Pokemon: With Title System

Chapter 139 – I, Asahi, Carry the Burden

Feeling Green's strange gaze on him, Asahi looked innocent.

I didn't even do anything… right?

He mentally counted the things he had done involving Slowpoke.

Using them as bait to catch poachers… That was for work.

Occasionally collecting their naturally shed tails and grilling them… That was just recycling.

The worst thing he had done was having Gardevoir train them with strict combat drills from morning till night. But that was to help them defend themselves against poachers!

It was all for their own good!

Sigh…

As a Ranger, poachers had slandered him, and the Pokémon he protected didn't understand him.

And yet, he carried this burden for three years.

Life was truly difficult…

Listening to Asahi talk about his hardships, Green's expression grew even more skeptical.

She had made a lot of connections.

No wonder Asahi had been so skilled at grilling Slowpoke tails back in Bluepool City—he had practiced here.

As for training Slowpoke to "protect themselves"…

She could believe Asahi meant well, but making those lazy, sunbathing Slowpoke train all day in combat? That was just cruel!

No wonder they reacted like they'd seen a ghost.

---

Surrounded by Slowpoke, Asahi handed out Pokéblocks.

The Slowpoke were wary at first—why was the Demon King suddenly being nice?

But… the Pokéblocks smelled too good.

And Slowpoke weren't exactly the most thoughtful Pokémon.

With one bite, they activated Amnesia, instantly forgetting all their past suffering. Soon, they were devouring the treats.

Seeing this, the Poliwag and Poliwhirl couldn't hold back either, joining in the feast.

Sitting on the grass, Green reached out to touch a Slowpoke.

Its soft, pink fur was just as plush as it looked.

Several minutes later, the Slowpoke finally realized it was being touched.

It lazily shook its head, lifted its gaze to Green…

Oh, it was with the Demon King?

Never mind then…

Deciding it wasn't worth resisting, the Slowpoke simply went back to eating.

Just then, the sound of an approaching off-road vehicle echoed in the distance.

Moments later, a Ranger Officer Jenny pulled up in a Jeep.

Seeing Asahi and Gardevoir, she looked genuinely surprised.

"Asahi? You're back?"

The equipment at the Ranger station had detected energy fluctuations here, and she had assumed some persistent poachers were trying their luck again.

She hadn't expected to see him instead.

"Kiko! Long time no see!" Asahi greeted.

Then, he turned to Green.

"This is my colleague, Green. Kiko is the new Ranger in charge of the Safari Zone."

Jenny glanced at Green, surprised.

A colleague of Asahi's?

Was she also with the International Police?

Green responded with a smile.

After exchanging greetings, Asahi asked curiously, "Just now, I saw you rushing over with a nervous expression. Did poachers show up in the nature reserve again?"

Back when he was around, poachers in the nature reserve had practically been wiped out.

Hearing Asahi bring this up, Officer Jenny grew angry. "Thanks to the deterrence you left behind, the remaining poachers in Kanto don't even dare to come close."

"But about a week ago, a group of poachers came from another region. They're said to be under the command of Hunter J, who's on the League's wanted list."

"They've set their sights on the nature reserve."

"Hm?" Asahi raised an eyebrow.

His title, 'Demon Guardian of the Forest', had even been officially acknowledged by Team Rocket. Yet now, after just a little over two months away, even a group of outsider poachers dared to challenge his authority?

Hunter J… Asahi didn't take her seriously in the slightest.

And now, just a bunch of her underlings dared to cause trouble in Kanto? Asahi felt outright provoked!

"Where are they now? Since I'm back, I'll deal with them before I leave."

These guys needed to learn a lesson—just because Asahi wasn't a ranger anymore didn't mean any random nobodies could challenge him!

Looking at Asahi's dominant presence, Officer Jenny felt a sudden sense of reassurance.

"Can you pinpoint their location?" Asahi asked.

