Chapter 42-56 (2)

...

As he was about to head back to the cabin, he saw another volcano peak after hiking up a small hill. He then asked his Pokemons opinion whether they wanted to explore the area first. Besides, there were many low leveled Pokemon in the surrounding lake. There are no benefits for his Pokemon to defeat them. Only by battling a strong enemy can they improve significantly.

"And this one is much closer than the previous one," he added after checking the map.

"Bree!"

"Burr!"

"Bidoof!"

"Ken!"

They agreed to explore the volcano first.

"Alright then, onward!" Edward stepped towards the volcano followed by his Pokemon.

...

"We're almost there," Edward said as he checked the map, ensuring they weren't straying away from the path.

Edward and his Pokemon were strolling through the woods. The sky was clear, and the spring wind was hitting them between the trees. A small volcano peak can be seen through the foliages ahead of them.

He enjoyed the walk as it allowed him to bond with his Pokemon more. Due to the hectic week, he didn't have the time to spend some time with them. It is a precious moment for them.

Combusken is more composed compared to when he was a Torchic. He took it upon himself to be the leader of Edward's Pokemon when he wasn't available to command them. Although Beautifly is Edward's first Pokemon, she acquiesced to Combusken's powerful strength. Besides, she wasn't that keen to become a leader due to her cheerful trait.

Timburr is like the youngest sibling in the family. He is a naughty child, keen to cause trouble at every moment. When something bad happens to him, he will come running back home to cry to his parents or, in this case, Edward.

Bidoof is the oddball among the group. He preferred to stay quiet as he followed them from the back. Also, he rarely initiates a conversation with others, and he was only seen talking comfortably with Timburr. Nevertheless, Edward still trusted him even though he may not converse with them much.

[Bidoof]

IV:28

His individual value is almost on par with Combusken. Bidoof is a commonly seen Pokemon in the same league as Rattata, Sentret, etc. From his assessment, most of them have an individual value ranging from five to nineteenish. Therefore, his Bidoof is considered a talent among many Bidoofs on the island. That's why he was willing to capture Bidoof back then.

Suddenly, Edward sensed a flock of birds Pokemon heading in their direction.

"Get ready, guys. Enemy incoming," he told his Pokemon.

A dozen birds emerged from the foliages as they dived towards them.

They have rough, brown plumage on their head and three brown tail feathers. The feathers covering their wings are pinkish-red. They also have a short, hooked beak that is light pink as they loudly shriek.

'Spearow, huh,' Edward thought.

Spearow in the anime is usually seen flying in a flock. They also have a bad temper and are quick to get irritated, as proven by their hostilities toward Edward's group, who had accidentally trespassed into their territory.

"Timburr! Bidoof! Block them!" he ordered.

Timburr and Bidoof roared as they stood in front of Edward.

"Let them solve the enemy. You guys, watch the surroundings for us," he then said to Combusken and Beautifly.

Both Pokemon nodded as they stood behind his back, guarding their rear just in case another enemy was hiding somewhere else.

"Watch for its beak!" Edward immediately shouted after seeing the Spearows had almost reached them.

"Roar!" Timburr and Bidoof nodded.

They moved sideways, dodging the sharp beak of the Pokemon. Timburr then lifted his staff before slamming it down on one of the Spearow, instantly knocking it out.

Meanwhile, Bidoof landed a full-body tackle on one of them, pushing it back. The Spearow, who looks to be the leader of this flock, glared at Bidoof after stabilizing its flight.

The other Spearows flew into the air after the failed ambush. They looked to be regrouping before launching an attack once more.

"Timburr, use Rock Throw. Try to disturb their flight," Edward ordered, recognizing the Spearow's formation.

"Bidoof, use Defense Curl and protect Timburr!" he said to Timburr determinedly.

A faint white light appeared on Bidoof's body as he readied himself for the incoming attack.

Timburr picked up a small rock from the ground and began to throw it towards the Spearows.

