Beartic
"ha~"
Seeing that her attack worked, Ponyta was excited and pranced with small steps.
Golduck quickly regained composure. It shook its head and lifted its eyes to look at the proud Ponyta, its gaze filled with determination.
In the next moment, Golduck opened its mouth, and cold air burst forth, forming Ice that exploded towards the small flame!
The surrounding temperature dropped rapidly, and the river flowing quietly nearby was shrouded in mist.
"Agility to dodge," Bruce said softly, his eyes calm.
"ha!"
Ponyta heard the command, relaxed its body, and became light on its feet, taking strides that increased its speed dramatically, almost becoming a blur.
Immediately, Ponyta was approaching Golduck at a dizzying speed, skillfully avoiding the Ice that sliced through the air.
Golduck's gaze was fixed, trying to control the Ice to chase after the fast-moving Ponyta, but the latter's speed was too swift; Golduck ultimately couldn't catch its breath, and the icy beam dissipated.
At that moment, Bruce shouted, "Wild Charge!"
Suddenly, Ponyta's body was enveloped in electricity, thousands of electric currents coiling around it like electric snakes, as it charged towards Golduck with incredible momentum!
Golduck was momentarily overwhelmed by Ponyta's astonishing aura, losing focus, frozen in place, watching as Ponyta, electrified, approached closer and closer.
Boom!
Golduck was directly struck by Ponyta and flew several meters away, crashing heavily to the ground.
Ponyta halted in place, surveying its surroundings, only to see Golduck rolling its eyes, seemingly incapacitated!
"ha!"
Witnessing this scene, Ponyta whinnied enthusiastically and ran around Bruce with outstretched hooves, its fluffy mane waving like a colorful flower in the wind.
Blaziken observed this scene silently, its blue eyes flickering, suddenly feeling a bit emotional.
This little one, born just a few months ago, has gradually gained strength and can now defeat rivals on its own, galloping across the wild snowfield.
In Blaziken's mind, Ponyta has always been a little one.
"What are you thinking?"
Noticing Blaziken lost in thought, Bruce asked curiously.
Blaziken was silent for a moment, then shook its head, lifting its eyes to look into the distance again, its gaze calm and deep.
No longer a little one, it is now the team leader.
It also needs to become stronger...
Seeing that Blaziken did not respond, Bruce did not press the question and said, "Alright, let's move on."
Bruce then treated Golduck with a healing spray and continued on his way.
On the next path, they encountered several Pokémon again, including the weak Poliwag and the powerful Cloyster at Ace level.
Though Kīlauea Island appears desolate and barren, it actually has a good environment, inhabited by various Pokémon, making it a decent place for leveling.
At four in the afternoon, Bruce finally spotted the scattered lava from the mountain's eruption.
Yes, just lava.
This was normal lava, like a river, extending very, very far, flowing slowly at an almost invisible pace.
The lava was reddish-orange, and the temperature was extremely high. Bruce could feel the hot air rushing towards his face from a distance, seemingly mixed with fire energy, prompting Blaziken to cast a curious glance.
However, they were still quite far from Kīlauea volcano. The lava flowed from Kīlauea here, and the contained fire energy was relatively thin, not forming a lava pile.
This was simply lava.
Blaziken observed for a while, then shook its head at Bruce, indicating it wasn't of much value.
"Then let's move on," Bruce said.
However, at that moment, the ground beneath them suddenly shook slightly. Bruce was momentarily startled, then focused his gaze on the distance.
Boom!
A deafening roar sounded in his ears, and then a dense plume of volcanic ash appeared on the distant horizon, like a group of monsters suddenly rising, floating in the air.
Immediately after, thick smoke mixed with scorching heat, accompanied by nonsensical howls and the strange sound of rapidly igniting suffocating gas, seemed to shake both heaven and earth in the wake of this eruption.
At this moment, the lava not far from Bruce suddenly boiled, and the fire element became violent.
Bruce looked up at the sky, opened his mouth, and softly said, "Is this the consequence of the volcano's eruption?"
Despite being quite far away, it was quite impactful.
The next moment, Bruce felt regret, shook his head, and said, "I forgot to record."
But it didn't matter; such consequences should be expected in the following days.
This was just a minor episode; Bruce checked the map and continued forward.
Meanwhile, Ponyta continued to gain experience points and was just one point away from leveling up.
