Pichu's resistance to evolution easily reminded Chen Mo of a scene from the original story—when Ash challenged the Vermilion Gym, Pikachu was defeated and refused to use a Thunder Stone, insisting on defeating Raichu while remaining a Pikachu.
Cause and effect, coming full circle.
After all, Chen Mo had just borrowed the very tactics Pikachu used to defeat Raichu back then.
"So the Pichu line really does inherit this stubborn, never-give-in personality, huh? You can evolve, but you refuse to—only defeating your opponent in the same form you lost with can truly prove yourself."
Watching Pichu regain some spirit after drinking the nutritional soup, Chen Mo smiled slightly.
This kind of stubbornness, in moderation, wasn't a bad thing.
Of course, it would be even better if they never ran into that Electabuzz again.
Meanwhile—
The Electabuzz that Chen Mo and the newly awakened Pichu were both thinking about was dragging its freshly injured body to an Oran Berry tree.
Because it often got injured while challenging powerful opponents, Electabuzz had long since learned to slowly heal its wounds by eating certain Berries.
"Bzzzt!"
It fired off another Discharge, electricity shooting from between its horns and striking the Oran Berries on the tree.
One fruit after another fell to the ground.
But repeatedly using moves tugged at its injuries, twisting Electabuzz's expression in pain.
It slowly picked up an Oran Berry, sat down beneath the tree, and stuffed it into its mouth while replaying the events of the day in its mind.
Truth be told, it had already found something strange.
That Pichu—clearly so weak-looking—had managed to intercept its Thunder Shock with a later attack that arrived first.
And in the final Thunder Shock clash, after personally experiencing the power of Pichu's attack, Electabuzz found it even more unbelievable.
That power wasn't inferior at all to the Thunder Shock it had trained so hard to master.
"Bzz…"
Electabuzz still felt its body tingling.
But—
It had won!
It had taught that Pichu who sided with humans a harsh lesson. So even if it got hurt in the process, it was worth it.
Suddenly—
Electabuzz froze, Oran Berry halfway to its mouth.
Injuries…
That Pichu had said its wounds were treated by that human…
At the thought, Electabuzz violently shook its head.
That human must have used tricks like that to deceive those two Pokémon. I can't fall for it. I need to become stronger!
With that thought, Electabuzz kept stuffing Oran Berries into its mouth, swallowing them down almost as if venting its frustration.
The sun sank in the distance, the glow of dusk spilling through the forest.
Electabuzz lay beneath the tree, gazing up at the scattered rays of sunset filtering through the canopy.
After a long while—
Feeling somewhat recovered, Electabuzz slowly stood up and headed alone into the depths of the forest.
It planned to rest properly and challenge new powerful opponents at the Greenriver tomorrow.
Just then—
A frightened, panicked cry rang out from nearby.
"Deerling!"
Electabuzz halted.
But almost immediately, it abandoned the sudden thought that surfaced in its mind.
In Viridian Forest, countless accidents happened every day. It wasn't something a small Electabuzz like it could decide or change.
"Got it netted! Tranquilizer gun—now!"
A cold voice suddenly rang out from the same direction.
Electabuzz stopped again.
This time, it didn't hesitate.
It quickly ran toward the source of the sound.
Carefully parting the bushes—
A group of humans came into view.
Four of them were holding a large net, tightly restraining a Deerling that was struggling desperately inside it.
But soon, as a tranquilizer dart was fired into Deerling's body, it gradually fell unconscious.
"Damn, these monsters really are monsters. That strength's way beyond a normal deer."
One of the netters wiped the sweat from his forehead.
No matter how many times he did this, fear still lingered.
After all, dealing with monsters—unknown creatures—was nothing like dealing with ordinary wild animals. One slip-up could lead to disaster. Several reckless rookies in their team had already died because of that.
"Cut the crap. We finally caught a suitable target—wrap it up and get moving. You still have time to chat? Not afraid someone might notice?"
"Heh, what's there to be afraid of? There's no one else around. Besides, things aren't like before anymore. We're doing the public a favor—this isn't illegal."
"Not illegal?"
The man opposite let out a cold laugh and patted the hunting rifle slung over his body.
"You're holding this and you say it's not illegal?"
"...Damn. Honestly, this country really isn't a place for humans anymore. Doing good deeds but still having to sneak around like thieves every day. Sigh."
The netter sighed, then suddenly his eyes lit up.
"Hey, I heard a lot of guys in the trade have gone overseas lately. Fewer rules there—everyone's living it up. Boss, how about we go abroad too? Anywhere's fine. I really don't want to stay here anymore."
At that, everyone turned their gaze to the middle-aged man wearing a black headscarf.
He glanced at the speaker and said calmly,
"Finish this job first. It's getting dark. We made a lot of noise earlier—if we draw in some large monsters, we're all dead."
"Heh, got it."
No more words were exchanged. They immediately got busy.
But at that moment—
A dazzling bolt of electricity struck one of the netters, who let out a piercing scream of agony.
The sudden change made everyone's hearts leap into their throats. They all grabbed their rifles and pointed them toward the bushes where the lightning had come from.
Before long—
Another bolt of electricity shot in from a different direction, hitting another member of the group.
Listening to their companions' screams, everyone felt their legs trembling uncontrollably.
"Boss…"
"Pick up those two and move—now. Something that can use electricity and hide like this isn't something we can deal with."
"What about the deer—"
"Stop thinking about the damn deer! Stay any longer and we'll lose lives!"
The poachers moved quickly.
This wasn't the first time they'd encountered accidents during a hunt. They all knew exactly what to do.
Soon, the group fled the area in tense but orderly fashion.
After a long while—
A small yellow figure emerged from the bushes.
"Bzz…"
Electabuzz glanced at the Deerling lying on the ground, then looked toward the direction the poachers had fled.
In its black-and-white eyes, hatred and fury burned like raging flames.
🌟 Early access (60+ chapters ahead): [email protected]/plotwired💬 10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter🔷 100 Power Stones = Another🔥 You decide how fast the story unfolds.