Ding! Task completed! Pokémon egg fragment has been awarded!
It was still early in the day when Luke leave the Pewter Gym.
He decided to continue his journey, as there really wasn't much to do in Pewter City.
The next city was Cerulean City.
To reach Cerulean City, one must pass through Mt. Moon.
Mt. Moon is famous for its Clefairy and frequent meteor showers.
The meteorites that fall here turn into Moon Stones.
Additionally, fossils can be excavated here, so many people come to explore and treasure hunt.
Mt. Moon is difficult to climb over, so most travelers pass through the mountain caves.
"Charmeleon, finish the opponent with Dragon Claw!"
Charmeleon's hand gathered dragon-shaped energy claws and slashed fiercely at the Sandshrew, sending it flying and knocking it out.
"I lost! You're really good! Your Charmeleon is really strong!" A young trainer came over and said to Luke.
"Yes, it is! You were pretty good too!" Luke replied.
This was at the foot of Mt. Moon.
Luke, not in a hurry to continue his journey, battled with trainers to increase his Pokémon's battle experience.
After saying goodbye to the trainer he just battled, Luke entered the cave of Mt. Moon.
After entering the cave and turning a few corners, Luke suddenly stopped and turned around.
He released Arbok and had it hide to the side, then waited quietly.
Soon, hurried footsteps could be heard coming from the direction Luke had entered, along with a voice saying,
"Hurry up, that kid shouldn't have gone far!"
Looking at the three men who appeared before him, Luke sneered and said.
"Are you gentlemen looking for me?"
The young man in the lead laughed and said.
"Kid! If you're smart, hand over that Charmeleon of yours, or else..."
"Hehe! You know what'll happen!"
"Know what? Fuck you!" Luke said helplessly.
"Can't you come up with some new lines? Do all villains only know those few phrases?"
"Kid! Looks like you're forcing us to get rough!" The lead youth waved his hand and then took out a Poké Ball.
"Come out, Ekans!"
"Come out, Koffing!"
"Come out, Golbat!"
Three Ace-level Pokémon, not bad.
But useless!
"Arbok, take care of them!" Luke said to the darkness.
Suddenly, a huge creature shot out from the darkness, biting and crushing the Ekans in one bite, then swinging its tail to send Koffing flying and finally spitting Sludge Bomb at the airborne Golbat, cleanly defeating all three Pokémon.
The three robbers watched in shock!
Was it over already?
Coming to their senses, the three looked at the menacing black snake before them, trembling in fear.
"Tsk tsk tsk, trying to rob someone without any real strength! You really don't know what's good for you!" Luke mocked.
"Please spare us, young man! We won't dare do this again, please let us go!" The lead youth knelt on the ground, crying and begging.
Luke shook his head and was about to speak when the kneeling youth suddenly pulled out a dagger and lunged at Luke, shouting.
"DIE!"
But the dagger stopped just in front of Luke, unable to advance further, as Luke's eyes glowed blue, he was using his psychic power!
Stopping Arbok from pouncing the youth, Luke looked at the youth in front of him and said.
"I was originally planning to hand you over to Officer Jenny, but since you're so eager to die, you can't blamed me."
With that, he used his psychic power to throw them against the wall, then said to Arbok.
"One Poison Fang each, finish them off!"
Luke turned and left without looking back.
Soon after, three screams of agony echoed behind him.
As for what would happen when the bodies were discovered?
This world wasn't as peaceful as the anime world.
Every year, quite a number of people were killed by wild Pokémon.
****
Mt. Moon Depths
Reaching the second underground level, he met with a Haunter that was bullying a Clefairy.
The Clefairy was cornered, tears welling up in its eyes, looking pitiful and helpless.
Unfortunately, this Haunter only had Gym Leader-level potential, otherwise Luke would have considered catching it.
In Luke's plan, He was considering getting a Gengar.
"Alright, Haunter, stop scaring Clefairy!" Luke walked over and said to Haunter.
Ghost-type Pokémon all love to play pranks, but they're not really bad at heart.
Seeing a human approach, the Clefairy pitifully called out "Clefairy" to Luke, while the Haunter laughed eerily "Hehehe" before disappearing into thin air.
Walking to Clefairy's side, Luke patted its head and comforted it,.
"It's okay now. Haunter was just playing around. Why are you here alone? Where are your friends?"
Feeling the warmth emanating from Luke, Clefairy nuzzled against his chest, then stepped forward, turned around and waved at Luke.
"You want me to follow you? Where are you taking me?"
"Clefairy! Clefairy!"
"Oh! You want to thank me and invite me to your home? That's not necessary!"
"Clefairy! Clefairy! Clefairy!"
"Alright, alright! I'll go with you!"
"Clefairy!"
Following Clefairy through twists and turns, they arrived at the entrance of a cave.
From inside came the noisy sounds of people and Clefairy calls.
Luke stopped Clefairy from entering further, then peeked inside secretly.
A group of people wearing uniforms with the letter 'R' were busy doing something around a glowing rock.
In a corner, a large cage held a group of Clefairy and its evolutionary line, calling out angrily.
Stopping the Clefairy beside him from speaking, Luke said to it.
"Don't worry! I'll help you rescue your friends!"
He released Arbok and Charmeleon.
Salamence and Gyarados were too large and not suitable for battling in such a narrow space.
"Arbok, come with me to stop those humans later. Charmeleon, after we take action, take Clefairy to rescue its companions, then protect them there!" Luke issued the battle orders.
Arbok and Charmeleon both nodded.
"Arbok, when you go in, use Sludge Wave directly on that group of people!" Luke instructed.
"That's it! Let's go!"
Sludge Wave is an area-of-effect move that can also cause poisoning, perfect for this situation.
Arbok charged in and immediately threw a Sludge Wave at the crowd.
The Sludge Wave exploded among the people, catching Team Rocket completely off guard.
Seeing Team Rocket in chaos, Luke pressed the advantage.
"Arbok, keep attacking!"
Arbok immediately unleashed various moves—Acid Spary, Sludge Bomb, Gunk Shot—sending Team Rocket into disarray, unable to mount an effective counterattack.
Meanwhile, Luke took care of any stragglers.
The Team Rocket grunts were soon all knocked to the ground.
Grunts will be grunts, no match for a hero like me after all!
On Chameleon side, the Clefairy clan was successfully rescued!