An earthquake?
That was the first thought that popped into Chen Mo's mind. After all, having grown up in a province plagued by frequent earthquakes, this was something he experienced several times every year.
But very quickly, Chen Mo noticed something was off.
The sound.
Ordinary earthquakes didn't produce such strange, thunderous roars.
Just as Chen Mo was feeling puzzled, the tremors suddenly intensified.
The violent shaking coming from underground made the world spin; it was impossible to keep one's footing.
Luckily, Chen Mo reacted quickly. He rushed to the edge of the road and grabbed onto the guardrail, managing to steady himself.
On the other side, Ah Hui wasn't so fortunate. Distracted for a moment—and with a Caterpie cradled in his arms—his steps faltered. Just as he was about to fall to the ground—
A hand reached out in time.
Someone grabbed Ah Hui's arm and yanked him straight over toward Chen Mo.
"Brother Yi!?"
Hearing Ah Hui's shout, Chen Mo turned to look.
Incredibly, even while carrying a camera on his shoulder, Brother Yi merely swayed slightly before regaining his balance. He stood firmly in place, as if the intense shaking barely affected him at all, continuing to film the unfolding scene for the livestream audience.
"…That's insanely strong."
"Pichu!"
Chen Mo and the Pichu on his shoulder exclaimed in unison. But knowing what mattered most right now, Chen Mo quickly refocused his attention on the white figure ahead.
Absol had already leapt down from atop the tunnel and was now standing on the roadway, posture tense and alert, staring fixedly at the tunnel entrance—as if something terrifying was about to burst out from within.
The tremors were still growing stronger!
The violent shaking of the ground had even made Brother Yi furrow his brows. Now, even he had to brace himself against nearby vehicles to barely maintain stable filming.
And at that exact moment—
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted from the direction of the tunnel.
A massive, snake-like black shadow shot violently upward from below. The tunnel instantly exploded under the impact, countless huge chunks of rubble blasting outward.
One of the stones—well over a meter in diameter—flew straight toward the car belonging to the middle-aged man parked in front of the tunnel.
Chen Mo's pupils shrank.
If that thing hit, the people in the car would have almost no chance of surviving.
"Pidgeotto!"
At Chen Mo's shout, the Pidgeotto circling overhead immediately sprang into action.
But it was too late.
The car was simply too close to the tunnel entrance. Even if the stone's speed wasn't extreme, it would still hit before Pidgeotto could arrive. And faced with something that massive, Pidgeotto's few ranged moves wouldn't be enough to stop it anyway.
At the critical moment—
An orange-red beam of light shot out like lightning, piercing straight through the boulder.
The terrifying energy instantly vaporized the stone. The remaining power surged skyward, leaving behind a brilliant beam that slowly dissipated, stunning everyone who witnessed it.
Chen Mo turned his head.
There was no doubt—the Hyper Beam had come from Absol, which stood not far from the vehicle.
Now, Absol was panting heavily from the severe backlash caused by using Hyper Beam, clearly having entered a period of weakness.
[It was Absol! You all saw it, right?! Absol saved that man!]
[I told you—Mo-baby would never lie to us. This proves it, doesn't it? If Absol really wanted to kill people, it wouldn't have stepped in to help.]
[That power is terrifying… How can Absol be this strong and this handsome?!]
[Sorry everyone, I'll admit I wavered earlier. But after seeing Absol save someone like that, I'm choosing to fully trust Mo-baby's science explanations from now on.]
Thanks to Brother Yi's top-tier filming, the moment Absol unleashed Hyper Beam to save a life was captured in its entirety. The veteran viewers who had just been arguing fiercely with newcomers felt an overwhelming sense of vindication.
At the same time—
The middle-aged man, finally snapping out of his shock, realized who had just saved him.
Through the car window, he looked at Absol nearby, which was still breathing heavily. His eyes were filled with complicated emotions.
He… had just been saved by a magical beast.
The ground stopped shaking.
However, the collapse of the tunnel had kicked up thick clouds of dust, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.
"You two stay here. I'm going up ahead to take a look."
Chen Mo instructed the others.
Just before the tunnel collapsed, he had vaguely seen the enormous silhouette that burst out. This was definitely not just an ordinary earthquake—he had to check it out himself.
Ah Hui opened his mouth, wanting to go along as well. But when he thought about his own condition, and Caterpie's, he realized that even if he went, he wouldn't be much help. In the end, he closed his mouth again.
"I understand, Brother Mo. Be careful."
However—
At that moment, Brother Yi, who usually kept silent and focused only on his work, suddenly spoke up. His tone was resolute.
"I'm going with you."
Chen Mo paused for a moment, then looked deeply at Brother Yi before nodding in agreement.
After all, they were all adults.
Some things didn't need to be said out loud—but they deserved serious consideration.
For example, did anyone really believe someone this capable was only here to act as a cameraman?
Chen Mo certainly didn't.
"Absol."
Hearing the call from behind, Absol turned its head. The strange human from earlier was now running toward it, holding two blue Oran Berries.
"That move just now took a lot out of you, didn't it? How about eating some Oran Berries to recover a bit?"
Oran Berries were mainly effective at easing injuries. In the real world, they could indeed help restore some stamina, though the effect wasn't particularly strong.
Still, for alleviating the weakness caused by using Hyper Beam, they were better than nothing.
Looking at the strange human smiling at it, Absol hesitated briefly, then stepped forward, opened its mouth, and swallowed the two Oran Berries.
Very quick—after eating, it immediately retreated, deliberately keeping its distance, leaving Chen Mo no chance to even pet it once.
"..."
Chen Mo looked at Absol, which had clearly moved away on purpose, his expression a little awkward.
That said, after eating the Oran Berries, Absol's condition visibly improved. At the very least, it was no longer gasping for breath like before.
"Pii—!"
A warning-filled cry rang out from above.
Chen Mo immediately put aside all other thoughts and looked toward the tunnel ruins, where the dust was beginning to settle.
Something was coming into view.
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