Pokémon: Join Team Rocket at the Beginning

Chapter 847 Encirclement

Yang Ming fell silent. Chi Ri's judgment was cold and cruel, but it was likely correct. His knowledge of the Xicui region in his previous life mostly came from games and scattered settings; the real Tianguan Mountain foothills were probably far more dangerous than he had imagined. Although the Pure White Frozen Soil was frigid and lacked food, at least he and Chi Ri had initially adapted and had established temporary cooperation and a clear goal.

“Tsk, then let’s stick to the original plan and continue north.” Yang Ming finally made the decision, his tone somewhat helpless but also resolute. “However, we need to find food along the way. This damn weather, and the smell of roasted skunk…” He glanced disdainfully at the charred remains beside the fire.

Yang Ming covered the campfire with snow and carefully checked his belongings. Clefairy obediently helped him adjust his backpack straps, while Gengar disappeared back into his shadow, leaving only a faint chill.

Red Sun moved with equal agility. Crow Head silently took flight, circling low in the air not far ahead, acting as a scout. He himself wrapped his tattered Galactic Team uniform tighter around himself, his gray eyes scanning the snow-blurred outline of the mountains to the north.

The two walked one after the other, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too distant, trudging through the snow and heading deeper into the pure white frozen ground.

They were lucky; they didn't encounter any attacks from wild Pokémon along the way. Yang Ming even found several buried berries in a snowy field.

"Let me state this in advance: according to the previous cooperation agreement, these tree fruits belong to me," Yang Ming said solemnly. "Unless you find the tree fruits yourself, you can continue eating roasted skunk poop today."

Chi Ri remained expressionless. For him, whatever he ate was just a means to maintain his bodily functions, and the taste didn't matter. Although the meat of the skunk and the tank skunk was extremely unpalatable and had a foul stench, as long as he could maintain his bodily functions, it wouldn't be a big deal if he ate stones.

That night, the two lit a campfire in a jungle.

"Gengar, Clefairy, you two take turns keeping watch. Wake me up immediately if you notice anything unusual." After finishing his meal, Yang Ming secretly instructed the two Pokémon using the power of Everlasting Rock.

Although he had made a gentleman's agreement with Chi Ri, Yang Ming did not trust him completely. Even if the other party had no reason to attack him now, he dared not gamble with his life.

Meanwhile, Chi Ri also sent Manuela and the Raven Leader to keep watch. Clearly, he was also wary of Yang Ming.

The two wary men spent the night peacefully. The next day, they got up as usual to look for food, but this time their luck was really bad; Yang Ming searched for a long time but couldn't find a single fruit.

"Tsk, as we gradually leave the forest, even the food is starting to dwindle."

Yang Ming was able to find food because he rescued a wild raccoon dog. Through the raccoon dog's foraging habits, he discovered a large number of tree fruits buried in the snow in the forest.

Now that they have left the forest, the food they can find has naturally decreased significantly.

Fortunately, Yang Ming still had quite a few tree fruits, so even if he worked for nothing all day, he wouldn't starve. After lunch, he continued his search for tree fruits and finally made a discovery.

The tree fruit they found this time was...

"Damn! Can this stuff even be eaten?"

Looking at the few bright red tree fruits in front of him, Yang Ming felt his head was about to explode.

Cranberry, a special tree fruit, has an extremely sour taste that ordinary Pokémon simply cannot tolerate.

"Never mind, let's just eat this."

Yang Ming roasted the blue mandarin oranges, then squeezed out some cranberry juice and spread it on the flesh of the blue mandarin oranges.

Yang Ming cautiously took a bite of the fruit and surprisingly found it to be quite tasty.

Blue mandarins themselves have no flavor, but the addition of cranberries' tartness gives them a slightly stimulating taste, which is surprisingly appetizing in this cold weather. Yang Ming carefully put away the remaining cranberries—they might be used as a condiment, and in some situations, the strong tartness might even come in handy.

Chi Ri caught a glimpse of Yang Ming frowning at a few red tree fruits from afar, and then watched him try to mix them together. His face was expressionless as he silently chewed on his own unpalatable roasted meat.

"Hey, wanna try this?"

Chi Ri took the mango fruit that Yang Ming threw to him and smeared a lot of its juice on the roasted meat.

"Wow, you can actually eat this?" Yang Ming exclaimed in surprise.

"The meat of a skunk is really smelly and has a strong fishy smell. Applying a lot of acid can mask this smell and make the meat a little more edible."

Chi Ri didn't continue speaking, but his furrowed brows and the bright red roasted meat in his hand said it all. He put the oddly colored, acid-soaked piece of meat into his mouth, chewed it expressionlessly, his Adam's apple bobbing, and swallowed. The whole process was swift and efficient, as if he were simply completing a necessary procedure.

Yang Ming's teeth ached from looking at it, and he couldn't help but look away.

"This guy is really something, he can even eat this kind of meat."

Just as the two were figuring out how to make their dinner more palatable, they suddenly heard footsteps in the distance.

"Enemy attack!"

The two immediately prepared for battle. Unlike the swarm of skunks they had encountered two days earlier, this time the enemy walked on two legs.

Soon, a group of Slugs surrounded them.

Unlike the modern Sneasel, the Sneasel of the Green Age had sharper claws and a light purple body. Its attributes were not Ice/Dark, but Poison/Fighting.

"Were these Slugs attracted by the smell of food? Or..." Yang Ming quickly dismissed the idea, because he realized that they were not surrounded by Slugs.

Snowball, Ice Behemoth, Boar, Gliscor, Copper Mirror, Skunk Poo... Different kinds of Pokémon surrounded the two of them in layers, making Yang Ming feel something was amiss.

Although he had seen wild Pokémon of different species living together, that was when food was plentiful in their habitat. In this pure white tundra, where even food was scarce, how could these Pokémon possibly unite?

unless……

"Ow—!"

A roar shattered his thoughts, and a massive Snowstorm King charged ahead. As its "snowfall" began, a blizzard instantly descended upon the entire snowfield!

"Strike first! Chief Raven, use Heat Wave!" Red Sun launched the first attack!

With a flap of its wings, the raven head unleashed a blast of scorching heat towards the Snowstorm King. The raven head's attack was incredibly fierce, instantly annihilating numerous Ice-type Pokémon weak to Fire.