Chapter Fifty-Five: The Monster in the Cave

From time to time, the cave echoed with the sound of dripping water, accompanied by the gentle murmur of a flowing stream. There was a natural limestone cavern here...

Damn it, this makes no sense! Chen Ou cursed inwardly. There had never been any underground caverns discovered near Hualan City. Now you're telling me there's been a hidden cave all this time?

Frowning, Chen Ou said, “Rotom, can you pinpoint our current location?”

Rotom flew out from the backpack and, looking troubled, pointed at the endlessly spinning loading icon on its screen.

“It seems we can’t connect to the network here, and there’s no satellite signal either. Rotom.”

It was clear Rotom wasn’t panicking, but it had started to realize that things were getting a bit dicey.

Chen Ou’s frown deepened. This was a situation he hadn’t anticipated. Thinking back, when he slid downward just now, he’d felt a faint sensation of traversing space. Although he could now blend into the spatial nodes of this world and teleport at will, Chen Ou was well aware that his spatial awareness was far inferior to that of a truly gifted individual.

Such subtle spatial disturbances were hard for him to notice. Moreover, whoever had orchestrated this was exceedingly discreet.

What exactly was happening here? Judging from the spatial ripple just now, the distance covered shouldn’t be too great.

Chen Ou forced himself to stay calm, organized his thoughts, and reached three conclusions.

First, this spatial disturbance had transported him somewhere not far from the pit. But this didn’t fit with the characteristics of the cavern he was in. He recognized the terrain; it was more like Sinnoh than anywhere near Hualan.

Second, the teleportation must have been accomplished by an incredibly powerful Pokémon. To transport him from Hualan City in Kanto to somewhere in Sinnoh without alerting him—Chen Ou could only think of one: Arceus...

Of course, that unscrupulous game company was also a suspect, but either way, Chen Ou could only resign himself to ridicule. Nothing to be ashamed of...

Third, this was a pocket dimension of sorts. Rarely heard of, but such spaces did exist. Something here must have leaked its presence due to spatial turbulence, attracting a swarm of Grimers and then killing them all.

That, at least, was unsurprising. Both items and Pokémon could possess such abilities. These pocket spaces could either be naturally formed or artificially created; at the moment, Chen Ou couldn’t tell which.

But as someone who cherished his own life above all, Chen Ou decided... best to check if the exit was still there.

After all, he was living a fulfilled life—people with a lot to lose rarely have the courage to stare death in the face, because what they have is too precious to give up.

Moreover, avoiding danger was a basic human instinct. Chen Ou was nothing if not a typical human—so he chose to err on the side of caution.

He immediately turned to leave.

But after only a few steps, he stopped.

His lips twitched as he closed his eyes in exasperation. “Seriously? Since when does the boss actively attack? Don’t you have any sense of dignity as a boss?”

He could only sigh.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a stream of purple liquid shot toward him.

Chen Ou didn’t dare take it lightly. He rolled backward, narrowly avoiding the attack.

At the same time, the flames in his hand went out, plunging the cave into darkness once more.

In the silent gloom, even Chen Ou’s breathing vanished.

He had transformed all his internal organs into elemental form—a delicate technique he’d developed back when his abilities reached their peak, and one he now adored. Hiding his presence was a remarkably useful skill.

Suddenly, at the edge of his hearing, something slithered across the ground.

Chen Ou did his best to suppress his presence, focusing all his attention on his ears, listening intently to pinpoint the origin and nature of the sound.

After about ten seconds, his face grew grim.

Is this really a Grimer? A Grimer over twelve meters long? Are you sure it’s not ten Grimers stacked together?

He was only venting; in truth, he’d already deduced that it was a single, abnormally large Grimer. That would explain why so many Grimers had gathered above—members of the same species attract one another most strongly.

The Grimer continued to approach, and Chen Ou could tell it was directly ahead.

He planned to ambush it, since the Grimer was closing in on his position.

With the lightest possible movement, he reached for Charmander’s Poké Ball at his waist. Charmander was only one step away from evolving; all it needed was a great battle. And with Entei’s Poké Ball as backup, if things got dangerous, Entei would emerge on its own—he would never stand idly by if Charmander or Chen Ou were in peril.

But then, a stray thought crossed Entei’s mind inside the Poké Ball.

Could he really defeat Chen Ou?

Entei had known of Chen Ou’s abilities since the day he became his partner. By the nature of Chen Ou’s powers, joining his team made everyone stronger—including himself and Entei. So, who was truly the stronger of the two?

Once this is over, we’ll have a match, Entei thought.

Chen Ou had no time for such musings. He knew full well that Charmander was likely no match for this massive Grimer, and after Chen Ou’s enhancements, Charmander’s warrior template had shifted into that of a high-damage assassin with little defense. He still had his flame armor technique, but... it did nothing for shock absorption.

Chen Ou could only sigh; here he was, capable of traversing worlds, yet still bound by the laws of physics...

At least Newton could rest easy in his grave—Chen Ou was, by his own admission, the most respectful transmigrator to his scientific forebears.

The Grimer crept ever closer.

Five meters... four... three...

Now!

“Charmander, straight ahead—Ember!”

He hurled the Poké Ball, and in a flash, Charmander burst forth, unleashing a blast of fire in the direction Chen Ou had indicated.

A towering pillar of flame shot from Charmander’s mouth, illuminating the entire cavern and revealing the Grimer’s terrified face.

The Grimer took the blast full in the face. Chen Ou’s aim was perfect—he startled the Grimer, knocked it off its feet, and sent it rolling across the ground, howling in pain.

Flames ignited once more in Chen Ou’s hands, and his gaze turned razor-sharp as he stared down the gigantic Grimer.

Charmander, too, fixed his fierce and unwavering gaze on the much larger foe—there was no fear in his eyes, only the will to fight.

Thus began a Pokémon battle with honor at stake!

P.S. Thanks to reader 20200225155208300 for the generous reward of 500 Qidian coins—much appreciated! And I think you also sent a red envelope? Thank you as well for the recommendation vote!