"I leave it to you." Caleb said to Dragonite before turning back to continue filling the honeycomb...
Behind him, the sounds of battle erupted. In less than three minutes, the Bisharp, Lickitung, and Magcargo were knocked unconscious on the ground.
At the same time, Ursaring's honeycomb was also filled to the brim...
[Current Remaining Honey: 100%]
[Quest Reward: Random Normal-type TM ×1!]
Now, all he had to do was hand the honey over to Ursaring to complete the quest.
Caleb carefully cradled the filled honeycomb in his arms, then turned to look at Drake and Tristan who wore expressions of disbelief.
With a smile, he asked, "So? How does it feel? Enjoyable?"
"No way! How could your Dragonite's damage output be that high?!" Tristan's first reaction was denial.
If this were a game, he'd have accused Caleb of hacking.
With six layers of Dragon Dance, plus the Dragon Fang boosting the power of Dragon-type moves... no Pokémon of the same level could withstand a single Dragon Rush from Dragonite, let alone the already weakened Bisharp and the others.
Against such opponents, even without Caleb's commands, Dragonite could one-shot them effortlessly.
However, Caleb couldn't be bothered to explain. With the quest complete, all he wanted now was to go back and get some proper sleep.
So he simply mounted Dragonite and flew off without another word...
Setsuka watched her former teammates' devastated expressions and smirked, "We're all players here, so what's your problem? Is it because he didn't team up with you and satisfy your need to be in charge?"
Hayate glanced at his sister and said, "Let's go."
Hearing this, Drake's face darkened, "No! You can't leave!"
With all three of their Pokémon knocked out, their team had no combat-ready Pokémon left. If they encountered wild Pokémon now, they'd be in serious danger.
Setsuka laughed, "Even Nii-san can't control me. Who the hell do you think you are?"
The rift between them was now irreparable...
Drake's expression turned cold, "Fine. Hayate, Setsuka... I'll remember this. Let's go!"
With that, he turned and stormed off with Tristan and Walter in tow...
....
When Caleb returned to camp, Ursaring was sprawled on the grass bed, snoring loudly...
Caleb: "..."
Dragonite stepped forward and popped its snot bubble with a claw. Ursaring jolted awake.
Caleb shoved the honeycomb into its arms. The next second, the quest completion notification arrived:
[Hidden Quest: Ursaring's Honey - Completed!]
[Rewards will be issued alongside points upon Instance completion!]
"Roar roar!" Ursaring broke into a delighted grin, dipping a paw into the honeycomb and pulling it out coated in thick golden honey.
It happily sat back and began licking its paw clean.
Dragonite watched with visible disgust...
....
The next morning, Mamoswine's observation period officially ended...
Caleb stood at the camp entrance with Dragonite, Sandshrew, and Marill to see it off.
"Grunt grunt!" Mamoswine nuzzled Caleb affectionately with its cheek.
Caleb patted its head gently and said, "Goodbye Mamoswine."
"Grunt~" Mamoswine snorted twice before turning toward the forest.
But after just a few steps, it suddenly remembered how this human had fed all the other Pokémon while neglecting it.
It shot Caleb a resentful glance over its shoulder. Then, it unleashed a weakened Powder Snow.
A flurry of icy snowflakes blew toward Caleb on a cold wind. It was early in the morning, and the temperatures had yet to rise, so he immediately shivered from the chill.
Seeing this, Mamoswine finally cracked a triumphant grin. It promptly stopped the snow and trotted away cheerfully.
The playful prank lightened the mood of farewell considerably.
Caleb wiped the melted snow from his face, pretending he hadn't just been pranked, and called out, "...Take care of yourself, big Peppa!"
Mamoswine didn't look back, only letting out a deep rumbling cry to show it had heard.
Only once Mamoswine had completely disappeared from view did Caleb return to camp to prepare for his next move.
He couldn't afford to waste time staying in one place. He needed to explore other areas of the island and investigate the other Gigantamax Pokémon.
The information from Dynamax Mamoswine had made it clear... to obtain clue fragments, he had to defeat other Gigantamax/Dynamax Pokémon. Only then could he find a way to complete the main quest.
The island's edible resources for humans were limited. So far, Caleb had only found berries, wild vegetables, clams, and coconuts... Something barely enough to survive on.
Living here for a few weeks was manageable, but staying for months or years would undoubtedly reduce any player to skin and bones.
Of course, some extreme players might resort to hunting Pokémon like Slowpoke or Farfetch'd to survive.
But Caleb couldn't bring himself to do that. Pokémon had their own thoughts and emotions... they could laugh when happy and cry when sad. In many ways, they were more humane than some humans.
To conserve energy for nighttime investigations, he adjusted his sleep schedule. Right after breakfast, he and Dragonite went back to bed...
He hadn't slept much the night before, and before he knew it, he dozed off until noon...
...
By the afternoon, Dragonite had had enough of lying around...
It was brimming with energy, feeling like it could take on a hundred Gigantamax Pokémon in a fight.
Dragonite looked at its Trainer with an apologetic expression.
"Alright, let's go for a walk then." Caleb had no choice but to scrap his original plan and take Dragonite out for a stroll in the forest.
This time, the atmosphere was completely different from three days ago.
Most of the forest's Pokémon no longer looked at him with hostility. Instead, they seemed eager to greet him cheerfully.
Two Pokémon that had been mid-brawl even stopped fighting the moment they saw him, looking sheepish before darting into the bushes with their injuries, sticking their tongues out in embarrassment.
Caleb: "...I was going to heal them for free."
Ever since obtaining the Viridian Power, he couldn't help but feel an itch to heal any injured Pokémon he saw.
"Wuu?"
Suddenly, Dragonite turned its head, peering behind them with a puzzled expression.
It had been feeling this way since last night, as if something was following them. But every time it looked back, the sensation vanished without a trace.
Caleb noticed Dragonite's expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Wuu wuu..." (Something might be following us...)
Dragonite's lake-green eyes flickered with concern.
Caleb turned and scanned the area carefully, but found nothing unusual.
Then, a rustling sound came from the bushes to their right.
Caleb and Dragonite immediately locked their gazes in that direction...
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Read ahead on my P@treon...
[email protected]/MayaMatengele01