Chapter 430: Little Pups, This Path Is Blocked

After Luo Mu and his Serperior cleared away the weeds obstructing the mountain path and once again reached the fork in the road before the summit, he without hesitation chose to lead Serperior directly down the right-hand path leading to the cave.

When Luo Mu arrived outside the cave again, he could detect no trace of the little Tinkatink within the not-so-large cavern, not even a single iron filing, as if the little Tinkatink had vanished from the earth overnight.

"Could it have moved away?"

Luo Mu frowned slightly, not expecting this little Tinkatink to be so vigilant.

Last night, he and Luxray had only encountered the little Tinkatink by chance and had made no move to harm it, yet the little Tinkatink had chosen to relocate without the slightest hesitation.

If he had known this, he might as well have left some mushrooms last night as a gesture of goodwill.

Looking at the thermos bucket of delicious mushroom soup he held in his hand, Luo Mu felt both amused and helpless.

Was this a failed example of trying to make a stunning first impression but completely messing it up?

But Serperior seemed to have sensed something; it closed its eyes, rapidly flicked its tongue, and deduced backwards based on the scent that accounted for the largest proportion within this cave.

Soon, Serperior discovered that this scent had remained in the cave until recently, likely departing during the time it and Luo Mu were climbing the mountain, heading in another direction; its movement was not hurried, suggesting it was not fleeing in panic as Luo Mu had claimed.

"Galo."

After a brief moment of thought, Serperior hooked Luo Mu's wrist with the tip of its tail, signaling him to follow.

"You know where the little Tinkatink went?"

Luo Mu's eyes widened; he didn't appear particularly surprised, but rather somewhat delighted.

Among his six main Pokémon, Serperior possessed the strongest and most refined control over energy, and due to its innate racial talent, it was extremely sensitive to scents.

Just as when Hearing Nimo was kidnapped at the beginning of the year, it had easily tracked the movements of the bad guys inside the warehouse with the tightly shut doors.

If one could say Luxray was unparalleled in terms of X-ray vision, then Serperior possessed similar capabilities regarding scent perception.

Luo Mu's only worry was always whether Serperior would get jealous and refuse to help him find the little Tinkatink; he never worried about whether Serperior could find it.

Seeing that Serperior was willing to lead the way, Luo Mu stepped forward, following it with a face full of delight.

Meanwhile, a certain restless existence within Luo Mu's consciousness displayed several ellipses.

【...】

What should I do? My host's Pokémon are simply too all-rounded; there's absolutely no room for me to appear and brush up my presence?

Luo Mu discovered that under Serperior's guidance, he was actually walking down the mountain.

However, it was not the path they had originally taken up the mountain, but rather the path on the other side of the small hill leading down into the wild.

Ignoring the occasional Amoonguss disguised as mushrooms along the way and having no intention of picking any fungi, Luo Mu followed Serperior until they reached the halfway point of the mountain, where the scenery below became clearly visible, and only then did they stop.

Looking at Serperior, which had stopped moving and was instead casting its gaze toward a patch of grass at the edge of the ground on the mountainside, Luo Mu's pupils contracted slightly as he realized a fact.

Could it be!?

Focusing his attention carefully once more on that patch of grass Serperior was staring at, Luo Mu finally noticed something amiss—

In the gaps between the leaves, a pink figure lay motionless; if it were an ordinary person, they might truly fail to notice it and walk right past! "Galo."

Serperior extended another vine, pointed toward that spot, and reminded Luo Mu in a calm voice.

That so-called patch of grass was also fake; at the very least, Serperior had detected no signs of roots growing underground.

In other words, the little Tinkatink was draped in a "patch of grass," lying there motionless to hide its existence! Understanding Serperior's meaning, Luo Mu was completely shocked.

What kind of background does this little Tinkatink have!? Not only does it know how to create loud noises to "scare off" me and Luxray, but it can also craft a makeshift "Ghillie Suit" and lie on the ground acting like a camper!

This individual is terrifyingly formidable, absolutely cannot... ahem, I'm getting the wrong idea.

Luo Mu noticed that the little Tinkatink seemed unaware of his and Serperior's arrival; instead, it was staring intently downward, completely unaware that its camouflage had been exposed.

An idea immediately formed in Luo Mu's mind, and he looked at Serperior with a pleading expression.

Serperior: "..."

Hmph, scumbag!

Not only are you trying to flirt with a wild female Pokémon right in front of me, but you also want me not to disturb your acquaintance!

Serperior's face turned dark; fuming with anger, it found a large tree, climbed up, coiled around a branch with its back to Luo Mu, every movement conveying its dissatisfaction.

But just as Serperior thought, no matter how angry it was, it would never act recklessly when it came to matters of principle; since Luo Mu absolutely had to find a suitable little Tinkatink, it could only temporarily compromise.

Casting an apologetic glance at Serperior, Luo Mu planned to compensate it later.

Because he had thought of a possibility: perhaps the reason for the little Tinkatink's strong reaction last night lay with Luxray.

