Chapter 161: Camping in the Wild

"Pah, pah, pah! What a lousy mountain, where did all these half‑person‑tall lousy flowers come from, full of mosquitoes and flying insects!" Huo La waved his hand to disperse the buzzing insects before him, while continuously spitting out the mosquitoes from his mouth, his face full of disgust.

The wild flowers around grew taller than a person; between the pale pink petals hid swarms of mosquitoes that pounced on anyone who got close, unbearably annoying.

"These are wild camellias; their scent is faint but they especially attract mosquitoes," Xiao Gang's voice came from ahead, "but these wild camellias can be brewed into tea to clear heat and relieve summer, though the taste isn't great."

"Hum? Brew tea?" Huo La's eyes lit up, hurrying over, "Then we can pick more, take them to town to sell, and earn some League Coins, right?"

Xiao Gang couldn't help laughing, shaking his head: "Don't even think about it. Though these wild camellias can be brewed, the processing is especially cumbersome, and no matter how you cook them, there's an unremovable bitter taste, so nobody wants to buy them. The camellias sold now are artificially improved varieties that have long lost that bitterness."

"Oh, that's a pity," Huo La pursed his lips, then waved away a few more clinging insects, "Xiao Gang Ge, night is falling, shouldn't we find a place to camp? Staying in this swarm of bugs any longer, I'll get bitten into a sack."

"Right, let's walk a bit further to find a place with fewer mosquitoes." Xiao Gang looked up at the sky; the setting sun had already slipped behind the mountain peaks, and the forest was gradually darkening, "There should be a stream ahead; places with water sources are usually cleaner and have fewer insects."

The two walked deeper into the mountain for about half an hour, and indeed heard the "whoosh" of flowing water.

Passing through a thicket of low shrubs, a clear stream appeared before them, with several sturdy large trees along its banks; the dense shade was just right for shelter from wind and rain.

"This will do!" Xiao Gang set down his backpack, looked around, and nodded satisfied, "Big trees for shade, clean water source—let's camp out here tonight."

Huo La also relaxed, plopping his bottom onto a large stone by the stream, pulling out the eight Pokeballs at his waist and lightly tossing them, "Everyone, come out for some fresh air; don't stay inside your Pokeballs all the time."

Red Light flashed repeatedly as Venusaur, Scyther, Golbat, Kingler, Muk, Beedrill, Nidoqueen, and Houndour appeared one after another.

Venusaur walked to the stream and used Vine Whip, dipped in water, to sprinkle itself; Scyther and Beedrill each flew to nearby branches, watching the surroundings warily; Houndour skillfully climbed onto Huo La's shoulder, rubbing against his head; Muk obediently stayed at Huo La's feet, occasionally using its slime to pick up small stones on the ground to play with.

Xiao Gang glanced once, but didn't ask why Huo La could carry eight Pokemon on his person.

He also pulled out his own Pokeballs and released a Golem, a Zubat,.

A silver‑colored Cocona with tiny horns on its back hopped out of the Pokeball, blinking curiously with big eyes; when it saw Xiao Gang, it immediately waddled with its short legs to his feet, emitting a soft, mushy "Coco~" sound.

"It just hatched yesterday and isn't used to the outside environment yet; we need to let it walk around more," Xiao Gang gently patted Cocona's head, his eyes full of smile.

"I'll go gather some firewood first; you watch Cocona and make sure it doesn't run too far."

"Don't worry! Scyther, Nidoqueen, you two go help," Huo La nodded.

Watching Xiao Gang walk aside, he looked down at Cocona by his feet—the little guy curiously stared at the tiny fish in the water, its little paws twitching, yet it dared not get too close, looking especially cute.

Pokemon: Cocona

Gender: Male

Level: Lv5

Su Xing: A

Status: Healthy

Nature: Impatient

Type: Rock/Steel

Ability: Hard Head (does not take recoil damage from its own moves.)

Height: 0.4m

Weight: 60kg

Carried Item: None

Moves: Tackle (mastery 10%), Harden (mastery 5%), Metal Claw (mastery 1%)

Improvement Count: 0

Whenever he thinks of Xiao Gang, Huo La can't help but shake his head helplessly.

Xiao Gang, that guy, is never keen on boosting his Pokemon's strength; he always says to let them "grow naturally," barely urging even the most basic move practice, let alone learning more moves.

Just like this Cocona, even though "Metal Claw" is unlocked, due to lack of practice its mastery is a pitiful 1%, completely wasting its good Su Xing.

His gaze unintentionally drifted to a branch, where Vulpix was curled up napping, its orange fur glowing softly in the sunset.

Huo La instinctively scanned its data, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Pokemon: Vulpix

Gender: Female

Level: Lv20

Su Xing: A

Status: Healthy

Nature: Slow

Type: Fire

Ability: Drought (when this Pokemon appears, the weather changes to Sunny Day for 5 turns.)

Height: 0.6m

Weight: 9.9kg

Carried Item: None

Moves: Shake Tail (mastery 89%), Ember (mastery 41%), Mean Look (mastery 29%), Electric Flash (mastery 31%)

Improvement Count: 1 (???)

Su Xing A, and the ability is the rare "Drought," which summons Sunny Day upon entry, giving solid Gym-level Combat Power. Not to mention the remaining Improvement Count of 1, clearly able to be strengthened further, yet Xiao Gang completely set it aside.

Xiao Gang insists that this Vulpix is the "crystallization of his love" with Xiaoxue; when Xiaoxue left, she entrusted Vulpix to him, and he resolved not to evolve it, to "raise it well," waiting until he reunites with Xiaoxue and they walk down the aisle, then watch Vulpix grow together.

"Really… treating Pokemon like family pets," Huo La muttered inwardly, but didn't intend to interfere.

Each person has their own way of raising pets; although Xiao Gang doesn't chase combat power, he tends to each Pokemon meticulously, a point where he feels inferior.

Gastly's silhouette suddenly drifted up from beneath his feet, circling Cocona once: "Hehe, this little fellow is quite interesting; I haven't seen it in Kanto, just wonder what its battle power is like."

"Just hatched, can't talk about battle power," Huo La laughed, shaking his head, "Let it adapt to the environment first. By the way, Marshadow? Still in Xiao Gang's shadow?"

"Mm, hasn't come out yet," Gastly smirked.

Huo La raised an eyebrow and said no more—Marshadow's thoughts are hard to read; as long as it doesn't cause trouble, staying in the shadows is fine.