Chapter 17

Tetsuya was now in the outer region of Mt. Moon, where most of the Pokémon were novice or mid-tier, with only a few reaching elite level. The deeper one ventured, the stronger the wild Pokémon became.

Even at the elite level, a Pokémon like Rhyperior was an absolute powerhouse.

A typical Rhyhorn evolved into Rhydon at level 40, with some individual variation. When exposed to a Protector, it would further evolve into Rhyperior. Judging by this one's presence and power, it was likely at least level 45.

With the confined space of the cave, releasing Pidgeot wasn't an option. Even if Pidgeot could be summoned, its type disadvantage meant it wouldn't stand a chance against Rhyperior, regardless of its superior training.

Combusken's Fighting-type moves had some effectiveness, but in close combat, it would be completely overwhelmed.

The sheer difference in height and weight, combined with Rhyperior's level suppression, meant even a highly trained Pokémon wouldn't stand a chance.

After nearly twenty minutes of running, Tetsuya finally felt safe when the sounds of the raging Rhyperior faded into the distance.

He let out a long sigh. "What terrible luck. Running into a Rhyperior in such a remote area? Seriously?"

Had it not been for his habit of scouting ahead with his drone, he would have walked right into the beast's path and been reduced to nothing more than a smear on the cave walls.

Thinking about his drone, which had been crushed by the Rhyperior when it triggered a rockslide, Tetsuya felt a pang of regret.

Sure, the drone wasn't expensive, but even a small loss was a loss. And while he could get a replacement from Devon Corp by returning the wreckage, there was no way he was going back to retrieve it.

"Ugh, guess I'll just have to buy a new one. That drone was crucial for scouting ahead. If I had walked into that fight myself, I'd be nothing more than a stain on the cave floor."

Checking his location after his frantic escape, he was relieved to find that he hadn't accidentally run deeper into Mt. Moon. He was still relatively close to the outer areas.

Finding a fork in the path, Tetsuya resumed his mission.

Outside a cave on Mt. Moon, a ragged young man stumbled out, panting and covered in dust.

Following closely behind was a Combusken, looking exhausted and slightly battered.

Without even taking the time to dust himself off, the man pulled out a Luxury Ball. "Pidgeot, get me out of here!"

A red light flashed, and Pidgeot appeared. Wasting no time, Tetsuya secured himself, recalled Combusken, and the massive bird took off, heading straight for Pewter City.

A few Pokémon that had just emerged from the cave watched him disappear into the sky.

"Lower… lower… don't fly too high," Tetsuya muttered nervously.

Yes, the disheveled man in question was none other than our protagonist.

Carried by Pidgeot, Tetsuya finally reached the outskirts of Pewter City. Only then did he allow himself to land.

His legs felt weak the moment his feet touched the ground. He hated heights, but there had been no other way to escape. If not for the approaching Pokémon, he wouldn't have resorted to flying out like that.

After detaching his expedition suit's harness from Pidgeot, he returned the bird to its Poké Ball and patted the dust off his clothes before hurrying toward the Pokémon Center.

The first thing he did was hand Combusken over to Nurse Joy. Only after ensuring his partner was in good hands did he retreat to his room for a much-needed shower.

A short while later, the reflection staring back at him in the mirror looked like a completely different person.

Tetsuya let out a breath, finally relaxing.

Thinking back on his day at Mt. Moon, he couldn't help but sigh. "Misfortune really does come in waves."

"I was lucky enough to catch that Pichu, but why did my bad luck start immediately after that?"

Tetsuya collapsed onto his bed, utterly exhausted from all the running.

Flashback: After Escaping Rhyperior

For the next hour, he and Combusken managed to complete three tasks—capturing three Paras and taking down a Sandslash-led group.

Combusken handled them with ease, and the missions were successfully wrapped up.

Checking the time, he saw that it was still early—just after noon.

Tetsuya decided to keep exploring for a bit. Maybe he'd get lucky and find some unexpected loot.

After all, with the Rhyperior gone, he assumed he was the strongest one left in the area. As long as he was careful, he should be fine.

Unfortunately, that assumption was completely wrong.

Mt. Moon was vast, home to all sorts of Pokémon. While rare Pokémon like Clefairy were drawn to its mysterious Moon Stones, other Pokémon were also attracted to them.

