Growlithe: "Hurry up! you move any faster? What, didn’t have lunch or something?"

  The Mightyena leading Julian and Dalton could barely resist the urge to turn around and bite Growlithe.

  This little brat was the epitome of hiding behind someorong and throwing his weight around.

  'So you’ve got a strong trainer. Big deal! Without him, I’d rip you apart in seds'

  The Mightye out a low growl to express its dissatisfa.

  “Meta~”

  Metagross shot a cold look at the Mightyena.

  Mightyena: "My throat feels a little scratchy, that’s all"

  After all, it had been rendered pletely powerless earlier by a single move from this Pokémon. As fierce as Mightyena was, it wasn’t stupid. It knew charging ahead would only lead to disaster.

  It was better to cooperate obediently.

  'Fortunately, that woman ran fast enough, and I didn't have time to hurt her, otherwise I might be gooday'

  Growlithe she air stantly as they followed the Mightyena. It had indeed caught traces of Shen’s st, proving the Mightyena wasn’t lying.

  Growlithe: 'I’m a little disappointed'

  After more than an hour, Mightyena led Julian and Dalton to the spot where it had st seehe area was he edge of its territory.

  Shen had escaped beyond its boundary, so Mightyena hadn’t pursued her further.

  Mightyena: “That woman ran that way”

  Mightyena said, turning to Julian.

  Julian g Growlithe, who nodded.

  The st here was much strohan before. Acc to Mightyena's narration Shen was here three days ago.

  “Alright, you go.”

  Julian said, waving dismissively.

  Mightyena cast a final g Growlithe. It wao leave a parting threat, but with Metagross standing there, it didn’t dare. Silently, it slipped away, tail between its legs.

  “Boss Walker, over here! There’s a mark left by Shen!”

  Dalton poi a tree where a line had been carved into the bark—thicker at one end, thi the other. The thinner end pointed in the dire she had gone.

  This was a standard wilderrag mark, only used to help allies locate someone quickly.

  If nothing else, the mark was likely Shen’s way of guiding anyone searg for her.

  “Grow!~”

  Growlithe barked, signaling it was ready.

  “Let’s go”

  Julian said to Dalton.

  At this point, the mark wasn’t strictly necessary. The st trail was strong enough now. As long as Shen hadn’t goorowlithe should be able to track her down by the end of the day.

  Growlithe dashed forward, its path aligning perfectly with the dire indicated by Shen’s mark.

  ---

  Somewhere in the forest, Shen’s face twisted into a bitter expression as she spotted two Ursaring about 300 meters away.

  She had just escaped a wolf's den, only to stumble into a bear's mouth.

  'Am I cursed? Did Julian’s bad luck rub off on me?'

  “I mean no harm,” she called out cautiously.

  The two Ursaring gred at her, brimming with hostility. However, they didn’t attack immediately.

  When Shen had woken up a few days ago, her backpack was missing, and even her shoes had disappeared—likely the work of some mischievous Gengar. Now, her feet were crudely ed with leaves and vihough they were already blistered.

  Her movements over the past few days had been limited, and her only reliable panions were her Pokémon.

  Without her backpack, however, her she nor her Pokémon had a steady food supply.

  While her Pokémon could rest in their Poké Balls to serve energy, she had survived on wild vegetables and the occasional berry, which felt like a luxury in her current state.

  pared to her, Dalton was far better off—he had woken up in a maple forest, a much more fiving enviro.

  Ursaring: 'Humans trying to steal my child again'

  With a growl, the female Ursaring handed her cub to the male and then charged at Shen like a living tank, snapping trees like twigs as she barreled forward.

  These were the same Ursaring that Julian had previously subdued.

  Pseudo-Elites!

  Shen’s face darkened. She could immediately gauge their strength and she wasn’t Julian, who could take dowe-level Pokémon while still a freshman.

  Though Shen was in the Imperial Uy’s special recruitment css, her position there recarious. Her enrollment had been based on awakening her unique ability, Heart's Eye, rather than raw battle skill.

  Among her peers, she was at the bottom in terms of strength.

  She didn’t e from that much of a wealthy or iial family. Resources were scarce, and she had taken this mission to earn more funds to level up her Machamp.

  If Machamp didn’t break through to pseudo-Elite level soon, she would be in serious trouble duri month’s regur-css challenge.

  A loss would mean being kicked out of the special recruitment css.

  And now, this whole situation had spiraled out of trol, dragging Dalton and Luis into her mess.

  Still, there was no time to worry about them now—she o survive first.

  “Machamp, go!”

  Shen released her stro Pokémon: a Machamp at the peak of Advanced level.

  pleting this mission was supposed to be a stepping stone for Machamp to reach the pseudo-Elite stage.

  Fag the charging Ursaring, Machamp stepped forward, its muscur arms bulging as it braced for impact. Its four hands cmped down like iron vises onto Ursaring’s massive body.

  The force of the collision pushed Machamp back, toppling several trees in the process. Deep grooves scarred the ground as Machamp slid back tens of meters uhe sheer power of Ursaring’s charge.

  “Machamp, Vital Throw!”

  Machamp’s eyes gleamed as it let out a grunt of effort. Its legs pnted firmly into the ground, and with a powerful burst of muscle, it stopped Ursaring’s momentum.

  Gripping the bear tightly, Machamp lifted it off the ground. Ursaring’s massive frame arced through the air in a half-moon trajectory before being smmed into the ground with a thunderous crash.

  BOOM!

  The ground trembled from the impact.

  "Dynamich!"

  Shen seized the moment when the female Ursaring struggled to get up, pnning to finish the battle in one decisive strike.

  She felt a twinge of relief. Thankfully, this Ursaring was only at the early pseudo-Elite stage, and the male Ursaring had yet to intervene.

  'Wait—where 'was' the male Ursaring?'

  Shen’s eyes darted around, but she couldn’t find it.

  As Machamp’s fist, glowing with a fiery red light, was about to nd on the downed female Ursaring, a sudden gust of wind roared past its ears.

  "Behind you!" Shen shouted urgently.

  The male Ursaring had circled around while Machamp was occupied. Seeing its mate in danger, it carefully pced its cub aside and unched an ambush.

  Its arms gleamed with a metallic silver hue—Hammer Arm!

  The male Ursaring was much strohan its mate, nearly at the peak of the pseudo-Elite level.

  Machamp attempted to ter, but it was too te. Dynamibsp;missed, and the male Ursaring's Hammer Arm smashed directly into Machamp’s side.

  The sheer force sent Machamp flying through the forest, breaking through over a dozen trees before finally ing to a stop, sprawled in the dirt.

  “Rooooar!”

  The male Ursaring roared in fury and charged toward Shen.

  It didn't have any good feelings for humans at all, so it rushed towards Shen with killing i.

  “Mienshao, you're up!”

  Shen's heart raced, but as a trained martial artist, she kept her posure. Even in the face of life-threatening danger, she didn’t pani one swift motion, she sent out her Pokémon.

  *****

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