Pokémon: Starting as a Farmer Instead of a Trainer

Chapter 82 The Truth About the Moon Bear and the Monster

A sudden bear sighting...

Seeing Xiong Da emerge from the mist carrying many unfortunate souls whose souls had been stolen, Peng Peng raised his thorny vine club, almost certain of what was to come.

Although it had never seen what the monster looked like, it had seen this huge black shadow many times before. It was the monster that had taken away its mask that day!

Mingyou's expression was solemn, and he dared not act rashly. He did not know what the other party wanted to do with so many people, because these people were only in a state of suspended animation and there was still hope of saving them.

Moreover, it would be more accurate to call this bear "Bear Two" rather than "Big Bear," since at least they share the same color...

Its upper body, legs, and tail are covered with gray, muddy-looking fur. Its hands are bald, leaving only a small portion covered, while the rest is ochre, as if its brown fur has faded over a long period of time.

The hair on the back, sides of the head, waist, and abdomen is in square patches, but the square patches on the back are noticeably missing.

Its face was almost entirely covered with muddy gray fur, with only less than a quarter of its face visible on the upper right side. It also had three tufts of whiskers on its chin, revealing only a pale yellow mouth.

What is most striking is the blood-moon-like circular pattern on his forehead, and his left eye, which looks like it has been painted with darkness, resembling an eye patch, making him look like a very domineering gangster boss!

"This Moon Bear is very old, but its strength doesn't seem to have diminished with age; in fact, it seems to be getting stronger..."

Xiao Zhao observed the other party and naturally recognized that it was a Moon Bear, and a special kind at that.

The horned deer was also ready to fight. It could sense that the opponent was powerful and that it was very likely no match for them. This would be a dangerous battle!

While everyone else was ready, only Mingyou still habitually checked the other person's information first...

[Ursus: A peat Pokémon with a gentle, calm, and honest personality. It always has a listless look and doesn't seem very energetic. It likes to help the weak and doesn't like to get into conflicts with others. However, it can be extremely aggressive when it gets angry. To gain its favor, you need to work hard to improve your relationship with other Pokémon.]

"Huh? This is... a man-eating monster?"

After reading the message, Mingyou was a little confused, and the seriousness in her expression completely disappeared. Wasn't this just an honest, kind-hearted uncle named Xiong?

He wasn't doubting that Ponpo was making things up, but the descriptions in his mind that taught him how to increase his favorability had never been wrong so far, so there was a very high probability that Ponpo had misunderstood He Yuexiong.

Just as he was about to ask Ponpo about it, the Moon Bear in front of him suddenly spoke, letting out a slightly deep roar.

"Awooo~"

"What is it saying?"

"It said it would take us to a safe place, as this fog is very dangerous for humans."

Listening to Xiao Zhao's translation, Mingyou took Ponpo's hand to calm it down, then looked at Heyue Bear and said, "Alright then, take us there."

"Hmm?"

Ponpon was somewhat puzzled.

"It definitely didn't bring the mask with it. Why don't we follow it to the bear's den and take a look? Besides, I have a feeling there might be something wrong here..."

Mingyou was also conflicted about this, as the information she saw was very different from the monster in the story.

Could this be another story made up by Beishang Township? Or is the monster not actually the Moon Bear, but something else entirely?

With these questions in mind, Mingyou led Ponpon and followed the other party. Heyue Bear turned to the side, preparing to take them back to its home, but when its green eyes flashed over Xiaozhao, it couldn't help but be stunned.

Perhaps I misread it...

It quickly came to this conclusion, since such a thing was impossible, but upon seeing the horned deer, its expression froze again.

Is this a ghost? No, this place is supposed to be full of ghosts, so it probably really is...

It stopped thinking about these things and led them through the mist, which seemed to have no effect on it at all.

The Moon Bear possesses the unique Mind's Eye ability, allowing it to see through darkness and the uncanny. Even though it's a Normal-type, it can exert absolute dominance over Ghost-types, provided the opponent doesn't use any special abilities...

They made their way forward safely. Relying on its abilities, He Yue Xiong managed to avoid danger with everyone as much as possible while keeping a smile on its face. Soon they arrived in front of a huge tree.

On the surface, the tree seemed unremarkable except for its thickness. However, when the Moon Bear suddenly stepped on the ground, the soil around the tree changed and gradually turned into a passage.

"The bear's den is under the tree?"

Mingyou was somewhat surprised; no wonder no one had found Heyue Bear for so long.

"Awooo~"

Heyue Bear beckoned everyone to go down. The bear den below was not shrouded in mist, and the space was not particularly large. In the middle was a crystal of Taijing that was naturally formed and had no attribute, which was used to emit light and provide illumination.

