Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Hanging by a Thread_1
It had been a long time since Eevee had eaten the Sand Scale Fruit.
Fang Yuan estimated that it had been about six hours since they had entered the secret location, and he let out a sigh of relief.
It shouldn't take long for someone to come and rescue them.
During this time, Fang Yuan and Eevee carefully hid under the trees, avoiding any further attacks from Pokemon.
However, what frustrated Fang Yuan was that after Eevee had eaten the Sand Scale Fruit, there had been no changes at all.
What happened to the mysterious treasure that was said to contain Sky Power?
Why was it like eating an apple, just for fun...
"Maybe it needs time to digest," he mused.
Fang Yuan still remembered the description of the Sand Scale Fruit from the game; it was supposed to activate when a Pokemon's HP drops below a quarter of its maximum, increasing its speed by one level.
Perhaps Eevee also needed to go through a battle to absorb the nutrients of the Sand Scale Fruit.
"Once we get out of here, I'll increase the intensity of the training to see if that triggers the effect of the Sand Scale Fruit," Fang Yuan said to Eevee. "We should be safe soon."
"Bwoo..." Eevee was stunned.
While it was great that they were about to escape danger, it couldn't quite feel happy about the prospect of more intense training.
And...
Suddenly Eevee's eyes widened. Just seconds after Fang Yuan had said they should be safe soon, a long cry rang out.
Within their field of vision, the Pokemon hiding in the bushes and leaves panicked and fled at the sound, as if a powerful predator had appeared.
Eevee and Fang Yuan exchanged looks.
It seemed it had underestimated the degree to which its trainer brought bad luck.
Even with its own Dangerous Premonition trait, it couldn't fight off Fang Yuan's jinx aura.
"It was an accident... pure accident..."
Fang Yuan waved his hands sheepishly and, seeing a speck rapidly growing larger in the distance, he grabbed Eevee and hurriedly ran.
That speck was undeniably heading in their direction.
As he ran, Fang Yuan wore an expression of distress as he came to a realization.
He should have thought of it earlier; there was no way there wouldn't be any Pokemon near such rare Tree Fruits.
If other Pokemon didn't dare to approach, it meant that this was the territory of a top predator.
Only he and Eevee were foolish enough to consider this place safe and had even stolen the carefully cultivated rare Tree Fruits.
If nothing went wrong, this was probably the most dangerous place in the entire secret location.
However, as the most dangerous place, it had allowed Fang Yuan and Eevee to spend several hours in peace.
"The most dangerous place is the safest place, I believe that, but why couldn't it have come back later?"
Fang Yuan and Eevee ran like mad. Perhaps Eevee thought Fang Yuan's pace was too slow; it jumped off his shoulder and began to run on its own, quickly outpacing him.
"Wait for me," he called.
"Bwoo!" Eevee cried.
Fang Yuan felt like a very pitiful trainer.
Then, the cry rang out again, the plaintive sound so sorrowful it could make a listener's heart ache and draw tears from their eyes. One could only imagine the grievance of the one who made that sound.
Upon hearing it, Eevee ran even faster, sensing an enormous crisis.
Fang Yuan also cracked a smile, trying hard to keep up with Eevee, but the Pokemon they had angered... was a Pidgeot.
Atop the Sand Scale Fruit Tree, a giant bird almost two meters in size flapped its wide wings, rising into the air within a very brief time, its sharp eyes locking onto Fang Yuan and Eevee as they fled.
Pidgeot, possessing excellent flying abilities and particularly well-developed pectoral muscles and powerful wings, could generate strong winds capable of breaking trees. Most importantly, it had exceptional vision that allowed it to spot prey from thousands of meters in the sky...
One could say that even a fighter jet might not necessarily best a Pidgeot.
Suddenly, Fang Yuan and Eevee seemed incredibly tiny and insignificant.
"Damn damn damn damn, it's coming."
In the blink of an eye, Pidgeot was overhead, and as they looked at the terrifying shadow above, Fang Yuan and Eevee both swallowed hard.
There was no way they could outrun this thing...
"Eevee, prepare for battle."
"Bwoo!"
Eevee, nervously eyeing the Pidgeot in the sky, stood in front of Fang Yuan. This opponent was stronger than any Pokemon it had faced before.
At this moment, Eevee's body began to frantically signal a Dangerous Premonition, its instincts urging it to abandon resistance. Fang Yuan, looking at the trembling Eevee and still not having thought of an appropriate strategy, saw Pidgeot flapping its wings to whip up a fearsome gust.
It was the first time Fang Yuan had felt such strong winds up close. Under its force, Eevee couldn't stand steady on all fours, scratching deep marks into the ground with its toes the next moment.
"What do we do..."
Watching Pidgeot dive down with the wind at its back, Fang Yuan felt a surge of fear. Although Eevee was ready for battle, it had no idea how to deal with an enemy in flight.
We're done for...
Fang Yuan quickly took out a Poké Ball, ready to recall Eevee at a critical moment to spare it from catastrophe. But in this dire instant, a cold beam of light suddenly swept across, spreading intense frost all around and plummeting the temperature. Pidgeot, too, was forced to halt its attack, its bloodshot eyes locking onto another adversary.
It was a Cloyster.
"What's happening!"
Before Fang Yuan and Eevee could react, a wave of heat rushed towards them, and the silhouette of a Trainer on a Charizard flashed by. He grabbed Fang Yuan and Eevee, pulling them onto Charizard's back, and then soared at great speed.
"Hey, Little Zhuang, I've taken the kid. You handle that Pidgeot."
"Kid, you managed to survive in the Secret location without a scratch, not bad. But how did you provoke that Pidgeot?"
Fang Yuan then realized, besides the Charizard Trainer, there was another Trainer near the Cloyster.
Help from the Trainer Association had arrived.
Such was the roller coaster of life—utterly thrilling.
Embracing Eevee, Fang Yuan took deep breaths, "Uncle, your timing was perfect. Thank you so much."
"Bwoo..." Eevee, also visibly shaken, nodded in agreement.
It's too dangerous out there; the baby wants to go home.
Uncle?
Yang Han's expression darkened as he suddenly let go of Fang Yuan's hand, almost causing the unaccustomed Fang Yuan to fall from the sky, scaring him half to death.
However, fortunately, Yang Han quickly grabbed Fang Yuan again, but even so, Fang Yuan's heart skipped several beats.
"I'm only forty, isn't 'uncle' a bit too old?"
"I misspoke... Big brother..."
"You must be Fang Yuan, right? You should thank Old He from the Spirit Center, really. If he hadn't guessed you might have wandered into a secret location, our rescue couldn't have been this timely."