Chapter 223: Lazy "Wild" Pokémon Are the Worst

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When other students arrived after hearing the commotion, all they saw was a swamp-like muddy area and two trainers resting at the edge with their Pokémon.

They were too late.

Many of them showed expressions of regret—they had hoped to take advantage of the situation.

"Good thing you chose option one."

Li Xiang glanced at the people on the hillside and whistled softly.

Hearing the sounds of battle and rushing over? Their intentions were obvious.

He wasn't afraid of them—he just found them annoying.

"We weren't far from them earlier. They definitely heard the noise."

Song Jie sat on the dirt-stained grass, using a small hammer to massage Aerodactyl's tail.

That last tail sweep might have looked cool—like Moses parting the Red Sea—but it had drained Aerodactyl's stamina significantly. It was like sprinting at full speed—an explosive burst of energy in an instant.

Now, its body was slightly exhausted, and Song Jie had to help relax its tense muscles.

After using Roost to recover stamina and eating an Oran Berry to restore energy, Aerodactyl was back in shape.

This world was different from the games. When Pokémon boosted their stats, it also consumed more stamina.

Pokémon naturally expended energy just by moving and dodging, so managing stamina was a fundamental skill for every trainer. Because of this, most trainers didn't push their Pokémon to max boosts. One Swords Dance was usually enough.

Two Swords Dances started becoming inefficient, and three? Unnecessary.

In short, very few people maxed out their boosts—unless it was for specific situations, like going for a one-hit KO.

Ignoring the onlookers, Li Xiang stood up and brushed the grass off his pants.

"Switching out?"

"No need. Aerodactyl isn't going down in one hit." Song Jie got up as well. "Should we keep exploring? The boundary's up ahead. Following it might lead us to other five-point targets."

Li Xiang nodded and the two set off again.

The spectators hesitated but didn't dare follow.

...

The Boundary Line.

From a distance, it was hard to see clearly, but up close, they could make out a light-green fence nearly blending into the bushes.

"This thing's more symbolic than practical, huh?"

Li Xiang tugged at the fence, shaking it slightly to see past the shrubs.

But the moment he did—

Whoosh!

The soil beside him suddenly bulged, and a massive purple snake head burst out of the ground!

"Digging Arbok?!"

Li Xiang's expression tightened as he jerked backward. At the same time, a blue blur shot up from his side, a silver glint flashing around its fist as it smashed into Arbok's head with bullet-like speed!

BAM!

The two collided and separated instantly.

"Riolu!"

Riolu landed gracefully, baring its fangs with a furious growl before preparing to strike again.

But before it could—

Whoosh!

Aerodactyl, having seen the attack from above, swooped down like a bolt of lightning, its sharp claws clamping onto Arbok's body before rocketing back into the sky!

The howling winds wrapped around Arbok like chains, immobilizing its long, noodle-like body as it flailed helplessly.

It was Sky Drop's secondary effect. Any Pokémon weaker than Aerodactyl would be completely restrained.

Arbok stared at the rapidly shrinking ground below in panic, desperately trying to coil its tail around Aerodactyl—but failing every time.

With no other options, it could only let Aerodactyl do as it pleased.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), Aerodactyl didn't fly far. Instead, it suddenly turned and plunged straight down like a meteor, aiming directly for the ground!

"Ssss—!!"

Arbok thrashed wildly, but the swirling blue currents around it held firm, refusing to let it move.

At the last second, Aerodactyl's wings snapped open like a parachute, slowing its descent as it soared back into the sky.

Arbok, however, was not so lucky.

It was dropped like a sack of potatoes.

BOOM!

The giant purple snake slammed into the earth with enough force to send dirt and grass flying!

Dazed and seeing stars, Arbok barely had time to recover before Riolu rushed in, its leg glowing with a yellow-brown light as it stomped down on Arbok's spine!

CRACK!

The ground trembled from the impact.

"SSSKKK—!!"

Arbok's eyes bulged as it nearly vomited its guts out from the sheer force before finally collapsing, unconscious.

A rather pitiful sight.

Li Xiang couldn't help but look away.

'You brought this on yourself, sneaking up like that—and aiming at me, no less.'

If it had attacked from any other angle, Riolu wouldn't have reacted so violently, but after what happened in Saizhou, all of Li Xiang's Pokémon had developed a bit of a trauma.

