Chapter Thirty-Seven: Battle Against the Pokémon Hunter

As Cheng Cheng prepared to assist Sceptile, a few Forest Grovyles accompanied them. The other Forest Grovyles stayed behind to protect the Treecko, so they set out together.

With the help of the Forest Grovyles, Cheng Cheng and Muzi quickly caught up to Sceptile, who was already engaged in battle with the Pokémon hunters. As Cheng Cheng approached, he saw that it was indeed the same two people from before. Sceptile was fighting a Blaziken, with two Dodrio nearby.

Cheng Cheng's arrival caught the hunters' attention.

"What are you two kids doing here? Mind your own business and leave now."

"Why are you capturing Pokémon?" Muzi questioned them.

"Money, of course," they replied without any attempt to hide their motive.

"But why not just catch Pokémon normally? Why treat them like this?" Muzi grew angry seeing the injured Pokémon scattered on the ground.

"Kid, stay out of our affairs or you'll be dealt with too."

"Then come and try! Go, Dragonair!"

Muzi immediately sent out Dragonair, which worried Cheng Cheng. Sure enough, the hunters were now even more interested in Dragonair.

"Well, isn’t this a surprise—a Dragonair! We only planned to capture Treecko, but a Dragonair showed up. We’ll gladly take it."

"Go, Blaziken!"

Sceptile stepped in front of Blaziken.

"Then let’s deal with you first."

"Blaziken, Blaze Kick!"

Blaziken's fire-type move was highly damaging to the Forest Grovyles, but Sceptile dodged quickly.

"You handle Sceptile. Leave these two to me. Go, Dodrio!"

Taking this opportunity, Cheng Cheng examined the data for Blaziken and Dodrio.

Pokémon: Blaziken
Type: Fire, Fighting
Level: 43
Rank: Light Green
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Blaze
Moves: Focus Energy, Ember, Double Kick, Peck, Sand Attack, Bulk Up, Quick Attack, Blaze Kick, Slash.

Pokémon: Dodrio
Type: Normal
Level: 43
Rank: Deep Yellow
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Run Away
Moves: Peck, Growl, Quick Attack, Rage, Thrash, Pursuit, Uproar, Fury Attack, Tri Attack, Agility.

They seemed rather strong. Cheng Cheng then checked Sceptile’s stats:

Pokémon: Sceptile
Type: Grass
Level: 44
Rank: Green
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Overgrow
Moves: Pound, Leer, Absorb, Quick Attack, Fury Cutter, Pursuit, Bullet Seed, Screech, Leaf Blade, Agility, Slam.

Cheng Cheng believed Sceptile could handle Blaziken without much trouble. So he and Muzi only needed to deal with Dodrio.

"Go, Lunatone!"

Since their opponents were so strong, Cheng Cheng decided to give it his all.

"Another rare Pokémon! Neither of you will be leaving today. Dodrio, Quick Attack!"

The two Dodrio charged at Dragonair and Lunatone.

"Dragonair, use Dragon Tail."

"Lunatone, use Harden."

Dragon Tail and Peck collided, sending Dodrio flying. Lunatone withstood the attack.

"Lunatone, use Tackle."

Lunatone instantly tackled and hit Dodrio successfully.

"Dodrio, Tri Attack!"

Both Dodrio used Tri Attack simultaneously.

"Dragonair, use Twister."

Dragonair's Twister successfully blocked Dodrio's assault.

"Now, Lunatone, use Rock Slide!"

The rocks struck both Dodrio, with excellent effect.

"Dodrio, Quick Attack again, then Thrash!"

"Lunatone, use Psychic!"

Lunatone’s Psychic controlled Dodrio, causing it to stop moving.

"Dragonair, use Aqua Tail!"

The two sides clashed again, with Dodrio still at a disadvantage.

"Damn it! Go, Swampert!"

"Swampert, use Water Gun!"

The opponent suddenly sent out Swampert, who blasted Lunatone with Water Gun. Lunatone had no way to dodge and was hit directly.

Cheng Cheng didn't have time to check Swampert's stats; he just wanted to defeat the opponent quickly.

"Damn it, Lunatone, use Wake-Up Slap!"

Lunatone gathered energy for Wake-Up Slap and struck at Swampert swiftly.

"Swampert, use Mud Shot!"

"Dodrio, use Tri Attack!"

"Go, Mr. Mime!"

"Mr. Mime, use Barrier!"

Mr. Mime's Barrier blocked Tri Attack, and Wake-Up Slap also broke through Mud Shot, landing on Swampert.

"Swampert, use Mud Bomb!"

"Mr. Mime, handle Swampert. Just block its attacks."

"Mime~"

Mr. Mime used a series of Barriers to block Swampert's attacks.

"Lunatone, Rock Slide again!"

"Dodrio, dodge quickly!"

Dodrio relied on its incredible speed to evade Rock Slide repeatedly.

"Use Psychic and throw Dodrio into the air."

As a bird Pokémon unable to fly, this was Dodrio’s weakness.

"Rock Slide again!"

Dodrio was completely pinned under Lunatone's rocks, losing its ability to battle.

Since the opponent was controlling three Pokémon at once and lacked focus, Muzi quickly defeated Dodrio as well.