Bang!

A few Spearows fell from the sky as Timburr managed to throw the rocks perfectly on their heads.

Bang!

In the meantime, Bidoof succeeded in withstanding the impact of Spearow's attack.

"Bidoof! Are you okay?" Edward asked after seeing Bidoof's body riddled with injuries.

"Bidoof!" he nodded.

Although the injuries may look severe, they were only shallow cuts and minor bruises. The Defense Curl's blessings reduced the damage dealt by the enemy.

"Alright," he nodded to himself, seeing Bidoof's fighting spirit.

"Timburr, use Rock Throw again!" he ordered.

The Spearows resumed their attack once more after another failed attack.

'Very tenacious fighting spirit. I'll give them that,' Edward admitted, seeing the Spearows were unwilling to give up.

The Spearow's leader led the attack this time as it plunged towards them.

Bang!

There were only three Spearows left, including the leader, after being hit by Timburr's Rock Throw.

Bang!

Bidoof stood his ground, blocking another attack of the Spearows.

"Timburr! Use Power-Up Punch!" Edward called.

An orange light appeared on Timburr's fist as he pummeled the Spearows, knocking them back. Finally, only the leader was left standing on the field.

Seeing that its companions were knocked unconscious on the ground, its eyes turned red as it charged towards them madly.

"Bite it," Edward said calmly.

Bidoof's defense was higher after several Defense Curls. He blocked the final charge of the Spearow, and there was a flash of light as the move hit. Finally, the Spearow fell to the ground with its unwilling cry and a loud thump.

[Referree: I now announce that Bidoof and Timburr are the winners!]

Everyone cheered after the battle was over.

Bidoof and Timburr let out a happy cry as they celebrated their win.

Suddenly, a bright white light started to emerge from Bidoof's body. After that, his body rapidly grew before finally a Bibarel appeared as the evolution light gradually disappeared.

"Rel!" he cried, looking at his new body.

"You had evolved, Bidoof," Edward smiled, seeing another successful evolution of his Pokemon.

[Bidoof evolved!]

[Hello? Isn't Bidoof a mouse before? How did he look more like a beaver now?]

[You're don't understand, bro. It's Darwinism.]

[I think even Charles Darwin can't explain this miracle that easily.]

Everyone started to discuss the mystery of the creature's evolution. Edward ignored the outrageous theories stated in the live commentaries. Even the Pokemon world hasn't truly cracked the mystery of the Pokemon's evolution. And these guys want to discover the truth of Pokemon's evolution?

Edward shook his head clear of the distracting thoughts and turned his attention back to the newly-evolved Bidoof.

His body is now bulkier and looks similar to a beaver. Brown fur covers most of this Pokémon with a tan circle on its chest.

A tan mask covers his face with a rounded extension over each eye. At the same time, his paws are tiny and slightly webbed. He also has a large, flat tail, half of his height.

"I'll call you Bibarel now," Edward patted his head.

"Rel!" he nodded, agreeing with his new name.

...

'Another challenger?' Edward thought.

After defeating the flock of Spearows, they proceed to head towards their destination. As they reached the foot of the volcano, Edward saw a contestant who was hiking the volcano ahead of them. But, more importantly, a faintly familiar Pokemon was walking next to the figure.

...

'Come on, Karen! You can do this,' Karen encouraged herself as she took a heavy step forward.

It has been almost a week since she came to the island. Unfortunately, she couldn't form a team back on the ship. When she arrived, everyone had already left for their destinations.

In the end, she had no choice but to do it alone. It was scary at first, alone on an island with no one around you, except for wild creatures roaming in the surroundings.

On her first day, she stayed on top of a tall tree and covered her body with leaves, camouflaging herself from wild predators.

It was only after two days that she decided to went out of her hiding spot and explore the island.

