After washing it and shaking it dry, Motomu opened his mouth and stuffed the heart back in.
Combining its simplest base stats, it wasn't even as strong as a total weakling whose power level didn't even reach five.
Motomu didn't expect a Level 1 heart to do much; he didn't even dare dream about it grinding mobs to level up.
With the heart sitting in the cold water, his mind finally cooled down.
Speaking of leveling up...
Motomu's thoughts drifted to the Level 20 passive move he had chosen for Big Eyeball: Bond Growth.
[PASSIVE MOVE: BOND GROWTH]
[EFFECT: POKEMON EXPERIENCE CAN BE SHARED]
He remembered thinking back then about letting the max-levels carry the low-levels, using the massive experience gained by high-level Pokémon to level up the low-level babies directly!
He hadn't expected...
...it would be so useful now!
As a Pokémon that couldn't participate in battle, Little Heart naturally couldn't gain experience through combat.
But Big Eyeball was thick-skinned and sturdy.
As long as he let that tanky guy cause some trouble in Ryuchi Cave, there would be a steady stream of experience coming in.
At least, this method would work until Big Eyeball's level far exceeded those in Ryuchi Cave.
However...
This felt a bit like having a second child and making the eldest work to pay for the baby's formula.
Motomu shook his head to clear away the strange thought.
He wasn't a bad person; they could just split Big Eyeball's experience twenty-eight—Big Eyeball takes twenty percent, and Little Heart takes eighty.
That way, no one could say he was playing favorites as a parent.
Once Little Heart grew up and became independent...
...it could just return that portion of experience to Big Eyeball.
Then, it could help Big Eyeball quickly reach Level 40.
Allowing it to gain even more experience.
Truly achieving the goal of letting the max-levels carry the low-levels.
Moreover, after the Three-Tails Gym Challenge, Big Eyeball had successfully reached Level 33.
Maybe it could even take on Garaga from Ryuchi Cave.
Since he had nothing better to do, he might as well experience the thrill of power-leveling.
With his mind made up...
In the quiet Uchiha compound at night, the sound of the Summoning Jutsu rang out twice.
Half a month later.
Motomu returned to the Cobra's den.
Under the illumination of fluorescent plants, the dim cave lit up.
The stone platform where the Cobra used to nest was now covered with several thick layers of green moss.
On the soft, moist moss, the Cobra lazily flipped through a book.
Under Motomu's protection and clearing of the area...
...this fellow was clearly living a life without worries for food or clothing.
Motomu glanced at it, turned to mount Big Eyeball, and prepared to fly out of the entrance.
"Wait, there's something here I need a little help with."
Snap!
The yellow leather-bound book snapped shut and was shoved into the bookshelf by the Cobra's tail.
"Go on. If it's not too much trouble, I'll help."
"Yeah, it's a leftover issue."
"Recently, Manda saw that this territory was vacant, and he wants a piece of the pie."
"If no one deals with him, he'll come all the way here."
Manda, huh?
Reminded of this, Motomu suddenly thought of him and his Trainer, Orochimaru.
He had already broken the Kusanagi Sword he'd borrowed from Orochimaru.
If he slaughtered Manda now too, it would be a bit hard to justify.
"Where is my Kusanagi Sword?"
"Your disciple lost it."
"Where is my guardian beast?"
"Your disciple slaughtered it for soup. Master, would you like some snake stew?"
The scene of meeting Orochimaru flashed through his mind.
Motomu couldn't help but curl his toes in embarrassment against Big Eyeball's surface.
He had no idea how he would face Orochimaru.
"Regarding Manda, I can only help you drive him away."
"If he comes back when I'm not around, you'll have to rely on yourself."
"Little Black, as a snake, you have to be self-reliant!"
Me? Fight Manda? Are you serious?!
The round glasses slipped from the black scales on the Cobra's face.
The size difference between him and Manda was like an African elephant compared to a common lizard.
For Manda to kill him would be no harder than kicking a stray dog to death.
Looking at the back of the human about to fly out of the cave...
The Cobra quickly adjusted its glasses and shouted anxiously.
"Motomu? Motomu!!"
"You must teach him a lesson! Beat him until he doesn't dare show up in my territory again!"
"I really... can't beat him!!!"
The Cobra's voice echoed through the cave.
Motomu, riding Big Eyeball, was already long gone.
Following his previous memories...
Motomu returned to the cave filled with purple snakes.
This place was the territory of Manda and his kin.
And it was obvious that it had indeed grown quite a bit larger than before.
Following the widening cave, Motomu soon found his target.
A giant snake with eye shadow and what looked like dragon horns on its head watched him warily.
Motomu didn't bother with trash-talking a summoned beast.
[DING]
[STEELIX (LEVEL 34) HAS ACCEPTED YOUR CHALLENGE]
Despite his massive size of over fifty meters and nearly a hundred tons, Manda displayed speed that defied logic.
Opening his massive maw, he lunged to swallow Big Eyeball whole like a steamed bun.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique."
Motomu's chest puffed out as he spat a fireball five meters in diameter, covering most of Manda's long face.
At the same time, Big Eyeball's Psychokinesis kicked up a gale.
The fireball's diameter expanded violently again; the eight-meter boiling sphere of fire was wider than four Big Eyeballs, each of which was larger than a truck tire.
In the blazing light, the caught-off-guard Manda was instantly scorched black.
Amidst Manda's roars, stalactites from the cave ceiling accelerated as they fell.
They slammed heavily into Manda's purple scales.
The hard scales blocked the stalactites, but they couldn't block the force of the impact.
His internal organs shaking violently and blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, Manda gave Motomu a look of pure hatred.
Before turning and slithering quickly into the depths of the cave.
[VICTORY!]
[STEELIX (LEVEL 34) HAS FLED]
[RIGHT EYE HAS GAINED +200 EXPERIENCE]
The moment it arrived...
Motomu casually allocated 160 experience points to Little Heart.
[POKEMON: HEART]
[TYPE: FIRE/FIGHTING]
[LEVEL INCREASED TO LV 5]
[CURRENT EXP: 10/50]
[BASE STATS: HP: 6 | ATK: 1 | DEF: 1 | SPA: 1 | SPD: 1 | SPE: 5]
[HEART HAS LEVELED UP. IT SEEMS TO HAVE REALIZED SOMETHING...]
[1. EMBER 2. CLOSE COMBAT]
[3. REVENGE 4. BULK UP]
When it reached Level 3, the move options appeared.
He clicked for details.
[EMBER: RELEASES A FIREBALL TO ATTACK ENEMIES. EFFECT DEPENDS ON CURRENT SPECIAL ATTACK.]
[CLOSE COMBAT: THE POKEMON GETS CLOSE TO THE TARGET TO ATTACK.]
[REVENGE: THE POKEMON'S NEXT ATTACK DEALS DOUBLE DAMAGE AFTER TAKING A HIT.]
[BULK UP: DEFENSE AND ATTACK ARE INCREASED BY 10%.]
Glancing through them...
Motomu decided to choose the ranged attack Ember as a transition move for a beginner.
Once the selection was made...
Looking at the ruins Manda had left behind, Motomu aimed at a rock and immediately ordered the heart to use Ember.
Pfft!
Motomu's eyes bulged.
A mouthful of blood, smelling of something burnt, vomited from his mouth.
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