After all, Luo Mu clearly remembered that the look the little Tinkatink gave him at the time contained no vigilance, but rather a hint of "contempt."

It was as if Luxray was the real threat, and Luo Mu was merely there to make up the numbers.

Therefore, this time Luo Mu tried having Serperior hide first while he attempted to contact the little Tinkatink alone; perhaps, its reaction wouldn't be so intense.

"Kanu."

Draped in its Ghillie Suit, the little Tinkatink watched the area below with focus, noting every movement of the Salazzle pack and the Houndoom pack.

Precisely because its attention was highly concentrated, coupled with its confidence in the Ghillie Suit it had crafted, the little Tinkatink did not notice at all that Luo Mu had already discovered it.

At this moment, the little Tinkatink was merely thinking internally, pondering what method to use to resolve the dual threat posed by the Salazzle pack and the Houndoom pack.

Using this small hill as its base to accumulate enough strength to force that flock of Corviknight to willingly provide feathers for it, or even to expand its territory and occupy the mountain body possessing high-quality ore... among the prerequisite conditions for achieving these ideas, the most important was how to become the true decision-maker of this small hill, the Mountain King! The existence of the Salazzle pack and the Houndoom pack was the greatest obstacle to the little Tinkatink; as luck would have it, the Pokémon within these two packs could be said to counter it completely! Having received good education from its pack, the little Tinkatink clearly knew its own helplessness when facing those two types of Pokémon due to its typing.

Wanting to suppress them by force and then make them submit to become warriors under the little Tinkatink's command—the little Tinkatink felt that even if it evolved into a Tinkaton, it might not necessarily be able to achieve this.

Moreover, these two packs would grow stronger over time, further eroding this small hill; the time left for the little Tinkatink was not abundant.

At this moment, the little Tinkatink felt its head swelling; after much deep thought, it reached a conclusion.

It seemed that for now, it could only try to recruit those scattered Pokémon living on the small hill, temporarily forming a group before proceeding to the next step.

However, if it were that Luxray, if it could be mobilized, perhaps these two packs would no longer be a threat.

After all, among the Pokémon that had caused the little Tinkatink a sense of crisis during its journey of wandering, that Luxray could be said to rank at the very top, almost strong enough to make it feel hair-raisingly terrified; the Salazzle Queen and the Houndoom Pack Leader simply couldn't compare in the slightest.

One must know, that fellow even dared to provoke that terrifying black Sky Dragon! The figure of that Luxray slowly emerged in the little Tinkatink's mind. Shortly after Luo Mu and Luxray had left, it had remembered: Luxray and Luo Mu seemed to have gone to fight that Sky Dragon not long ago.

This made the little Tinkatink feel somewhat regretful; if it had known earlier, it wouldn't have driven them away.

But in the little Tinkatink's eyes, Luo Mu was still that kind of weakling human incapable of tying up a chicken, relying entirely on Luxray and that group of Pokémon to fight.

"If I get another chance to meet that Luxray, perhaps I can try making contact." Thinking thus, the Tinkatuff's face broke into a smile, as if imagining some wonderful scene; immediately, it planned to climb up, end its daily observation, and return home to continue forging its hammer.

But just then, the Tinkatuff heard a light cough suddenly sound from behind.

"Ahem... ahem..."

"Kanu!?"

The Tinkatuff's heart leaped in fright; instinctively letting out a cry of surprise, it jumped eight feet high, nearly falling down the mountain.

Fortunately, Luo Mu was quick-eyed and quick-handed; setting down his thermal bucket, he scooped it up, otherwise the Tinkatuff would inevitably have been beaten by the pack of Houndour and the flock of Salazzle.

Discovering that the one who had caught it was actually Luo Mu, a person it had only met last night, the Tinkatuff flew into a rage.

No, seriously, why do you always appear behind me like a ghost every single time!

Feeling that continuing like this would sooner or later give it a heart attack, the Tinkatuff jumped out of Luo Mu's arms, looking at him with a face full of reproach; but before the Tinkatuff could vent its anger, several loud roars suddenly rang out from below.

The Tinkatuff's expression changed instantly; silently cursing its luck, it poked its head down to look, and sure enough, the cry of surprise it had accidentally emitted just now had attracted the attention of that group of Houndour and Houndoom, whose hearing and sense of smell were both excellent! As luck would have it, the moment the Tinkatuff poked its head out, it happened to lock eyes with a Houndour that just happened to be looking up.

The roars from below immediately grew louder; seeing that the group of Houndour, led by the Houndoom, were already finding a path up the mountain, the Tinkatuff instantly panicked.

Although the elders in its pack had all praised it for being much smarter than they were at its age, being smart was not combat power, and the Tinkatuff had no confidence in clashing with that group of Houndour and Houndoom.

It instinctively wanted to flee; the ghillie suit on its body would be ineffective against Houndoom and Houndour whose noses were even more sensitive than a dog's.

