Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

"Wave missile".

Looking at the menacing Onix, he patted Blaziken on the back.

"Down"

Blaziken was also unhappy; it felt it had been looked down upon again.

Uh, why is it "again"?

As the Blaziken thought this, a blue orb the size of a human head formed in its claws.

"call out"

With a swipe of its claws, a blue wave missile shot out, crashing headlong into the oncoming Onix.

"Roar--"

The giant onyx's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, and it collapsed heavily to the ground.

"Susu"

Dust kept falling from the surrounding rock walls.

Onix, which is not good at energy defense and is weak against Fighting-type moves, would be in serious trouble if it took a direct hit from a Wave Missile, not to mention that Blaziken is far superior in strength.

Tetsuya had no idea why it had charged up there.

After inspecting Onix's body, there were no major problems; there were no external influences or item drops.

Neither of them was interested in subduing it, so they simply walked over its body and headed to their resting spot.

As they passed through the cave passage most likely created by Onix, Tetsuya, with his keen senses, paused, "Hmm?"

"how?"

Xiao Gang turned to look at Tetsuya.

"The air seems a bit humid?"

Tetsuya stretched out his hand and carefully sensed the passageway.

Xiao Gang approached, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath: "Yes, somewhat."

The two exchanged a glance and decisively stepped into the passage.

There's no rush to find a rest stop, since we've only been down for a little over an hour.

In comparison, the place behind this passage was more interesting to the two of them.

Chapter 432 Underground Waterfall (Revising in progress, half an hour)

"Thump thump thump...bang"

In the dimly lit cave passage, Tetsuya casually picked up a rock and threw it forward.

This new passage, created by Onix, will not be inhabited by any Pokémon for the time being.

Of course, this situation will last for a maximum of two or three hours.

The gophers and tricorns that hear the noise will quickly make this place their home and drive away any outsiders.

But at least until then, there's no need to worry about safety issues.

"Speaking of which, we're heading north now, aren't we?" Xiao Gang said thoughtfully, looking at the rock face.

Tetsuya was somewhat surprised: "It should be, but how did you figure that out?"

In the pitch-black underground, it's quite normal to lose your sense of direction.

Forget about east, west, south, and north, you might not even be able to tell up from down, since everything in sight looks exactly the same.

Over time, many people will experience dizziness and blurred vision.

Tetsuya relied on his powerful memory to forcibly construct a map in his mind, which is why he knew the general direction.

Sometimes, you have to rely on Blaziken's Aura and Gallade's Psychic powers to tell which way is up.

Xiao Gang doesn't have a photographic memory.

Meeting Tetsuya's curious gaze, Xiaogang explained, "It was that giant Onix that told me."

Because the giant onyx has a magnet in its brain, it can clearly determine its direction even when it is underground.

It is precisely because of this body structure that many Onix prefer to travel due south or due north.

The third segment of that giant rock snake just rotated 180 degrees, which is consistent with its body characteristics when it was moving north.

"Based on the traces it left on the rock face, I was able to make a rough judgment."

"sharp."

After hearing his explanation, Zhe was very impressed.

He knew that Onix had this body structure and the ability to rotate any part of its body, but to be honest, he really couldn't tell which section of the rock had been rotated.

This has nothing to do with whether or not Onix have been bred.

Each Onix's body is made of completely different rocks; how could a normal person possibly tell them apart?

Only someone with Xiaogang's ridiculously sharp eyesight could do that.

Don't forget, this guy can distinguish between Joey and Officer Jenny with the naked eye—for that alone, Tetsuya would call him the strongest.

Anyway, he had lived in this world for sixteen or seventeen years and had never heard of anyone other than their own family members recognizing their identities. Xiao Gang was the only one.

The two walked cautiously through the passage, chatting the whole time.

Neither of them were particularly fond of chatting, but in the overly quiet underground cave environment, they still found themselves talking without realizing it.

Otherwise, just walking around would be quite depressing.

It is said that many trainers who spend a long time alone in the caves of Mount Raibo seek psychological counseling from psychic Pokémon after they come out.

There was no way to completely dispel this feeling of oppression by simply confiding in the elf.

As they were talking, the two arrived at a place that resembled a cliff.

Without Tetsuya saying anything more, Blaziken jumped down.

"It's not too deep, about a drop of twenty or thirty meters."

It was through waveguides and Tetsuya said.

