Boltund was in front, and Cheng Tian was behind, continuously moving deeper.
Cheng Tian was holding his phone, observing the map on Dou Dou Ge. All along, he had maintained an exploration depth of about 8km, not venturing too far.
Just then, Boltund, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped, curiously sniffing a plant in front of him.
This plant was peculiar; its five leaves were noticeably taller than the surrounding grass, and the middle leaf was slightly bent backward. While other grasses swayed in the wind, this one remained motionless.
"Woof?" Boltund was very curious, so he took a bite.
"Oddish!" As soon as Boltund bit it, the plant in front of him suddenly moved. Below the grass, a blue, root-ball-shaped creature appeared, with no hands, only two small feet.
Boltund was startled and barked. Cheng Tian, who was behind him looking at the map, was also startled.
"Huh? Oddish?"
Information about this Oddish instantly appeared in his mind.
Pokémon: Oddish
Gender: Female
Nature: Timid
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 10
Egg Moves: None
Learned Moves: Synthesis (Lv8), Ingrain (Lv5), Leech Seed (Lv3), Stun Spore (Lv4)
TM/HM Moves: None
Oddish are very timid. They usually seek out fertile soil and bury themselves to absorb nutrients.
Seeing Boltund discover an Oddish, Cheng Tian had no intention of catching it. He gently comforted Boltund, then walked away under the Oddish's wary gaze.
The sun rose higher, and Cheng Tian checked the time; it was already noon. He called out to Boltund, "Alright, Boltund, it's time to eat."
Cheng Tian himself only brought some coarse biscuits and water. He took out Boltund's food bowl, tore open a pack of Orleans chicken wing-flavored dog food, and poured a full plate.
"Woof woof!" Boltund happily looked at the abundant food. Cheng Tian smiled and patted him. Finally, he started to eat.
Having walked all morning, it was false to say he wasn't tired, so Boltund ate very quickly. In a short while, the bowl of food was finished.
Cheng Tian smiled at Boltund, "Want some jerky?" "Woof woof!" As soon as Boltund heard there was jerky, his eyes lit up, and he kept nodding his little head.
Cheng Tian took out a bag of jerky from his backpack. "Here, I'll have to trouble you again later."
Just as Cheng Tian took out a piece of jerky to feed Boltund, an unexpected event suddenly occurred.
From the nearby bushes, a small figure suddenly darted out, rushing towards Cheng Tian at an extremely fast speed and snatching the jerky.
"Da!"
"Damn it, ouch ouch ouch!" Cheng Tian felt a pain in his hand and saw that there was a mark on it.
Looking closely, the purple figure from earlier was chewing on the jerky, barking provocatively at Cheng Tian and Boltund.
Cheng Tian's mind quickly provided information about this Pokémon.
Pokémon: Rattata
Gender: Male
Nature: Brave
Ability: Run Away
Level: 10
Egg Moves: None
Learned Moves: Leer (Lv3), Tackle (Lv6), Quick Attack (Lv6), Bite (Lv5), Sand Attack (Lv4), Focus Energy (Lv3)
TM/HM Moves: None
Boltund saw Cheng Tian scratched by Rattata and was extremely furious.
And it even snatched his jerky! This was truly unbearable!
Rattata disdainfully chewed the jerky, then turned its rear towards Cheng Tian and Boltund and sprayed them with Sand Attack, leaving them covered in dust.
"Damn it, can we tolerate this? Boltund, Quick Attack!" Cheng Tian immediately ordered.
Boltund transformed into a white light and quickly appeared in front of Rattata, colliding with it fiercely. "Da!"
Rattata was knocked over, then quickly flipped back up, angrily opening its mouth to bite Boltund, with faint dark-type energy flashing from it.
It was indeed the Dark-type move Bite.
"Hmph, we'll use Bite too," Cheng Tian ordered. Boltund's mouth was much larger than Rattata's.
Both Bites hit simultaneously, but clearly, Boltund dealt more damage, especially with the level advantage.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Rattata retreated two steps, turned around, and tried to run. Its ability was Run Away, which was why it dared to snatch the jerky even though it knew it was weaker.
One reason was that it had never tasted such a delicacy, and the other was Rattata's confidence that even if it couldn't win, it could still escape.
However, it was clear that this time it had met its match.
"Since you're here, don't leave. Boltund, Nuzzle!"
"Woof!" Boltund charged forward, its cheek connecting with Rattata's. A current passed through, and Rattata's body stiffened, falling directly into a paralyzed state, unable to escape.
