“If eating meat makes me stronger, then my plans just became much simpler.”
“When I’m hungry, I eat. When there’s no meat, I go hunting.”
“Within a month, I’ll definitely get Pidgeotto to evolve into Pidgeot.”
Zhang Tian chuckled before taking Pidgeotto and the Great Izuchi into the courtyard to begin training.
The Great Izuchi received special attention.
It had only just been captured, and Zhang Tian had absolutely no experience working with it in battle.
It didn’t even understand what a Pokémon battle was or what his battle commands meant.
Three hours later, Zhang Tian ended the training session.
By then, Zhang Tian, Pidgeotto, and the Great Izuchi had all finished digesting their food.
They had completely absorbed the energy contained in the pork they had eaten and had become somewhat stronger.
Zhang Tian’s level had reached Level 6, giving him the greatest increase.
As for the Great Izuchi and Pidgeotto, neither had leveled up, but both had clearly become stronger.
They were already close to their next level.
“Let’s rest for a while, then we’ll go hunting.”
Zhang Tian lay down on the grass and closed his eyes to rest.
There wasn’t much meat left from the wild boar carcass they had obtained earlier that day.
It certainly wasn’t enough to feed all three of them for long.
So if they wanted more meat, Zhang Tian would have to go hunting.
After resting for an hour, Zhang Tian was ready to leave.
“It’s already ten at night. I’ll be back before midnight and make dinner.”
Zhang Tian glanced at his watch, shouldered his backpack, walked into the living room, and activated his world-traveling ability.
He reappeared inside the abandoned building in the Shrine Ruins.
After signaling for the Great Izuchi and Pidgeotto to remain silent, Zhang Tian carefully checked the room.
There was nothing there.
That allowed Zhang Tian to relax slightly.
He cautiously closed the building’s front door before opening his backpack and taking out a drone.
Bzzzz!
The drone emitted a faint hum as Zhang Tian piloted it out through the window and into the sky.
It climbed higher and higher until it reached an altitude of around one hundred meters, giving Zhang Tian a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding area.
“There aren’t any large monsters around the building. Looks like I’m lucky.”
A smile appeared on Zhang Tian’s face as he watched the footage on the screen.
Large monsters in the Monster Hunter world were enormous and generally couldn’t hide themselves easily.
If the drone couldn’t spot one, it meant there probably weren’t any large monsters nearby.
“Gargwa, Delex, and Kestodon.”
While surveying the area with the drone, Zhang Tian discovered three different types of small monsters.
Compared with the dangerous large monsters, these smaller creatures were relatively docile and posed almost no threat.
“The Kestodon are the closest. I’ll hunt them tonight.”
After checking their location, Zhang Tian selected his target for the evening.
He recalled the drone, then took Pidgeotto and the Great Izuchi toward the Kestodon’s location.
Near a section of the Shrine Ruins, several Kestodon were leisurely grazing on grass, completely unaware that danger was approaching.
From behind the wall, Zhang Tian carefully peeked over the top and used the system to inspect them.
Kestodon
Level: 21 — Ordinary Class
Kestodon
Level: 23 — Ordinary Class
Kestodon
Level: 26 — Ordinary Class
All three Kestodon possessed Ordinary-Class strength.
“!”
Zhang Tian waved his finger and signaled for the Great Izuchi to prepare to attack.
As for Pidgeotto, it wasn’t strong enough yet and could only watch from the sidelines.
The Great Izuchi slowly climbed onto the wall.
At the same time, Zhang Tian aimed the black crossbow in his hands at the Kestodon.
Bang!
The instant Zhang Tian pulled the trigger, the Great Izuchi sprang into action.
Whoosh!
The Great Izuchi leaped toward the Kestodon.
It twisted in midair before whipping its massive tail and hooked claw toward the Kestodon’s head.
It was the Great Izuchi’s signature move, Triple Tail Swing.
The Kestodon struck by the dart let out a miserable cry before collapsing to the ground.