By the faint light of the flames burning below, Xiao Gang was able to see the situation below clearly.

It's just a normal large depression caused by soft soil.

The culprits were probably a group of ground squirrels somewhere.

These guys are experts at loosening the soil.

Zhe also naturally took out Gallade's Deluxe Ball.

Twenty or thirty meters isn't a high distance for his physical abilities; he could jump directly down, but there's no need for it.

Psychic-type Pokémon play a crucial role at this time.

Otherwise, this godforsaken place isn't suitable for large Flying-type Pokémon to carry people, unless it's something like Zubat.

"Ledo"

The Gallade that appeared in the passage used its Psychic ability without saying a word.

A bluish-purple light enveloped Tetsuya and Kogoro, and they gradually floated up before falling back down.

The entire process took less than half a minute.

"Come back, Gallade, thank you for your hard work."

A flash of red light, and Gallade rose to third place among utility Pokémon.

The first two are Electric Dragon and Blaziken.

Xiao Gang was a little envious: "What you've done makes me want to raise a Psychic-type Pokémon too."

"Then cultivate it," Zhe said, unconcerned.

Psychic-type Pokémon are indeed rare, but that's for the average person. Brock is no ordinary person.

Putting everything else aside, it would be perfectly normal for his grandfather's Sun Rock to find a mate of its own kind to breed with Xiao Gang.

"Or you've already subdued the Nine-Tails, right? If you train its superpowers, its supernatural abilities should be able to do something similar."

Tetsuya then gave another very good suggestion.

Despite lacking superpowers, Kurama has demonstrated impressive abilities in both legend and modern training.

In addition to the unknown special ability of that nine-tailed fox, he felt that using it as a half-psychic type Pokémon would not be a problem at all.

“That makes sense.” Xiao Gang agreed with Tetsuya’s statement. “I just don’t know if I can control the Nine-Tails.”

He was somewhat worried.

After all, strictly speaking, he is only an elite-level trainer right now. If you really want to say, he's at most half a Champion.

The Nine-Tails, however, possesses the strength of a Celestial King.

The difference between the two could very well prevent him from fully utilizing the Nine-Tails' power.

The experienced Zhe disagreed: "You'll understand after you've fought it. Since it has already accepted you as its trainer, such a thing is impossible."

Or rather, it has an impact, but not a significant one.

Ninetales are stubborn Pokémon, but once they accept someone as their trainer, they are intelligent and will try their best to cooperate with the trainer's thinking instead of fighting on their own.

This is the complete opposite of Charizard, the final form of Charmander, one of the three fire-type starter Pokémon in the Kanto region.

Tetsuya paused, then continued, "If all else fails, then just try your best."

Trainers and Pokémon have always been complementary; if one takes the lead, the other simply needs to catch up.

That's how you show the bond, isn't it?

"Boom~"

A faint sound echoed through the passageway.

The two people talking felt that the humidity in the air had increased.

"An underground river?" Xiao Gang offered a guess.

Tetsuya shook his head: "It's not that sound, it sounds like a waterfall."

The two exchanged a glance, their interest piqued even more.

According to the Alliance's previous map records, there is no underground waterfall in this area.

It looks like it was only recently dug through by the elves living underground.

This is great news.

Because such underground waterfalls are often accompanied by high-quality Pokémon and Pokémon items.

As the first trainers to discover this place, they should reap a huge reward.

"go!"

Despite his seemingly composed demeanor, Xiao Gang unconsciously quickened his pace.

After all, this was his first real wilderness adventure, so it was understandable that he was a little excited about it.

Led by Blaziken, the two quickly headed towards the direction from which the sound came.

When talking about underground waterfalls, one must mention their source.

Due to the terrain, underground waterfalls are a common sight in the underground caves of Leibo Mountain.

Their source is Lake Myokyō, a lake perched on a cliff in the far north of the Johto region.

Mirror Lake is located at the top of Clear Cliff, surrounded by a vast forest that nurtures many wild Pokémon.

The core spring there contains the best water on Pokémon Planet, which can quickly restore Pokémon's energy.

The various components in the spring water maintain a delicate balance. If this balance is lost, living things will lose their health, and not only will their bodies be affected, but their emotions and personalities will also change.

Therefore, Pokémon that grow up nourished by the waters of Lake Mirror are very healthy, maintaining a perfect balance between body and mind.