Seeing Rattata paralyzed, Cheng Tian showed an evil smile, "Little guy, where are you rushing off to?"
"Woof woof~" Boltund certainly wouldn't let go of the guy who snatched his jerky. Under Boltund's attack, Rattata quickly lost its ability to battle.
"Woof!" After defeating Rattata, Cheng Tian noticed that Boltund's level had increased by one, and its Nuzzle skill had also leveled up by one.
Nuzzle (Lv9)
Moreover, Boltund had learned a new skill, Thunderbolt (Lv0).
Cheng Tian was overjoyed by this. To be honest, most of Boltund's skills were close-range, with no long-range attacks. Now that it had learned Thunderbolt, even if its power wasn't high, it finally had a means of long-range attack.
But why was it Lv0? Cheng Tian was a bit confused, so he tried to give an order: "Boltund, try using Thunderbolt on that tree."
"Woof?" Boltund tilted its head, puzzled. "Just focus your electricity into a single stream and release it," Cheng Tian explained.
After several attempts, Boltund successfully released Thunderbolt, but its power and range were indeed a bit small.
Cheng Tian nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that the skill level indicated the skill's power? It was normal for Boltund's newly learned skill to be a bit weak; with more practice, it would gradually return to normal power.
Now Boltund's Thunderbolt skill level was no longer zero, but had increased to one. Thunderbolt (Lv1)
After the battle, Cheng Tian simply treated his wounds. Although the injured area was small, it wouldn't be good if it got infected by some bacteria.
After treating his wounds, he took out another piece of jerky and fed it to Boltund as a reward. Finally, he looked at the unconscious Rattata.
Leaving it there would surely mean its demise. Cheng Tian thought for a moment, then picked up Rattata and placed it in a tall bush.
After doing all this, Cheng Tian waved his hand, signaling Boltund to continue walking.
As he walked, he sighed, "Ah, I truly am kind."
One person and one Pokémon walked forward, unaware that after they had gone some distance, a small blue figure on a distant tree was watching their retreating backs, showing a thoughtful expression.
Then, after a moment's thought, it followed... They walked for about another two hours. It was already afternoon, and Cheng Tian was quite far from National Highway 488, where they had started.
"Let's rest for a bit, Boltund." Cheng Tian drank some water himself and gave some to Boltund.
As they were resting, the distant bushes suddenly rustled.
"Woof!" Boltund barked alertly. "What is it?" Cheng Tian also looked over.
From the bushes leaped a large yellow rat, most notably with a pair of massive incisors.
The Pokémon that arrived was Raticate, the evolved form of Rattata.
Pokémon: Raticate
Gender: Male
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Guts
Level: 34
Egg Moves: Payback (Lv5)
Learned Moves: Scary Face (Lv5), Tackle (Lv4), Quick Attack (Lv6), Focus Energy (Lv4), Bite (Lv8), Take Down (Lv5), Pursuit (Lv6), Crunch (Lv10), Sucker Punch (Lv7), Super Fang (Lv9).
TM/HM Moves: None
Seeing this terrifying stat panel, Cheng Tian couldn't help but gulp. Then, more and more Rattata appeared from different bushes, gathering next to this Raticate, about thirty or forty of them!
Raticate let out a cry, and from among the many Rattata, one appeared. Cheng Tian recognized it as the one he had battled earlier!
Damn it, I should have just let it fend for itself! Now look, I hit the young one, and the old one came, and a whole group of them! Cheng Tian thought, filled with grief and indignation.
Rattata whimpered twice upon seeing Cheng Tian, then nodded at Raticate.
They were the ones who bullied me!
Cheng Tian slowly took out a Poké Ball, recalled Boltund, and then showed a harmless smile.
"Um... do you guys need something?"
The Raticate leader stared at him with an unfriendly expression. Suddenly, Cheng Tian's face changed, and he pointed at the sky behind the Raticate and shouted, "UFO!"
The Raticate group was unmoved. Cheng Tian's eyes darted around. "There's a Yungoos!"
Hearing the name of their natural enemy, the Raticate were clearly startled and looked behind them warily, only to find nothing.
Angrily turning their heads back, Cheng Tian had already run a long distance. A faint echo came back, "Bye-bye, everyone!"
"Raticate!" The Raticate, having been tricked, felt extremely furious. With a command, it led its pack in pursuit of Cheng Tian.
A chase began! On a distant tree trunk, the blue figure watched this scene with interest and continued to follow.