Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

He turned to Gallade, who was standing guard nearby, and said this.

It has been on guard duty since the very beginning and has never let its guard down.

Although Tetsuya felt it was unnecessary, he didn't offer much advice.

That's Gallade's personality.

"Ledo"

The blue-purple light in Gallade's eyes gradually subsided, and its hands, placed in front of its chest, emitted a sky-blue ripple.

Drops of water, brimming with life energy, fell onto Pogaman's tiny body.

"Kaiokaio"

Seeing this, Vulpix quickly ran to Piplup's side to try and benefit from the healing effect.

It was also slightly injured, I suppose.

Gallade didn't say anything, but silently expanded the range of Life Drop usage.

Water droplets seemed to be falling continuously from the heads of Piplup and Ice-type Vulpix.

Ice Vulpix comfortably squinted its eyes.

"You little rascal." Zhe walked over and grabbed the scruff of its neck, clearly annoyed.

The Ice Six-Tails, enjoying the effects of the Life Droplet, froze.

Oh no, I'm going to get yelled at again.

"Don't waste Gallade's stamina and energy in a place like this, just stay put."

Tetsuya pulled it into his arms and patted its head in an annoyed manner.

Was the Ice Vulpix injured in the battle just now?

That is because the damage caused by the small pebbles flying everywhere may not be as great as the stamina required to release the skill.

It simply wanted to experience the "massage" effect of the life-giving water droplets.

Tetsuya once had Gallade use Life Drop on him, which not only swept away his fatigue but also greatly relaxed his body.

The only problem is that the dampness on the body doesn't go away for a while; it takes half a day to get rid of.

The Ice Vulpix grinned sheepishly and found a good angle to lie down in Tetsuya's arms.

If you don't want to enjoy it, then don't. Lying here feels pretty good too.

Soon, with Gallade's skill, Piplup's wounds were completely wiped away.

As both are water-based, the Life Drops are quite effective against Pigasman.

Strangely, Bogarman did not wake up.

The light rain in some areas gradually stopped.

Tetsuya smiled slightly: "Time to wake up, it's time to eat."

"Poga—"

"Dinner's ready?" Upon hearing this, Bogarman was no longer sleepy and immediately opened its eyes.

But there was no food in sight, and no delicious smell; all that could be seen was a large human face.

"Poga Poga"

Pogaman angrily waved his hands at Tetsuya.

Especially when it saw the Ice Vulpix in Tetsuya's arms, its eyes were filled with flames of defiance.

"Come on, say hello. From now on, he'll be your senior."

Tetsuya smiled and waved the Ice Six-Tails' foot at Piplup.

Bogarman's expression froze. Oh right, he had lost. It seemed he was about to become this human's elf.

Piplup, who grew up in the wild, wasn't very interested in becoming a human Pokémon, which is common for many wild Pokémon.

Accustomed to freedom and spontaneity, they are not keen to be subdued unless absolutely necessary.

The stronger one is, the more this is true.

But Piplup considers himself a trustworthy and good elf, and this human's attitude is good, and the food he makes is quite delicious, so becoming his elf isn't so hard to accept.

"Po-Ga"

It greeted the Ice Vulpix with some hesitation.

"Keio"

The huddled-up Ice Vulpix squinted and responded.

Then Zhe and Bogaman stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"Down"

Blaziken quietly walked over and greeted Piplup.

It knew that it had gained another target to bully.

"I'll get Pidgeot to take this little guy for a spin in the sky later. It'll probably be scared stiff," Blaziken thought maliciously.

It's not exactly bullying, it's just a process that every Pokémon that joins a team has to go through.

After all, aerial combat is not uncommon, so it's good to get used to the fear that comes with high altitude.

Given its strength and personality, it would be impossible for it and Pidgeot to allow their new partner to be in danger.

The Ice Vulpix was quite scared the first time it was there, but recently it has even started to like pestering Togekiss to take it flying around.

At this moment, Bogarman was unaware that the Pokémon in front of it was about to give it a "welcome ceremony." It only knew that the other party was very strong and that its attributes were quite incompatible with its own.

"Boga"

It responded somewhat nervously.

"As for the rest of the guys, I'll introduce them to you after we get out; this place is too small."