Case in point—Nidoking and Nidoqueen, whose final evolutions required the Moon Stone.

Normally, this wouldn't be an issue. Nidoking and Nidoqueen typically stayed in the deeper parts of Mt. Moon.

While Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀ evolved into Nidorino and Nidorina fairly early, reaching their final evolution required a Moon Stone, something only found deeper within the caves.

Moon Stones weren't supposed to appear in the outer areas.

According to legend, the Moon Stone originated from a meteorite that crashed deep within Mt. Moon. That's why they were only found in the mountain's heart, never on its outskirts.

Thus, no one expected fully evolved Nidoking and Nidoqueen to be in the outer regions.

But guess what? Tetsuya found them.

Or rather, he walked straight into their den while they were… being affectionate.

At that moment, all he could do was collapse inside. "You've gotta be kidding me…"

Without hesitation, he turned and bolted, Combusken hot on his heels.

Nidoking and Nidoqueen were enraged. Their intimate moment had been interrupted, and they weren't about to let that slide.

They immediately gave chase.

Tetsuya briefly considered fighting back. Combuskenwas strong, and these two were likely only around level 30. Given a one-on-one scenario, Combusken might have had a chance.

But the problem was—they weren't alone.

Nidoking and Nidoqueen started calling for reinforcements.

Soon, an entire horde of Zubat, Geodude, Magnemite, and Sandshrew came swarming toward him.

At that point, staying to fight was pure suicide.

Tetsuya and Combusken did the only thing they could—run for their lives.

Luckily, Mt. Moon's terrain was complex. The wild Pokémon weren't exactly fast, and those that were got slowed down by their allies. Combusken fought off pursuers when necessary, buying them precious time.

Had it not been for that, Tetsuya was pretty sure he'd still be running.

After finally reaching an exit, the rest of the story unfolded as it did.

Was this good luck or bad luck? He wasn't sure.

Rhyperior aside, even an elite Nidoking or Nidoqueen was incredibly valuable on the black market.

Thinking of that, Tetsuya pulled out his navigator and marked the location.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold."

His eyes gleamed. "I'll remember this. When Combusken evolves, I'll come back and catch you both—then sell you for a fortune."

fter resting for a while and feeling ready, Tetsuya retrieved Combusken and set off to complete the remaining three tasks.

After all, he still had to train his Pokémon in the afternoon—there was no room for slacking off.

The total bounty earned after settlement was 220,000 yen.

Not bad. With the 4.8 million from selling Pichu, his total earnings for the day amounted to 5 million yen.

Strength really is everything, Tetsuya thought as he headed toward Viridian Forest for training.

Putting aside the unexpected windfall from Pichu, his efficiency and earnings today showed that, with proper planning, he could earn nearly 700,000 yen per day just by completing normal bounty missions—a sum equivalent to what he used to earn in a month.

That afternoon, as Pidgeot and Combusken trained hard in Viridian Forest, Tetsuya carefully planned his schedule for the next four or five days.

6:00 AM - 10:00 AM: Four hours of targeted training.

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Return to the Pokémon Center for food and rest.

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM: Accept missions and set off, usually heading to Mt. Moon or Viridian Forest.

2:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Return, rest, and complete another round of missions.

5:00 PM - 10:00 PM: Dinner and regular training at the Pokémon Center's training grounds.

10:00 PM - Onward: Back in his room, reviewing the information provided by Pewter Gym before going to bed.

After tweaking and adjusting his plan for a while, Tetsuya realized that this was probably his limit.

"But if I use Pidgeot for transportation, I could save around thirty minutes between rounds," he mused, rubbing his chin.

That extra half hour could prevent his schedule from running too tight. It would also allow for more training or additional rest.

A tempting idea.

For the sake of efficiency, perhaps it was time to start overcoming his fear of flying. He would have to get used to it sooner or later, so why not start now?

And so, from the next day onward, Tetsuya fully utilized Pidgeot as his personal transport, launching into a cycle of work between four key locations—Viridian Forest, Mt. Moon, the Pokémon Center, and the Bounty Hunter Center.

Oh, and the black market exchange point.

After all, even standard elite-level Pokémon, without any special traits, could still fetch a good price.

Although elite wild Pokémon were rare, he managed to capture quite a few over the next five days, selling them at various purchase points.

