Pokémon: Trainers Returning from Monster Hunter

Chapter 100 Forbidden Strength... The Stone Bird??

"Riding my beloved motorcycle lizard, it will never have diarrhea—"

After saying goodbye to Lip and Houbo, Oreki once again rode the motorcycle lizard from the Speed ​​Taxi Company, humming a randomly adapted song, heading north.

His song made the motor lizard beneath him shudder.

What strange song was this passenger singing on my back? It felt strangely magical.

As it ran, its hind legs unconsciously squeezed together.

On his back, Oreki had no idea what the Motor Lizard was thinking; he simply felt a momentary jolt.

Looking back and finding nothing unusual, I turned my attention back to the latest voucher.

[Superpower Certificate: Increased willpower, reduced impact of sleep effects (activated)]

While we were still at the Bakedo Gym, Kirlian, an authority in the field of willpower, conducted an evaluation.

Hmm—it seems to have become more pain-tolerant—

The pain that used to bring me comfort is now gone.

This involves raising the threshold.

Oreki didn't know if this was a good thing or not.

In addition, he specifically had Aobo's Patia Kentarou and Lip's Gardevoir participate in the testing.

The results were remarkable.

The intimidation from a Gym Leader-level Pokémon is negligible for Kirlia.

It's worth noting that Huangbo's Tauros is significantly stronger than Ziyu's adorable Blue King.

They will definitely be more adept at controlling the "Intimidate" characteristic.

Even so, Kirlia was still able to maintain a stable state thanks to her enhanced willpower.

As for hypnosis experiments.

It's safe to say that Kirullian, at her age, seems to have trouble sleeping.

I can't even fall asleep for a single round; I wake up almost instantly every time I try to hypnotize someone.

Are you asleep?

Like sleeping!

The sleep effect ends when you open and close your eyes.

Lippe's Gardevoir looked so suspicious that she went to chat with the wrestler Hawkman behind his back.

As the number of vouchers and rewards increases.

With the combined effect of multiple factors, the initially seemingly insignificant results gradually became apparent.

Just like Oreki's power enhancement, the larger the base value, the better the enhancement effect!

So much so that, without realizing it, both Tirey and Kirlia have reached the level of "top performers in the mid-level ecological niche".

Based on Oreki's previous assessment, the upper level of the ecological niche is the strength of ordinary Gym Leader Pokémon.

This means that with a little more effort, both Tireia and Kirlia can face the Gym Leader's Pokémon alone.

This improvement can only be described as rapid.

However, this small upgrade did not trigger any system side quests.

It seems the requirements will become higher as we progress.

But the little blacksmith—

Oreki looked down at the little guy in his arms who was constantly banging.

Its strength has not changed.

After all, there are only three certificates that can give it a bonus.

Among them, "Lightning Certificate | That doesn't count as an instant bonus."

It's understandable that there wasn't much improvement.

Once it has finished digesting this metal membrane, and with the addition of the two potions, its strength should see a significant leap.

As for what to do after the metal membrane is removed—

Oreki looked at the [backpack] in the void.

Inside was the latest reward—the Steel Dragon's Gem.

Although I don't know what the system was thinking, it just gave me a precious jade.

Not a single dragon scale, shell, claw, or horn will be given to you.

This is pure nonsense!

Fortunately, the Steel Dragon Jewel is useful to the young blacksmith.

I just took it out to have it examined.

The little guy's eyes were wide open like saucers.

The metal coating on his hand suddenly lost its appeal, and he started clamoring to knock it off the Steel Dragon Jade.

As a result, when he swung the hammer, it sent his own little hammer flying several meters.

Oreki couldn't hold back any longer and temporarily put the Steel Dragon Jewel away, agreeing to let it be knocked down again when he was strong enough.

You can't farm equipment; you can only rely on Pokémon to carry you through the game.

—In reality, a single piece of steel dragon jade can't make anything.

Moreover, he had already decided that, unless the rewards were limited to humans, the priority would be to use them to improve the strength of Pokémon.

"Nurture," "Build Bonds," and then "Champion"!

As the motorcycle lizard ran tirelessly.

Oreki finally arrived at the northwest of West 1 District at dusk.

That's right.

Although he thought the rock slabs on the other side of the treasure owner's worm were a coincidence, there's always a chance something might be wrong.

So, taking advantage of his visit to Beigu Town, he planned to investigate all the treasure owners in the western part of the area.

Even without the stone slab, you can collect all the secret seasonings and even test the strength of your Pokémon.

Get it in one fell swoop!

"Gari."

Upon arriving at its destination, the motor lizard lowered its body.

Oreki jumped down, but this time he didn't give out any energy cubes.

There wasn't a single drop left.

