Chapter 52: Capturing the Giant Claw Crab

After leaving Hualan Shi, Huo La and Xiao Gang deliberately took a detour away from the side road leading to the Bao Ke Meng Yan Jiu Xue Yuan— not because they were dissatisfied with it, but simply because they didn't want to waste time.

Huo La has no interest in "teaching a bunch of rich kids who only know theory and can join the Quartz League through connections."

Those trainees raised in greenhouses only hold books and talk about tactics empty‑handedly, having never experienced a real outdoor battle; rather than waste effort on them, it's better to spend the time on a more meaningful journey.

Such a "Wake Up Dreamers" task is more suitable for the hot‑blooded Ash.

At present, Huo La's mind is focused ahead; he looks forward even more to reaching Zheng Hui's lighthouse and seeing with his own eyes the Genius Doctor who invented the Pokemon Storage System and the Time Capsule.

More importantly, to verify a long‑concealed speculation: whether the enormous Dragonite seen in the anime is truly the legendary Super Ancient species.

He is certain that the Pokemon Zheng Hui encountered at the lighthouse must be a Dragonite, without doubt.

Yet a typical Dragonite is only about two meters tall, whereas that Dragonite was massive enough to shatter the lighthouse with a single palm, its wings spread almost enough to cover half the sea— such a size could never be achieved by a contemporary Dragonite.

In his previous life as a Pokemon fanatic, he had seen countless theories on forums: some said this Dragonite, together with the archaeologically discovered Super Ancient Alakazam, Super Ancient Gengar, and Super Ancient Jigglypuff, belonged to the same era, a "Living Fossil" from ancient times; a more radical hypothesis even claimed it might be the first individual born in the Dragonite lineage after Arceus' creation, truly a "First Generation Pokemon" that witnessed the world's origin.

Such a being, even without the title of Divine Beast or a Divine Office, still possesses power that is by no means inferior to ordinary Divine Beasts.

Just the thought of observing it up close quickened Huo La's steps a few paces— he is eager to know whether, in this world after his transmigration, the truth of this mysterious Dragonite is truly as shocking as his past‑life speculation.

Passing through the dense forest, the scene ahead suddenly opened up—a boundless beach stretched along the coastline, crystal‑clear sea water lapping the rocks, spraying fine spray.

Not far away, at the end of a rocky platform, a white lighthouse stood tall; although its beacon was not yet lit, it resembled a silent signpost, quietly pointing toward the sea.

On the beach, several hard‑shell Pokemon with orange‑red and white split coloring crawled sideways, their claws occasionally raking the sand— they were giant claw crabs.

Xiao Gang's eyes locked onto them at a glance, instantly lighting up, his tone brimming with excitement: "What a find! This beach is actually a habitat for giant claw crabs! Speaking of giant claw crabs, their claws are absolutely divine— steamed and dipped in a bit of lemon juice, so fresh it could swallow your tongue!"

As he spoke, he couldn't help licking his lips, his hand instinctively reaching for the kitchenware in his backpack.

Huo La, seeing his demeanor, shook his head helplessly and reminded, "Don't think about eating it. Even though the claws of giant claw crabs are edible, capturing and eating them without League approval is illegal."

In the Pokemon World, giant claw crabs are indeed one of the few Pokemon permitted by the League for consumption; their claw meat is firm and succulent, practically a signature ingredient of coastal regions.

He recalled the League's published classification standards: the overwhelming majority of Pokemon are listed as "Inedible" due to ecological value or inherent traits (such as carrying poison, sour flesh, etc.), with only a tiny fraction falling under "Partially Edible"— besides giant claw crabs, there are the shrimp claws of iron‑arm pistol shrimp, the claws of competitive crab, and the high‑nutrient milk produced by the big milk can… and so on, all of which have passed the League's strict testing, confirmed safe and not disruptive to ecological balance.

Of course, there is also a batch of Pokemon that must never be touched, such as the leek duck.

The leek duck, once fairly common in Kanto and Johto, was brutally hunted by these people until its numbers sharply declined; it is now listed by the League as a "Near Threatened Species", strictly prohibiting any form of capture or consumption.

Yet even so, a black market still trades leek duck covertly, and some, for profit, set traps at the forest edge solely to capture this already rare Pokemon.

For this reason, spotting a wild leek duck in the wild now has become a "Low Probability Event".

Xiao Gang sighed, patting his chest: "I of course know that! As someone aiming to become World's #1 Breeder, being well‑versed in Pokemon ecology, habits, and protection guidelines is a basic requirement! I was just indulging a fleeting craving, muttering about the fresh taste of giant claw crab…"

Speaking, his gaze drifted back to the beach, no longer mentioning "eating"; instead he pointed at a giant claw crab basking on a rock, his eyes shining: "Look at that giant claw crab— its claw edges glisten with a healthy sheen, indicating it feeds abundantly in the shallow sea, surely catches plenty of small fish and shrimp, its condition is absolutely top‑notch!"

Huo La followed his direction of pointing, and indeed saw that the giant claw crab's claws were fuller than its peers, its orange‑red shell shifting toward a Red hue, its legs moving with steady power, its motions remarkably agile— truly an individual in excellent condition.

He thought quickly, took the Pokeball containing Bulbasaur from his waist and tossed it gently: "Go, Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to subdue that giant claw crab!"

"Bulba~" Bulbasaur understood instantly upon landing, two thick Vine Whips slithered out like serpents, precisely coiling around the giant claw crab's claws and legs.

The giant claw crab tried to swing its claws in resistance, but the Vine Whip gave a gentle twist, a perfectly balanced force causing it to instantly lose strength, collapsing on the sand into unconsciousness.

The other giant claw crabs nearby, seeing this, fled sideways into the sea, vanishing in an instant among the waves.

Huo La, seizing the moment, tossed an Empty Pokeball; a Red Light flashed, drawing the giant claw crab inside. The Pokeball lightly bounced three times on the sand, emitting a "ding" as it stabilized, no longer shaking.

Xiao Gang stared at this sudden capture, his face full of doubt— since departing Hualan Shi and traversing the forest of Route 3, Huo La either focused on training his Pokemon or helped him observe Wild Pokemon's condition, never having actively captured any.

How could he act without hesitation the moment they reached the beach and saw a giant claw crab?

"Why did you suddenly want to capture a giant claw crab?" Xiao Gang genuinely couldn't read Huo La's mind.

Huo La took the Pokeball handed over by Bulbasaur's Vine Whip, his fingertips grazing the smooth sphere, a playful smile curling his lips: "Nothing special, I just thought of something amusing."

In his mind, an image involuntarily surfaced: Professor Oak cradling instant noodles, beside him two giant claw crabs with "terrifying" differences between Xiao Mao and Ash, and he was curious how his own giant claw crab would rank among the three when compared to the ones captured by Ash and Xiao Mao.

"Interesting?" Xiao Gang was even more baffled, leaning in to stare at the Pokeball in Huo La's hand for a while, "This giant claw crab is indeed a high‑quality individual, but to call it 'interesting'… does it have some special talent?"

"In a couple of days, you'll know." Huo La gave no further explanation, slipped the Pokeball back into his pack, patted Xiao Gang's shoulder, "Let's go, if we linger any longer we won't reach the lighthouse before nightfall—perhaps Dr. Zheng Hui is still waiting for guests."

Xiao Gang, still full of doubts, saw Huo La unwilling to elaborate and didn't press further, merely muttering "mysterious", then fell in step with Huo La.

The two walked side by side toward the lighthouse, leaving a series of uneven footprints on the beach that were soon gently erased by the rising tide.