I caught a Pokémon

"Wait!! I know him! We're friends!!"

The ghost girl's gaze was scrutinizing as she examined the vegetable's face, before raising her tentacles again.

Oops!

Cai Zhong was startled and quickly closed her eyes. Just then, she felt a lightness in her hand. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that the ghost girl had already gently taken the photo away.

Cai Zhong breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she was finally safe, but immediately she felt a shadow flash beside her. When she turned her head, she saw a purple tentacle coming towards her face, growing bigger and bigger in front of her!

……

Half asleep, when Cai Zhong opened her eyes again, sunlight was streaming through the gaps in the tree canopy, falling on her face and making her feel ticklish.

Her head ached and she felt very weak. She rubbed her temples for a while before she felt a little better. When she sat up, she realized that she was lying on a grassy field!

Beside him, his four Pokémon were fast asleep, but thankfully none of them were in danger. His fanny pack was casually tossed aside, and Poké Balls were scattered all over the ground, but none were missing.

Looking back, the Forest Mansion was just over a hundred meters away, shrouded in a light morning mist even in the early morning. The broken windows and doors looked like gaping maws that were about to devour people.

Recalling what had happened last night, Cai Zhong suddenly shuddered.

Although I don't know why I ended up here, and I later completely lost my memory, I've finally made it out.

although……

Looking at her Pokémon, she sighed again.

Despite the ordeal she endured, it was clear that the ghost hadn't truly harmed her; otherwise, she wouldn't have been dumped here like trash.

Just as they were about to wake up their Pokémon, the sound of a car suddenly came from afar.

Puzzled, she turned her head and saw a convoy of five or six vehicles, consisting of vans, trucks, excavators, and cranes, slowly emerging from the forest and eventually stopping in front of her.

A man wearing a yellow hard hat and a "First Construction" work uniform leaned out of the window of the van in front of him.

"Excuse me," the man said with a smile, looking at the vegetable seedlings still slumped on the ground, "Is this the Forest Mansion?"

Cai Zhong was completely bewildered, not knowing why these people were here, but he still nodded subconsciously.

"Ah? Oh, yes..."

"I was right, thanks."

The man laughed heartily, then got out of the car and began to call to the dozen or so people dressed similarly behind him, who started unloading materials from the car and piling them up to the side.

It took Cai Zhong a while to come to his senses.

"Wait a minute!" She stood up, walked quickly to the man, and asked, puzzled, "What are you doing?"

"Of course we're here to renovate this manor." The man looked at Cai Zhong with surprise. "Eh? Don't you know? Seeing you sitting here, I thought you were from this manor."

“But there are…” Cai Zhong was about to tell them that ghosts haunted the area, but suddenly stopped, then asked in surprise, “Who sent you here?”

“Of course it’s a Mr. Xia You,” the man said with a smile. “Hasn’t he already bought this entire estate?”

Summer... Summer's Desolation! ! ?

I remembered seeing Xia You's photo in the library last night...

I remember the ghost girl taking that photo away as if it were a precious treasure...

Looking at the people in front of him, Cai Zhong suddenly understood everything!

What the heck...

Cai Zhong took a step back, and couldn't help but recall that a few days ago at the dojo, Xia You had told him that there were no more ghosts here.

Now it seems the ghost is still there, and he and that girl ghost are clearly in cahoots...

Chapter 965 Clever Little Flame Monkey

After a comfortable night's stay in Maria's house, Xia You and the other two had breakfast there the next morning before bidding farewell.

Just as he had predicted, Pokémon Hunter J did not attack the place that night, which truly put Maria at ease.

Standing at the door, Maria waved to the three of them with her Gardevoir.

"Well then, I wish you a safe journey!"

Take care of yourself too.

Xia You and the others thanked her, waved goodbye one last time, then picked up their backpacks and left the flower field.

The three of them walked briskly down the slope, and when they turned back after crossing the flower field, the house was no longer in sight.

They smiled at each other, then composed themselves and officially stepped into the endless mountains.

In terms of the overall terrain of Sinnoh, most of the mountains are concentrated in the central region. The entire continent is divided in two by the broad Mt. Coronet, with some smaller mountain ranges interspersed around it. Due to the sparse vegetation, it looks like a huge scar.