It hadn’t fallen completely unconscious, but it could no longer stand.
And that was precisely the Kestodon the Great Izuchi had chosen as its target.
Zhang Tian wasn’t greedy.
He had no intention of hunting two Kestodon at the same time.
In his opinion, fighting two Kestodon simultaneously carried too much risk.
Hunting one at a time was the safest approach.
Bang!
The Great Izuchi’s tail blade sliced into the back of the Kestodon’s neck, instantly opening a deep wound.
The Great Izuchi then used its tail to propel itself back into the air.
It performed a 360-degree spin before bringing its tail crashing down again.
The hooked claw at the end of its tail struck the back of the Kestodon’s neck once more.
The wound widened, exposing bone.
Then the Great Izuchi launched itself into the air again.
Bang!
The third swing of its tail came crashing down.
The Kestodon’s head was severed instantly.
After being converted into a Pokémon, the Great Izuchi’s moves had become significantly more powerful.
It wouldn’t have been capable of doing this before.
After all, the Kestodon was considerably larger than the Great Izuchi.
“Let’s go.”
Zhang Tian jumped down and activated his world-traveling ability.
He returned instantly to the living room of his family’s old home, bringing the Great Izuchi, Pidgeotto, and the Kestodon’s corpse with him.
“We have enough food for the next several days. We should be set for at least a week.”
Looking at the Kestodon’s corpse in front of him, Zhang Tian nodded in satisfaction.
“Time to eat.”
With a wave of his hand, Pidgeotto and the Great Izuchi immediately began feasting.
Clearly, both Pokémon were starving.
“Good thing Pidgeotto is a carnivorous bird of prey. If I’d started with something like Oddish, I’d have been in trouble. Those Pokémon don’t eat meat.”
Looking at Pidgeotto, Zhang Tian felt relieved.
“I should eat too.”
Zhang Tian cut off a large piece of meat with a knife and immediately started grilling it.
Cooking a full meal was too much trouble.
Grilling was much more convenient.
As he ate, Zhang Tian noticed that his appetite had increased considerably.
“Looks like getting stronger has increased my appetite too.”
Zhang Tian rubbed his stomach and sighed.
Once the Great Izuchi and Pidgeotto had finished eating, Zhang Tian cut all the usable meat from the Kestodon’s body and stored it in the freezer and refrigerator.
Because his parents occasionally returned to the old family home to stay for a while, the house was fully equipped with appliances, including a refrigerator, freezer, and television.
Zhang Tian glanced at the Great Izuchi and Pidgeotto, who were lying on the floor and snoring peacefully after eating their fill.
He smiled and shook his head before picking up a pen and beginning to formulate their training plans.
“Pidgeotto will continue with the same training as before. The focus should be on improving its flying skills, aerial evasion, and attacks.”
“As for the Great Izuchi, Triple Tail Swing is the strongest of its three Signature Moves.”
“So I should focus on training that move and make sure it can use it smoothly from any position and at any moment.”
“I remember that the Great Izuchi in the game could perform a single tail swing. Three consecutive swings deal more damage, but how many opportunities will you actually get to use all three?”
“So we’ll focus on a single tail swing. One swing is more flexible.”
“The Great Izuchi is extremely fast, so it’s perfectly suited for an agile fighting style.”
“As for Water Spit and Blade Claw Charge…”
“They’re too situational.”
“Both moves leave a considerable opening after they’re used, making it easy for an opponent to take advantage of the recovery time.”
“When I played the game, I actually liked seeing Great Izuchi King use those two moves because their long wind-ups gave me plenty of time to attack during the preparation.”
“Now that the Great Izuchi has become a Pokémon, it has also learned Agility.”
“That move is extremely important. The Great Izuchi needs to train it as well.”
Zhang Tian continued thinking as he wrote.
Before long, he had completed training plans for both of his Pokémon.
After putting the plans away, Zhang Tian lay down on the bed, took out his phone, and began browsing the latest Pokémon news.