Now, if anything tried to threaten him, these usually calm Pokémon would explode with rage and mercilessly beat down the attacker.

Arbok was just the latest example.

"It's okay, it's okay."

Li Xiang took Riolu's paw and gently squeezed the pads. Only then did Riolu relax.

The group continued along the boundary.

Ahead lay a dense forest—towering redwoods stretched into the sky, blocking the sun and casting deep shadows over the ground, which was covered in dead leaves and strange plants.

The entire area was eerily silent.

Not willing to take chances, Riolu stopped conserving energy and activated its Aura Vision, scanning for any hidden Pokémon.

And sure enough—

It found plenty.

Pokémon that were completely invisible to the naked eye.

Like the Sandslash lazily munching on berries in a makeshift burrow five meters underground.

Some Pokémon really loved digging—this guy was one of them. After all, the underground was safe—most people wouldn't notice.

Too bad ground-based moves like Earthquake dealt double damage underground.

After Aerodactyl performed a "Meteor Crash" that shook the earth like a natural disaster—

THUD!

Sandslash burst out of the ground, unable to take the damage, right in front of Riolu.

Riolu casually punched it with an Ice Punch, knocking out the one-pointer effortlessly.

"These Pokémon are really slacking off."

Li Xiang stared at the hole Sandslash had dug and turned to Song Jie.

"You think the camp isn't paying them enough?"

Normally, these "wild" Pokémon were provided by the Association—professional actors trained for situations like this. Hiding underground to eat berries was very unprofessional.

Without Aura Vision, most people would never find them.

"I bet there are more like this elsewhere."

Song Jie nodded. "After so long, the aggressive ones have probably all been caught. Only the lazy hiders are left."

Li Xiang agreed.

They pressed forward.

Before long, Riolu detected another group—Wormadam hiding in the trees.

Their plant cloaks provided perfect camouflage, making them indistinguishable from actual leaves.

Human eyes would never spot them. Luckily, Aura Vision didn't rely on sight.

And with a 4x weakness to Flying, they stood no chance against Aerodactyl, who took them down with a swift Aerial Ace.

The Wormadam had no idea how they were exposed.

They tried fighting back with Razor Leaf, but Aerodactyl had ambushed them—they never stood a chance.

And just like that, they became Li Xiang's points.

"Not bad on the damage output."

Li Xiang watched Aerodactyl perched on a branch and grinned. "Taking out three in one go? Impressive."

Aerodactyl puffed up proudly—

THUD.

Then immediately fell out of the tree, landing face-first on the ground, its nose was tinged purple.

Poisoned.

The wound was on the edge of its wing membrane—probably a last-ditch Bug Bite from one of the Wormadam.

"Of course. These things love causing trouble on their way out."

As Song Jie hurried over to spray an Antidote on the wound, Li Xiang popped a Pecha Berry into Aerodactyl's mouth.

Internal and external treatment for faster recovery.

"It's still far from mature."

Song Jie patted Aerodactyl's head. "It keeps making small mistakes… Let's switch."

The poison would fade soon, but it was time for a change.

Though disappointed in Aerodactyl's carelessness, Song Jie still comforted it before recalling it.

POOF!

In a flash of light, a massive Bronzong appeared—standing at an impressive 1.8 meters tall, far larger than average.

Its heavy body hit the ground with a deep BOOM, sending leaves flying from the impact.

"Huh?"

Li Xiang blinked.

Wasn't Song Jie's Bronzong supposed to have Levitate?

He glanced at the white-haired boy, only to see an awkward expression.

"..."

Song Jie walked up to Bronzong, pulled out a small hammer, and lightly tapped the ring-shaped red eye on its underside. Instantly, Bronzong floated up, shaking its body as if just waking up.

Li Xiang's lips twitched. "Uh…"

"It likes sleeping. Bad habit from long-term hibernation."

Song Jie explained quickly—though it only made things more confusing, because wouldn't sleeping a lot make you less sleepy?

Then again, ancient human-made Pokémon were all a little weird.

Shaking his head, Li Xiang watched as Bronzong flexed its two "arms," creating dull whooshing sounds in the air.

"It doesn't have Aura, but it can use Extrasensory to detect mental fluctuations."

Song Jie explained. All living beings emitted mental energy.

Nodding, Li Xiang recalled Riolu.