Black Gold City is nestled among mountains.

As a resource-based city, the mountains surrounding Black Gold City are mostly barren mines. The area boasts a wide variety of minerals, including rare earth elements, coal, and fossils, making it a major industrial base for the entire Sinnoh region.

This also made the three of them realize that the air had become somewhat murky as soon as they stepped into the mountains, as if there were invisible dust and smoke covering the area.

Even though there are many forests and trees around, as long as Black Gold City and its hundreds of factories exist, this smell will not be eliminated.

Although it may smell a little unpleasant at first, you get used to it after a while.

Moreover, as they continued south, the terrain gradually rose, making the journey tiring and strenuous. However, once they reached a certain altitude and looked back at the plains that were about to disappear at the end of their vision, they couldn't help but feel a faint sense of satisfaction.

Just then, a noise came from behind the rocks in the distance, instantly attracting the attention of the group.

They turned their heads and saw a small flame flashing by in the crevice of the rock.

"That's—" Haruka, with her sharp eyes, immediately recognized what it was, "It looks like a Pokémon!"

That was indeed a Pokémon, to be precise, a Pokémon about half a meter tall, resembling a monkey, and that little flame was its tail!

"Oh, it's a little fire monkey."

As a native of Sinnoh, Yami naturally recognized the Pokémon at a glance. She smiled and said to May, "This is one of the starter Pokémon that our Sinnoh region gives to new trainers. I didn't expect to see it here!"

Xiao Yao nodded, not paying too much attention. However, just as she was about to continue forward, she suddenly noticed that Xia You was standing still, looking thoughtfully in the direction the little fire monkey had gone.

Having traveled for so long, just as Xia You understood her, she immediately sensed Xia You's thoughts.

"What's wrong, Brother Xia You? You want to tame it?"

Hearing her words, Yami also turned her head to look over.

Xia You stroked her chin: "Well, I don't lack Fire-type Pokémon right now, but Chimchar is one of my favorite Pokémon, so I'm still considering it."

"What's there to consider?" May laughed. "If you think about it any more, it'll run far away! Besides, your Blaziken has already grown up, hasn't it? Isn't it just a good time to have a new Fire-type Pokémon take its place?"

Xia You glanced at Xiao Yao in surprise, she really didn't expect her to say such a thing!

You've really grown so much!

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Xia You sighed inwardly, then shook her head with a smile, before releasing her Froakie. "But you're right, there's really no point in overthinking it. If you like it, you should just catch it!"

As he spoke, at his signal, Froakie began to hop and skip after the direction where Chimchar had gone, while Xia You and the other two followed far behind Froakie, keeping a leisurely pace.

To be honest, the situation in this mountainous area is quite complicated.

Beneath their feet was a mountain path worn down by travelers, flanked by hillsides of varying heights, covered with stones of all sizes. Some of these stones were interconnected, while others required a long detour to cross, which is why the little fire monkey that had just crawled into one quickly disappeared from sight.

However, the Frog has its own clever tricks.

As a Water-type Pokémon, it is very sensitive to humidity in the air. Because of the flame on its tail, the air along Chimchar's path is drier, which makes it easy for Froakie to find Chimchar's location by the difference in humidity.

However, it will still take some effort to catch up with Chimchar.

There was nothing that could be done about it. This little fire monkey was obviously very familiar with this place, and it used both its hands and feet to easily leap over the rocks that would be difficult for ordinary people. This allowed it to move around at a fast pace and soon reached the mountainside. It then slipped behind a large rock and disappeared from sight.

When Xia You and the others arrived at this place, guided by the Frog, they saw nothing but an empty ground.

Haruka blinked: "Huh? Where's that little Chimchar? Did we lose it?"

Just as they were wondering, they suddenly felt a dark shadow flash above their heads. When they looked up, they saw the little fire monkey from before doing a front flip, spinning twice in the air, and then reaching out its two monkey paws to grab at the croaking frog.

It turns out that it had always known that the croaking frog was following it, so it deliberately lured the croaking frog here and then jumped to a high place, just to wait for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack!

Upon realizing this, Xia You couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised.

I never expected this little fire monkey to be so clever!

