinking this, Li Xiang blinked, trying to appear as harmless as possible. 

This tactic had served him well in the past. 

However - 

"Just over forty."

After uttering these words, Abigail withdrew her gaze from Li Xiang's bag, turned, and left without hesitation.The Weavile by her side glanced at Riolu with a sly look, licking its lips in a somewhat sinister manner.

It had a "I've got my eye on you" expression.

This made Riolu's fur stand on end, and it couldn't help but show a look of disgust.

What a creep!

"Thanks."

Li Xiang smiled as he watched Abigail walk away, quickly closing his bag and heading in the opposite direction.

Whether Abigail was among the top eight or not, he needed to keep pushing. 

Over forty, wow.

 ...

Two hours later.

By a mountain stream. 

A Poliwhirl, while fleeing, was hit by a Poké Ball on its torso. 

Thud!

The Poké Ball opened, releasing a green light that sucked the Poliwhirl inside.

Then it fell to the ground with a soft clink, shaking twice before completing the capture.

"Phew, finally forty-six." 

Li Xiang wiped the sweat from his brow, took out a water bottle, and gulped down half of it before tossing it to the equally breathless Riolu.

Riolu caught it, holding the bottle with both hands and taking a big swig.

Although he had been trying to catch up to Abigail, the wild Pokémon on the mountain were becoming increasingly scarce. In the first two hours, he had caught over thirty, but in the last two hours, only a little over ten. 

And this was the result of Li Xiang's relentless effort.

At the same time - 

Only now did he truly understand why Pokémon hunters preferred using capture nets over Poké Balls when catching large groups of Pokémon. 

Poké Balls take a while to shake, and there's always the risk of the Pokémon breaking free—how inefficient is that?

Capture nets, on the other hand, come in various types, like electric nets or adhesive nets. Once deployed, they can cover several meters, making it hard for Pokémon to escape.

They even have built-in remote retrieval functions.

"Keep pushing—whoa, what's this?" 

Just as Li Xiang was about to set off again, a rapidly flying Ninjask caught his attention. 

For some reason, this guy's wings were buzzing loudly, and it was heading straight for him, as if offering itself up. 

A gift from the heavens!

But before he could order Riolu to act, a long-legged, long-beaked Dodrio and a tall, lanky boy emerged from the forest behind Ninjask. 

"It's mine!"

The boy, seeing Li Xiang from about a hundred meters away, shouted impatiently, "Get lost!" 

Hey! 

Li Xiang had initially planned to walk away upon seeing that someone was already after it, but hearing this, he decided not to back down.

"Riolu!"

 He called out softly, running towards Ninjask while enlarging a miniaturized Poké Ball.

Ninjask was flying towards him, and by moving closer, Li Xiang reduced the distance between them.

Riolu's Vacuum Wave followed immediately, striking Ninjask's body with precision!

Thump!

A dull sound echoed as Ninjask's body wobbled slightly, its rapid movement slowing down significantly!

Now's the chance! 

Li Xiang threw the Poké Ball in his hand.

According to the rules, as long as you hit the Pokémon, anyone has the right to capture it. 

Damn it!

The boy controlling Dodrio gritted his teeth, hurling his Poké Ball at Ninjask and shouting, "Tri Attack, destroy his Poké Ball!"

Dodrio, hearing this, instinctively shot out red, yellow, and blue beams, but it was already too late.

Li Xiang's Poké Ball had already sucked Ninjask inside, and the beams hit the ground, the resulting shockwave blasting the ball into the air!

The ball flew in Li Xiang's direction.

"Thanks!"

Li Xiang quickly reached out and caught it, then turned and ran, not giving the other boy a chance to react.

He had no intention of getting into a confrontation. If the boy caused trouble, he'd just press the button to report him.

After all, there were cameras recording everything from above!