Besides, there were people piled up everywhere, mostly dressed in Team Rocket uniforms, all in a state of suspended animation. Then, He Yue Xiong piled up the people he brought with him there as well.

"What exactly is this...?"

Mingyou and Xiaozhao were both puzzled. Why were they all piled up here? Were they used as winter rations? And where did these Team Rockets come from?

"Wait... the Rockets?"

Speaking of this, Mingyou suddenly remembered the Martial Arts Team captain Candira who asked him to hand out flyers when he was setting up his stall before. The flyer featured a guy called Yaro, who was known as the strategist of Team Rocket.

So could it be...?

"Awooo~"

At this moment, the Moon Bear suddenly roared again, indicating that it was safe to stay here and there was no need to worry about being captured by those ghosts and monsters. As long as the fog here dissipated at dawn, it would be safe to leave.

The two now understood that this place served as a safe house, but Mingyou still had questions: "So, what's all this about?"

"Awooo~"

"It said that if we leave them outside, they will be carried away by the big wolfhounds after dawn, so it's safer to leave them here. As long as their souls are found, these people can still live."

Xiao Zhao helped explain that she always felt like she had switched to being a translator, even though she had come here to be a henchman.

Why don't you guys learn the Pokémon language yourselves? Getting a Level 8 certificate doesn't seem that difficult.

After answering the question, Heyue Bear planned to go out again. It saw that many people were trapped here, so it wanted to rescue as many people as possible, and if it couldn't rescue them, it would carry their bodies back here.

Seeing that it was about to leave, Mingyou immediately took Ponpo's hand and stopped it: "Please wait a moment, I have one more question to ask."

"Awooo~"

Heyue Xiong looked at them with dead fish eyes, indicating that they could ask whatever they wanted.

Since that's the case, Mingyou got straight to the point and asked, "Do you know Ponpon?"

"Awooo?"

Heyue Bear looked at Ponpon, then fell into thought. He seemed to have some recollection of her. She used to come to the forest from time to time, and she would run away as soon as Heyue Bear got close.

"Hmm..."

Ponpo is just afraid of being eaten...

Mingyou nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then asked with a serious expression, "So the guy who stole Ponpo's mask... was you?"

Upon hearing this, the Moon Bear suddenly realized, "Is it that green mask inlaid with beautiful crystals?" It had indeed found it before.

"Have you found it before?"

"Awooo~"

The Moon Bear nodded. It had been searching for honey in the mist and checking to see if any bald men were cutting down trees when it suddenly found the mask.

However, since there was no owner nearby, it took the item home and planned to go out every night to see if anyone was looking for it.

"this……"

Mingyou finally made contact. Pengpeng could sense that the lost mask was on Heyuexiong, so it instinctively believed that it had stolen it.

Thinking back to the legends of Beishang Township, it's natural that Pengpeng would be afraid and dare not approach the other party. Isn't this also a kind of prejudice? If Pengpeng had just mustered up the courage to ask for it back then, she would definitely have gotten the mask back.

"Is that right?"

Mingyou looked at Ponpon.

"Hmm..."

Ponpon lowered her head and, after carefully recalling the events in her mind, it seemed that it really was true.

"So it was all a misunderstanding?"

Xiao Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. She felt that although the Moon Bear looked fierce, it was actually quite cute and kind, and it was impossible for it to do such a thing.

Mingyou stroked Ponpo's head, and just as he was breathing a sigh of relief, he suddenly realized something and quickly looked at Heyuexiong's forehead.

"Mist... Blood Moon..."

He examined the blood moon pattern on the Moon Bear's head, and it matched perfectly. Naz's prediction that her crisis was probably related to the Moon Bear!

What exactly is going on...?

Mingyou was somewhat surprised, while Ponpon, who was still recalling the details, also noticed something amiss.

Its mask was indeed stolen. That night, it was sleeping in the cave of terror when suddenly the Green Grass mask was stolen by some unknown person.

Startled awake, it immediately gave chase, eventually venturing into the perpetually shrouded forest of mist, where it lost its way and was even attacked...

Moreover, it is unaware of the presence of the Green Grass Mask in the bear's den...

Just as Ponpo was about to tell Mingyou about these issues, four figures suddenly darted out from behind the pile of people not far away, including a Meowth and a Wobbuffet.

The Rockets trio, who were eating honey, were also drawn over by the noise. But the moment they saw Xiao Zhao, they froze, then pointed in their direction and exclaimed in surprise.

"A little girl?!"

"Huh?"

……

(End of this chapter)