Chapter 93: Doreamon

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He thought the other person would chase after me to argue, or even start a fight, unexpectedly, after running just a few dozen meters, he caught a glimpse of the guy looking dejected as he walked away.

"Kids these days, all talk and no action," Li Xiang muttered, unaware that he himself was one of those "all talk, no action" types. 

Otherwise, he wouldn't have run away after catching the Pokémon.

But at least he now had forty-seven Pokémon.

Li Xiang shook his backpack. Although the mountain range was vast, the number of wild Pokémon released couldn't be too high. He estimated it wouldn't exceed five thousand. 

With two hundred participants catching five thousand Pokémon, the average would be around twenty per person.

The reason their capture efficiency was so high was mainly because the wild Pokémon only fled and didn't fight back.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be so easy to catch them with just one hit. Did they think the Pokémon were dumb and wouldn't fight back? 

That Tangrowth alone could have made Li Xiang cry.

"Let's go."

Calling out to Riolu, the duo continued their search, trudging through the uneven terrain.

Unfortunately-

Wild Pokémon had indeed become scarce. More people were now conducting thorough searches, and it was common to see one or two people every couple of minutes. Competition for Pokémon was everywhere.

At one point, Li Xiang saw four people fighting over a Gloom, arguing about who had the right to capture it, and it almost came to blows. This made him realize that the guy earlier wasn't an exception.

Was the competition really this intense?

Li Xiang suddenly wondered if he should join the fray, as there were hardly any wild Pokémon left.

Just then, he spotted a certain white-haired boy and a white-and-red wolf fiercely competing for a Cherubi.

The four people trying to compete with him didn't even stand a chance, falling dozens of meters behind.

"Young man! You're really good at this!"

Li Xiang exclaimed, unable to help but applaud.

"Huh?"

Song Jie, who had just picked up the Poké Ball from the ground, noticed Li Xiang standing under a tree and couldn't hide his joy.

"Finally found you. I've been searching half the mountain and couldn't find you. I thought you were out of the competition."

"Heh, thanks to you, not only am I still in, but I've also caught quite a few," Li Xiang shrugged, then asked, "What about you? How many have you caught? Do you know where you stand?"

In Li Xiang's mind, Song Jie had always been on par with Doraemon, given how well-informed he was. 

He knew many things Li Xiang didn't and seemed to have connections everywhere, with money solving all problems.

"Oh ho... Trying to fish for important information from me without offering anything in return?"

The young man wasn't falling for Li Xiang's tricks. After glancing around and confirming no one was nearby, he confidently placed his hands on his hips. 

"You first!"

"..." Li Xiang.

...

After a brief exchange.

Li Xiang learned that out of the two hundred participants, many had dropped out due to various accidents.

Some had fallen while climbing, others got their feet stuck in crevices.

There were those accidentally hit by their own Pokémon, or wild Pokémon resisting capture.

Some even ate unclean berries and got diarrhea.

Including those who got tired and didn't want to continue, or found the whole thing boring, the list went on.

Only about a hundred participants remained.

This is just ridiculous!

Are trainers these days really that fragile?

Li Xiang could hardly believe his ears. Half of the two hundred participants dropping out? It sounded almost like a scam!

"Such is the reality."

Song Jie's expression remained calm. "However, there are still quite a few capable people in this trial. Starting from the foot of the mountain and working my way up, I found many Sweet Honey traps, just like mine."

Damn!

Those were mine!

So the other traps I saw were your doing?

Li Xiang felt too exhausted, feeling a bit disheartened.

Hearing all this from Song Jie made it seem like most people were just here for fun, not taking it seriously.

Well... At least the remaining hundred are serious, right?

Li Xiang recalled the rude guy from earlier and what he had witnessed along the way.

"So, you've caught fifty-five?"

Li Xiang leaned against a tree trunk, wondering if he had a shot at the top eight.

By now, most of the wild Pokémon had been captured, and the rankings were pretty much set.

"The number of Pokémon released for the Pilgrimage Trial varies each year. It could be more or less. My guess is that you'd need at least fifty to make the top eight. You're still a bit short."

Song Jie patted his shoulder. "Let's team up from now on. Two people have a better chance against others. We'll split the spoils, one each."

True.

Two people competing against others would definitely have a higher success rate than one.

The trial didn't allow stealing others' Pokémon, but it didn't prohibit competing for unclaimed ones.

Li Xiang didn't hesitate and immediately agreed.

At this stage, every additional Pokémon increased his chances of making the top eight.

The two set off together.

It must be said, the duo worked quite well, especially with Li Xiang and Song Jie's planning and purpose. It was a strong combination.

Others had also formed teams, but they usually had four or five people, and it took them a long time to catch just one Pokémon. The rotation was slow, and the teams naturally fell apart.

A duo was much better, more efficient.

