Chapter 40

Moonview Mountain is famous for its abundance of Moon Stones containing mysterious power, the wild Clefairy that live there, and the Pokémon fossils hidden within.

Coupled with the large number of Rock-type Pokémon active in the cave all year round, the League specifically set up a garrison point here to regulate and manage personnel entering and exiting, in order to protect the ecology and resources here.

Huo La and Brock took out their Pokédex, and Brock additionally presented the proof of being the Gym Leader of Pewter Gym.

After the garrison personnel carefully verified it, they repeatedly urged rules such as "prohibiting excessive capture of Pokémon" and "not damaging fossil ruins" before letting the two enter the Moonview Mountain cave.

Just as they stepped into the cave, the dim light instantly shrouded them, and only the "drip-drop" sound of water droplets falling on the rocks remained all around.

"Bulbasaur, use Flash!" Huo La immediately threw the Poké Ball. The moment Bulbasaur landed, two vines reached out from beside the flower bud, the tips condensing a soft yet bright light, driving away the darkness around them.

Looking at those two stable light clusters, Huo La secretly sighed in his heart: This damn system is finally reliable for once; the Flash skill saved the trouble of finding a TM.

Brock on the side was full of surprise—TMs have always been rare, and those that can be used repeatedly are worth far more than one-time TMs. Ordinary Trainers can't even see them.

He really didn't expect that Huo La could actually let Bulbasaur master such a precious skill.

"Brother Brock, quite a few Rock-type Pokémon live in this cave. Is there any new partner you want to capture?" Huo La asked while walking, his gaze sweeping over the figures of Geodude that flashed occasionally in the cave.

Brock shook his head, his tone very firm: "Although I haven't been here, I've long heard that the Rock-types in Moonview Mountain are only Geodude and Onix—these two I already have, and I want to focus my energy on cultivating my existing partners to the extreme, not wanting to be greedy."

He paused, turning to look at the Poké Balls on Huo La's waist. "What about you, Huo La? I see you only have four balls hanging, not even gathering the six standard ones required by the League tournament. Is there any Pokémon here you fancy?"

Huo La was silent for a moment, then smiled and spread his hands: "Let it be. The origins of these four partners of mine are quite coincidental—Bulbasaur was the starter Pokémon given by Professor Oak; Beedrill was hatched from an egg before I traveled; Scyther chose to follow me voluntarily after a battle with Beedrill; as for Nidorina... it was purely captured to counter your tactics."

Brock nodded knowingly and added: "But your Pokémon, except for Scyther, all carry the Poison-type. Could it be that you intend to take the path of a Poison-type Master? The Zubat living ahead is a good supplement; it can fly and carries poison."

"Poison-type Master, huh..." Huo La repeated in a low voice, also muttering in his heart—thinking about it carefully, his team really did happen to gather half a Poison team.

He said frankly: "I really didn't deliberately choose the type at the beginning. Beedrill was hatched from an egg, nothing to pick; choosing Bulbasaur was because I felt it was more balanced than Charmander and Squirtle; Scyther counts as a bit of my obsession; Nidorina is just as I said, purely serving tactics."

He paused, his eyes gradually softening: "But looking at it now, perhaps it's influenced by my mother, or perhaps it's due to my personality, I gathered such a lineup without knowing it—I don't dislike it, maybe in the future I will really go in the direction of a Poison-type Master."

"Then just follow your heart." Brock responded with a smile, and finally added earnestly, "Koga, the Gym Leader of Fuchsia Gym in Fuchsia City, is a top-tier Poison-type expert, and his strength is probably close to the threshold of the Elite Four. If you take this path in the future, you might as well find him and communicate well."

"Koga, huh..." Huo La's mind immediately conjured up that ninja-dressed, slender figure, his eyes becoming firm. "I will."

The two chatted while walking toward the depths of the cave, borrowing the light from Bulbasaur's vines.

Before long, a wide cave entrance appeared ahead, and at the same time, a burst of chaotic commotion—like the sound of countless small claws scratching rocks, mixed with sharp cries—drifted into their ears along with the wind.

"Hand over the Moon Stone and that Clefairy!"

"That's right! Be sensible, otherwise don't blame us for being impolite!"

"Big brother, second brother, stop talking nonsense! Just grab it! Machop, go!"

The chaotic shouts mixed with the low roars of Pokémon came, Huo La and Brock looked at each other, instantly understood the situation, and immediately ran toward the cave entrance.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to stop them!"

"Geodude, use Tackle to support!" Two commands were issued almost simultaneously.

Bulbasaur's vines whipped toward the rushing Machop with strong force, and Geodude followed closely, its round body crashing over like a cannonball—Machop didn't have time to react, was whipped staggering on the spot, and then was hit squarely by Geodude, flying out directly and falling to the ground groaning.

While solving Machop, Huo La and Brock also rushed into the cave.

Huo La's gaze scanned the entire field quickly, and soon locked onto the figure in the corner: a researcher wearing glasses was shrinking against the wall with his legs trembling, hiding a pink Clefairy behind him, and the Clefairy was holding a stone emitting a faint, misty luster tightly in its arms—it was the Moon Stone.

Brock immediately stepped forward quickly, squatted beside the researcher, and asked with concern: "Are you okay? I am the former Gym Leader of Pewter Gym, my name is Brock, and I'm here to help."

Hearing the other party report his identity, the researcher's tense nerves finally relaxed. He took a deep breath, his legs went soft, and he sat directly on the ground, his voice still trembling: "I-I'm fine... thanks to you coming in time..."

"Who are you people? Dare to manage Team Rocket's business!" An angry voice came from the other side of the cave.

Huo La turned his head following the sound, only to see four young men wearing black berets and black uniforms staring at them fiercely—the eye-catching red "R" on the chest of the uniforms was the symbol of Team Rocket.

What was even more eye-catching was that the faces of these four people were almost identical, and it was clear at a glance that they were brothers.

"The four brothers of Team Rocket?" Huo La recognized them at a glance, his tone carrying a bit of coldness.

"So you have eyes!" The leader among the four took a step forward, his tone arrogant. "Since you know our name, get out of the way! Don't delay Team Rocket's business, otherwise don't blame us for not being polite!"

Huo La didn't pay attention to his threat at all, his attention was entirely hooked by the system prompt sound that suddenly rang in his ears:

Task released:

Task type: Battle Task

Task content: Defeat the four brothers of Team Rocket

Task time limit: 1 hour

Task reward: Team Rocket internal reputation 400

"Team Rocket internal reputation 400?" Huo La's heart exploded instantly, and he couldn't help but complain in his heart, "What kind of new trick is this again? I've already joined Team Rocket, and now there's a reputation. Could it be that I really have to go down this path to the end?"

He frowned, the more he thought about it, the more he felt the system reward was outrageous, but obviously, this was not the time to dwell on this.

Except for the Machop that had already lost its ability to battle, the other three brothers among the four brothers of Team Rocket had impatiently taken out their Poké Balls, obviously intending to deal with them together.