She learned from the live commentaries that an amazing challenger had befriended a wild creature and made it his companion, protecting him from many dangerous creatures. Furthermore, many contestants decided to follow in his footsteps and chose to tame a friendly beast. Many had succeeded, but a few had died because of their lack of knowledge or just plain bad luck.

In the beginning, she had no luck taming a creature as most of them were hostile to her. And, she had to run away every time she tried to communicate with them. After a few days, she had ended up at the volcano region, tired, thirsty, and low on supplies.

She was going towards a base that was established not long ago, located past the volcano region, to resupply before heading back out.

She didn't have much reward money, but she still completed some tasks enough to exchange for several weeks of rations nonetheless.

As she trekked through the mountainous path, she accidentally met a blind creature. Initially, she was scared because she felt that this beast was on a whole different level when compared to others that she had met before. Especially the malice that was leaked by it unintentionally.

In the end, her fear caused her to run away from the creature. Several minutes later, she was panting on the ground. As she took a sip of water to relieve her fatigue, her blood ran cold suddenly.

"No!" A cry came from her back.

Turning her body around slowly, she saw that same creature had been following her all after all this time. The creature tilted its head at her and slowly walked to her.

Aaah!

She screamed as she ran away as fast as possible, but it was futile. The creature kept following her non-stop until she finally fell to the ground, exhausted.

She held her hands up as the creature kept coming closer to her.

Huh?

In the end, what she had imagined in her mind didn't happen to her. Instead, the creature ignored her and went past her towards her backpack. It rummaged through it and pulled out a chocolate bar with its mouth.

"No!" It let out a happy cry as it swallowed the treat.

Then, it searched the backpack once more before whimpering in disappointment. It seems that it was the last chocolate bar in Karen's possession.

"No?" It tilted its head to her after noticing her sitting on the ground.

A day later, a human and a beast were hiking the mountain as they tried to go around it.

"Come on, No. The base is still far away from here. We'll have to move quickly," Karen said to the wild creature.

She tried to call the beast using several names, but it refused all of them. Hence, the name No.

"No!" It seems to sniff something in the air before roaring towards their back. It is telling her that a few strangers are coming towards them.

"Did you find something?" Karen asked.

"No!" It nodded.

"Hello," a male voice sounded.

...

Edward greeted the woman as he walked to her with his Pokemon.

The woman is above average in height at 5'7" and has a fit build. She has silvery-blue eyes and long silvery-blue hair that reaches past her waist with two long bangs that frame her face.

She also wears a yellow jacket and white pants. A Deino stood next to her as they watched him with a wary look.

'Karen - Dark-type Elite Four,' Edward thought.

"I'm Edward, one of the contestants of the island," Edward explained.

"Wait. Are you Edward Johnson?" Karen asked, recognizing the name.

"Yeah. And you are?" Edward asked her.

"Is he Edward?" Karen flipped open her watch and asked the spectators.

[Yeah! That's Edward alright.]

[No mistake. The creatures standing beside him should be his companions.]

After confirming that the one standing in front of her was the real Edward, she asked with a curious expression, "What are you doing here?"

"I have to explore this mountain. It was listed in the tasks section," Edward showed her the mission list on his watch.

Then he continued, "Where are you guys going?"

"I'm currently low on supplies, so I was planning to go to the base ahead to resupply first," Karen pointed to the north direction.

"Hmmm," Edward checked his navigear to confirm the base's location.

"It's too far. It will take you about a week to get there. Not to mention the troubles that you may encounter on the road. Why don't you follow us back to our camp? We had applied for airdrop supplies," he offered his help.

"You won't mind?" Karen asked.

"No," Edward shook his head as he sat on the ground.

"Thanks! I'm Karen, by the way, and this is... No?" Karen shook Edward's hand, introducing herself and her beast.

"No!" It let out a cry.

Edward turned his attention to the Pokemon beside her as he scanned its information.

...

[Deino] ♂

Level: 10

Type: Dark/Dragon

Ability: Hustle

Moves: Focus Energy, Dragon Breath, Bite

...