After waving goodbye to the motorcycle lizard, Oreki continued up the mountain path.

Soon, the ground began to shake.

Huge stone balls rolled down from the high cliffs.

But few of those stone balls rolled along the mountain path; most fell directly from the mountain peak.

From a distance, there seemed to be considerable energy fluctuations on the mountain peak.

"What's going on? Is someone battling the Stone Bird under the Treasure Master's feet?"

Oreki recalled the little blacksmith, released Tirey and Kirlia, and quickened his pace.

Fifteen minutes later, they successfully reached the summit by following the winding mountain road.

Oreki spotted the back view that seemed to tell a story right away.

Aoki? ?

I heard from the chairman that he had taken leave, so why is he fighting with Baozhu?

Well, even on vacation there's no peace and quiet. I have to say, that's just like you, Uncle Aoki!

Since there were readily available thugs, Oreki wasn't in a hurry.

This is a good opportunity to observe Aoki's strength in the real world.

But after watching for a while, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Isn't Aoki under a lot of pressure?

The Pokémon on the field were not the Normal-type Pokémon that the opposing Gym Leader would send out, but rather a uniform group of Flying-type main Pokémon.

Among them, the Flamingo and Altaria gave Oreki a feeling no less than that of Manuela and Draculet from Hunter J.

It's definitely at the level of Gu Long in terms of combat power.

Then you're telling me that the Treasure Master used the Stone Bird to suppress the six of them??

Then what else is there to say? Pipa's mastiff godfather and Guleton/Millerton are in danger!

This is not something a newbie can fake an accident to pull!

We should investigate this as soon as possible.

Oreki immediately scanned it with the [Encyclopedia].

[Identifying - please wait]

This identification process took longer than any other time.

Fortunately, the scan results eventually popped up.

but----

【The Stone Bird (—)】

[Attribute: Superpower]

【Feature: Synchronization】

[Mastered moves: Slam, Mirror Attribute — Dragon Star Cluster, Dragon Dance — Magic Flash —]

[A restless personality, loves to eat everything]

[Status: Perfect. Currently very happy and seems to want someone to play with it?]

[Evaluation: Top-tier in its niche – Elder Dragon – Super Ancient – ​​Legendary? Forbidden #*? &%! **]

???

What? !

What kind of rock-eating bird is this?

What's with the addition of superpowers and synchronization?

and many more!

Your comment —

After a brief moment of surprise, Oreki immediately realized what was happening.

If there's any Pokémon in the world that could elicit such a survey result from the system.

There can only be one answer.

—A mischievous pink kitten in the Pokémon world, so dreamy!

The Pokémon that Giovanni personally inquired about a couple of days ago, is Mewtwo's father or mother?

As expected, the nicknames weren't wrong; they've all wandered all the way to Padiya.

"Meow meow~"

I have to go now, meow~

Tireyne tried to back away, but was caught by Oreki.

Before coming, they said they wanted to let the Shishio bird experience its flying skills, but now they've backed out?

"Meow?!"

Tire Cat looked at the trainer with a questioning gaze. "You've lost your love, haven't you?"

If you go up there, you'll be instantly killed!

"Don't be afraid, we won't let you go up. Let's check the situation first."

Oreki decided to wait and see.

Although Dream is a bit of a street thug, he shouldn't hurt people randomly.

The system survey also said that it should find someone to play with it.

The battle continues.

Aoki's forehead was covered in sweat, and his usually listless eyes were now unusually sharp.

During his few days of leave, he stayed in Jinhui Town to catch up on sleep.

However, several reports were received of fierce battles at the peak of West Zone 1, accompanied by falling stone balls that injured trainers.

Upon closer inspection, the Gym Leaders of nearby Glass Bottle City and Cube Town had not yet returned from Tabletop City.

So he came and investigated on his own.

The treasure master, the stone bird, actually knew this a long time ago.

However, under normal circumstances, unless someone really wants to challenge the other, there won't be any random outbursts.

This is also why the league's top management has always allowed Pokémon to exist as their masters.

They do not attack trainers proactively, but they can provide trainers with challenges.

But to his surprise, as soon as he arrived, the other side unleashed a series of air blades.

It's understandable that they attacked first; the power of their Air Blade was completely unlike what a normal Pokémon should have.

Most importantly, even after he brought out all his main Pokémon, he still couldn't gain the upper hand!

It's as if the opponent can adjust their strength in real time based on the Pokémon he sends out, always managing to gain the upper hand.

He wouldn't have believed this absurd situation if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

"Hmm? Have other trainers been attracted here?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Aoki saw a man behind him carrying Pokémon climbing to a spot not far away.

"This is troublesome."

He was worried that the other party might be accidentally caught in the crossfire of the attack.