Not only did he not run away, but he also dared to take the initiative to fight. It seems he is not a coward!

This discovery delighted Xia You. After all, although he could bring out a unique style in any personality, those who were warlike often achieved better results!

only……

The little fire monkey tried to ambush, but it clearly underestimated the shrewdness of the croaking frog.

Just as its monkey paws were about to touch the frog, the frog suddenly jumped high and dodged the attack.

However, Chimchar's reaction was also quite remarkable. Seeing that its attack had missed, it pushed off the ground with its legs and leaped upwards to chase after it again!

The chase between the monkey and the frog...

Seeing this, Xia You became interested and stopped giving instructions, choosing instead to observe and see how the two Pokémon would entangle themselves.

Nearby, May, seeing Chimchar for the first time, took out her Pokédex and, after examining Chimchar for a few moments, pointed it at the creature.

Pokémon Pokédex entry: "Ding, Chimchar, a monkey Pokémon, Fire-type. This is a very agile Pokémon that lives on rocky mountains and can move freely between cliffs. It is full of energy and is always full of fighting spirit. The flame on its butt is fueled by gas produced in its abdomen and will not be extinguished even if it gets wet in the rain. When it sleeps, it will extinguish the flame on its tail to avoid igniting things around it. Since ancient times, it has been called 'Butt Lantern' and is feared as a ghost."

Buttock lighting?

What an interesting nickname!

Xiaoyao smiled gently, then put away her Pokédex and focused her attention on the battle.

At this moment, Froakie realized that its trainer was intentionally training its ability to fight alone, so it stopped running away and, after using a feint to fool Chimchar, began its counterattack.

It can only be said that, in terms of both combat experience and skills, the Froakie far surpasses this wild little fire monkey.

Not to mention that this is under the premise of elemental advantage.

Therefore, even though it was Chimchar that initiated the attack, Froakie quickly fell into a disadvantageous position after it retaliated.

It's not that it's so bad; it's just that it was facing Xia You's Pokémon this time!

Even though Froakie has only been with Xia You for a short time, its growth is incomparable to that of ordinary trainer Pokémon, let alone these wild Pokémon!

This meant that after only two or three rounds of fighting, Froakie easily defeated Chimchar with a bubble attack.

Seeing that the Chimchar was too weak to fight any longer, May urged Xia You to capture it. However, after taking out the Poké Ball, Xia You did not rush to act but continued to watch the Chimchar.

This left Xiaoyao somewhat puzzled.

"What's wrong? Wasn't it already down? Why haven't you subdued it yet?"

"No rush." ​​Xia You shook her head. "I'm still observing. You know, some Fire-type Pokémon possess a fiery fighting spirit. They can often unleash an indomitable fighting will in times of crisis. Even if they are knocked down, they will get back up with their fiery fighting spirit. Look, it's gotten up now!"

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyao quickly turned around and saw that the little fire monkey, which had just been lying on the ground, was now shakily standing up!

"That's really true!" Yami exclaimed in surprise. "I never imagined that a Fire-type Pokémon would have such a hidden ability. Will it unleash even greater power next...?"

Yami was just about to ask if the little Chimchar would unleash some more powerful moves after getting up, but before she could finish her sentence, the little Chimchar got up and ran away without hesitation!

This made her words catch in her throat!

Eh?

Why is it so different from what I imagined?!

Chapter 966 Mai'er

It turns out that this little fire monkey, with its fiery fighting spirit, struggled to its feet, not thinking of continuing to fight, but of escaping!

This unexpected turn of events surprised not only Yami, but also Xia You and Xiao Yao, who were dumbfounded.

They had never encountered a Pokémon that used Flame Spirit like this before.

Who would have thought that a Pokémon filled with defiance and resentment, rising up with a fiery will, would only do so to escape?

From this perspective, just like when it lured the Froakie here and launched a sneak attack, this little Flame Monkey is truly cunning.

While Xia You found it amusing, she also looked at the little fire monkey with new respect.

Well, his Charizard and Blaziken are both die-hard fighters, the kind who can fight to the last second with their fiery fighting spirit. But this little Chimchar, while possessing the same fiery fighting spirit, is quick-witted, giving him a refreshing feeling.

That's fine...