"Rar..." (Ouchie…)
Teddiursa woke up feeling sore all over. However, as the seconds passed, the pain began to subside. This reminded him of when he got knocked unconscious by a Tyrogue during his third dungeon exploration then was fed a Reviver Seed.
…wait, did he get incapacitated again?
"Ursa?" (Dad? What happened? Why was I…)
Teddiursa didn't get to finish his words as memories began to surface in his mind. He looked around the battlefield to search for his opponent. But when he found Ariados' body, his eyes widened in shock.
"Don't look, Teddy. It's not a suitable scene for children."
"T-Teddiursa?" (D-dad! W-what? Why did he choose to explode if he doesn't have the energy left to defend himself?)
Teddiursa's voice trembled as he gazed at the bloody scene.
During dungeon explorations, they sometimes encountered Pokemon who often exploded, such as Geodude and Graveler. Even so, the most that would happen is them knocking themselves out. Not like…this.
"…he didn't choose to explode, Teddy. Someone set off the bomb on him. Come, let's deal with the bad guys who did that."
Cradled in his arm, Teddiursa shivered after hearing the frostiness in his Dad's voice. Set off the bomb? Does that mean someone did this on purpose to his opponent?
"Teddi?" (But why would they do that, Dad? Why hurt their partners!?)
"It's because they are trash. Waste that needs to be disposed of."
Dante squinted and looked at the sky, his mind running for solutions on how to bring them down.
Should he ask Pikachu to charge up his Ability and launch a large AoE attack? But that would take too much time. Azumarill alone can't deal with the bomb and bullets.
Send Azumarill up there? That also won't work. He had no foothold. Based on the speed of the Pokemon they are facing, it can easily dodge and counter-attack him.
Right now, Dante really wished he had a Flying-type Pokemon. That would make this a whole lot easier.
"Ursa." (Dad, I want to help take out the trash.)
Teddiursa's firm voice shook Dante out of his thoughts. He looked down at the bear-like Pokemon in his arms and was met with a determined gaze.
Even if he is eager to help, Dante can't think of a way Teddiursa can assist them with his current strength. He was about to give him some encouraging words when he realized something and stopped.
When they came inside this Portal, Dante had planned to test whether leveling up in the human world could allow Teddiursa to evolve.
His experience bar had already been filled to more than half, only needing a fourth more to reach the next level. But since the situation is urgent, it appears he has to make a little sacrifice.
"I don't know whether this will work, Teddy. But if it does, you'd be a big help in taking down that flying garbage."
Dante opened the Item Menu, scrolling through the thousands of items and stopping when he reached the section with Seeds. Particularly, the Joy Seed.
The Joy Seed is a rare item in the PMD world that can permanently increase the stats of a growing Pokemon. Using it even when the Pokemon has reached their racial limit can help loosen the bottleneck.
However, the Joy Seed's function for Dante and his team is different. After eating the seed, it can increase their level by 1. Dante had been stockpiling the Joy Seeds, planning to use them only when they reached level 90 and above.
However, using one now to verify his experiment and dispose of trash seems like a worthwhile trade.
…
"Berto, who do you think is behind this?"
"From their modus operandi, I can hazard some guesses. None of them easy to mess with."
Berto looked at the sky where countless hails of bullets and bombs came from. If it weren't for Pikachu and Azumarill blocking all of them, stopping this avalanche would have been a great deal harder. This ruthless and pragmatic method, along with the Ariados Dante defeated, a figure already emerged in Berto's mind.
If it is really her, then this avalanche is just the beginning of her attack. He had already refrained from sending out all his Pokemon, waiting for when the mastermind showed up to confront them.
"W-woah."
"He's evolving already?!"
Berto frowned, hearing the commotion behind him. He turned his head to see what all the fuss was about. When he saw Teddiursa glowing in front of Dante, his jaw dropped in disbelief. He didn't even notice the cigarette falling out of his mouth.
The little Pokemon began to visibly grow. Starting from Dante's knees, he continuously expanded until he exceeded his Trainer's height by a whole head.
"Ursaring!!"
Teddiursa, no- Ursaring roared, his howl pushing the surrounding snow away from his body.
"Dan, what's going on? H-how come Teddy…?"
Berto frowned as he watched Dante's girlfriend walk up to him, their voices becoming too small for him to hear. Still, it wasn't as if he couldn't deduce what they were discussing.
As the student Dean Ronaldo is most optimistic about, Dante's movement has always been a point of attention. When he chose an Egg of Teddiursa from the Breeding house as his third Pokemon, all the professors learned about it.
It became a consensus among them that Dante wanted to slow down his progress and consolidate. After all, he already had Pikachu and Azumarill. Students in their school mostly captured their second Pokemon only when they reached the 2nd year.
Berto had already been shaken when he saw Teddiursa earlier displaying combat prowess equivalent to the starter Pokemon of the university's top freshmen. And now it has even evolved? How does Dante train his Pokemon!?
Berto was left no more time to ponder the question as a loud thunderboom echoed nearby. He looked to the side and saw Pikachu releasing a Thunderbolt straight at the silhouette above.
However, it was proven to be useless once again. Whatever Pokemon the assailant was riding, it was fast. It avoided the range of Pikachu's lightning attack just in time.
However, that was when Berto's eyes widened. Below the figure, a boulder emerged, hitting the Pokemon on its belly and wrapping around it. With the weight from the stone, the figure began its descent downwards.
…
"Good job, Ursaring, Pikachu."
"Ursa!" (Yeah!)
Dante smiled maliciously as he watched the perpetrator literally and metaphorically fall for their plan.
The move Ursaring used was Smack Down, a physical Rock-type move with 50 base power. Although its power is a little low, the move's effect of sticking onto the target and dragging them down is why Dante chose to use it.
