Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

This is somewhat strange, as fire cannot represent dragon-type Pokémon.

"Although with your strength and ability you can definitely pass the extra test at the Ink Dojo and obtain the same token, it's always good to save a little effort, isn't it?"

Yaori said with a smile.

“I don’t need it anymore, and this thing can’t be passed down to the next generation, so I might as well give it to you.”

These tokens, commonly used in the activities of various families, are numbered and have an expiration date. Once expired, they cannot be used anymore, so what Yaori said is not wrong.

"The reason I want to go directly to Yanmo City through the Dark Cave is because of it. To me, it may also represent misfortune, so please accept it as a favor."

The series of attacks launched by Yao Ri seemed rather tight, and Tetsuya was caught off guard for a moment.

By the time he realized what was happening, the black token had already been stuffed into his hand by Yao Ri.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Tetsuya hesitated for a moment, but still accepted it.

Perhaps it's a bit hypocritical, after all, given his abilities, Yao Ri wouldn't have shoved the things over unless it was voluntary.

But we should at least give a token gesture.

"If you want to do business, you can contact this guy and just say that I introduced you."

Tetsuya gave the private contact information of a friend in his address book to Yoh.

The other party may not need it, but that doesn't mean it can't be sold for money.

The market price of such tokens is extremely high, and even though he saved the other party, Tetsuya felt he still had to give something in return.

In any case, for both him and his friends, these things were just empty words, far less valuable than the tokens they could bring.

"Then thank you very much."

Yao Ri did not refuse.

As an old man who is middle-aged both physically and mentally, he is much more direct in this regard than Tetsuya.

As time passed, the raging floodwaters gradually receded.

Chapter 331 Emerging from the Cave, Possible Ruins

"I mean, why don't we just go outside?"

In the pitch-black cave, the pleading voice of a young man echoed.

His face was extremely pale.

Tetsuya, who was walking ahead, didn't turn his head: "There's still one victim. We can get out once we find him."

"We've been searching for him for a long time. Maybe he's already been killed by the wild Pokémon here, or maybe he couldn't find a place to hide from the flood and was taken away..."

The young man continued talking.

Tetsuya shook his head helplessly.

It was the morning of the second day after he entered the Dark Cave. More than four hours had passed since the floodwaters receded in the early morning. He and Yaori had successfully found the second victim more than an hour ago.

However, the mindset of this victim was very different from that of Yao Ri.

Although he had only been trapped in the maze for a week, which was probably the shortest among the remaining three, Tetsuya and Yohri sensed that his mental state was not very good when they met him.

Tetsuya said he fully understands that the other person may have suffered serious psychological trauma in this environment, but this does not make him give up the search and rescue prematurely.

"Ichima, relax. We're here now, we won't be unable to get out."

Yaori patted the emotionally fragile young man on the shoulder to comfort him.

"What if, I mean, what if we can't find a way out? I really don't want to stay in this place any longer."

The young man named Yima spoke with a tone full of pain.

Compared to Yao Ri, who has ample logistical supplies, his food reserves in his spatial backpack are not that many.

For the past week, he had been trapped in the maze, constantly calculating how much he had left to eat. The less he ate, the more desperate he became.

If one could survive in the forest thanks to its abundant resources, there are no tree fruits for him to eat in the underground caves nowadays.

Even if there were, the elven tribes guarding the fruit trees were beyond his ability to handle.

Fortunately, Tetsuya, who was about to rescue him, appeared just when he was facing despair.

Now, all Kazuma wants is to escape this place as soon as possible.

"The other person might be in the same situation as you; finding them sooner could save their life," Tetsuya, who was leading the way, clearly stated his position.

"But......"

"Shh-"

Just as Kazuma was about to say something, Tetsuya stopped him.

"Xia Mo"

A red shadow appeared in front of the three of them; it was Blaziken.

"Did you find it?" Tetsuya asked.

Blaziken nodded amidst the surprised looks of the three.

"However, the other person is not in good condition; it seems like they have fainted."

Its waveguide resonated deep within Tetsuya's heart.

Tetsuya frowned, but quickly relaxed his brow: "You lead the way."

If you faint, so be it. As long as you're alive, that's fine. With the medical technology of the Elf World, as long as you're alive, it's easy to cure you.

"Follow."

Tetsuya followed Blaziken at high speed, shouting something as he went.