Officer Jenny shook a Poké Ball. "Leave that to me. During our last encounter, I already had Arcanine memorize their scent."

"Okay!"

Asahi then turned and looked at the Slowpoke lounging in the sun on the ground, his expression full of disappointment.

"The enemy is at our doorstep, and you guys are still lying around without a care in the world… Get it together! You're coming with me this time!"

The Slowpoke looked utterly reluctant.

They were just weak, helpless Slowpoke—why were they being burdened with such a heavy responsibility?

But then they thought about what would happen if they upset the Demon Guardian. In the end, they had no choice but to follow Asahi.

---

Whoosh—

Arcanine sprinted through the forest, tracking the scent of the Pokémon poachers. A convertible off-road vehicle followed closely behind.

But the vehicle looked a little… strange.

Officer Jenny was in the driver's seat, Asahi sat in the passenger seat holding Eevee, and Gardevoir and Green were in the back. Nothing unusual there.

The odd part was the Slowpoke clinging to the roof.

"Slow—!"

Led by a Slowbro, a whole group of Slowpoke were hanging onto the vehicle.

They were experiencing an unprecedented thrill ride, their eyes wide open in shock.

Every now and then, one or two Slowpoke lost their grip and started to fall, but Gardevoir used Psychic to catch them and put them back on the roof.

"…Asahi, are you seriously bringing these Slowpoke into battle?" Green couldn't help but ask from the backseat.

She looked up at the Slowpoke clinging to the car but couldn't see how they had any combat capability at all.

Officer Jenny also nodded as she drove. She couldn't see what use these Slowpoke could possibly have either.

"Don't underestimate them. Gardevoir personally trained them," Asahi said.

To repay the Slowpoke for providing him with their tails as snacks over the past three years, he had Gardevoir put them through a brutal training regimen.

Green and Officer Jenny watched another Slowpoke fall off the car, only to be pulled back up by Gardevoir, and remained skeptical of Asahi's words.

Still, with Asahi's strength, even without the Slowpoke, the battle wouldn't be a problem. So they let it slide.

The off-road vehicle continued moving forward.

Soon, with Arcanine leading the way, a well-hidden poacher camp appeared before them.

---

Inside the Poacher Camp

The poacher squad leader was currently on a call with Hunter J, who was in Sinnoh.

"Lady J, we've searched the nature reserve for a week but haven't found any sign of a Dratini."

On the other end of the video call, Hunter J replied coldly, "Then expand the search area. The client specifically requested a Dratini from Kanto and is paying three times the usual price. If you fail, don't bother coming back."

Sweat dripped down the poacher leader's face. "Understood."

"By the way, I heard Kanto has a ranger who specifically targets Pokémon poachers. How strong is he?"

"According to the intel, he's already resigned," the poacher leader reported. "Lady J, based on my interactions these past two days, the Pokémon poachers in Kanto are all useless. They're not even qualified to be called Pokémon poachers. That so-called 'Demon Guardian of the Forest' is probably nothing special either."

"Is that so." Hunter J lost interest. "Regardless, finish the job quickly. Don't disappoint me."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Just as Hunter J was about to end the call, an explosion suddenly sounded through the video feed.

Her hand paused mid-action.

The poacher leader, embarrassed that his subordinates were making him lose face in front of Hunter J, immediately grabbed his radio and barked, "What's going on outside?"

The voice on the other end was frantic.

"Boss! We're under attack! It's that Officer Jenny from before! She brought two people with her… and… a group of Slowpoke!"

"…Slowpoke?"

The squad leader was baffled. It sounded ridiculous.

An attack wasn't surprising. He had fought Officer Jenny before, and she wasn't strong enough to pose a real threat.

But Slowpoke?

That slow, absentminded Pokémon, which took ages to react even when hit—what kind of combat power could it possibly have?

Feeling incredulous, he apologized to Hunter J and decided to go see for himself.

