Chapter 77: The Grieving Mother
Time flew by, and autumn arrived, painting Mt. Silver in a riot of gold and red.
Boom!
A loud noise from outside the cave woke Ryū and the others. It was the sound of a large tree being knocked down.
'It's this early and someone is already courting death,' Ryū thought, opening his eyes unhappily. He had been living in this cave for almost a year, and the local Pokémon knew better than to cause trouble here.
"Ziii~" Zubat was also woken up, now a healthy Lv. 20. Ryū had been training him on rainy days, and while his evolution was slow, he was growing strong and was now considered quite a fat Zubat.
"Stay put. I'll go check it out," Ryū instructed before flying out of the cave. The Scyther were already out for their morning training.
Outside, the forest was unnervingly quiet. The many weak Pokémon that usually took refuge near his cave were nowhere to be seen.
"It seems a powerful Pokémon has come over," Ryū pursed his lips and checked his status.
[Dragonair]
[Level]: Lv. 47
[Weight]: 200 kg
[New Move]: Safeguard
He was now strong enough that he couldn't find any worthy opponents in the outer areas of the mountain. Even if some powerful creature came, he shouldn't have a problem.
Thump. Thump.
Heavy footsteps approached, and a huge figure emerged from the forest. It wasn't a Tyranitar, but a Kangaskhan standing 5 meters tall. This size was far beyond the norm, even for this era, indicating immense power.
"Not good," Ryū muttered, his scalp tingling. Not only was the Kangaskhan incredibly strong, but more importantly, there was no baby in its pouch. And its blood-red eyes were cracked with grief and rage.
This could only mean one thing: its baby was lost or dead. A mother Kangaskhan in this state was known to become a frantic, unstoppable force of destruction.
'Right, those giant footprints I saw before...' Ryū suddenly remembered. The monster that had wandered out from the deeper parts of the mountain was this grieving mother, and she had been searching for her child for months.
"ROAR!"
The moment the Kangaskhan saw Ryū, she charged, ramming her head towards him.
'She's really gone crazy,' Ryū thought, launching himself into the air to dodge. The Kangaskhan was clearly attacking any Pokémon it saw. After her initial charge missed, she glanced warily at the airborne Ryū, then turned to leave. Her path, however, was headed straight for his cave.
She wanted to see if her baby was inside.
Zzzzt!
A powerful current shot from the air and struck the Kangaskhan. She gritted her teeth and turned, deciding to deal with this nuisance first.
"That cave is my territory. Get lost," Ryū commanded. He didn't want to fight this Kangaskhan—he likely couldn't win—but Zubat was still inside. He couldn't let this mad creature enter.
"Roar." The Kangaskhan couldn't understand his words. In her eyes, Ryū was just another obstacle.
[Rock Slide]
She swung her arms, and several huge rocks materialized behind her, which she then hurled at Ryū.
[Water Pulse]
Ryū spat out a spiraling ball of water, which exploded and knocked the rocks off course, but didn't shatter them.
'This is trouble.' Not only was this Kangaskhan powerful, but her moveset was also deep. Rock Slide was not a move Kangaskhan learned naturally; she must have learned it through countless battles. His plan to use his air superiority wouldn't work.
[Rock Tomb]
The Kangaskhan stomped the earth, and tall rock pillars erupted from the ground beneath him. Ryū couldn't dodge in time and took a heavy blow to his abdomen. As he struggled to regain altitude, the Kangaskhan leaped onto one of the rock pillars and jumped, soaring 18 meters into the air!
'So fast!' Ryū thought in shock as the Kangaskhan rose above him. At the same time, his scales bristled with warning, and he instinctively lashed out with an Aqua Tail. It was then that he saw her fist glowing with an icy blue light.
'This is bad.' He knew he was in for a world of hurt. She wasn't just using her height advantage; she was using Ice Punch, a move that was super-effective against Dragon-types.