"Roar!!"
A mighty roar echoed through a dense forest. In one particular area, the terrain was rugged, filled with rocks of all sorts of bizarre shapes.
Rumble!
Suddenly, a beam of snowy blue light struck a section of the terrain. A thunderous explosion followed, shattering countless boulders and kicking up a dense shroud of dust.
Tetsu looked on with a grim expression. Standing before him was a Glalie; his Snorunt had finally evolved. Facing his Glalie was a Rhyhorn. A mechanical collar was fastened to its front leg, with a Bronze Badge embedded in it.
Tetsu was currently locked in a bitter struggle. Glalie and the opposing Rhyhorn were roughly at the same level, but Glalie lacked sufficient combat experience, making it impossible to defeat the opponent quickly.
Tetsu observed the Rhyhorn. It was brimming with fighting spirit, its front hooves continuously pawing at the ground, ready to launch an attack at any moment.
Three minutes later, under a decisive blow from Glalie, the Rhyhorn could no longer hold on. It collapsed to the ground, losing its ability to battle.
Tetsu let out a long sigh. I finally beat this Rhyhorn. That was too hard. Glalie also looked exhausted.
He walked over to the Rhyhorn, pressed the button on the collar, and the Bronze Badge popped out. Picking it up and looking at it, Tetsu lamented, The efficiency of getting badges by defeating opponents one-on-one is just too low.
I originally wanted to collect badges this way, but it seems it won't work. We need to surround and attack them together to be more efficient.
While he was thinking this, a roar suddenly drifted from the distance, followed by a cloud of dust rising nearby. Then, a herd of Rhyhorn came charging toward him.
Tetsu was startled. Judging by the numbers alone, there were over a dozen Rhyhorn. Furthermore, he saw several Rhydon trailing behind them. Judging by their aura, they definitely possessed Elite rank strength.
It would be disastrous to be surrounded by them. Tetsu quickly recalled Glalie and started running for his life. This was a life-threatening situation!
Meanwhile, in a grove about one kilometer away from Tetsu, Kelly was walking with Gardevoir following beside her.
"Are you sure there are Pokémon nearby?" Kelly asked the Gardevoir behind her.
"Garde~"
Gardevoir nodded firmly. Kelly trusted its judgment; if it said there were Pokémon, then there were.
Suddenly, Kelly heard a rustling sound coming from ahead. Kelly and Gardevoir exchanged a glance and crept forward, hiding behind a tree.
Because the trees here grew exceptionally lush, they blocked out most of the sunlight, allowing only a few rays to filter through. Consequently, the light in this area was very dim, making it difficult to see clearly.
Looking ahead, several Ariados stood in the center of a dense thicket of webs. It was a terrifying sight. Kelly's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly covered her mouth while Gardevoir suppressed its aura.
Kelly gave Gardevoir a sharp look. So this is the "Pokémon" you were talking about! Why didn't you mention there was a whole swarm of Ariados?
Gardevoir looked helpless. There are indeed Pokémon here; I just didn't expect to stumble into a spider nest. With my current strength, being able to sense Pokémon in the vicinity is already quite good.
Kelly felt a bit helpless, but the most important thing now was to leave.
Suddenly, Kelly felt something touch her shoulder. Without turning her head, she whispered, "Gardevoir, is something wrong?"
"Garde?"
Gardevoir was confused. Why are you suddenly asking me?
Kelly turned her head and saw a Spinarak hanging by a thread of silk right behind her. Just as Gardevoir was about to warn her, the Spinarak used one of its legs to poke Kelly's shoulder.
Kelly was puzzled and was about to turn around to speak to Gardevoir again when she saw a terrifying, smiling face pattern appear in the darkness.
Kelly couldn't hold it in and screamed at the top of her lungs.
"AHHHHH!!!!"
The scream was incredibly loud and could be heard from far away. Naturally, it reached the swarm of Ariados nearby. In an instant, countless pairs of red eyes appeared in the darkness.
After screaming, Kelly finally snapped out of it and realized she had caused trouble. Because of her scream, countless Ariados and Spinarak were closing in on her.
"Gardevoir, Thunderbolt!"
Gardevoir knew their situation was dangerous. It gathered energy between its hands at its chest. Current surged between its palms, growing more intense until the ball of electricity expanded many times over. Then, it released the energy all at once.
Lightning struck out in all directions, instantly illuminating everything within a ten-meter radius. After this Thunderbolt, at least a dozen weak Spinarak and Ariados were electrocuted into unconsciousness.
However, Gardevoir had no time to celebrate. Countless more Ariados rushed forward, and judging by the aura of the leaders, several possessed Elite rank strength.
Kelly knew that if they didn't leave now, they wouldn't be able to.
"Gardevoir, Teleport. Let's get out of here!"
"Garde~"
Gardevoir nodded, clasped its hands at its chest, and closed its eyes, channeling the energy in its body to activate the move.
Several Ariados simultaneously condensed numerous purple needles of light and fired them at Kelly. Just a split second before the poison needles could hit, Gardevoir and Kelly vanished into thin air.
In the next second, they appeared on a grassy field not far from the grove. Kelly sat on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was truly dangerous just now," Kelly said. "We almost died."
"Garde~"
Hearing Gardevoir's response, Kelly said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Gardevoir! I definitely won't do that next time." She then stuck out her tongue and acted cute toward Gardevoir.
Gardevoir felt helpless and sighed inwardly.
Once the ordeal was over, Kelly said somewhat unwillingly, "Gardevoir, did you see that just now? Over a dozen Pokémon, which means over a dozen badges! We didn't bring any out. I'm so frustrated."
"Garde~?"
What are you planning? Don't do anything foolish.
Kelly smiled and said, "Don't worry, I thought of a great idea. In a bit, we might just get a whole bunch of badges."
Gardevoir looked at Kelly with a face full of doubt, but Kelly only gave a mysterious smile.
One hour later, looking at the countless Ariados lying on the ground, Kelly excitedly removed the badges from their bodies.
Nearby, Gardevoir, Arcanine, Umbreon, and Togekiss—all four Pokémon—lay slumped on the ground, panting heavily. They were truly exhausted.
Kelly collected all the badges and said to them, "You all worked hard."