Chapter 111: Shiny Weezing... Glowing?
On his first night in Luminous Swamp, Sato was ambushed by a clan of Arbok and Arbok leaders.
Fortunately, he managed to get through it unharmed.
Surprisingly, there was a benefit to the encounter, since Arbok leaders were a dominant force in the area, no other Pokémon dared to approach or launch attacks after their defeat.
Sato felt no guilt whatsoever about eliminating the Arbok and their leaders. They had clearly treated him and his Pokémon as prey, launching a full-scale ambush with lethal intent.
Hesitation in such a situation would have meant death.
Additionally, Arbok's venom sacs had their own unique uses, in some cases, they were even more valuable than Weezing's poison sacs.
The next morning, Sato packed up his belongings and released Gengar and Carvanha before venturing deeper into Luminous Swamp.
Will had chosen a mission for him: To capture a special Weezing.
Half a month ago, someone had spotted a Weezing with an unusual "coloration" in Luminous Swamp.
When the information reached the Adventurer's Guild, a mission was immediately issued to capture the "Shiny" Weezing.
Since the mission target resided in a perilous location and the informant wasn't sure of Weezing's strength or if it was really a "shiny", the task was classified as a high-level mission.
Sato had accepted the mission under the name of the "Brave Fights the Evil Dragon Team" and set off alone to find the Shiny Weezing.
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Traversing Luminous Swamp required extreme caution, the first priority was to distinguish solid ground from unstable marsh.
With Gengar and Carvanha's help, Sato managed to map out a viable path, though progress was slow.
As he ventured deeper, the number of wild Pokémon increased. Most Pokémon fled at the sight of him, especially the Ekans that had escaped the battle last night.
At one point, he encountered a group of Marill and Azumarill. They curiously watched the outsider, but did not attack.
Sato cautiously backed away, feeling a clear sense of hostility transmitted through his Dark Energy.
In his previous life, Sato had long been puzzled as to why Dark Energy reacted negatively to Pokémon like Marill, Snubbull, and Jigglypuff, Pokémon that had no natural type advantage against Dark-types.
It wasn't until years later, when the Pokémon League officially connected Kalos to other regions, that they publicly revealed the existence of the eighteenth Pokémon type: Fairy-type!
A type that could completely negate Dragon-type attacks, while also resisting Fighting, Dark, and Bug-type moves.
As more regions reevaluated their Pokémon, they found that some species had always been Fairy-types, Marill was one of them.
Previously unpopular, the so-called "Water Rat" became highly sought after. With the Huge Power ability and the newfound Fairy typing, Azumarill earned the nickname "Dragon Slayer"!
While the world focused on Fairy-types and Dragon-types clashing, Sato paid attention to another crucial detail.
Fairy-types countered Dark-types!
This revelation answered a lifelong question—why had he always felt an unexplainable dislike for Pokémon like Marill, Jigglypuff, and Snubbull?
These cute, round, and seemingly harmless Pokémon, instead of just staying cute and carefree, they had chosen to fight against the so-called "forces of darkness".
And worse... they were winning.
As a representative of "darkness," Sato was the first to protest this injustice.
Avoiding the Azumarill group to prevent unnecessary conflict, Sato continued forward.
Soon, he encountered a sluggish Koffing floating nearby.
"Gengar, use Hypnosis!"
Reddich purple hypnotic waves rippled through Koffing's eyes, turning its already dazed expression even more vacant.
After an intense mental battle, Gengar successfully took control of Koffing, compelling it to lead the way to the "Shiny" Weezing.
Without resistance, Koffing obediently floated forward, guiding Sato and Carvanha deeper into Luminous Swamp.
Luckily, Koffing's movement speed was naturally slow, ensuring that Sato wouldn't lose sight of it.
After about ten minutes, a completely ordinary Weezing appeared before them, staring at Sato with its two identical blank faces.
Under Hypnosis, Koffing didn't seem to understand what made the Shiny Weezing different. With its simple mind, it had mistakenly led Gengar to a regular Weezing.
"Change the target." Sato instructed Gengar before climbing onto Weezing's body!
The smell wasn't exactly pleasant, but at least he no longer had to trudge through unstable terrain, his travel speed increased significantly!
With its Levitate ability, Weezing was perfect for moving through the swamp.
Carvanha circled around Sato, acting as his bodyguard, its fighting spirit burning fiercely. Gengar also sat atop Weezing, fully focused on maintaining Hypnosis.
With that, Weezing began searching the swamp for its unusual companion.
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A mini Weezing, a giant Weezing, a Weezing that loved spewing smoke, a Weezing that fell asleep for no reason…
Sato ended up seeing all sorts of strange Weezing, except for the Shiny one.
By the time night fell again, Sato had no choice but to give up for now, finding a suitable campsite and releasing the hardworking Weezing that had led them on this search.
At night, Luminous Swamp once again lit up with countless fireflies.
It was as if their numbers never decreased, every night, the swamp remained just as beautiful and dreamlike.
Sato wasn't in a hurry to complete the mission.
The Pokémon resources in Mount Silver's inner region were endless, if he needed money, he could simply catch a few high-potential Pokémon and sell them.
Strengthening himself and enjoying life was far more important.
"Huh?"
As Sato sipped his hot soup, gazing across Luminous Swamp, he suddenly noticed an enormous firefly in the distance.
Compared to ordinary fireflies, the difference was like the moon to the stars!
It's too big!
Wait, that's not a firefly!
Realizing this a moment too late, Sato immediately stood up, putting on his thermal night vision goggles.
A glowing red Weezing appeared in his view.
A luminescent Weezing!
"Gengar, Carvanha, bring that Weezing over here!" Sato ordered excitedly.
The only two Pokémon that could hover in the air immediately rushed forward.
Through the thermal night vision, Sato saw Carvanha engaging in battle with Weezing.
Since Gengar, as a Ghost-type, had no body heat, it didn't appear on the scanner. But that didn't matter, soon, Weezing was brought over.
Sato lowered his thermal goggles, he could see it clearly now.
Just like the fireflies' soft glow, Weezing's entire body emitted a pale green light. The spots where it had been injured appeared dimmer, but the glow was slowly returning.
Right now, Weezing was completely immobilized by Psychic.
Without hesitation, Sato pressed a Poké Ball against it!