Watching Zhang Tian knock the Stygian Zinogre unconscious with a single, fluid combo, Avinia was astonished. "Thank you for saving me, Hunter," she said, riding her Barioth over to him, her face full of gratitude.
"You're welcome," Zhang waved his hand. "I'm actually a Rider, too."
"What? You're a Rider?" Avinia's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You'll understand later," Zhang smiled, throwing a Poké Ball at the unconscious monster. The ball shook more than a dozen times before finally subduing the Stygian Zinogre. A frenzied monster was clearly much more difficult to catch.
[Successfully Subdued the Stygian Zinogre!]
[Stygian Zinogre Pokémonization beginning...]
[Frenzy Virus Purifying...]
[Frenzy Virus Purification complete. 1 Glory Point obtained.]
[Current Glory Point Balance: 2 Points]
[Pokémonization Successful!]
[Stygian Zinogre Information:]
Level: 69 (Elite Four)Ability: Dragon Light Entangled: When the Stygian Zinogre enters this state, its Special Attack becomes 0. Its Speed is increased by 2x its original Special Attack stat, and its Attack is increased by 0.5x its original Special Attack stat. All Special Attack moves become Physical Attack moves, and all moves become Dragon-type. When using a Dragon-type move, its power is increased by 100%. It is immune to damage from enemy Dragon-type moves, and when attacked by one, its speed is boosted by +2 (can be triggered once per enemy).Base Stats:HP: 80Attack: 130Defense: 80Special Attack: 150Special Defense: 80Speed: 100Total: 620
Compared to the Zinogre, the Stygian Zinogre is faster, but its attack is worse, Zhang thought, satisfied with his new monster. I'm suddenly finding that many of the monsters I have are speed-focused types.
[Special Mission "The Frenzied Qi and the Girl" completed!]
[You have obtained the Rider Continent Teleportation Stone. It has been placed in your space backpack.]
[Mission Accomplished!]
[The male Rathalos has successfully evolved into an Azure Rathalos!]
[Because your strength is the same as the Stygian Zinogre's, you will receive 1 additional Glory Point.]
[Glory Point Balance: 3 Points]
[Hint: Consume the ability of the Rider Continent Teleportation Stone? After consumption, you will not be teleported back and will remain where you are. After you return to the Pokémon world, you will need to use the stone again to return to the Rider Continent.]
"Consume," Zhang confirmed. He had finally met Avinia. He naturally did not want to go back. To get the Versa Pietru egg, he had to participate in the story and team up with her.
He then opened the information for his newly evolved Azure Rathalos.
[Azure Rathalos]
Level: 60 (Elite Four)Ability: Rapid Bombardment: When flying, Speed is boosted by 200%, Attack by 100%, and the power of Fire-type moves by 100%. When on the ground, Speed is reduced by 50%.Base Stats:HP: 90Attack: 160Defense: 90Special Attack: 30Special Defense: 90Speed: 160Total: 620
Zhang was very satisfied. The Azure Rathalos's ability was no less impressive than the Tigrex's, but it had a weakness: it couldn't land. It was truly a "king of the sky."
"?" Avinia looked at Zhang, confused. First, he had used a small ball to subdue the Stygian Zinogre. What kind of black technology is this? So awesome? Then, he had started pointing at the empty air in front of her. What is he doing? Some kind of mysterious ritual?
"Escuregot, if you please," Zhang said, releasing his tool-man snail, and then his newly caught Stygian Zinogre. In Avinia's shocked eyes, the Escuregot healed the Zinogre's severed legs.
"What is that snail of yours? Its healing ability is so strong!" she couldn't help but ask.
"It's called Escuregot. It's my partner, similar to how your Barioth is your partner," Zhang replied, recalling the Zinogre. "You and your Barioth are injured as well. Escuregot, heal them too."
"How embarrassing," Avinia said, a little sheepishly.
"What's so embarrassing? We are both Riders. We have to help each other."
"Phew," the Escuregot spat out a green mist that shrouded Avinia and her Barioth, and their injuries quickly healed.
"Are you really a Rider?" Avinia asked again.
"Of course," Zhang said, raising his hand to reveal the Bondstone.
"So you really are a Rider," Avinia sighed, surprised. Even on the Rider Continent, Riders were very rare.
"I'm here to find the reason for the Frenzy Virus. What about you?" Zhang asked with a smile. He knew the best way to team up with her was to share her goal.
