Chapter 43

Fifth update! Still five updates.

At the other end of the passage, Huo La had already been waiting there.

Seeing Brock crawl out last, he immediately ordered Nidorina: "Nidorina, use the broken stones beside you to fill the passage entrance, don't leave any traces!"

"Nido!" Nidorina responded, its sharp claws scratching at the piled stone blocks quickly, continuously filling them toward the passage entrance, and soon sealed the entrance tightly.

The others slumped on the ground, gasping for air—the feeling of suffocation from being surrounded by the pitch-black Zubat colony just now still pressed on their hearts, making people feel weak all over.

Clefairy, shrinking in the researcher's arms, only then dared to poke its head out carefully, crying to Huo La and Brock twice, its pink face full of gratitude.

Big brother looked at the sealed passage, his face turning blue and white, and finally squeezed out a sentence: "T-thank you for not throwing us inside just now."

Huo La glanced at him, his tone without any temperature: "I just didn't want the League to misunderstand that I deliberately let Team Rocket people go."

The four brothers of Team Rocket looked at each other, and the big brother suddenly stiffened his neck and said: "Now that we are all out safely, if we want to leave, can you stop us?"

Huo La was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, just spat out two words: "Bulbasaur."

As soon as the voice fell, four thick vines suddenly shot out from the side, "Swish" tying the four people tightly, unable to even move their arms.

"Brat, you dare—!" Big brother was so angry that his face turned red, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the second brother.

"Big brother, save some energy, it's really too tiring." The second brother said weakly.

Third brother also followed to persuade: "Yeah, big brother, admit it. It's not the first time we've been to the station, just wait for the boss to come and redeem us."

Fourth brother was silent.

Big brother snorted fiercely and finally stopped struggling.

Huo La didn't pay attention to them anymore, his gaze cast directly toward the cave exit not far away—countless Zubat gathered there, and the "buzzing" sound of wings flapping could be heard from far away.

Zubat live in dark caves all year round and only hang upside down to sleep during the day. Their skin is extremely fragile, and wild Zubat that have not been tamed will be sunburned once exposed to direct sunlight.

It is noon right now, and the sun is shining brightly outside. Although these Zubat are blocking the cave entrance, they never dare to take a step out of the cave.

"Huo La, what are you thinking about?" Brock walked to his side and looked at the cave entrance following his gaze.

"I'm thinking, should I take this opportunity to catch a Zubat." Huo La's gaze locked onto the Zubat colony at the cave entrance—there was a green shiny Zubat there, which was particularly eye-catching in the blue colony.

Brock also looked at the cave entrance, thought for a while, and simply took out an empty Poké Ball, smiling and saying: "Surviving a disaster can be considered a blessing. Encountering such a thing, catching a Zubat as a souvenir is not bad. And only raising Rock-type Pokémon, how can one become a first-class Breeder?"

Saying that, he aimed at a Zubat flying closer at the cave entrance and threw the Poké Ball fiercely. The Poké Ball hit the target precisely, red light flashed and pulled the Zubat in, then wobbled three times on the ground and stabilized with a "Ding."

Immediately after, the Poké Ball rolled to Brock's feet along the slope of the cave entrance.

Huo La looked at the Poké Ball in Brock's hand and suddenly smiled.

He always thought about waiting for the system to prompt "excellent aptitude" before being willing to capture Pokémon. Nidorina was also captured after picking countless members of the Nido family. Although it was striving for perfection, it was ultimately a bit too pedantic.

A true Pokémon Master never wins by the aptitude of Pokémon, but by being able to pour understanding and effort into every partner, using tactics and techniques to let a C-aptitude Pokémon defeat an A-aptitude opponent. This is the ability a Trainer should have.

Thinking of this, Huo La didn't hesitate anymore, immediately released Scyther and Beedrill: "Scyther, use Air Slash to separate the Zubat colony at the cave entrance! Beedrill, watch that green shiny Zubat, once there is a chance, use Poison Sting to restrain it!"

