“I didn’t even need to give Tobi-Kadachi any commands. It already knows what to do and how to fight.”
“After surviving in the wild for so many years, its combat experience is incredibly rich.”
“Sure enough, capturing weak monsters simply isn’t worth it for me.”
“Capturing powerful monsters is the better choice. I don’t need to deliberately train their combat experience at all.”
“Out in the wild, practically every monster is a master of combat. After all, monsters that aren’t accustomed to fighting or aren’t good at fighting were eliminated by the brutal laws of nature long ago.”
“The ones that survive are all elite fighters.”
Zhang Tian looked at Tobi-Kadachi, which had already finished the battle, and secretly sighed.
“Well done, Tobi-Kadachi.”
Zhang Tian rode Great Izuchi over to Tobi-Kadachi and gave it a thumbs-up.
Tobi-Kadachi and Tetranadon occupied roughly the same ecological position, so their overall strength was also fairly similar.
If Tobi-Kadachi hadn’t been converted into a Pokémon, it would have had a difficult time defeating Tetranadon.
It might not have been able to win at all, and the battle could have ended with both monsters seriously injured.
“Roar.”
Tobi-Kadachi happily nodded.
“Hmph.”
Great Izuchi, meanwhile, looked rather jealous.
It felt as though Tobi-Kadachi had stolen all the glory.
“This hunt was a complete success.”
Zhang Tian smiled happily.
“Pid-geotto!”
The Pidgeotto perched on Zhang Tian’s shoulder suddenly let out a sharp cry.
“An enemy? Behind us?”
Zhang Tian immediately looked back after hearing Pidgeotto’s warning.
“Hrrrrooooh!”
On a distant highland stood a crimson monster that looked somewhat like a bat and somewhat like an ape.
It was around nine meters long and approximately 3.7 meters tall.
It was none other than a Blood Orange Bishaten.
Blood Orange Bishaten was a subspecies of Bishaten.
Its ecological position was roughly on the same level as a Rathian, placing it one tier above Tobi-Kadachi.
Blood Orange Bishaten
Level: 47 — Gym Leader Class
“Should I run?”
Zhang Tian frowned slightly.
Blood Orange Bishaten was Gym Leader-Class, while he and his Pokémon were only Elite-Class.
In terms of overall strength, Blood Orange Bishaten was one entire tier above them.
“But if I run, I won’t be able to take Tetranadon’s corpse with me.”
“Tetranadon is too heavy. Tobi-Kadachi and Great Izuchi can carry it, but doing so would slow them down considerably.”
“There’s no way we’ll be able to escape like that. Blood Orange Bishaten isn’t slow, either.”
“As for traveling back to the Pokémon world… I’d better not.”
“Instructor Utsushi should be somewhere nearby. After all, he sees me as Kamura Village’s hope of salvation. There’s no way he’d feel comfortable letting me go hunting alone.”
“He must have secretly followed me and is protecting me from the shadows.”
“My ability to travel between worlds can’t be exposed yet.”
“Tobi-Kadachi, Pidgeotto, Great Izuchi, Arzuros, and I are all Elite-Class.”
“Five against one. We still have a chance of defeating Blood Orange Bishaten.”
“So let’s fight.”
“With Tobi-Kadachi’s speed, our chances are actually quite good.”
“If we can’t win, we can still run afterward. At worst, I’ll travel back to the Pokémon world.”
After making his decision, Zhang Tian raised his hand and released Arzuros.
“Arzuros, use Bulk Up!”
“Pidgeotto, Agility!”
At the same time Zhang Tian issued his commands, Blood Orange Bishaten let out a strange cry.
Then it leaped down from the highland and charged toward them.
Even though Zhang Tian had numerical superiority, Blood Orange Bishaten showed not the slightest trace of fear.
It had encountered Great Izuchi, Tobi-Kadachi, and Arzuros before.
It had even eaten them.
In Blood Orange Bishaten’s eyes, Great Izuchi, Tobi-Kadachi, and Arzuros were nothing more than prey.
Although Blood Orange Bishaten liked eating nuts, that didn’t mean it refused meat.
It was an omnivorous monster.
As for Zhang Tian and Pidgeotto, they were so small that Blood Orange Bishaten didn’t even consider them a threat.
It probably regarded Zhang Tian and Pidgeotto as being roughly equivalent to small monsters such as Izuchi and Girros.
