Chapter 89

[Potential: Elite]

[Individual Values: HP (22), Attack (24), Sp. Atk (15), Defense (21), Sp. Def (23), Speed (20)]

[Moves: Scratch, Leer, Quick Attack, Fury Cutter... Slash Claw]

[Description: For many generations, it has been battling Seviper. Its sharp claws are its strongest weapon.]

It was precisely Zangoose, the natural enemy of Seviper.

At this moment, the Zangoose, covered in white fur, stood quietly by the river, drinking water.

Su Yu released Combusken and walked over.

Sensing someone approaching, Zangoose revealed a wary gaze.

"Zangoose, come and battle me,"

Su Yu said.

Since Zangoose hadn't attacked him directly earlier, he didn't want to launch a surprise attack either.

So he chose to step forward and issue a direct challenge.

Zangoose had always been a rather combative Pokémon.

Coupled with its fierce appearance, it looked even more ferocious.

Seeing someone challenge it, Zangoose naturally agreed immediately.

Afterwards, it moved to the side, dropped onto all fours, and assumed a battle stance.

"Very good, let's go Combusken, use Agility followed by Flame Punch!"

"Chamo!" Combusken nodded, then turned into an afterimage, swiftly vanishing from its original spot.

Seeing its enemy disappear, Zangoose didn't panic; it quickly sniffed the air with its nose.

As a feline creature, its mastery over scents was naturally very proficient.

Soon, it detected Combusken's scent in the air to its right.

Alarm bells rang loudly in Zangoose's mind; white light erupted from its body as it narrowly used Quick Attack to dodge Combusken's scorching punch.

Although many wild Pokémon lacked Trainers to command them, their grasp of battle was by no means poor.

These were habits cultivated through years of fighting in the wild.

"Impressive," Su Yu's eyes lit up upon seeing this.

He also prepared to take the fight seriously.

At this moment, having dodged Combusken's attack, Zangoose also bared a fierce expression.

The sharp nails on its cat-like paws emitted a cold gleam; white light flared as it immediately launched a counterattack against Combusken.

The move used was precisely Slash Claw!

[Slash Claw: Attacks by tearing the opponent apart with hard, sharp claws]

"Whoosh, whoosh."

The cat-like paws continuously slashed toward Combusken in front of it.

However, Combusken, whose speed was already fast, received an additional boost from its Speed Boost ability at the end of the first turn.

Its speed increased yet another notch.

Zangoose's sharp claws were directly dodged by Combusken.

"Combusken, use Sand Attack."

Combusken dug its claws into the dirt below, then fiercely kicked it forward.

Zangoose, still pouncing through the air, was hit squarely in the face by the sand.

"You!"

The sand entered Zangoose's eyes, forcing it to squeeze them shut involuntarily.

Zangoose also began rubbing its eyes with its paws.

"Now's the chance, Combusken, rush in and use Mega Punch!"

Taking advantage of the opponent's weakness to deliver a fatal blow, Combusken quickly closed the distance against the exposed Zangoose.

Then, its fist shone with white light, emitting an astonishing aura.

With a single punch, Combusken sent Zangoose flying into mid-air.

"Jump up and use Double Kick!"

Combusken gathered strength in its legs and leaped into the sky.

Arriving before Zangoose, Combusken swung its powerful legs.

"Bang!"

Two kicks directly sent Zangoose crashing toward the ground.

Fighting-type moves could already deal double damage to Zangoose; after taking a hit from the powerful Double Kick,

Zangoose collapsed directly onto the ground.

[Combusken defeated Zangoose, gaining 380 experience points!]

[Combusken has sufficient experience and has leveled up to Lv26!]

"Well done, Combusken."

Seeing Combusken achieve victory, Su Yu praised it.

"Chamo," Combusken nodded in response.

Su Yu walked over, gave Zangoose a simple treatment, and then released it back into the forest.

If he left it here, there was a high chance it would be killed directly by its arch-enemy, Seviper.

After all, serving as his experience source, and adhering to the principle of sustainable development, Su Yu still needed to handle the aftermath properly.

Next, Su Yu continued to wander the vicinity, leading the Combusken as they constantly searched for other Pokémon.

Unlike the Pengwan Secret Realm that Su Yu had visited initially.

The Pokémon here, in terms of both level and strength.

Were significantly stronger than those in the Pengwan Secret Realm.

One could only say it lived up to its status as a Grade-B Secret Realm.

Moreover, the Pokémon here were quite aggressive.

As soon as Su Yu approached slightly, some Pokémon would immediately launch attacks.

[Combusken defeated Rattata, gaining 400 experience points!]

[Combusken defeated Sentret, gaining 420 experience points!]

[Combusken has sufficient experience and has leveled up to Lv27!]

[Combusken has reached the required level and has learned the new move Bounce!]

After helping Combusken level up once more, Su Yu decided to depart immediately and continue toward his destination.

"Howl." After mounting the Luxio, the Luxio also let out a roar.

Then it broke into a run, its four limbs moving with power.

Along the way, Su Yu's extreme speed startled quite a few birds.

Su Yu spent the entire afternoon traveling.

The destination was no longer far; Su Yu estimated he would arrive tomorrow.

However, as Su Yu ventured deeper, the strength of the Pokémon here began to increase steadily.

From time to time, he encountered Pokémon around level 30.

Upon reaching a plain, Su Yu had the Luxio dig a cave.

Given the current situation, a cave was far safer than lying directly on the open plain.

With nothing else to do at night, Su Yu prepared to continue leveling up his Pokémon.

This time, he planned to send out Aron.

Because Aron's level was still somewhat low.