Deino is a small blue dragon Pokemon with black fur covering its head and neck, concealing everything but its mouth from view.

'Maybe it's the offspring of that Hydreigon that I saw a week ago,' Edward placed a finger on his chin.

"Where did you find him?" Edward asked while observing the Pokemon.

"I remember it was at the mountainous region a few kilometers away from here," Karen pointed her finger toward the other side of the volcano.

Edward chuckled after hearing her answer.

"Why are you laughing?" Karen put her hands on her hips.

"Sorry," Edward waved his hand and explained, "You are quite lucky."

"Explain," Karen queried.

"This creature resembles a terrible creature that I saw a few days ago. If I'm not mistaken, it is its offspring," Edward said to her.

"..."

Karen sat with a dazed expression on her face.

"You don't need to worry about it. I don't think it will look for him," Edward said after seeing her worried look.

Edward wasn't worried that Hydreigon would come to look for its offspring. Furthermore, he remembered a wild Hydreigon was described as a violent and destructive Pokemon. Will a brutal Pokemon cares about its offspring? He didn't think so.

"And, there's another matter," Edward added as he picked up a large stone and tossed it in the direction of the Pokemon.

The Deino was sitting on the ground lazily, but as the stone approached, he stiffed and then snapped it the second it reached. The stone was caught in midair, and there was a crushing sound as it started to break into smaller pieces from the bite. The Pokemon didn't seem to care that he had something that was inedible. Instead, he continued to bite down.

"Imagine that was your hand," Edward explained dryly.

"..." Karen watched the Pokemon in silence as he continued to break the stone into smaller pieces.

"You have your work cut out for you if you genuinely want to work with Deino," Edward said with a smile.

"Deino?" Karen finally said a word after a prolonged silence.

"It is his name. Don't you think it fits with his cry?" Edward replied.

"No!" Deino agreed.

...

"Here," Edward held his hand out to Karen.

He then pulled Karen up, helping her to climb a rock as they trekked through a mountain pass.

Their Pokemon followed suit, jumping over the rock easily.

"Hah," They both sat on the ground, panting.

"How much further do we have to explore?" Karen asked.

"Let me see," Edward opened his map.

"Just a few kilometers left. And then we can go back," he marked the places they had explored on the map.

"Let's take a lunch break first," Karen said to Edward.

He nodded as he placed his bag on the ground. Next, he took out a bag of Pokemon food and several bowls labeled with their respective names. His Pokemon quickly grabbed their share before munching on them. He also took out a bottle of berry juice for Beautifly to sip on as she didn't have the capacity to eat solid foods.

Karen attentively watched as Edward neatly prepared his Pokemon's meals. Edward also prepared a share for Deino, seeing his greedy look as he watched the other Pokemon gorging themselves on the delicacy.

"This is for you, Deino," Edward placed a bowl in front of Deino.

"No!" He thanked Edward before eating the food.

"Can you teach me how to make this recipe," Karen asked embarrassedly.

"No problem, but some creature has different taste. For example, Beautifly here likes something sweeter, and Timburr prefers his meals spicier," Edward added, "I can teach you the basic recipe. But, you'll have to figure his preferences on your own."

'Now that I think about it, it might not be bad to sell the recipe online. Sooner or later, everyone else will figure out the recipe on their own. Might else well sell it for a couple of bucks now,' Edward thought.

Hey, even chump change is money, right? Plus, he still has many other recipes in the store that he could exchange for money later.

"Thanks," she replied.

"Let's finish our lunch first," he told her.

...

"Hem," A camel like-creature grunted.

"These creatures look a bit stupid," Karen remarked.

A few minutes ago, they stumbled upon a plateau full of Numels lazing around the area. Their half-lidded eyes gazed at them for a moment before they finally averted their eyes as if they didn't care about the strangers in their territory.