“Go!”
Zhang Tian rode Great Izuchi and charged toward Blood Orange Bishaten.
Whoosh!
Tobi-Kadachi activated Quick Attack and shot past Zhang Tian and Great Izuchi like a streak of lightning, instantly appearing in front of Blood Orange Bishaten.
Tobi-Kadachi was simply too fast.
Even a Gym Leader-Class Blood Orange Bishaten was nowhere near fast enough to match it.
Whoosh!
Tobi-Kadachi opened its claws and slashed toward Blood Orange Bishaten’s eyes.
Faced with the sudden attack, Blood Orange Bishaten only had enough time to turn its head to the right.
CRACK!
Tobi-Kadachi’s right claw tore into Blood Orange Bishaten’s left eye, instantly destroying it.
Blood Orange Bishaten had been far too careless.
If it hadn’t underestimated Tobi-Kadachi, it would have been extremely difficult for Tobi-Kadachi to blind it so easily.
“ROAR!”
After letting out a howl of pain, Blood Orange Bishaten suddenly lowered its body.
It supported itself with its right hand while swinging its enormous tail toward Tobi-Kadachi.
The movement looked surprisingly similar to something performed by a skilled breakdancer—using one hand to support the body while swinging the legs or tail around.
Tobi-Kadachi leaped into the air, avoiding the attack, and soared above Blood Orange Bishaten’s head.
“Aerial Tail Slam!”
BOOM!
Tobi-Kadachi’s massive tail, shaped almost like a spiked club, came crashing down onto Blood Orange Bishaten.
THUD!
Blood Orange Bishaten’s body was knocked slightly sideways.
But only slightly.
Clearly, Tobi-Kadachi simply didn’t have enough raw power to seriously injure Blood Orange Bishaten.
If Tobi-Kadachi were also Gym Leader-Class, Blood Orange Bishaten would probably have already been knocked flat.
“ROAR!”
Even more enraged, Blood Orange Bishaten performed a backward flip and swung its tail toward Tobi-Kadachi again.
Whoosh!
Tobi-Kadachi flicked its tail and launched itself higher into the air, once again avoiding the attack.
“ROAR!”
Blood Orange Bishaten looked up at Tobi-Kadachi in the air.
It straightened its body, using its tail as a support, then opened its mouth and spat a stream of flames toward Tobi-Kadachi.
FWOOSH!
Tobi-Kadachi spread its patagium and glided sideways, easily avoiding the flames.
It then flew toward a nearby cliff face and firmly hung upside down from the rock.
Blood Orange Bishaten was about to pursue Tobi-Kadachi when Zhang Tian’s roar suddenly rang out.
“Eat this—Flash Bomb!”
Zhang Tian hurled a Flash Bomb directly in front of Blood Orange Bishaten.
BANG!
A blinding burst of light erupted.
Blood Orange Bishaten’s remaining eye was instantly overwhelmed by the flash.
“ROAR!”
Blood Orange Bishaten rolled across the ground in agony, desperately covering its right eye.
“ROAR!”
The instant Blood Orange Bishaten began rolling, Tobi-Kadachi moved.
It pounced down from above and instantly appeared in front of the wounded monster.
“Claw Swipe!”
Tobi-Kadachi’s electrically charged right claw slashed into the pouch on Blood Orange Bishaten’s abdomen.
Blood Orange Bishaten had a natural pouch on its belly, somewhat similar to a kangaroo’s.
It normally used the pouch to store its food—large pinecones that were highly flammable and explosive.
Clearly, Tobi-Kadachi had encountered Blood Orange Bishaten before.
It had even seen the monster use those pinecones as weapons.
SHRRK!
Tobi-Kadachi tore open the pouch.
Large pinecones immediately spilled all over the ground.
Tobi-Kadachi grabbed one of the pinecones before leaping into the air.
It shot upward, climbing more than a hundred meters.
When it reached the highest point of its jump, Tobi-Kadachi hurled the pinecone downward.
The pinecone struck the pile of pinecones beneath Blood Orange Bishaten.
BOOM!
The instant the pinecone hit the ground, it exploded.
The resulting blast immediately ignited the entire pile.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The pinecones exploded like a massive pile of barrels filled with explosives.
Wave after wave of flames erupted, engulfing Blood Orange Bishaten and blasting the monster into the air.