"Damn it, haven’t you taken down Sceptile yet? These two kids are tough—their Pokémon are very high-level. I can’t hold out much longer!"

He called out to his partner for help. Meanwhile, Blaziken and Sceptile were still fighting. Though Sceptile was badly wounded, it kept persevering.

"Sceptile, I’ll immobilize Blaziken for you. Take your chance to finish it."

Cheng Cheng used his psychic powers to communicate with Sceptile, then had Lunatone activate Psychic.

Lunatone’s Psychic took hold; Blaziken froze in place.

"Now!"

Sceptile rushed forward, unleashed Fury Cutter, striking Blaziken repeatedly, then followed up with Slam.

Blaziken was knocked to the ground, losing its ability to battle.

"Damn it, what’s going on? When did they use that power? Today isn’t suitable for fighting—we need to leave!"

"Leaving won’t be so easy. Mr. Mime, use Psychic!"

Mr. Mime used Psychic to control his Barriers, trapping the two hunters. Without their Pokémon, they couldn’t escape.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, shattering the Barrier.

"Careful, they have guns!"

Cheng Cheng had heard gunshots earlier; now seeing them draw their weapons, he became tense.

Bang!

Another shot fired, the bullet flying toward Cheng Cheng. Sceptile stepped in front of him, blocking the bullet.

"Sceptile!"

"Damn it, Lunatone, use Psychic!"

Lunatone's Psychic struck both men, causing them to faint.

"Lunatone, use Hypnosis."

Lunatone cast Hypnosis, sending them both into a deep sleep.

"Muzi, quickly contact Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy. I’ll handle the wound."

Muzi took out the communicator and contacted Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy. Cheng Cheng retrieved a small knife and tweezers from his backpack, cut open Sceptile’s wound, removed the bullet, and sprayed medicine on the injury to stop the bleeding.

Half an hour later, Officer Jenny arrived. Cheng Cheng briefly explained the situation to her. Nurse Joy hadn’t arrived yet; after checking, Cheng Cheng found her vehicle couldn’t make it through. He had to get Sceptile out himself.

"Sceptile, please enter the Poké Ball for now."

Sceptile trusted Cheng Cheng deeply and entered the Poké Ball without hesitation. Cheng Cheng needed to find a way to get Sceptile to Nurse Joy quickly.

"Go, Kirlia."

After learning Nurse Joy's location via communicator, Cheng Cheng had Kirlia use Teleport to send the Poké Ball over.

Originally, Cheng Cheng wanted to go himself, but Kirlia’s power was limited; if it tried to transport Cheng Cheng too, it might not succeed. So he let Kirlia teleport the Poké Ball alone.

"Alright, I’ve received it. I’ll begin treatment immediately."

Nurse Joy confirmed she had the Poké Ball, and Kirlia stayed there to help look after Sceptile.

"Now that Nurse Joy has received it, I think everything should be fine," Muzi said with relief after the Poké Ball was sent. Meanwhile, Officer Jenny had already cuffed the two men.

"We’ll take these two back to the station for investigation. Thank you for reporting this, but you’ll need to come with me to make a statement."

"I’ll go then. Muzi, you head to the Pokémon Center and check on Sceptile." Muzi readily agreed.

Cheng Cheng then used his psychic powers to communicate with the Forest Grovyles, telling them he was taking Sceptile for treatment and it would return soon.

The Forest Grovyles were worried for Sceptile’s safety, but they trusted Cheng Cheng completely.

Cheng Cheng and Muzi followed Officer Jenny back to Verdanturf Town; Cheng Cheng went to the police station, Muzi to the Pokémon Center.

Arriving at the station, Cheng Cheng felt a bit nervous—it was his first time there. But he was already somewhat familiar with Officer Jenny; she was the same officer who had come to him last time.

Cheng Cheng couldn’t distinguish every Officer Jenny as Brock could, but through his psychic senses, he recognized the same energy signature as before.

After completing the statement, Cheng Cheng left the station and headed straight to the Pokémon Center, eager to check on Sceptile.

At the Pokémon Center, Cheng Cheng found Muzi sitting and waiting.

"Cheng Cheng, was everything alright on your end?"

"I just gave a brief statement, everything’s fine now."

"That’s good. Nurse Joy says Sceptile is badly injured and still undergoing treatment."

Cheng Cheng grew anxious at Muzi's words. Sceptile had taken a bullet for him; if anything happened, he would feel deeply unsettled.

After a while, Nurse Joy emerged.

"Nurse Joy, how is Sceptile?"

"Sceptile arrived just in time, and the wound was handled well. There’s no problem now, but it won’t be able to battle for a while."

"Thank you very much, Nurse Joy."

Cheng Cheng paid and prepared to leave with Sceptile.

"Muzi, could I trouble you to take care of Sceptile for now?"

"Why?"

"I can’t keep non-psychic Pokémon for long—it would harm them."

"How can that be?"

"I don’t know. Maybe it’s the price I pay for being able to get along so well with psychic Pokémon—gain something, lose something."

"Alright, I’ll look after Sceptile. But don’t think you can slack off; you have to help too."

"Of course. Thank you."

Cheng Cheng and Muzi returned to the daycare. Dawn was approaching; Cheng Cheng needed a good rest.