This level of battle is not something just anyone can watch.

"Tropical Dragon, Sleep, take that trainer down the mountain, Floridon, Feather Dance."

Loosening his tie, Aoki took a deep breath and uttered four words again.

"A massive bird attack!"

The words were squeezed out.

Apart from Tropius and Florges, the remaining four Pokémon simultaneously folded their wings and activated their Flying-type energy.

Suddenly, crimson phantoms appeared on the four Pokémon.

The scene was spectacular.

However, warmth comes at this time.

The besieged stone bird suddenly covered its mouth with its wing and laughed.

Before Aoki and the other Pokémon could react.

Its enormous form suddenly vanished into thin air.

"?"

Aoki was a little confused.

If he wasn't mistaken, that move just now was... teleportation?

Do you have superpowers? Can you teleport instantly?

The thought had just arisen.

Suddenly, a tropical dragon's scream came from behind.

"Mew~~~"

Turn around.

"Oh no—Tropical Dragon, protect Trainer Nash!"

Aoki shouted, ordering the remaining five Pokémon to rush to Slumber's aid immediately.

However, the imagined "Stone Bird attacking the trainer" did not happen. Instead, the bird circled around the trainer like a curious child.

Seeing this, Aoki finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately.

What's going on with this stone bird?

Come to think of it, that trainer looks kind of familiar.

below.

The instant the Stone Bird disappeared, Kirlia assumed a battle stance and stood in front of Oreki.

Although it couldn't detect the Stone Bird's tracks with its strength, a gut feeling told it that the bird was definitely coming for them.

"Don't be so nervous, Kirullian."

Oreki patted its head to make it relax.

—Dream Table really wants to attack them; there's no point in resisting.

The reappearing Stone Bird was smaller in size. With a flap of its wings, a light barrier appeared, blocking the tropical dragon. Then it circled around the Oreki.

It looked like they were observing something.

"Mwah~?"

As soon as he spoke, Oreki almost lost his composure.

The moment he opened his mouth, his ID card warmed my heart.

"You tirelessly guard your world's primordial tree, what are you doing here?"

Oreki was straightforward.

Dreamy may seem cute and playful most of the time, but in reality, its nature is more accurately described as "fickle" than playful and restless.

The emotions it evoked upon death are beyond the comprehension of normal human beings.

However, it seems that the other party does not have any malicious intent.

"Muse??"

The expression on the stone bird's face showed a human-like panic.

Did the humans in front of me recognize me?

She disguised herself so well, even the shape of that big bird was exactly the same.

That's really strange.

Just like the smell on him, it was very strange!

The stone bird tilted its slender neck, unable to figure out why it was dying, so it simply stopped caring about such things.

Turning his head, he looked at Kirlia and Tireyne beside Oreki.

缪~

These two Pokémon seem quite special, don't they?

Since that's the case, let's be friends!

"Mimi~"

Spreading its broad wings, Shishio mimicked Oreki's earlier actions, patting Kirlia and Tireymeow's heads on the left and right.

"Chiru?!"

Kirlia wanted to fight back, but she couldn't muster the energy and couldn't even use her best techniques, Instant Transmission and Flame Burrow.

Tire Cat, on the other hand, was more willing to follow her heart and let the other person "pat her head".

We can't beat them, we simply can't beat them.

"Mew~~"

After covering its mouth and calling out again, the stone bird disappeared.

Oreki, who made no unnecessary movements throughout the entire Asia region, twitched his eyebrows slightly.

Does Mew know what type of Pokémon it transforms into?

To be frank, this disguise isn't as effective as Ditto's.

Along with the dreamlike stone bird, the surrounding transparent light barrier also disappeared.

Now, Aoki was fortunate to be close to him.

"This trainer—hmm? Oreki?"

"Uncle Aoki," Oreki smiled, "How have you been?"

Uncle Aoki?

Taking another deep breath, Aoki suppressed the urge to punch someone. "What are you doing here? Are you alright?"

"It's nothing. I actually came here to find the owner of the stone bird."

"The one you found on your desk isn't that strange rock-dwelling bird from earlier, is it?"

Aoki asked in surprise.

Oreki shook his head.

"That's right, the strength of that stone bird completely exceeded my expectations, it was definitely not the original one."

"Does Uncle Aoki know where the original cave where the stone bird descended was?"

Oreki asked the question with a smile.

Because Aoki frequently appeared at Orange Academy on business, he and Oreki had a good relationship when they were students before Aoki died.

"I only know the general layout," Aoki said helplessly. "I'm about to look for it myself. Would you like to join me?"

"Let's go, uncle."

Call me brother.

"Okay, Uncle Aoki."

>