Numel is a yellow Pokemon that resembles a camel with a volcano-like hump on its back. The hump is green at the very top and fades out into yellow with short, stubby legs.

In the anime, Numel is a popular Pokemon in the countryside, having served humans for many years with its ability to carry heavy loads. Due to their magma-filled hump, they were also used to keep the residents warm during winter.

...

[Another unknown creature!]

[Seems like they are of fire-type.]

[They look a bit dull-witted.]

[Edward, what should we call them?]

Everyone in the live stream is eager to know what Edward would name the new creature.

"I think Numel is a good name for them," Edward said in response to their questions.

When Karen heard this, she couldn't help but smile, "You really do have a talent for naming these creatures."

"It just came to mind," Edward lied.

Along the way, Edward took the others to explore the mountain, see many places, record the Pokemon's habitat distribution, and collect many samples requested by the researchers.

"Let's rest for a while before going back," Edward looked at the time and said.

After the lunch break, they continued their journey at around noon. It took about three hours to get near the top of the mountain here.

"Yeah," Karen replied tiredly.

He took out a few bottles of berry juice for his Pokemons and Karen's as they enjoyed the island's scenery from the higher ground.

'If only this were cold,' Edward lamented, staring at the warm berry juice in his hand.

'Aha!' An idea sprang to his mind.

He quickly accessed his system and began to scroll through the list until he found the move tutor section.

'Move Tutor - Icy Wind or Ice Beam?' Edward thought deeply.

After a few seconds, Edward chose the Icy Wind tutoring skill in the end. Although Bibarel can try to learn the stronger Ice Beam, it will take a long time for him to learn it successfully. He only wanted Bibarel to learn an ice-type move to preserve their food supplies and make chilled beverages.

He also bought the Protect skill so that he can teach his Pokemon this life-saving skill after the encounter with Team Rockets back at the canyon last time.

Lastly, he bought the Tailwind skill for Beautfily as a supplementary move to richen her support-move pools.

Icy Wind: Expel a cold breath at the enemy.

Protect: Protects the user from all damage within a specific limit.

Tailwind: Bring forth a wind that can boost allies' speed.

Edward nodded to himself. This set of moves should suffice for the time being. Furthermore, he doesn't have many points left to spare.

"Hey, There are few creatures over there! Something seems off with them."

Karen pointed to a place in the distance. It appears that there there is a commotion going on over there.

Edward looked in the direction she pointed, and found that there were indeed a few Pokemon fighting among each other.

The distance is relatively far, and he can't see it clearly, but he can vaguely see that one of them looks a bit similar to a dinosaur. More specifically, a Sauropod.

If he's not mistaken, the only Pokemon that looks like a Sauropod is Tropius.

'Tropius? How did they get here?' Edward thought. Seeing so many Tropius in this area surprised him. There are supposed to be only fire, rock, and ground-type Pokemon living in the mountainous region.

"Let's go and have a look!" Edward said to her, planning to see what's the commotion was all about.

Edward ran ahead with his Pokemon, and as he got closer, he finally saw the Pokemons in question.

A pack of Houndour was surrounding a group of injured Tropius, huddling together against the wall. The canine Pokemons with a stylized skull on their forehead snorted a lick of flame on the scared Tropius as they growled in anger.

...

"Are those dinosaurs?" Karen, who had followed him, asked surprisingly.

[Dinosaur!]

[It's Jurassic Park in real life!]

[Amazing discovery!]

[They can fly too. Those large leaves at their backs act as their wings.]

Beep!

Edward noticed that he had received a reward for discovering this Pokemon. Moreover, the researchers are willing to exchange anything with him if they can get their blood samples. Seeing a live dinosaur that was thought to be extinct made them go mad with desire. Even if these creatures aren't real dinosaurs, the similarities are there. They'll be able to explore the histories that happen millions of years ago.