But as time passed, it was already five in the evening, and the sky gradually darkened, nearing complete darkness.
"It's time to find a place to rest." Bruce looked around, searching for a resting spot.
Unfortunately, he was now in an endless desert, without high mountains or dense jungles.
As a result, finding natural shelters was challenging.
Bruce had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and finally found a spot with a wider view and a leeward slope.
Taking advantage of the last flicker of light, Bruce set up a temporary camp using Psychic, which was actually a fully automated windproof tent.
Now that he had ample outdoor survival experience, he quickly finished all the various tasks. After a simple dinner, he finally could rest.
At this moment, the sky had completely plunged into darkness.
Looking up, the night sky was filled with stars, and a beautiful dark green light approached under the sky, resembling a faint haze that lingered for a long time.
"ha~"
Ponyta lay beside Bruce's legs, wide-eyed, imitating Bruce's stance and gazing at the aurora in the night sky. However, after watching for a while, it grew bored and lowered its head.
Blaziken and Gardevoir sat cross-legged, standing in the cold wind, their eyes slightly closed, focused on Focus Energy, training Calm Mind.
The key to Calm Mind is persistence; one must not relax day or night.
Metagross, on the other hand, stayed quietly aside, lost in thought, no longer bouncing around like before. Its eyes were calm and serene.
As the night deepened, Bruce fell asleep.
The next day, in the morning.
It was just dawn when Bruce dismantled the tent, had breakfast, and set off on today's leveling path.
Today's goal was simple: get Ponyta to Ace level.
The entire path ahead, occasionally passing lava, but Bruce did not see any lava piles.
Additionally, Bruce encountered an unknown Trainer, but they waved at each other from a distance and then went their separate ways.
In the wild, unless faced with special circumstances, it's better not to get too close to unfamiliar Trainers, which is a basic rule of survival in nature.
After walking for over an hour, Bruce realized the landscape in front of him had changed; he had unconsciously reached the seashore.
Looking around, to his right was the endless calm sea.
At that moment, the weather was nice, the sun shining through thick clouds and falling on the sea's surface. The waves were irregular, with a faint golden sheen, and Water Pokémon occasionally leaped from the sea.
Bruce decided to walk along the beach, feeling the sea breeze, as wild Pokémon appeared one after another in his view.
"."
Suddenly, a tall, white-haired Beartic with crusty wounds on its abdomen caught his attention.
【 Pokémon: Beartic (Ice) Ability: Snow Cloak Qualification: Ace Level: Lv 39 (Professional)】
Beartic is a carnivorous Pokémon with a fierce temperament. It loves the cold northern sea. Known as the "White Devil" in the north, it is feared by locals.
The Beartic in front of him waved its sharp claws gleaming coldly at Bruce, its eyes fierce, as if trying to convey a message.
Bruce snapped back to reality, glanced sideways at Ponyta, which was already preparing, and smiled, saying, "Defeat it."
Ponyta nodded firmly, stepped forward slowly, and faced Beartic.
Suddenly, Cubchoo's stomach deflated again, producing an embarrassing sound.
Seeing Bruce lost in deep thought, Beartic's eyes sharpened, and it roared, interrupting his contemplation.
"Roar..."
The surrounding temperature plummeted, and icy winds wrapped around the cold air, obstructing Ponyta's movements from all directions.
"ha!"
In the next moment, a small head popped out from behind Beartic.
A Cubchoo.
Bruce couldn't help but laugh, secretly thinking that this Beartic had it tough, having to take care of this little one looking for food early in the morning.
Looking at this little creature, it seemed quite hungry.
Well, a small blue head, dark blue around the nose, with a runny nose.
"Roar!"
"Goo..."
In the next moment, Beartic opened its mouth and exhaled a gust of cold breath, creating icy winds and charging towards Ponyta.
Beartic extended its paw to shield Cubchoo behind its back and immediately glared at Ponyta in front of it, making a low warning growl from its throat.
Seeing Bruce, Cubchoo mimicked Beartic's movements, waving its paws, but the effect was undermined by its runny nose.
Bruce raised his eyebrows. Being cproficient in Pokémon language, he instantly understood Beartic's meaning—if you want to pass through this path, you must pay a toll.
p treon / Thenamealreadyexis
50 chapters ahead