Chapter 80: Ninetales

"Ninetales..."

Ace rubbed his eyes in disbelief, gazing at the Ninetales seated atop the lava.

This Ninetales seemed quite abnormal, even extremely abnormal!

Putting everything else aside, the mere fact that its fur was completely unharmed while sitting in lava was unsettling.

Ninetales didn't make Ace wait long. It stood up, leaped lightly, and sprang directly from the lava.

After running a few steps in the air as if on solid ground, Ninetales now stood before Ace, seated in mid-air, its gaze fixed directly on him.

"What's wrong?" Ace felt unnerved by its stare, momentarily unable to discern what this Ninetales intended.

Taking a deep breath and suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, Ace began, "Was it you who helped us just now? Thank you for your assistance, otherwise..."

Before he could finish, Ace felt his backpack being unzipped, and his Pokédex slowly floated out.

"Click."

"This Pokédex is bestowed upon Ace Smith. May you maintain your original intention and become an excellent trainer."

The electronic voice of the Pokédex sounded. Ninetales heard it and nodded with a smile.

"It's you."

Another electronic voice emanated from the Pokédex. Before Ace could react, an empty Poké Ball floated upwards. Ninetales leaped lightly, colliding with the Poké Ball.

After the Poké Ball stopped shaking, it slowly descended into Ace's hand.

"What in the world is going on?" Cynthia was utterly bewildered by the scene before her, let alone Ace, who was directly involved.

Pokémon: Ninetales

Gender: Female

Level: 59

Ability: Drought

Nature: Modest

Potential: Excellent

Egg Moves: Hypnosis

Moves: Flamethrower, Quick Attack, Will-O-Wisp...

Fold...

Ace's eyes widened, staring at the Ninetales whose level was a staggering 59. He simply couldn't believe it.

He knew that his own main four Pokémon were hovering around level forty, not even close to level fifty.

Yet, the Ninetales inside the Poké Ball was level 59. To put it bluntly, even if Ace sent out all of his Pokémon, he might not be able to defeat Ninetales in the lava.

But this Ninetales had directly entered Ace's Poké Ball, which left Ace utterly perplexed.

Opening the Poké Ball, Ninetales appeared beside Ace. It calmly looked at Ace and nodded.

Ace turned, retrieved the Pokédex from mid-air, and held it out to Ninetales. He squatted down, looking at Ninetales, and asked, "Were you controlling the Pokédex to speak just now? What does 'It's you' mean? You should be able to understand what I'm asking, right?"

"Some things, you do not need to know too much."

The Pokédex lit up, and the electronic voice said, "In the years to come, I will remain by your side until your demise, only then will I depart to choose my next master."

Hearing Ninetales's words, Ace hesitated for a moment, then gently shook his head. He placed the Poké Ball in front of Ninetales and told it, "Whatever your intentions, if I truly want to capture you, I will battle you myself, defeat you, and then capture you, rather than accepting your charity."

With that, Ace stood up, no longer paying attention to Ninetales. He gestured to Cynthia, and the two walked into the cave.

Ninetales glanced at the Poké Ball in front of it, then at the departing Ace, a faint smile on its face.

Ninetales stood up, crushed the Poké Ball with a stomp, and, now free, turned and leaped back into the lava lake.

"It is him, and yet not him. Fate is always so fickle."

A ethereal voice echoed above the lava lake. Ninetales looked towards the cave and spoke softly, "Then... I shall wait a little longer. The true person will, in due time, arrive here."

As Ninetales spoke, the lava lake, which had been gradually calming, began to boil once more. Ninetales lay down upon the lava, the scorching heat causing it no discomfort; instead, it seemed quite content.

It simply waited silently.

Waiting for his arrival!

"No regrets?"

Once they were further away, Cynthia glanced at Ace. "That Ninetales seemed very strong. It's such a shame to just let it go."

"Tsk, it is a shame." Ace clicked his tongue, a pained expression on his face.

"Then hurry back! Maybe it's still waiting for you there." Cynthia patted Ace's shoulder, pointing behind them.

"What are you thinking?" Ace looked at Cynthia. "I'm regretting the Poké Ball. If I had known, I would have chosen the release option directly. The empty Poké Ball could have caught other Pokémon."

"..." Cynthia was instantly speechless, choked by Ace's comment. After rolling her eyes at him, the two arrived at an extremely steep slope.

"Good thing it wasn't a vertical drop. Otherwise, you wouldn't have even had a chance to save me." Cynthia looked at the slope. It was nearly seventy degrees. Thankfully, there was some cushioning, otherwise, she and Ace would have certainly fallen to their deaths.

"Follow me." Ace took a coil of rope from his backpack, tied one end to himself, and handed the other to Cynthia.

Cynthia understood immediately, quickly wrapped the rope several times around her waist, and tied it securely.

As Cynthia secured the rope, Ace also pulled out the pickaxe from his backpack.

The pickaxe provided by the system was exceptionally sharp. Ace used it to strike into the slope, securing his body, then climbed step by step towards the top of the incline.

Cynthia carefully followed Ace, trying her best to step into the footholds Ace had carved, stabilizing her body.

Using a single rope, Ace quickly led Cynthia to the very top of the slope.

This was a dead end. To get out, there was only one vertically upward passage left.

"Crobat!"

"Dragonair!"

Ace and Cynthia called out in unison. Soon, their Pokémon gathered at the edge of the deep pit.

The smaller Crobat and Dragonair immediately flew down. Ace and Cynthia, using the strength of their two Pokémon, successfully exited the deep pit and returned to the snow-covered ground.

"Hiss, it's really cold." Cynthia's jacket had been lost in the cave. Her jacket, stained with Ace's blood, was unusable.

"You can wear this for now." Ace took a spare thick jacket from his backpack and tossed it to Cynthia, then looked to the other side.

The Sneasels that had previously ambushed Ace and Cynthia had now fled, their whereabouts unknown.

And they had paid the price for their recklessness.

One Weavile and eight Sneasel bodies lay scattered in the snow, while the other Sneasels had naturally escaped as best they could.

Ace walked to the Weavile's side. Looking at the long-cooled Weavile, Ace no longer held any animosity towards it.

After all, in this environment, it was either kill or be killed. They were both fighting for life and food; there was no right or wrong.

He survived, and Weavile died. That only proved that Ace was stronger than it, nothing more.

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