Ignoring the notification on his watch, Edward observed the situation that was happening right in front of him. He noticed that many of these Tropius were injured. A few others that were strong enough to fly weren't willing to abandon their friends as they stood in front of the Houndours bravely.

The group of Tropius discovered that Edward was coming toward them and pleaded for help. More specifically, it was Combusken standing next to him. They can clearly see Combusken's muscular appearance and feel the intense fire-type energy surrounding him as he readied himself for a fight.

His Aura also made him appear more friendly to wild Pokemon. It was rare for Edward to be attacked by wild Pokemon except in certain situations.

Soon, the Houndour caught the presence of Edward's team and turned their attention to him. They howled in unison at them as if they were telling them to leave this place as soon as possible.

Edward frowned at the Houndour's hostilities. When he attempted to link his mind with the leader, he was answered with a blast of Ember right on his face.

"Ken!"

Luckily, Combusken came to the rescue. He stood in front of the fireball and blocked it with his body. Combusken let out a loud cry as he looked at the Houndour threateningly.

Regardless, the Houndours ignored his threat as they stood in a formation under the Houndour's lead.

"As you wish," Edward said.

"Bibarel! Water gun!"

Bibarel opened his mouth wide and released a stream of water at the enemy.

Boom!

The Water Gun hit a Houndour at point-blank, knocking it out cold on the ground.

The other Houndour retaliated by releasing a ball of fire that merged into a large fireball as it flew at Edward's team.

'Wanna fight fire with fire, eh?' Edward smirked.

"Combusken! Use Ember too!"

Hearing Edward's order, Combusken took a deep breath and released a large fireball at the incoming attack.

Boom!

The two fireballs clashed with each other and resulted in an explosion, creating a cloud of smoke that obscured their sight.

Huh!

Edward sensed a few Houndours were sneaking through the smoke, trying to pinch them from both sides.

'Good tactics, but it's futile,' Edward thought.

"Karen, they are coming. Be careful," Edward reminded Karen, who was standing a few meters behind him.

"Yeah. Deino

"Timburr! Rock Throw!" Edward pointed toward his right.

Timburr hurls multiple boulders around it at the Houndours emerging from the smoke.

Bang!

Only a lone Houndour managed to survive the onslaught. It then ran toward Timburr, who swung his staff at the Pokemon. The Houndour was far faster than his Timburr as it ducked under the swing and moved to bite his opponent.

Unfortunately, it barely did anything to Timburr.

"Power-Up Punch," Edward said simply.

A shining orange fist landed an uppercut to its jaw as it flew momentarily in the air before falling to the ground.

"Roar!"

As the smoke died down, the rest of the Houndours roared in anger after watching their fallen companions. A few seconds later, they breathe out a thick grey smoke in their direction.

"Careful! This smoke is poisonous," Edward covered his nose with his hand to prevent him from accidentally inhaling the toxic gas.

'Beautifly, Use Gust to clear the smoke!' Edward said to Beautifly through his telepathic bond.

Beautifly flapped her wings repeatedly. A gust of wind was whipped by as it launched towards the smoke to disperse it.

"It is now! Combusken! Flame charge!" Edward didn't waste time with his order.

Combusken became outlined in red flames and tackled the Houndours. The charge was so strong that all of them were knocked away. Only the leader of the Houndour was left.

It then jumped on top of Combusken. Its jaws were covered in flames as it attempted to bite Combusken.

Detect!

Combusken foresaw the attack and sidestepped, avoiding the last gambit of the opposing Houndour, and landed a finishing blow with a Double Kick to its head.

This set of combo moves was practiced back at the campsite last time. Even without Edward's command, Combusken can execute it well enough.

Finally, the Houndours were defeated as they lay on the ground unconsciously.

...

'So, that's what happened to them,' Edward thought.

