If Caleb hadn't brought it up, it might have been fine. But the moment he mentioned it, Ursaring grew even angrier. It opened its mouth and began roaring furiously, its expression agitated...
Using his Viridian ability, Caleb sensed a torrent of curses in its mind... 'big bad guy', 'little bad guy', 'the worst bad guy'... all variations of childish insults.
Dragonite awkwardly covered its face with a claw.
Caleb's lips twitched. Seeing that Ursaring's injuries had mostly healed, he withdrew his hand, yawned, and said, "How about you stay here tonight and rest up?"
Ursaring shook its head and barked seriously, "Roar roar!"
Caleb had already lain back comfortably on his Caterpie silk blanket, and was ready to close his eyes and return to sleep, when a flash of blue light suddenly appeared before him:
[Hidden Quest Triggered!]
[Accept? Accepting will reveal quest details!]
Caleb instantly perked up. He sat up and looked at Ursaring, "What did you just say?"
Ursaring: "Roar roar!" (I want you to help me get my stolen honey back!)
'Ah, simple.'
Without hesitation, Caleb selected
The next second, the quest updated automatically.
[Hidden Quest: Ursaring's Honey - Accepted!]
[Quest Objective: Retrieve Ursaring's stolen honey! The more honey remains, the greater the reward!]
[Current Remaining Honey: 13%! (If it drops to 0%, the mission fails!)]
[Reward: Silk Scarf (13%)!]
The next second, the remaining honey dropped from 13% to 11%, and the reward changed before Caleb's eyes from a Silk Scarf to a Silver Spray...
'Damn it! Another sleepless night!'
Caleb: "Do you know where those humans are now?"
Ursaring shook its head: "Roar.." (No...)
Caleb: "Never mind... Stay here. I'll bring your honey back."
Ursaring plopped down on the ground and nodded obediently.
Caleb left the camp with Dragonite. He stopped outside to have it perform DragonDance six times in a row, maxing out its Attack and Speed stats.
This hidden quest was time-sensitive. The remaining honey decreased by 1% every ten minutes or so, and the reward had already downgraded from Silver Spray to a plain old Oran Berry.
After questioning over a dozen wild Pokémon living in the forest, Caleb finally pinpointed the players' current location. By then, the honey had dwindled to a mere 5%, and the reward had shrunk to a small Exp. Candy.
Not wanting to return empty-handed, he swiftly mounted Dragonite and flew toward the players' position.
Soon, he spotted a bright campfire in a clearing below. At that moment, the honey dropped to 3%.
Without hesitation, Caleb commanded, "Twister!"
Dragonite opened its mouth, and a violent purple energy storm rapidly coalesced before blasting straight into the campfire.
Tristan, who had been in the middle of licking honey, was startled.
*Plop*
The honeycomb in his hands fell to the ground. Golden viscous honey oozed onto the dirt.
2%!
Dragonite landed with a powerful gust of wind, an invisible tempest radiating outward from its body.
Caleb's clothes flapped wildly as his gaze locked onto the honeycomb on the ground. Seeing the last drop of honey about to drip away, he leaped off Dragonite, executed a tactical roll, and flipped the honeycomb upright, forcing the teetering droplet back inside.
"Whew! That was close!" he exhaled in relief, cradling the honeycomb in his arms before finally looking up at the five stunned players before him.
Tristan was the first to react, his eyes widening as he shrieked, "It's you!"
Caleb pretended not to hear. He climbed back onto Dragonite, gave it a light pat, and the dragon spread its wings, soaring into the night sky.
Tristan's face twisted with fury at being ignored.
Drake frowned as he stared at the honeycomb in Caleb's hands. Then he quickly came to a realization, "He triggered a hidden quest!" he said decisively, "After him!"
Tristan naturally agreed. Truthfully, the moment he realized Caleb had gotten a hidden quest, an overwhelming mix of envy and jealousy surged in his chest...
....
Caleb didn't return directly to camp. Instead, he sought out a Combee hive...
The Combee immediately recognized him. It had been one of the Pokémon terrorized by the Dynamaxed Mamoswine earlier.
With the Combee's permission, Caleb poured the remaining honey back into Ursaring's honeycomb.
The next second, the hidden quest's counter began climbing.
3%... 4%... 5%... Soon, it returned to the initial 13%. But the changes didn't stop there. Caleb felt the honeycomb in his hands grow heavier.
Just as the honey level hit 50%, hurried footsteps sounded behind him. He turned to see Drake and his group standing before him, their faces sallow and gaunt.
Looking at how starved they've become, he raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "How long has it been since you guys had a proper meal?"
Tristan felt mocked. Gnashing his teeth, he snapped, "Cut the crap! Give us back what you stole!"
Dragonite immediately stepped forward, its expression ice cold as it glared disdainfully at Tristan.
Tristan instantly shut up.
Caleb sighed helplessly, then asked, "Do you really hate me that much?"
'Hate? More like envy, jealousy, and sheer frustration at the unfairness of it all!' Drake snorted and pulled a Poké Ball from thin air.
A flash of white light later, a Bisharp materialized. Tristan followed up by sending out a Lickitung.
Caleb smiled at the remaining three, "Are you joining in too?"
Hayate and Setsuka exchanged glances before taking a step back, refusing to participate.
Drake's face darkened at their betrayal, his lips twitching as if he wanted to say something but held back.
Tristan sneered, "Fine! From now on, you two are kicked out of the team!"
Caleb couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire, "Oh please, look at how they've suffered following you! Their faces are thinner than when they first got here."
The last member, Walter, glanced between Hayate, Setsuka, Drake, and Tristan before gritting his teeth and releasing a Magcargo.
Drake's expression softened slightly. He stared coldly at Caleb and said, "I refuse to believe you can take on three of us alone."
Caleb shook his head.
Just as Drake thought he was backing down, Caleb said earnestly, "No, actually, I can take on all five of you."
He wasn't just boasting. The Bisharp and Lickitung looked exhausted, their bodies were littered with faint scars... clear signs of prolonged battles without proper rest.
In contrast, Dragonite was brimming with energy, its eyes sharp, its scales gleaming, and with six layers of Dragon Dance stacked, its condition couldn't be any better...