Su Yu decided to have it consume the secret treasure they had obtained earlier.

Initially, Su Yu felt Aron's foundation was not yet stable, so he had not let it consume the secret treasure.

Instead, he had trained it for a period first.

Now, it seemed the time was finally right.

Aron had reached the point where it could consume the secret treasure.

"Come out, Aron."

A flash of red light passed, and Aron, clad entirely in white armor, appeared on the ground.

"Aron!" Seeing Su Yu send him out, Aron rubbed against him somewhat happily.

"Alright, Aron, quickly eat the Hard Stone you are carrying. It is time to consume the Rare Candy."

Su Yu said after soothing Aron.

"Aron!" Aron nodded, then took out the Hard Stone he had always carried with him!

Then, he swallowed it directly, and immediately, a white light began to shine from Aron's body.

Su Yu also received a flood of notifications.

[Aron consumed a Rare Candy and gained a large amount of Experience Points!]

[Aron has sufficient Experience Points and leveled up to Lv20!]

[Aron has sufficient Experience Points and leveled up to Lv21!]

……

[Aron has sufficient Experience Points and leveled up to Lv32!]

[Aron has reached the required level and evolved into Lairon!]

[Lairon has learned a new move: Rock Slide!]

[Lairon has learned a new move: Iron Head!]

……

[Lairon has learned a new move: Earthquake!]

Amidst the white light, Aron, whose body was originally round, became more elongated.

His body shape also turned oval.

The light of evolution faded, revealing a Pokémon lying on the ground that resembled a beetle.

Compared to the original Aron, after evolving into Lairon, not only did the armor on his back become segmented.

But the armor on his head also covered only half of it.

With half his face exposed, Lairon looked much fiercer than before his evolution.

[Name: Lairon (Steel, Rock)]

[Gender: ♂]

[Level: Lv.32]

[Ability: Rock Head]

[Potential: Champion]

[Individual Values: HP (31), Attack (31), Special Attack (31), Defense (31), Special Defense (31), Speed (31)]

[Moves: Tackle, Harden, Metal Claw, Sand Tomb, …… Earthquake, Iron Head, Rock Slide, Earth Power]

[Description: It digs up iron ore to eat. It has the habit of clashing its steel body against others to fight over territory.]

After consuming the Rare Candy, Aron's Individual Values changed from the original 4V to the current 6V.

His aptitude also rose from Elite Four level to Champion level!

Feeling his own powerful strength, Lairon happily rubbed against him as well.

After evolving, the rather angular armor rubbed against Su Yu, causing him some pain.

However, Su Yu did not blame him.

"Lairon, do you want to go fight and test your current strength?"

Su Yu asked.

"Lairon!"

Lairon nodded vigorously.

It seemed he was also very eager for battle right now.

Since it was only dusk and not too dangerous, Su Yu directly took Lairon and walked to the side.

While observing his surroundings himself, Su Yu searched for an opponent for Lairon.

Soon, he discovered a suitable enemy within the forest!

It was a Pokémon entirely deep blue, with black lines drawn across its body.

On the back of each hand were three fingers and a crimson claw.

Most critically, there was a huge red poison sac at its throat.

It looked extremely terrifying.

[Name: Toxicroak (Poison, Fighting)]

[Gender: ♂]

[Level: Lv.31]

[Ability: Anticipation (Can sense dangerous moves possessed by the opponent.)]

[Potential: Gym Leader]

[Individual Values: HP (22), Attack (28), Special Attack (26), Defense (23), Special Defense (31), Speed (20)]

[Moves: Poison Sting, Mud Slap, Flatter, Poison Jab, Venoshock, Poison Sting……]

[Description: The deadly poison generated in the poison sac travels through tubes on its arms into the spikes on its fists.]

This was indeed a Toxicroak containing terrifying toxins.

Pokémon like this are the most troublesome in the wild.

Because its entire body is filled with poison.

A single moment of carelessness could easily lead to being poisoned outright!

Statistics show that at least ten thousand trainers die annually from wild Pokémon toxins!

It could be said to be a killer of trainers.

Facing such a Pokémon, Su Yu prepared to act directly.

"Lairon, use Sand Tomb!"

"Lai!"

Lairon cried out lightly and immediately launched its attack.

[Sand Tomb: Traps the opponent in an overwhelming sandstorm.]

Swarms of flying sand instantly appeared around the Toxicroak, which had been searching for something in the forest.

The flying sand surged into the air, immediately surrounding the Toxicroak.

This startled the Toxicroak.

Upon realizing it was under attack, it immediately flew into a rage.

The sac on the Toxicroak's throat pulsed continuously, pumping venom throughout its body.

It whipped its head around and spotted the Lairon clad in white armor before it.

"Poison!"

The Toxicroak opened its mouth and spat out a series of tiny poison needles.

The poison needles were dense as flies, flying toward Lairon.

"Lairon, block with the armor on your back."

Lairon arched its back and curled up, resembling a sphere.

It exposed all the armor on its back to serve as a defense.

The poison needles struck Lairon's armor, emitting a series of clinking sounds.

Once the needles passed, Lairon had suffered no damage whatsoever.

"Lairon, let's counterattack; use Rock Tomb."

Lairon stomped its foot, causing the ground to tremble.

With a boom, countless rock fragments gathered around Lairon.

It hurled the stones, which struck precisely around the Toxicroak with a clatter.

The stones tightly enclosed the area surrounding the Toxicroak.

At this moment, the Toxicroak resembled a frog trapped at the bottom of a well.

Seeing this, the Toxicroak immediately drove its sharp claws into the stones.

Clinging to the stone edges, it attempted to climb out.