After defeating the pack of Houndours, he asked Karen to tie all of them up just in case they woke up when Edward was administering the healing paste on the injured Tropius. The paste was made by grinding the Healing Herbs. Actually, turning the paste into a powder-like substance will increase the effectiveness of this medicine rather than only using it as a paste. He just didn't have the time to dry the paste under the sun back in the camp before, so this will have to suffice for now.

He learned that this herd of Tropius had accidentally crossed this area while they were flying through it and got lost. They were getting more tired as they tried to find their bearings. In the end, they had to land on the ground and walk on foot. Moreover, as these Tropius were still young, the fruits that were supposed to grow on their necks hadn't borne any fruits yet.

They had to walk around the mountain, trying to find their way out while finding a water source to regain their energy.

Unfortunately, they didn't find a single water source and had trespassed inside the Houndour's territory.

"Bibarel, can you fill these bowls with water?" Edward asked Bibarel.

"Rel!" he nodded.

Bibarel filled each bowl to the brim using his Water Gun.

The Tropius were excited to see the water in the bowls as they crowded around and took turns to fill their thirst. Edward and the others watched the funny scene as the docile Pokemons eagerly thanked Bibarel for saving them.

Edward then turned his attention to apply the paste to his injured Pokemon. Although most of them were only shallow cuts due to the fight just now, it is better not to take any chances.

"Edward, they are waking up," Karen called him while he was checking his Pokemons.

"Guys," Edward beckoned as he walked to the tied-up Houndours with his Pokemons followed on the side.

"Grrr!" The leader of Houndour growled to Edward.

"Ken!" Combusken cried loudly.

The Houndour whimpered and put his head on the ground after hearing the threats issued by the strong Combusken.

"Good job," Edward patted his head.

'What to do with you. Hmmm. Guard dog?' Edward thought

Edward had decided to conquer this unruly pack of Houndour as security guards for their base. He wasn't worried about whether these Houndours were going to rebel or not. Combusken will make sure to keep them in line.

...

"Why do I think these dogs look more like sheep?" Karen laughed.

Combusken was herding the Houndours to move forward, following Edward's lead. It was a strange sight indeed. A chicken is shepherding a pack of dogs. Usually, it was the other way around.

One of the Houndours started to slack a little as it grumbled about their current state. Suddenly, it felt a gaze on its back as the surroundings began to heat up. It turned its head in confusion only to be met with Combusken's glare. The Houndour quickly turned around and ran with others, not wanting to earn the ire of Combusken.

'Looks like Combusken got it under control,' Edward nodded.

"Land here," Edward patted the Tropius's neck.

The Tropius roared in reply to Edward's command. The herd of Tropius slowly descended to the ground and landed gently. Edward and Karen hopped off from Tropius's back after reaching the mountain's peak. Their Pokemon arrived just a few minutes later.

They had been riding the Tropiuss as they flew to the peak at low altitude with their Pokemon walking on foot. The view at the top was truly breathtaking. He also saw the huge lake where their cabin was located.

A few minutes later, Edward took his map out and crossed the area that the other contestants had explored. As the island stretches deep inside, there's only one area left unexplored, which is the forest area. Initially, he didn't plan to explore the forest area because it was too far away. But with the help of these Tropiuss, he'll be able to explore many other places on the island.

'I hope the officials have some Pecha Berries for exchange,' Edward thought.

One of the reasons that the forest is considered the most dangerous place is due to the poison-type Pokemon that inhabit it. Although Healing Herbs can cure poison, it isn't as good as Pecha Berry, which possesses a stronger detoxifying effect. Of course, Antidote and Full Heal work too. But current earth cannot produce those yet.

Beep!

Edward sees that he has completed all the tasks on this mountain and says to Karen, "I've finished my missions. Let's go back."

"Okay," Karen nodded.

...

"Hoot!" A cry sounded in the woods repeatedly.

Huh?

"Guys, did you hear that?" Falkner whispered.

Pidge and Zubat nodded their head.

"Let's go check it out," he said to them.