On the fifth day, Tetsuya, who had an appointment with Brock in the afternoon, decided to take a rare break for himself and his Pokémon.

Lying on the sofa in his room, he started tallying up his earnings.

Excluding the first day, he had completed twelve C-level missions over the last four days, earning 780,000 yen, and four B-level missions, earning 1 million yen.

On top of that, selling four elite-level Pokémon had netted him 4.2 million yen.

So in total, he had earned 11 million yen in just five days.

Even after deducting nearly 1 million yen in expenses, his net profit was still 10 million yen.

For a moment, Tetsuya felt a little dazed. Had he really made a quarter of the cost of a Fire Stone in less than a week?

Thinking about it, though, it wasn't too surprising.

This kind of income wasn't something an average trainer could replicate. Several key factors contributed to his success:

High-level benefits at the Pokémon Center

He saved significant time by skipping long queues and wait times for Pokémon treatment.

He also saved on healing costs.

Without these perks, his efficiency would have been greatly reduced, and his expenses would have been much higher.

Increased bounty hunter privileges

His one-level boost in bounty hunting permissions allowed him to accept three C-level missions simultaneously, something he normally wouldn't be able to do before reaching B-rank.

This alone doubled his efficiency. Without it, his earnings would have been drastically lower.

The lucky break from selling Pichu

Nearly half of his earnings had come from that single sale, proving that luck played a huge role. It wasn't something he could count on regularly.

His secret weapon—Zero

With Zero's ability to accurately assess the strength of wild Pokémon, Tetsuya could make precise decisions in battle.

Most trainers lacked this ability and had to be cautious, avoiding unnecessary fights in the wild. Engaging the wrong opponent could mean serious injuries, wasted time, or even life-threatening danger.

But thanks to Zero, Tetsuya could ensure both efficiency and safety while maximizing profits.

The best proof of this? The four elite Pokémon he had captured were only just entering that rank.

If he had relied purely on chance, he would have been lucky to find one in ten days.

After all, if a bounty target was too strong or came in a large group, it would be impossible to defeat them and complete the mission. Many trainers had to abandon missions due to these obstacles.

Tetsuya's own growing strength

With Combusken and Pidgeot, he could take on most elite-level Pokémon in Viridian Forest with ease.

Mt. Moon was still tricky due to its terrain, making it harder for Pidgeot to maneuver, but it was manageable.

All these factors combined made his current income possible.

For an average trainer at his level, maintaining the same training intensity and mission workload, they would likely earn only about 100,000 yen in the same five-day period.

Tetsuya sighed, realizing that this kind of schedule wasn't sustainable long-term.

He had been pushing himself and his Pokémon hard, and now he could see the signs of fatigue. Both Combusken and Pidgeot were clearly exhausted, their training efficiency starting to decline.

Balancing work and rest was important.

Instead of pushing himself every single day, he decided that alternating between training days and mission days would be a more sustainable approach. This way, the impact on his earnings wouldn't be too significant, and his team's endurance would improve in the long run.

According to his current plan, he would spend about a month in each city, giving him eight months for eight Gym badges and an extra month for dedicated training before the Quartz Conference.

This pace would also allow his main team to develop much faster.

Tetsuya had originally underestimated how quickly his Pokémon were improving.

Pidgeot's level hadn't changed much due to the difficulty of leveling up at higher stages, but Combusken had advanced rapidly.

Over the past four days of constant battles and training, Combusken had leveled up again, reaching level 27.

At this rate, by the time he left Pewter City, Combusken would likely break into the elite level.

Until then…

Ding!

His Pokémon Watch chimed, interrupting his thoughts.

It was a message from Brock: "Are you on your way?"

Glancing at the time, Tetsuya realized there was only thirty minutes left until their meeting.

Crap! He had gotten lost in thought for too long.

He quickly shot back a reply: "Already on my way!" and rushed out. Being late was never a good look.

Jogging all the way to Pewter Gym, he found Brock already waiting at the entrance.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm late," Tetsuya said, slightly embarrassed.

"No worries, you're right on time. I just got here a little early." Brock smiled, his eyes narrowing.

"Now that you're here, come in. Let's check on my Geodude first, and then I'll explain everything I'm entrusting to you."

Tetsuya nodded and followed Brock inside.