"I didn't expect your purpose to be the same as mine," she said, relaxing. "I found a Kinship Ore on top of the snowy mountain that was polluted by the Frenzy Virus. I originally wanted to purify it, but the Stygian Zinogre suddenly ran out. I could only fight while running. After it became frenzied, it was too powerful for me."
"My purpose is also to purify the Frenzy Virus. Can you show me the ore?" Zhang asked. He remembered that purifying the virus gave him glory points.
"Yes," Avinia nodded and jumped on her Barioth's back. As she was about to call Zhang up, he raised his hand and a blue-green flying wyvern appeared. It was his Azure Rathalos, at 22.4 meters, much larger than her 17-meter Barioth.
"So your partner is a Rathalos. I thought it was the snail," Avinia said, now truly believing he was a Rider.
"They're all my partners," Zhang smiled. "Follow me." Avinia nodded and flew towards the top of the mountain.
"Let's go, Kuro," Zhang said, mounting his Rathalos.
They flew to a cave on top of the snowy mountain. The location of the Kinship Ore in the game is not here at all. It seems the real Rider Continent is different from the game, Zhang thought.
Inside the cave was a huge stone, the raw material for making Bondstones. It was covered in a black qi—the Frenzy Virus.
"Let me purify it," Zhang said, walking towards the stone and raising his left hand.
"Okay," Avinia nodded, not competing with him for the task. It was a small way to repay him for saving her life.
WHOOSH!
The Bondstone on Zhang's hand lit up with a dazzling white light, and the black qi on the ore rapidly disappeared, like ice meeting the scorching sun. It turned into a little bit of white light and vanished into his Bondstone.
[You have purified a large amount of Frenzy Virus. You have gained 20 Glory Points.]
[Current Glory Point Balance: 23]
[Hint: Your Glory Points exceed 20. New products have appeared. Please check by yourself.]
Zhang's eyes lit up. 20 glory points! It would have taken him 20 missions to collect that many. There were six more of these stones on the continent. The thought was exciting.
"New goods?" He opened the system panel to check. In addition to the Rider Bondstone and the two Mega Evolution packs, there was one more item.
Dietary Changing Agent
Function: When used by herbivores, it can turn them into carnivorous monsters. When used by carnivores, it can turn them into herbivores.Price: 1 Glory Point
Nice stuff. With this, I can catch those herbivorous monsters. Some of them are no weaker than carnivores, or even stronger, like the Diablos, he thought, satisfied.
As he was making his "mysterious prayers" again, the Azure Rathalos and the Barioth suddenly looked back towards the entrance of the cave. The sound of footsteps echoed, and a woman with the air of a Royal Scribe Captain came in, followed by a dozen tall hunters.
"The Captain of the Scriveners?" Zhang recognized her as one of the main quest-giving NPCs from the game.
"Hello, you two Riders. Are you interested in talking to us about those crazy monsters and what is going on with that black qi?" the captain asked politely. But the hunters behind her were not so polite.
"My lord, why be so polite with them? Those crazy monsters must be related to them! They are the ones who control monsters!" a greatsword hunter said loudly. Many hunters hated Riders, believing they were the cause of the Frenzy Virus.
Zhang glanced at the group. Most were Gym Leader level, a few were quasi-Elite Four, and one was an Elite Four-level hunter. Clearly, hunters who could take on Elite Four-level monsters were very rare.
"I think you should apologize to me," Zhang said, raising his hand and releasing all his Pokémon. "Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't be able to walk out of here alive." The spacious cave instantly became very crowded.
The captain's smile froze. The hunters behind her looked like they were facing a great enemy, a cold sweat breaking out on their skin. A single Rathalos could have been a problem. A dozen Elite Four-level monsters could easily kill them all. Avinia's jaw dropped. Isn't a Rider supposed to have only one monster? How does he have so many? It's like he's cheating!
"Apologize. Definitely apologize," the captain said, glaring at the greatsword hunter. This fool ruined our relationship as soon as he opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry," the greatsword hunter bowed, very reluctantly.
"That's not enough. It's so insincere," Zhang said with a smile.
"What do you want?" the captain frowned.
"Help me find the mural of Redan and the Versa Pietru," Zhang said softly. "After you find it, I can help you solve the problem of those crazy monsters." He didn't care about the hunter's offense, but he would use this opportunity to get their help. He couldn't find the Versa Pietru on his own. The world was too big. He needed a powerful force to help him, and the Scriveners were the best choice. As for them taking the egg for themselves, that was impossible. The egg was guarded by several Kirin, ancient dragon-level creatures.