Without him saying anything more, the two who had long wanted to leave this place also unleashed their potential and ran very fast.

You wouldn't guess that these two people had been trapped underground for a long time.

After running for about five minutes, a man who had collapsed on the ground appeared in front of the three of them.

"call--"

The elf beside the man let out a threatening sound from its throat.

Its appearance is just like Tetsuya's bulldog in his previous life, except that it stands upright, and its whole body is mainly light purple with black stripes on its wrists and neck, and heavy and huge canine teeth on its lower jaw.

It is the Emperor of Bru.

"Blazing Chicken, try to convince them."

Tetsuya glanced at it, then handed it over to Blaziken to deal with.

"boom"

The next second, the Emperor Blu, waving his limbs and revealing his thick, powerful teeth, was sent flying backward.

Having crashed into the rock wall, it undoubtedly lost its ability to fight.

"I mean, try communicating with it using your waveguide to persuade it."

Tetsuya patted his forehead, speechless.

"Down..."

The Blaziken, having lowered its right leg, let out a sheepish cry, thinking it was being physically persuaded.

Kazuma swallowed hard.

He suddenly realized that the boy in front of him must have a bad temper, so his constant nagging seemed like he was just asking for trouble.

"Fine, this works too, saves us the trouble." Tetsuya scratched his head as he looked at Blaziken, which had slid to the ground, but didn't say much to Blaziken.

The Pokémon Blueboar looks incredibly fierce, but it's actually incredibly timid. Wielding its limbs to scare people is probably the limit for this little guy.

If Blaziken had actually used Aura to communicate with it, perhaps the last thread in Blaziken's brain would have snapped, and the outcome wouldn't have been much different from what it is now.

"Hey Pang Yan, come over here and lend me a hand."

Tetsuya called out to the giant rock monster that was lagging behind, it was time to take advantage of its size.

He effortlessly lifted the unconscious man and placed him on Pang Yan's back.

"Oh right, and that little guy too."

After thinking for a moment, Zhe did not choose to take the Poké Ball from the unconscious man. Instead, he had Blaziken throw the equally unconscious Brutus onto Gigantamax's back.

To be precise, it's on the back of its trainer.

"Can we go back now?"

Although Blaziken's aggressive behavior had frightened Kazuma, at that moment all he could think about was "get out," so he didn't care about anything else.

He quickly asked Tetsuya.

"Everything's ready, let's go."

Tetsuya nodded, recalled the route out, and readily led the way.

He had wanted to leave for a long time; spending the whole night searching for people was exhausting, but he had no choice because of his mission.

What seemed like a completely random maze to Kazuma and Yohjiro appeared so simple to Tetsuya under his guidance that they both worried he might be wandering off in the dark.

"that......"

It was still Kazuma. After Tetsuya made a decisive and resolute choice to use the cave passage, he seemed to want to say something again.

"Uh~"

The sudden groan interrupted him once again.

It was the man on Pang Yan's back who woke up.

"We've been rescued, and we'll be out soon."

Yao Ri, who was standing to the side, spoke to the man who was clearly confused and wary.

"Thank you."

The man's voice was somewhat hoarse.

He took the water from Yao Ri and sipped it slowly; his body couldn't withstand any more strain now.

"Did this child faint while protecting me?"

Looking at the Emperor Bru beside him, the man asked.

"Yes...that's right."

In response, Yao Ri confirmed that this was indeed the case.

The man nodded without saying anything more.

He struggled to pull out a Poké Ball and recall his companion.

"Stay on Pang Yan's back. It might be a little uncomfortable, but it's better than walking here on your own."

Just as he was about to move, Tetsuya's voice came from behind him.

The man felt the soreness in his back, and after thinking about his current physical condition, he decided to follow Tetsuya's advice.

The stone was hard, but at least it wouldn't make him faint from exhaustion again.

"My name is Jin Nan. Thank you very much for your rescue. If you need anything after we get out, please feel free to contact me."

The unconscious man introduced himself.

"It wasn't us, it was just him. Kazuma and I are just like you, unlucky victims."

Seeing that Tetsuya was busy leading the way and not saying anything, Yori gave him a brief reply.

"No matter what, I still want to thank you for not giving up the search after you were rescued."

Despite having just woken up from a coma, Kim's mind was exceptionally sharp.

Kazuma remained silent, and Yaori didn't say much either; the two middle-aged men simply started chatting.

"Light, I see it, it's the sun."