Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Heatstroke in Jigglypuff?_1
Translator: 549690339
"Is this the place?" After being led away, Fang Yuan followed the other person for about half an hour, finally reaching the foot of a mountain.
The ranger who had led Fang Yuan there appeared to be around thirty years old, had a large nose, and spoke with a distinct accent, indicating he was not a local.
"Yes, head in from here," the ranger replied to Fang Yuan's question.
"Oh, thank you."
Fang Yuan responded without asking whether the other person would follow him, opting instead to release Eevee from its Poké Ball immediately.
This little guy must have been eager to get some fresh air.
As Fang Yuan held the Poké Ball in his hand, a flash of white light appeared, and Eevee materialized on the ground, curiously surveying its surroundings.
At a glance, the towering trees and lush greenery of the mountain dense and verdant, with thick grass carpeting the ground...
"Bwoo..."
Eevee paused, recognizing the familiar scenery.
The environment outdoors brought back memories of when it and Fang Yuan had accidentally stumbled into a secret location.
It wasn't exactly a pleasant memory, but instead of losing confidence from the experience, Eevee, now perched on Fang Yuan's shoulder, let out a motivated cry.
It hadn't been able to protect Fang Yuan very well back then, but this time, Little Eevee felt significantly more confident and was aware of its own changes.
Compared to just over a month ago, its strength had improved a lot.
"Quite spirited..."
Watching the interaction between Fang Yuan and Eevee, the ranger following behind commented emotionally, clearly touched by their bond.
"Alright, get going then, I wish you luck," he urged, and upon hearing this, Fang Yuan immediately took a step forward, beginning his ascent toward the mountain peak.
...
With Fang Yuan's physical strength, he should be able to walk for a long time without tiring, yet he had underestimated the discomfort that the environment could cause.
Firstly, the terrain offered few flat pathways; most of the route required trudging through areas thick with prickly wild grass. Secondly, there were various small bugs—not just Caterpie or Unown—but ordinary insects leaping about in the brush and sometimes even colliding with his handsome face, much to Fang Yuan's annoyance.
Then there was the weather; the temperature, which had dropped a few days prior, had now increased considerably, making the air here feel stifling and difficult to breathe.
Gurgle, gurgle...
Fang Yuan took a sip of mineral water and also gave Eevee a drink.
"It's a pity we can't access the Frozen Rocks; otherwise, letting you evolve into an Ice Spirit would be nice, at least in this kind of weather... It would be very cool and comfortable," Fang Yuan said.
"Bwoo..."
Eevee deeply agreed.
...
Rustle~ Rustle~ Rustle~~
Rustle~ Rustle~ Rustle~~
After Fang Yuan and Eevee had walked a bit further, they were alerted by a noise, and Eevee immediately hopped down from Fang Yuan's shoulder to stand in front of him. Soon, Fang Yuan saw a purple creature eyeing them with hostility.
A snake.
One of the animals Fang Yuan had feared most as a child, but now, as a Pokémon, he found himself feeling less afraid.
"An Arbok, huh."
"Eevee, let's back off first. If it shows no intention of attacking, we'll conserve as much energy as possible before we reach the summit," Fang Yuan said.
Unfortunately, no sooner had he spoken than the Arbok charged at them.
Clearly, the Arbok intended to get close to Eevee to use its constriction move, a common method for capturing small Pokémon like Rattata.
To squeeze their prey first and then bite them to death.
However, Arbok typically preferred to steal the eggs of Pidgey and Spearow.
Without needing Fang Yuan's command, Eevee easily dodged the attack.
Then, with a decisive use of Quick Attack, it sent the Arbok flying, illustrating the gap in strength between them.
This move caused the Arbok to hesitate to attack again.
"I remember... all the traits of Arbok seem to have already been discovered; there's not much research value," Fang Yuan mused as he watched the Arbok retreat.
A flood of information passed through his mind. The wild Pokémon he encountered here could be of great use to Fang Yuan, essentially serving as research subjects. If he could find traits worth studying in a specific Pokémon, he would have material for his next paper.
"Bwoo!"
Meanwhile, Eevee turned its head out of boredom; Arbok's escape made it feel quite uninterested.
Fang Yuan expressed helplessness toward its petty emotions.
"By the way, Eevee, someone is following us, can you feel it?"
Fang Yuan suddenly lowered his voice, leaning his body forward, but his outstretched thumb pointed backwards.
The ranger who had brought him here should have been following them at a distance.
Even though he couldn't see the person, Fang Yuan always had the feeling of being watched.
"Bwoo?"
Eevee pushed aside the bushes and looked in the direction where Fang Yuan's thumb pointed.
It fell silent...
Then it shook its head, then nodded its head, and then shook it again.
Fang Yuan had no idea whether it had noticed something or not, and after being thoroughly confused, he decided not to ask.
"Let's move on; if nothing unexpected happens, I think we can reach the summit before dark," Fang Yuan said, having carefully observed that they weren't very far from the summit.
"Bwoo!"
No sooner had Fang Yuan finished speaking than Eevee bumped into Fang Yuan's knee.
It was just a gentle bump with its body, without using a move, otherwise Fang Yuan might have ended up kneeling there.
"Hm?"
Watching Eevee yapping at him, Fang Yuan understood.
He seemed to have unwittingly made a flag again!
Eevee, which had suffered twice in the secret location due to Fang Yuan's jinx, was deeply frightened.
"Ha... ha..."
Fang Yuan saw Eevee being so serious for the first time, and after an awkward scratch to his head, he said, "Alright, alright, I'll stop talking."
At this, Eevee breathed a sigh of relief.
They had come to an understanding.
However, whether it was because Fang Yuan had casually mentioned it, they strangely kept encountering many Pokemon consecutively, each with a strong will to attack, wasting their time with each new encounter.
This made Fang Yuan feel unjustly accused.
"It seems that reaching the summit by tomorrow afternoon is a reasonable expectation..." Fang Yuan said sheepishly.
It's worth mentioning that during their journey, with Fang Yuan's attentive observations, they did have some discoveries.
Fang Yuan noticed a group of Pokemon, Ledyba, and after seeing this kind of Pokemon, he recalled a particular ability.
Ledyba's hidden ability, Rattled.
This ability had not yet been discovered or summarized.
Rattled was only present as a hidden ability, making it much rarer than regular abilities. Pokemon with this ability only had their speed increased when hit by Dark, Ghost, or Bug-type moves, which meant its visibility was less prominent compared to abilities like Blaze or Overgrow, categorizing it as a hard-to-conceive power.
Although several Pokemon had this hidden ability, if someone didn't already know the effects, it would be quite difficult to recognize, especially since the restrictions of Rattled were so great. Especially for the weaker Pokemon, after being hit and injured, they would hardly have the strength left to move.
Fang Yuan silently took notes, considering that besides Ledyba, Magikarp also seemed to have this ability. Since there were more Magikarp, it shouldn't be hard to find an individual with this trait for research, right? Looks like there might be another opportunity to make money...
...
"Eevee, is that a Pokemon over there?"
After walking a bit further, Fang Yuan abruptly stopped and asked with a frown.
Eevee, following the direction pointed by Fang Yuan, also showed a puzzled expression.
Unlike before, it wasn't that a Pokemon wanted to attack them; there was a Pokemon... lying on the path ahead of them.
It seemed to be a Sentret.
The creature looked like a brown rabbit and was also regarded as a charmingly cute Pokemon.
"It looks so tiny, this Sentret seems like it was just born not long ago, and... its complexion is very poor. Could it be suffering from dehydration due to the heat?" Fang Yuan speculated, looking at the distressed Sentret lying in the grass.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone