Chapter 142: Stealing

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"Sandslash, use Slash!"

"Arbok, use Iron Tail!"

Deep within the first level of Victory Road, on a wide rocky platform, Liam was battling against a self-proclaimed Elite Trainer. The trainer was using a Sandslash, while Liam, of course, sent out Arbok.

Chaarbok!

The two Pokémon charged at each other across the rocky terrain. The claws of Sandslash and Arbok's tail were both glowing with intense energy. When they collided, a dull thud rang out—and Sandslash was sent flying backward, crashing hard into the ground. It struggled briefly before collapsing, unable to battle any longer.

"Sandslash! Damn it! I lost this round! Hmph! Here's 2,000 PokéDollars—remember this! Next time, I'm definitely going to beat you!"

The Elite Trainer admitted defeat, recalled his Sandslash, and pulled out two 1,000-PokéDollars bills. Tossing them to the ground, he turned around and stormed off.

Liam walked over, picked up the money, brushed off the dust, and slipped it into his pocket, muttering to himself:

"Wow, this place really is great. People even have the decency to hand over cash when they lose. I'm making a fortune here. Honestly, I'm starting to not want to leave."

Liam had been in Victory Road for nearly half the day already. He entered right after lunch and hadn't left since. Over the course of the afternoon, he encountered over twenty trainers searching for opponents inside Victory Road. Each time, the battle ended with Liam's victory.

And after every match, the defeated trainers would hand over between 1,000 and 3,000 PokéDollars in cash as a reward to the victor.

Because of this, Liam spent the entire afternoon looking for people to battle, completely ignoring the wild Pokémon in the cave, fully focused on making some easy money.

After another win, Liam recalled Arbok into its PokeBall, then opened his navigation map. Switching it to 3D mode, he gazed thoughtfully at the three-level layout of Victory Road.

"Strange... the map clearly shows that Victory Road has three levels. But I've nearly explored the entire first level and still haven't found a path to the second. Could it be that the second and third levels haven't been discovered yet? Am I supposed to dig my way there or something!?"

Liam had been wandering around the first level for hours and was beginning to grow a little frustrated. Irritated, he kicked a pebble at his feet—it flew a good distance and struck what appeared to be a "rock" by the path.

Rumble...

As the pebble struck, the "rock" it hit revealed an angry tic mark on its forehead and slowly rose from the ground, glaring furiously at Liam.

"A Graveler?! Seriously? You were sitting there the whole time and didn't react at all during my entire battle just now?!"

Liam couldn't help but complain as he looked at the angry Graveler in front of him. During the long battle he just had with the Elite Trainer, this Graveler hadn't moved a muscle. Now it suddenly woke up just because of a tiny rock?

"Talk about lacking awareness! Fine then, I'll do you the honor of catching you. Come on out, Aerodactyl! Try to play nice and cooperate a little."

Seeing the furious Graveler charging at him, Liam was more amused than alarmed. He quickly pulled out a PokeBall and tossed it. With a flash of light, a massive Aerodactyl appeared in Graveler's path.

"Graaaav... Graaav!"

Graveler, charging ahead full force, suddenly saw the towering Aerodactyl appear before it. Its expression changed dramatically as it tried to slam on the brakes with its legs. But it had been moving too fast in its rage, and now it couldn't stop. Momentum took over, and Graveler curled into a ball, rolling even faster toward Aerodactyl.

ROAAAAR!

Aerodactyl let out a sky-splitting roar the moment it appeared. Then, with a thud, Graveler crashed straight into its stomach. The roar abruptly cut off as Aerodactyl looked down, glaring furiously at the Pokémon that had bounced off its belly.

Graveler, knocked away by the impact, staggered to its feet in a daze, still unsure what had just happened. It turned its head—only to meet a pair of blood-red eyes locked fiercely onto it. Its heart skipped a beat as it tried to run away.

But then, with a whoosh, a massive tail whipped through the air and struck Graveler hard. Its body flew like a baseball, embedding deep into a rocky wall, already knocked out cold.

ROAAAAR!

After defeating Graveler in one hit, Aerodactyl let out another thunderous roar, then flapped its wings and flew to perch on a nearby stone pillar. There, it yawned widely and slumped down lazily, looking ready for a nap.

Liam: "..."

He stared at the drowsy Aerodactyl for a second, then sighed. Pulling out a PokeBall, he quickly tossed it at the Graveler stuck in the wall. With a flash of red light, the unconscious Pokémon was drawn into the PokeBall. All that was left on the wall was a semi-circular dent.

Ding!

With a crisp sound, the capture was successful. Liam walked over to retrieve the PokeBall.

But just as he got close, a vine whip suddenly lashed out from the side and wrapped around him before he could dodge. Even the Venomoth on his arm was caught up in the bindings.

"What the—?! What's going on!?"

Liam frowned, turning toward the source of the vine whip.

"Hahaha! I knew I heard a battle going on, so I came to check it out. Looks like I got here just in time."

With a cocky laugh, three figures stepped out of the shadows. A burly young man smirked at Liam. The vine whip's owner was revealed to be a Victreebel with a gaping mouth.

"You're brilliant, boss! Everything you say turns out right!" the chubby guy beside him flattered him shamelessly.

"Boss, here's the PokeBall!" the skinny one quickly handed the PokeBall containing the newly caught Graveler to the big guy, clearly hoping to earn some praise.

"Hahaha! When have I ever been wrong? You all better learn from me! Now, let's see what kind of Pokémon this is. Open up, PokeBall!"

The burly youth took the PokeBall and opened it excitedly. The Graveler inside slowly woke up and appeared before them.

"Oh, a Graveler, huh? Not bad—it's exactly my kind of Pokémon. Graveler, listen up! You're my bro now, got it?"

But the Graveler completely ignored him. It looked around in a panic, clearly searching for the terrifying Aerodactyl that had annihilated it moments ago.

"Huh? What's wrong with this Graveler? Why is it so scared? What good is a coward like that to me—huh? Victreebel, what are you doing? Why are you freaking out and running onto me!?"

Just as the bulky man was about to complain further, his own Victreebel suddenly leapt onto him in a panic. It frantically searched his body until it found its own PokeBall. Using its large leaf, it pressed the button, and in a flash of red light, disappeared back inside.

As soon as Victreebel was gone, the vines binding Liam vanished too. Now free again, Liam looked at the three before him with cold, emotionless eyes—eyes that now carried a dangerous gleam.