Eroking
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Chapter 176: A Familiar Face in a Foreign Land
🕑 Added 2025-09-02 13:55:38 +0000 UTCChapter 176: A Familiar Face in a Foreign Land
"We're in a forest?" Basalt felt a wave of relief. A forest meant they were out of Skarmory territory. For now, they were safe.
The three Titan clans were a major source of pressure. Even if the professional-level Pokémon wouldn't attack them, there were bound to be elite, advanced-tier individuals in their ranks that would be more than a match for Excadrill and Bronzor. But a forest was different. This was clearly not the territory of Skarmory or the Aron clan. He could relax a little.
"Bronzor, give me a lift." At his signal, Bronzor used its psychic power to float him out of the hole.
Once on the surface, Basalt looked around. It wasn't exactly a forest. There were plenty of trees and the grass stretched far into the distance, but the trees were sparse. It was more of a grove or a thicket, dominated by shrubs.
"Bronzor, where are we? Which way should we go?" Basalt asked, instinctively turning to his local guide.
To his disappointment, Bronzor shook its non-existent head. "The territory of my Bronzong clan is vast. I rarely ventured outside of it. I've never been to this place before. However," it said, looking up at the sun to get its bearings, "our clan's territory is to the east. We should head that way."
"Alright," Basalt nodded. It made sense. Wild Pokémon rarely strayed from their own territory.
The direction Bronzor pointed led deeper into the grove, towards a range of tall, green mountains in the distance.
"Okay, let's get moving. Excadrill, you take the lead."
"Excaaa!" Though evolution had made it a bit more mature, the ever-energetic Sandstorm Sovereign was still filled with curiosity in this new environment.
Bronzor, on the other hand, stuck close to Basalt, its psychic senses on high alert. It was obvious which of them was the responsible one.
"Brooonz."
They had only taken a few steps through the waist-high grass when Bronzor's attention fixed on a nearby tree.
"What is it?" Basalt asked.
"Two Caterpie in that tree. Very weak. No threat," Bronzor reported telepathically.
Following its guidance, Basalt saw two small, green caterpillars munching on leaves. They seemed to notice him and paused, looking at him timidly. He wasn't interested.
"If they were Sewaddle, I'd be a lot more excited," he sighed. "Too bad this region's climate isn't right for them." He had always wanted a Leavanny. Not only was it a strong battler, but it was also known to be very caring.
As they walked deeper, Basalt noticed that this Hidden Land was far more densely populated with Pokémon than the dunes of the Dragon's Tooth Oasis. Rattata were scurrying underfoot and Caterpie seemed to be on every leaf.
"Maybe my luck will strike and I'll catch my fourth Pokémon here," he thought. This place, with its abundance of Rock and Steel-types, was a perfect recruiting ground for his Sandstorm team.
"But first, we go to the Bronzong territory. Let Bronzor have its homecoming. I can think about catching a new Pokémon after that."
He was particularly interested in a Skarmory or a member of the Aron line. One for flight, one for a tank—two roles his team was currently lacking. But both of those clans had a Titan ruler and were incredibly powerful. He wouldn't dare approach them on his own. But if he could get one of the Bronzong elders on his side... that would be a different story.
They headed east for over an hour, finally reaching the foot of the mountains. Along the way, they had encountered countless wild Pokémon—Pineco, Mankey, Nidorino, Gloom, Ariados—but with his two partners protecting him, they had passed without incident.
The strangest thing was, all the truly powerful Pokémon seemed to have vanished. The strongest they had encountered since entering was the Skarmory leader from the canyon. Most of the others were at the intermediate level, with the occasional advanced-tier Pokémon that Excadrill and Bronzor could handle together.
BZZZZZZ...
Suddenly, Basalt's ears picked up a faint buzzing sound, like the flapping of insect wings.
BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted from the woods a few hundred meters away, followed by alternating flashes of fire and electricity.
"A battle," Basalt's eyes narrowed.
"Should we go check it out?" Bronzor asked telepathically.
"Let's go," Basalt decided. "It's probably one of the other trainers. We'll sneak up and see what's going on before we decide whether to help."
This time, Bronzor took the lead. Its high-level psychic senses allowed it to scout undetected. Excadrill stayed close to Basalt, acting as his bodyguard.
They crept closer to the site of the battle. It was a massive, ancient tree, its trunk so thick it would take four or five people to encircle it. Hanging from its branches were dozens of pale yellow, cocoon-like Pokémon. They were Kakuna.
And swarming around the tree was a massive hive of large, yellow wasps with huge, white stingers on their arms. "A Beedrill nest," Basalt realized. There were over a hundred of them, but most were already lying on the ground, either scorched, paralyzed by electricity, or with broken limbs.
Facing off against the swarm was a single, tall trainer with a haughty expression. He had three Pokémon by his side: a small, white pony with a mane of fire, a large, yellow, sheep-like Pokémon with a red orb on its tail, and a creature that was a cross between a bat and a scorpion.
A Ponyta, an Ampharos, and a Gligar.
"It's him!" Basalt gasped. He had only met one other person in this Hidden Land, and it was a familiar face.
Rex, the talented trainer from Crimson City he had met at the race in the Dragon's Tooth Oasis.
"Ponyta, Flame Wheel!"
"Ampharos, Discharge!"
"Gligar, Rock Tomb!"
At Rex's command, the Ponyta curled into a ball of fire and shot forward. The Ampharos unleashed a wave of electricity that washed over the entire area, causing several Beedrill to drop from the sky, paralyzed. Its Discharge was a powerful, wide-ranging move. The Beedrill swarm's counterattacks of Poison Sting and Pin Missile were completely unable to break through the defensive perimeter of the Ponyta and Ampharos.
Soon, the last of the Beedrill had fallen.
"Gligar!" Just as a look of triumph appeared on Rex's face, his Gligar let out a sharp cry of warning.
Rex's head snapped around, his gaze locking onto Basalt's hiding place. "Friend," he said, his voice cold, "don't you think it's time you came out and introduced yourself?"