Falkner then ran toward the sound's direction. A few minutes later, they arrived at a clearing where they saw an owl-like creature was resting on top of a tree.

It was letting out the same cry over and over again as it tilted its head in the same rhythm.

Twitch!

"Hey! Can you stop! It's annoying!" Falkner scolded the owl-like creature with a round body.

Twitch!

The creature stopped and turned its body sideways as it hopped on one foot. It then waved its fat wings as if it was telling the strangers not to disturb him.

"Hoot!"

As it was about to resume its usual routine, Falkner then shouted.

"Stop it, you fat owl!"

"Hoot!" Even though it doesn't understand what Falkner said just now, it somehow knows that this human was mocking him.

"Hoot!" It loudly cried as it released sound waves at Falkner's group.

After that, they were blown away by the shockwaves created by the creature's preemptive attack. The owl mockingly laughed at their predicament.

"Ouch, are you guys okay?" Falkner pushed himself up and asked.

"Cry!"

Pidgey and Zubat nodded their heads as they let out a cry.

"Since you asked for this, Pidgey, Quick Attack!" Falkner shouted.

Pidgey flew toward the enemy as she left a trail of white energy behind her.

Bang!

The creature wasn't expecting that sudden attack as it was knocked out of the tree and fell to the ground with a loud thump. After hitting the opponent, Pidgey flew away, waiting for it to get up. What greeted them was only silence. It looks like the owl had fainted.

"Did we beat it too hard?" Falkner asked his Pokemon while scratching the back of his head.

He didn't expect that this bird was so weak that it took only a single attack from Pidgey to beat it instantly.

"Cry," Both Pokemon shrugged their shoulders.

"Let's get it checked by Rosa first," Falkner sighed. As a bird keeper, he wasn't willing to let such a rare bird go. Moreover, it can act as a sentry for the base during the night because an owl is a nocturnal creature.

He carried the round creature as he ran toward the cabin with his Pokemon right on his heels.

...

"How is it?" Agatha inquired.

"It's healing quickly. Edward's healing pastes helped speed up the recovery," Rosa replaced the old makeshift cast with a better one.

"There you go. You still need to use crutches to walk. And don't put too much pressure on it," Rosa reminded as she threw the makeshift cast away.

"Any news from the UN?" Agatha propped her body up against the bed and asked.

"Yes. They said they'd arrive tomorrow morning," Rosa replied.

"What about those mercenaries," Agatha gritted her teeth, remembering the tragedy that had fallen on her friends.

Rosa frowned and said, "No, there's no update about it yet."

This situation was a bit off. As if the higher-up didn't care anything about the unknown intruders roaming inside the island. They are afraid that this matter will escalate and snowball if the higher-ups don't do anything soon.

"Anyway, where's Gastly and Chingling?" Agatha looked around the room, searching for the Pokemon's figure.

"Gastly is probably stopping Chingling from stealing the berries again," Rosa smiled.

Agatha shook her head. She would never know how such a small body could eat so many berries.

"Ling!"

"Gastly!"

Suddenly, the Pokemon in question barged into the room with great haste. Moreover, Gastly was carrying a familiar egg, except it was currently glowing in a brilliant white light.

"Huh?"

...

A few minutes ago, Gastly was chasing Chinglinga around the cabin. In Chingling's hand, a few berries can be seen as she swallows one of them in the blink of an eye.

"Stop stealing the berries!" Gastly yelled.

Chingling merrily laughed and hovered away as she stole another berry from the basket.

"Stop!" Gastly was furious. Rosa had asked him not to let Chingling steal those fruits, but he failed to do so.

A moment later, Chingling was trapped by a pair of huge gaseous-like hands as he hovered in front of her with his gloomy eyes.

Bla...

Bla...

Bla...

When Gastly was lecturing the young child, a mesmerizing white light suddenly circled the entire living room. Both stopped what they were doing and gazed at the source of the white light. The source comes from the egg placed among the pile of clothes.

...