Earlier, Teddiursa's strength wasn't enough to throw the boulder with that much speed and power. But now, it was different.
Following his evolution, Ursaring's Pickup Ability was replaced by Guts. Just like Quick Feet, Guts can increase the user's Attack by 50% if afflicted by a status ailment.
When paired with the technique he gained from Uxie, Ursaring can activate Quick Feet and Guts simultaneously.
"RAWR!"
A loud roar came from above. Looking up, their ambusher's Pokemon had set itself loose. This time, Dante finally had the opportunity to confirm the identity of the Pokemon which caused them a lot of trouble.
Seeing the dragonic Pokemon with large, red wings, blue upper body, and white scaly stomach, he had a brief look of surprise. It's a Salamence!
Salamence is a Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon. Having the capability to obtain and train said Pokemon already shows the extraordinary identity of their assailant. And from its quick movement, it must have used either Dragon Dance or other speed-boosting moves before ambushing them.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack and Agility. Don't allow it to regain altitude!"
"Pika pi!"
Pikachu squatted and jumped, his body disappearing in a blur. When he appeared again, he was already face-to-face with Salamence.
"Pikachu!"
"Protect."
Pikachu collided with a green film just as he was about to hit Salamence's head. Salamence flinched when he saw Pikachu's oppressive eyes across the barrier, his instinct ringing alarm bells when he noticed the smirk across the yellow rodent's face.
"Hahaha, thank you for the delivery."
Standing on Salamence's back, Hunter J laughed. She adjusted the metal gauntlet on her left hand, planning to use it on Pikachu.
This was a gadget she obtained from a ruins inside a Pokeportal. Something that had been a huge help in her Hunter career.
However, she stumbled and almost fell as Salamence suddenly shook. Hunter J cursed when she saw the yellow rat somehow pass through the barrier and hit Salamence on the forehead.
"Roar!!"
Salamence cried out in pain as the barrier around his body disappeared. Pikachu used the momentum of his attack to somersault in the air, his tail coated in silver and hitting Salamence between the eyes.
This time, the force of the attack caused the large, winged Pokemon to dive headfirst towards the ground.
Hunter J tightly clutched onto the seat. Her eyes squinted as she analyzed where they were about to land. Seeing the empty, flat snowfield below, she was about to execute their landing strategy when she stopped.
No, it wasn't empty.
Standing inconspicuously in the snow, was a golden Azumarill. His fists coated in ice and poised to strike.
As the punch was about to land on Salamence's face, Hunter J took him back into his Pokeball. At the same time, she jumped and activated her jetpack to hover in the air. Looking down, her cold eyes met the calm gaze of the Trainer who caused her to fall into this embarrassing situation.
Chapter 126 - Ursaring
A/N: By the way, these are the current stats of Dante, Pikachu, Azumarill, and Ursaring. I'll update their stats page later.
Dante (Hisuian Zorua)
Type: Normal/Ghost
Abilities:
Super Luck (Increases the critical hit ratio)
Illusion (Can disguise as another Pokemon)
Level: 46
HP: 89/89
Attack: 110 Defense: 102
Sp. Atk: 108 Sp. Def.: 95 Speed: 103
Item: Scope Lens (Increases the critical hit ratio)
Pikachu
Type: Electric
Abilities:
Static (Can paralyze attackers that made physical contact)
Lightning Rod (Draws Electric-type attacks and boosts Special Attack)
Level: 47
HP: 110/110
Attack: 154 (+5) Defense: 94 (+18)
Sp. Atk: 155 Sp. Def.: 91 (+15) Speed: 98
Item: Light Ball (Doubles Attack and Special Attack)
Exclusive Items in Bag:
- Shocker Cape (Slightly reduce the consumption of Energy)
- Volt Torc (Reflect and Light Screen do not affect this Pokemon's moves)
- Zapper Scarf (Converts damage into healing when hit by a Ground-type moves)
- Pichu Hair (Defense +3)
- Pichu Card (Sp. Defense +3)
- Express Tag (Attack +5 and Defense +3)
- Pikachu Hair (Defense +3)
- Pikachu Card (Sp. Defense +3)
- Volt Charm (Defense and Sp. Defense +3)
- Raichu Hair (Defense +3)
- Raichu Card (Sp. Defense +3)
- Raichu Crest (Defense and Sp. Defense +3)
Azumarill (Shiny)
Type: Water/Fairy
Abilities:
Huge Power (Doubles the power of Physical Attacks)
Sap Sipper (Absorbs Grass-type moves and boost the Pokemon's Attack stat)
Level: 43
HP: 122/122
Attack: 105 Defense: 89 (+6)
Sp. Atk: 107 (+10) Sp. Def.: 88 (+9) Speed: 90
Item: Power Band (Attack +12)
Exclusive Items in Bag:
- Azuri-Dew (Special Attack +5)
- Marill-Dew (Defense +3)
- Marill-Card (Sp. Defense +3)
- Surfer Rock (Defense and Special Defense +3)
- Fount Charm (Special Attack +5 and Special Defense +3)
Ursaring (Male)
Type: Normal
Abilities:
Guts (Attack increases by 50% when inflicted by a major status ailment)
Quick Feet (Speed increases by 50% when inflicted by a major status ailment)
Level: 42 -> 43
HP: 113/113
Attack: 77 -> 90 (+10) Defense: 69 -> 74
Sp. Atk: 69 -> 74 Sp. Def.: 70 -> 75 Speed: 68 -> 71
Item: Power Band (Attack +12)
Exclusive Items in Bag:
- Teddi-Claw (Attack +5)
- Ursa-Claw (Attack +5)