Lycanroc and Riolu, with one focusing on attacking while the other disrupted the opponents' moves.

Riolu, the little dog, wasn't great at much, but it excelled at interrupting others' moves.

Whether it was the swift Vacuum Wave, the long-range Force Palm, or even Detect, all were excellent moves for blocking attacks.

If it could learn "Follow Me" one day, its ability would improve even further.

Two hours later.

Li Xiang added five more to his tally, surpassing fifty.

"That should be enough. There's only an hour left in the trial," Song Jie checked his watch.

"When the horn blows later, the last wave of hidden Pokémon will come out. We can try to catch a few more, and then it's really over."

The trial wouldn't wait until all Pokémon were captured to end. Before it concluded, a horn would sound, calling out the hidden Pokémon.

This might give those who were previously unable to catch up a chance to squeeze into the top eight.

Li Xiang didn't comment. As they walked, they hadn't seen a single Pokémon. The forest was eerily quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind and the sound of flowing water.

After sweeping the area for a full ten minutes, they still hadn't found anything.

Just then, Abigail, who had been absent for a while, reappeared.

A young girl with two tufts of hair resembling dog ears, wearing sportswear that couldn't hide her figure, and an indifferent expression, was slowly walking up the mountain.

"Senior!"

Li Xiang's eyes lit up, waving at her from a distance. "Share some intel, senior!"

Song Jie's expression stiffened, his steps slowing slightly. He was actually quite resistant to his sister's classmate.

Not out of dislike, but the white-haired youth found this girl difficult to approach. Every time Abigail's gaze swept over him, he couldn't meet her eyes.

It felt like being stared down by a predator, his throat and stomach both aching.

Too much to handle.

"Hey, hey, can you tone it down a bit?"

Song Jie swallowed hard, tugging at Li Xiang's clothes from behind. "You're being way too enthusiastic!"

Li Xiang turned around. "What? This is normal. I was like this with you too, remember?"

He noticed that Song Jie seemed to have some resistance toward Abigail. What Li Xiang considered a normal greeting and small talk, Song Jie saw as being overly familiar.

When Li Xiang was just trying to gather information, Song Jie thought he was being too eager...

Almost calling him a simp.

Joking aside, if this was considered simping, then when Li Xiang first started school, wasn't he simping even harder for Song Jie?

Successfully distracted, Song Jie paused. He had almost forgotten what it was like at the beginning of the school year.

Abigail also slowly walked up to the two.

"Seventy-eight."

She calmly stated a number. With the trial nearing its end and her friend's younger brother in front of her, she saw no reason to hide it.

"Impressive. I only have fifty-two."

Li Xiang hadn't expected that in just over four hours, Abigail had nearly doubled her original count.

Song Jie stood further back, greeting her before standing sideways behind Li Xiang, a tall guy now acting like a shy little girl, not daring to look her in the eye.

So awkward.

Abigail didn't mind, straightforwardly asking, "Need help?"

She thought Li Xiang's count was a bit low.

"Uh... No need," Li Xiang felt Song Jie's grip on his clothes tightening and declined with a smile.

"Alright."

Abigail's words were always so brief. Her gaze swept over Song Jie behind Li Xiang, and she walked away.

Weavile followed closely, its cat-like vertical pupils darting between Lycanroc and Riolu.

Finally, they disappeared into the forest.

Song Jie relaxed his grip on Li Xiang's clothes. "The horn's about to blow. Let's head that way. There should be plenty of Pokémon."

He pointed in the opposite direction of where Abigail had gone.

Li Xiang: "..."

Young man, something's off with you.

Is it really that bad!?

He truly couldn't understand why Song Jie was so averse to her, especially when she had offered to help.

Of course.

He knew better than to say it out loud.

...

The horn sounded.

Its echoes reverberated throughout the mountain.

The hidden wild Pokémon, hearing the signal that the trial was ending, stopped fleeing and instead, they approached the nearest participants.

They were practically delivering themselves.

The direction Song Jie had pointed to did indeed have many hidden Pokémon.

Before the end, Li Xiang managed to break the sixty mark, reaching sixty-five.

"You gave them all to me. Are you sure that's okay?"

"If seventy isn't enough, then I guess the Life Water just isn't meant for me," Song Jie shrugged.

"You're really laid-back."

Li Xiang smiled faintly. "Thanks for looking out for me."

Song Jie had gone above and beyond for him. Li Xiang himself found it strange how he always seemed to meet such helpful people.

First, there was the wealthy Su Yiliu, then his master Duan Tianxing, and now Song Jie, who came from a wealthy family.

"Stop being sentimental. Let's head down to the counting area."

Song Jie pushed Li Xiang, and as the final horn sounded, both pressed the buttons on their remotes.

Almost instantly.

Two Abra appeared beside them, immediately casting pink rings around them.

In the next second, the world spun.