Before the Tinkatuff could even take a step to run, it suddenly remembered Luo Mu beside it; glancing at Luo Mu, whose eyes flickered with the clear yet foolish light of innocence and inexperience, the Tinkatuff felt a surge of indignation.

You're such a weak human, how dare you come up into the wild mountains without bringing a single Pokémon!

No matter how angry it was, the Tinkatuff could not bring itself to let such a weak human as Luo Mu stay here and undergo the baptism of that group of fierce and sinister creatures.

"Kanu!"

Due to its height, it could only grab hold of Luo Mu's trouser leg.

The Tinkatuff anxiously tugged at Luo Mu's trouser leg, urging him to follow it; if they didn't leave now, that group of creatures would be coming up.

Seeing the Tinkatuff so anxious, Luo Mu tilted his head, not understanding what there was to be so urgent about.

He had noticed the commotion below as well; wasn't it just a group of wild Houndour and Houndoom? What was there to be afraid of?

Perhaps because the Tinkatuff looked as if it were about to die of anxiety, Luo Mu still couldn't bear to let it endure such a drastic emotional swing; casting a glance toward the Serperior quietly observing from the trees above, Luo Mu then picked up his thermal bucket and cooperatively allowed the Tinkatuff to drag him away.

About two or three minutes after they left this place, a rush of hurried footsteps approached.

A small team, led by a Houndoom with a vicious aura and consisting of about a dozen Houndour, charged straight up.

The leading Houndoom arrived at the spot where the Tinkatuff had just been playing dead; lowering its head to sniff, it then looked toward the path up the mountain.

The owner of that aura has fled straight up the mountain!

"Luka!"

The Houndoom immediately roared at its underlings behind it, raised its forelimbs, and made as if to track them down.

But when it looked again at that path, it discovered a green-bodied Pokémon with red eyes, a snake-type, blocking their inevitable route, looking down upon them arrogantly.

The Serperior kept its aura concealed; even with a sense of smell as keen as the Houndoom's, it could not fathom the Serperior's true strength.

Long experience surviving in the wild set off alarm bells in the Houndoom's heart; it watched the Serperior vigilantly, retreated a few steps, seemingly searching for an opportunity to attack.

"Jialuo." (You little pups, this road is closed.) The Serperior narrowed its eyes slightly, flicking its snake tongue, its tail twitching irritably against the ground with such force that the Houndoom's eyelids trembled visibly.

It was confirmed: this was a master it could not afford to provoke.

The battle intent that had originally existed in the Houndoom vanished in an instant; the reason it had survived so long in the wild and evolved into a Houndoom was precisely its flexible bottom line, which ultimately allowed it to become the second-in-command of its pack.

If it accidentally got injured, things would become difficult.

The Houndoom let out a threatening low growl that sounded fierce but was actually soft, while subtly shifting its stance, biding its time to prepare to flee with its underlings.

Its thoughts could not escape the Serperior's sharp eyes; the Serperior was already quite displeased about having to clean up the mess and was just worrying about having nowhere to vent its anger when the Houndoom and Houndour bumped right into it.

"Jialuo."

The tip of the Serperior's tail plunged straight into the ground; Grass-type energy began spreading underground, and in the blink of an eye, the surroundings were filled with over a dozen tree roots, each several circles thicker than the Houndoom's waist.

Looking at those tree roots that had cut off their retreat, dancing wildly like wooden dragons, the Houndoom knew it probably couldn't escape unscathed today; it let out a vicious roar, leading the Houndour to spew scorching flames together, determined to make the Serperior pay a price.

The Serperior's expression did not change in the slightest, as if mocking the naivety of the Houndoom and its kind.

Under its control, Frenzy Plant pierced through the air, rushing en masse against the Houndoom and Houndour surrounded by it, completely disregarding the Flames being fired at it.

Even if the surface got burned, it didn't matter; the sheer quantity and weight were enough to crush those flames, which were far less scorching than the moves of Moltres or Cangyan Cangyan Rengui.

A moment later.

The Houndoom, along with over a dozen Houndour, lay on the ground, gnawing on the berries the Serperior had prepared for healing injuries, their faces entirely written with "We have behaved."

The Serperior did not treat them poorly; not only did it heal all the injuries of the Houndoom and the others, but after a brief thought, it simply raised its head and let out an arrogant cry.

"Jialuo!"

From now on, you are my underlings!

How would the Houndoom and the others dare to disobey? In the wild, the one with the bigger fist is the boss.

The Serperior before their eyes could clearly beat them senseless despite being type-disadvantaged; I'm afraid the Pack Leader wouldn't even be a match for it in a single move. If they didn't submit, did they want to get beaten up again? The Houndoom and Houndour chose to betray without the slightest hesitation, becoming turncoats, and fawningly wagged their tails at the Serperior.

The Serperior was very satisfied with their perceptiveness; after thinking for a moment, it issued its first order.

First, sneak back into the pack, wait for its signal, and act when the opportunity arises!

(End of Chapter)