But when he stepped outside the tent, the scene before him left him completely stunned.

The once-lazy Slowpoke, which should have been sunbathing by the water, were now glowing with a faint blue aura of Psychic energy.

With unprecedented focus, they were led by a Slowbro, utterly dominating his subordinates.

The most absurd part? An Eevee.

With a single swipe of its paw, it knocked out a Bibarel, then climbed atop a pile of defeated Pokémon and casually started licking its fur.

"What… what the hell is going on?"

The scene shattered everything the poacher leader thought he knew about the world.

Then, a voice reached his ears.

"Confused?"

He instinctively turned toward the source and saw a familiar figure sitting on a rock.

At first, he didn't recognize Asahi. But the moment he spotted the color-variant Gardevoir beside him, his expression changed dramatically.

"Demon Guardian of the Forest!"

He hadn't expected that the very ranger he had just dismissed in his conversation with Hunter J would show up right in front of him.

"Oh? So you've heard of me." Asahi smiled, then suddenly his expression turned ice-cold. "And yet you still dared to stir up trouble in my territory… You must have some guts."

Without hesitation, the poacher leader reached for his Poké Ball.

"Go, Skuntank—"

But Asahi was faster.

Before the poacher leader could even release his Pokémon, Gardevoir's eyes flashed blue.

In an instant, his body was bound by Psychic energy, rendering him completely immobile.

Floating helplessly in midair, he had no way to resist.

"So, these are Hunter J's subordinates?"

Asahi glanced at the Poké Balls in the poacher leader's hand.

"Skuntank, Toxicroak, Purugly… Hah, you guys really do have a villainous lineup."

Disdainfully, he tossed the Poké Balls into the back of the off-road vehicle.

The poacher leader's face turned red with humiliation, but more than that, he was overwhelmed by despair. With his Poké Balls confiscated, he had lost any chance of fighting back.

"So, mind telling me why Hunter J's men are here?" Asahi asked.

The poacher leader remained silent.

Asahi wasn't in a hurry. He had dealt with plenty of stubborn prisoners before. There was no way every poacher here would keep their mouth shut.

Meanwhile, with Eevee's help and Slowbro's leadership, the Slowpoke had already finished the battle.

One by one, the Pokémon poachers were pinned to the ground, completely defeated.

Asahi was quite pleased. It seemed that even after he left, the Slowpoke hadn't forgotten to meditate daily and strengthen their psychic abilities. Otherwise, they wouldn't have won so easily.

His efforts hadn't been in vain.

Watching the entire battle, Green and Officer Jenny now saw the Slowpoke in a completely different light.

Especially Officer Jenny—she never knew the Slowpoke in her jurisdiction could be this strong.

"Asahi, how did you do it…?" Officer Jenny couldn't help but ask.

"I told you, hellish training! And the Slowpoke aren't even the strongest…"

Asahi counted on his fingers. "The Kangaskhan family in Area A3, the Gyarados group in Area C5, and the Tauros herd in Area D2—all of them are far stronger than the Slowpoke."

"These guys got lucky. If those groups were here, the poachers would've been tied up and dropped at your station's doorstep before I even needed to step in."

Hearing this, Officer Jenny finally understood why Asahi had managed to capture over a thousand poachers in just three years.

It wasn't just about the 'fishing techniques' he always mentioned—he had backup from all these powerful Pokémon.

Without paying attention to Officer Jenny's realization, Asahi pulled out a bunch of handcuffs and motioned for Green to help restrain the poachers.

Meanwhile, he and Gardevoir headed into the large central tent of the camp.

He was curious—what gave these poachers the confidence to invade his territory?

The moment he entered the tent, Asahi saw a large display screen in the center, still showing Hunter J's face.

"Oh? Hunter J? Looks like I interrupted your video call," Asahi said with interest.

Hunter J stared at Asahi and his color-variant Gardevoir.

"Demon Guardian of the Forest…"

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