Brock looked at Huo La's decisive appearance, a gratified smile appearing on his face. He understood that the persistence in Huo La hadn't changed, but it seemed that some other changes had occurred.

However, a young man is ultimately a young man, and the persistence for that special shiny Zubat also revealed a bit of cute purity.

Scyther and Beedrill acted immediately: Scyther waved its forelimbs, and several Air Slashes whistled toward the cave entrance, instantly tearing a gap in the dense Zubat colony; Beedrill hovered in mid-air, staring fixedly at that green Zubat, just waiting for the gap to expand to launch an attack.

Brock put away the Poké Ball containing Zubat and turned to look at the researcher who was still recovering his breath: "Are you okay?"

The researcher steadied his mind, lowered his head to touch the head of Clefairy in his arms, his tone carrying lingering fear: "I'm fine, it's just that Clefairy was scared quite a bit just now... Actually, I was originally investigating fossil ruins in the depths of Moonview Mountain. I didn't expect to encounter Team Rocket people, and I didn't expect them to target Clefairy and this Moon Stone."

Clefairy seemed to understand the words "Team Rocket," shrank into the researcher's arms, its small claws holding the Moon Stone emitting a misty luster tightly, and cried to Brock twice.

Brock gently touched Clefairy's ears, his eyes softening: "Clefairy is really a brave little guy, clearly scared itself, yet still holding the Moon Stone tightly and refusing to let go."

He paused and asked curiously, "Is it your Pokémon? It looks very close to you."

Mentioning this, a gentle smile appeared on the researcher's face: "This child is not my Pokémon, but I discovered this child in the cave. At that time, it was quite naughty, teasing me every day, not only stealing the tools I dropped but also stealing my bento. Later, we got familiar with each other. This time Team Rocket came to grab the Moon Stone, and I didn't expect it to come to me for help."

Brock looked at this scene, a warmth rising in his heart: "No wonder you risked your life to protect it just now. Actually, Clefairy trusts you very much, right? Have you ever thought about... capturing it?"

The researcher was stunned, then shook his head, gently rubbing Clefairy's head: "I'm just a researcher, I can't take it to travel and battle like you Trainers. This is its home, and it is also the place where I do research. It's quite good like this now."

Just at this moment, a burst of urgent siren sounds came from near to far, and a red-and-blue motorcycle drifted around the corner, stopping steadily in front of everyone.

Officer Jenny wore a white helmet, her capable uniform outlining her upright figure, sitting on the motorcycle, fully displaying her heroic spirit. The Growlithe in the sidecar immediately jumped down, barking "Woof woof" vigilantly at the four tied Team Rocket brothers.

Seeing Officer Jenny, Brock's eyes lit up instantly, his heartbeat accelerated "thump-thump," and the mind of chatting with the researcher about Clefairy just now was thrown to the back of his mind.

He stepped forward quickly, grabbed Officer Jenny's hand, his tone instantly becoming gentle and diligent: "Beautiful Officer Jenny, my name is Brock, I was the Gym Leader of Pewter Gym, and now I am traveling with my partner! I wonder if I have the honor to leave your phone number and email address? Another day we can go drink a cup of mellow coffee together, and then have a romantic dinner..."

Officer Jenny was obviously used to this kind of scene, keeping a professional smile on her face, and gently pulled her hand back: "Thank you for your invitation, Mr. Brock. However, I have official business right now, so I have to deal with the situation here first."

On the other side, Huo La had just bent over to pick up the Poké Ball containing the shiny Zubat. When he turned back, he saw Brock leaning in front of Officer Jenny and chattering endlessly. He shook his head helplessly and whispered to Bulbasaur beside him: "Bulbasaur, drag him away."

"Bulba~" Bulbasaur understood, quietly stretched out a thin vine, and in an instant tied Brock up, dragging him to the side like a sack.