Chapter 82: The People of the Pokémon World Are All a Little Unusual

Although he wasn’t certain whether this was truly the location of the Awakening Stone, Zhao Fang decided to go and see for himself. If it wasn’t, then at worst he would have made the trip for nothing; but if it was, he would profit handsomely. With this thought, Zhao Fang released his Dragomesia. Though Dragomesia was reluctant to come out in the cold, after Zhao Fang promised two hotpot meals, it finally agreed and obediently coiled around his neck, ready to protect him from sneak attacks.

With Dragomesia at his side, Zhao Fang placed his hand on his Poké Ball and slowly entered the woods. The snow beneath the trees was less thick, likely sheltered by the canopy above. Once inside, however, Zhao Fang lost track of the Froslass’s location and could only choose a patch of untouched snow to walk toward.

After covering a short distance, Zhao Fang saw only a few shivering Bug-type Pokémon, but not a glimpse of Froslass. This troubled him; along the way, he tried touching the ground with his hand, but apart from the feedback—"this is soil" and "this is snow"—he could glean nothing useful.

“Dragomesia, can you sense where Froslass went?” Zhao Fang had no choice but to ask his Pokémon. After all, Dragomesia was also a Ghost-type; perhaps there was some kind of psychic connection between them.

Dragomesia shook its head, but then raised its tail, pointing in a particular direction.

Without hesitation, Zhao Fang followed Dragomesia’s indication. After a while, he finally saw what Dragomesia had pointed out—a cluster of short trees. Despite the snow covering them, he could still spot berries hanging from their branches.

“You little rascal…” Zhao Fang couldn’t help but glare, half-amused, at Dragomesia. Did this little glutton have a knack for finding berry trees?

Still, since he’d found the berries, it would be a waste to leave them. Even if they were common, taking some would save him money. Zhao Fang was used to a frugal lifestyle and saw no reason to give up the habit.

He had barely taken two steps forward when, from beneath the berry trees, two Pokémon leapt out, watching him warily.

“Raticate, huh.” Zhao Fang wasn’t surprised. Unless cultivated by humans, wild berry trees were always guarded by Pokémon, since berries were so nutritious.

He glanced at Dragomesia. Although the Normal-type Raticate weren’t afraid of Ghost-type moves, Dragomesia also had Dragon-type abilities. Letting it fight the two Raticate would be good training.

“Dragomesia, handle your opponents.” Zhao Fang was curious to see how Dragomesia would fare against two Raticate.

With a confident cry, Dragomesia charged forward, lashing one Raticate across the face with its tail. Its claws glowed black as it dodged a counterattack, then spun and scratched the other Raticate.

The Raticate screeched furiously and lunged, their fangs bared in a Hyper Fang attack, but they bit only air. Without special abilities or foresight, standard moves couldn’t touch Dragomesia.

Proudly, Dragomesia whipped the Raticate again, toying with its foes. The other Raticate turned to Zhao Fang, fangs gleaming as it charged him. Zhao Fang was helpless—since it couldn’t beat Dragomesia, was it turning its frustration on him?

“Aurorus! I choose you!” Zhao Fang released Aurorus, who stood tall in the snow. Having seen the Raticate charging while in her Poké Ball, she immediately unleashed an Ice Beam, striking the Raticate and sending it sprawling, its feet coated in frost.

“Dragomesia!” Dragomesia called out angrily, then circled the Raticate it had attacked, striking repeatedly with Dragon Tail. In just a few moves, the Raticate lost the will to fight and curled up on the ground.

Zhao Fang called his Pokémon back; he had no intention of finishing them off. With their fighting spirit gone, there was no need to interfere further.

“Oran Berries and Pecha Berries?” Zhao Fang recognized the berries on the trees. Though not rare, he picked some and stored them in his backpack. He didn’t harvest them all—if he did, countless Pokémon would go hungry. This was something taught in the trainer’s curriculum: whenever trainers picked wild berries, they must leave at least half for the wild Pokémon.

Suddenly, Zhao Fang felt the ground tremble—once, then again. The snow on the nearby berry trees shook loose and fell.

“An earthquake?” Zhao Fang grew tense, hurriedly recalling Aurorus and releasing Gyarados. If there really was an earthquake, only Gyarados could help him escape.

But soon, Zhao Fang saw the true cause. A Snorlax was barreling toward him at high speed, drooling as it ran. Zhao Fang’s mouth twitched; no matter how he looked at it, this Snorlax resembled the one that had surfed over to find him before.

“Gyarados, let’s get out of here!” Zhao Fang ordered quickly. He had no intention of testing just how tough Snorlax really was.

Before Gyarados could flee, Zhao Fang saw a Machamp dart in from behind, seizing the massive Snorlax and with a great heave, slamming it to the ground.

“Hahaha, Snorlax, just give in already! Or I’ll have Machamp use Seismic Toss on you!” A hearty voice rang out, and then a burly man wearing only a short-sleeved shirt in the icy landscape strode over.

“Roar!” Snorlax bellowed in anger, but before it could finish, Machamp chopped it on the forehead, instantly subduing it.

“Still not convinced? I chased you all the way from halfway up Chimney Mountain, fighting you the entire way. Tell me, how many times have you lost to me now?” The burly man squatted in front of Snorlax, patting its side.

Snorlax turned its face away, refusing to look at him.

“Come on, come on, if you think I’m bullying you with Machamp, I’ll let you see my own strength!” The man declared, and while Zhao Fang wondered how he planned to prove it, the man took a deep breath, grabbed Snorlax’s arm and, with a mighty throw, flipped Snorlax over his shoulder, sending it crashing down nearby.

Zhao Fang could hardly believe his eyes. Snorlax must have weighed several hundred kilograms, yet this man had thrown it single-handedly? Was he even human?

Zhao Fang began to suspect that this man was actually a Pokémon in human form.