"Bun-bun!"
Inside the Camp.
Buneary sat right next to Shiko, her face full of excitement.
"You're about to evolve!"
Shiko was a little surprised.
After taking a look at Buneary's status panel,
he showed an expression of amazement.
He really hadn't paid much attention lately.
But now that he looked—
Buneary's rate of improvement really was fast enough to be shocking.
In just two weeks,
she had already gone from Starter-level to Entry-level.
Elite Four-level potential was truly terrifying.
Himeko really was worthy of being a former Champion-level Trainer.
These methods of nurturing and training Pokémon
were indeed exceptional.
And besides that,
the relationship between her and Buneary was also very harmonious.
She genuinely treated Pokémon as partners rather than tools.
Between one person and one rabbit,
a deep bond had been built.
Otherwise,
Buneary's friendship level with her
would never have reached the point of being ready to evolve.
Shiko raised his head and looked at Himeko, who was preparing dinner, and silently thought to himself.
"Bun!"
Buneary hopped behind Shiko,
skillfully pounding his back.
Shiko narrowed his eyes slightly.
In his mind, he couldn't help but picture what Buneary's evolution, Lopunny, would look like.
Tsk!
The little cutie was about to turn into a mature beauty.
And with that layer of pink long fur—
she would be a full-on bunny girl with a great figure.
Shiko's face reddened slightly.
For no reason at all, he started looking forward to it.
…
"Be careful—she's here!"
Deep inside Wintergreen Forest.
A group of people wearing black standard-issue combat uniforms
were carefully examining the traces on the ground.
They looked tense,
as if they were urgently searching for something important.
Nearby them,
on a vehicle, there was an alloy cage—still electrified.
But at this moment, the cage door was open,
and the inside was completely empty.
"This is a one-billion deal! We have to find her—don't let her slip away!"
The one-eyed man leading the team glanced at the alloy cage, his expression gloomy and sinister.
As soon as he finished speaking,
he unhooked a Poké Ball from his waist.
He released a Hoothoot from inside.
"Fly up and search!"
"Hoo~~"
After receiving the order, Hoothoot flapped its wings and flew up.
It circled in the air,
and in the darkness those huge eyes looked like two little lamps.
Its sharp gaze could clearly pick out even the tiniest traces below.
"Hoothoot~~"
A few minutes later,
Hoothoot's call suddenly grew louder.
It seemed to have found something.
The one-eyed man lifted his head, his face lighting up with joy.
"There's a lead. Move—keep up!"
With a flap of its wings,
Hoothoot flew deeper into the forest.
The one-eyed man didn't hesitate at all—he took off running after it.
The others followed close behind.
The figures of the group
soon vanished into the darkness of the forest.
…
Early the next morning.
Shiko, rarely, got up early.
Because he expected to complete his first evolution today,
he was so excited he couldn't sleep.
Today, Himeko was going to take Buneary deeper into the forest for battle training.
Because most of the Pokémon near the outskirts were generally at Starter-level.
Over these two weeks,
they had already been beaten down one by one by Buneary.
Especially that group of Rattata living around here—
Buneary beat them up without holding back at all.
Every time, she would thrash them until they were half-dead,
like she had some deep blood feud with them.
Himeko had no idea why Buneary did that.
She asked Shiko to help translate and ask,
and Shiko just pretended he hadn't heard.
No choice.
In the end, she could only understand it as Buneary being naturally disgusted by those Rattata.
By now, Buneary's name was famous among the Pokémon around the Wintergreen Forest outskirts.
So much so that these wild Pokémon,
the moment they saw Buneary, they would turn and run—none of them dared to come up.
No choice.
In order to have Buneary complete her evolution today,
Himeko decided to go a bit deeper into the forest for battle training.
After walking for more than ten minutes,
the wintergreen trees all around became denser and denser.
Sunlight could only pass through the shadows of the trees,
scattering down as mottled spots of light.
Rustle, rustle!!
From the shrubbery beside them,
there suddenly came a burst of movement.
"Buneary! Get ready for battle!"
Himeko became alert immediately.
"Bun!!"
Buneary's long ears stood straight up.
Her expression was serious.
She took a fighting stance at once.
Shiko's expression also turned solemn.
This was no longer the outskirts of Wintergreen Forest.
The wild Pokémon here
were generally Entry-level!
They weren't something that could be dealt with easily!
Rustle, rustle!
The movement in the bushes grew louder and louder.
Hissss~~
A faint sound of exhalation came along with it.
The next second,
from the half-person-tall shrubbery,
a purple long snake crawled out!
(End of Chapter)
If I see that this fanfic has support, I will upload 20+ chapters to Patreon!!
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]