As the Pokémon chatted, Tetsuya and Brock set up another curtain.

They really were planning to grab a bite to eat here; they hadn't exactly lied to Bogaman.

"We're leaving soon. Is there anything you need to take with you, or anything you want to say goodbye to your friends?"

Tetsuya said, watching Pogaman stride toward him.

Bogaman tilted his head.

Friends? No, it doesn't have any. Since it arrived here, it has always been alone.

Its water-type attribute makes it completely unafraid of encountering Ground-type or Rock-type Pokémon in underground caves.

Because of their aversion to water, they generally do not actively attack Bogarman.

Pogaman can handle a few attacks by manipulating the water, and escaping is not a problem.

However, it does have some things it wants to take with it; these are its prized possessions.

Pogaman looked at Tetsuya with some hesitation.

"Don't worry, I won't take your things." Tetsuya knew what Pogaman was thinking.

The human and the elf had only just met and gotten to know each other; it was impossible for the other to completely trust them so quickly.

Bogaman thought for a moment, nodded, and turned to walk back to where he used to live.

Tetsuya turned to chat with Kotsuya: "By the way, has Gehao-senpai come back recently?"

"No, it seems he recently went to Unicron. What happened?"

Xiao Gang, who had pulled out an apron from somewhere and was grinding coffee beans, casually replied.

"Blazing Chicken, help heat it up."

He grabbed the Blaziken and placed the kettle on its back.

Judging from the Blaziken's body temperature, the water will probably boil very quickly.

Tetsuya scratched his head: "I was planning to ask him some questions about Pang Yan's breakthrough to Heavenly King."

"Oh, this..." Xiao Gang stopped what he was doing and thought about it carefully. "I'll ask him for you when I have time. He should be coming back soon."

As the uncle of Wu Neng's younger brother Xiao Gang, Ge Hao has always been a powerful and free trainer who runs away from home.

Let alone going back to Nibi, he rarely even contacts his family by phone or video.

Xiao Gang's grandfather had scolded his son many times, but it was no use.

Rock-type trainers can be quite stubborn at times; Gehau is always willing to travel and adventure around.

However, this also makes Gehao quite knowledgeable and very capable.

When the mantle rock evolved into Gigantamax, Zhe asked Brock to inquire about Gaga's related matters, since one of Gaga's main Pokémon was Gigantamax.

The result was quite good, considering that Tetsuya at the time only had a superficial understanding of communication evolution, and information about the giant rock monster was scarce in Kanto.

The information provided by Gehao was of great help to him.

"Row."

Tetsuya didn't say much like "thank you" to Kotsuya.

The two had become friends after chatting for over a year. Breaking through to the top of the rankings wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't a small one either, so there was no need to make a fuss about it.

After all, whether or not one can break through to the Elite Four level is not something that can be decided in a single sentence; it depends on the individual and their Pokémon.

"woo"

The water boiled quickly, and Tetsuya and Kogo each took a cup of coffee and started drinking.

Having gathered their strength, they still had to continue deeper into Leibo Mountain.

"Poga Poga"

Bogaman also dragged a bunch of things back to his resting place.

Aquatic plants, round, ordinary stones, and a few red scales of a carp—how ​​should I put it, it's rather chilly.

Tetsuya didn't seem to mind, and handed a bag to Pogaman: "Pack it yourself, I'll take it for you."

Bogaman nodded happily.

After hesitating for a moment, it reluctantly took out a red scale and handed it to Tetsuya.

"Boga"

Its head unconsciously turned to one side.

"Is this a gift for me?"

Tetsuya raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Pogaman nodded with difficulty.

"Thank you." Tetsuya happily took the red scale from its hand.

For a trainer you've just met, this is a pretty good attitude and a good start.

"Wait, what is this..."

Zhe didn't think there was anything special about these red scales; they were just those of Magikarp, something extremely common.

But the moment he received it, the familiar touch made him feel something was wrong, and he subconsciously called out Zero.

[Scales of the Red Gyarados]

Familiar instructions came into view.

"It really is... fate."

After a moment of stunned silence, Zheye sighed inwardly.

His mind raced.

"Little guy, where did you get this?" he asked Bogarman, who was busy packing his luggage.

"Poga Poga"