Chapter 26: Human Pokémon Is Myself

"This Pokémon hunter is after Aron!"

"Perhaps it's because of the strange-colored Ralts behind Aron!"

Takashi, holding his powerful binoculars, could clearly see that Aron and the Pokémon hunter were in a confrontation, with a shiny Ralts hiding behind Aron.

Takashi guessed, "This Pokémon hunter is probably after the shiny Ralts."

"Shiny... Ralts?" Lian whispered beside him after hearing Takashi's words.

Takashi's eyes flickered. While still observing the scene below, he replied, "Yes, Ralts are very special and can be sold at a high price on the black market."

"Because their rarity is comparable to pseudo-legendary Pokémon, and they become extremely beautiful after evolving, they are highly sought after by many Trainers."

Takashi paused and continued in a complicated tone, "And a shiny Ralts... its price can be several times higher. It could be worth a fortune."

"No Pokémon hunter would let a shiny Ralts escape."

"If I'm not mistaken, this Pokémon hunter is likely one of many members searching for the shiny Ralts. There must be more hunters looking for it in other places right now."

"Then..." Lian was stunned for a moment and subconsciously asked.

Takashi understood what he meant. He sighed and put down his binoculars, turning to look at Lian seriously, "Cousin, these people are criminals on the wanted list. They're ruthless and dangerous."

Lian asked in disbelief, "Then why are they here? It's so close to South Riverland City."

Takashi gazed at the rolling mountains in the distance, then explained lightly, "Although it's close, the Peaceful River Forest is vast and boundless. The Pokémon Association can't afford to send a large number of people to protect every entrance to the Peace River Forest."

"They only needs to protect the main entrances of Peaceful River Forest and South Riverland City. They can't control the rest."

"This is the wilderness; you never know what might happen next."

Lian fell silent for a while after listening to Takashi's words. He opened his mouth but didn't know how to respond.

After a long pause, Lian turned to face Takashi and asked softly, "Cousin, they shouldn't... kill anyone, right?"

Takashi's expression became serious. He shook his head lightly. "It's hard to say. Some Pokémon hunters only want to capture Pokémon and avoid unnecessary trouble."

"But they are criminals, and they'll do whatever it takes. They may have no fear of the law."

"I understand..." Lian nodded solemnly.

Then, under Takashi's blank gaze, Lian took a deep breath and waved to him, "Cousin, I'm going to help him."

Takashi: "???"

Seeing Takashi's puzzled expression, Lian spoke sincerely, "Cousin, our Teacher once taught us that we should help Trainers who are in need, especially in the wild."

"Now, I'm just a weak Rookie Trainer, too weak to defeat a well-trained Pokémon hunter."

"But the day I fought against Aron, he helped me a lot by showing me how to always pay attention to the psychology of Pokémon."

"Now, he's in danger,so I have to help him."

"Until I defeat Aron, nothing will happen to him."

Lian pushed up his glasses and smiled brightly, his white clothes fluttering in the strong wind.

After listening to Lian, Takashi smiled helplessly after a long while, muttering, "Cousin, you really don't have to worry."

Takashi then entered the cave to gather necessary items and waved at Lian, "Let's go."

---

Meanwhile, the battle between Aron and the Pokémon hunter continued:

Toxicroak, Golbat, Mightyena, Beedrill, Fearow, and others were common Pokémon that villains preferred.

But this Advanced-level Toxicroak was too powerful for the intermediate-level Combusken to handle.

"But Toxicroak is four times weak to Psychic-type moves."

"And I happen to be a Psychic-type," Aron thought as he fixed his gaze on the rushing Toxicroak.

In the next moment, his eyes glowed with bright blue light, and an invisible wave of psychic energy radiated from his body. It quickly turned into countless blue needles, piercing into Toxicroak's head.

Suddenly, Toxicroak stopped in place, as though sharp needles were being driven into his skull. The impact shattered his nerves, sending waves of pain through his mind.

"Roar!!"

Toxicroak let out a heart-piercing scream, clutching his head in agony.

The Pokémon hunter looked at the scene, slightly taken aback.

"Combusken, use Flamethrower!" Aron seized the opportunity and quickly ordered.

At that moment, Ralts, hiding behind Aron, raised its head and stared blankly at him.

"Ralts~?"

It felt that the energy emanating from Aron was almost identical to the Psychic energy within it.

"Ralts ral?"

So... he is not human...

Ralts stared at Aron, who was surrounded by a faint blue glow, the wind blowing and the hem of his clothes fluttering.

"Combusken!" Aron shouted.

Seizing the perfect opportunity, Combusken opened its mouth and unleashed a scorching pillar of fire, the flames shooting forward through the air!

Still reeling from the psychic attack, Toxicroak couldn't dodge and was struck head-on by the Flamethrower!

Boom!

Toxicroak staggered back, its chest scorched, and its condition severely worsened.

"The effect is good."

"It seems that my Psychic has at least Advanced-level power," Aron said as he stopped using Psychic. He looked up at the severely injured Toxicroak and nodded in satisfaction.

The combined effects of Psychic and Flamethrower had dealt considerable damage to Toxicroak. With both injuries, Toxicroak was on the brink of collapse.

"It's clear that Trainer should intervene in future battles."

The Pokémon hunter glanced at the injured Toxicroak, then raised his eyes to examine Aron. A smile crept across his face, "So, you're a Psychic."

He continued, his tone slow, "I'll give you a choice: Ralts stays here but you leave."

"Ralts~"

Hearing this, Ralts tightened its grip on the corner of Aron's clothes.

"Emol!"

Emolga stood beside Ralts, gesturing toward the Pokémon hunter, as if greeting him playfully.

A slight smile appeared on Aron's face, and he spoke calmly, "Continue."