Elf: Who told him to be an investigator!

Chapter 7 This kid lacks experience...

Ze Shu was initially a little confused.

"grumble--!!"

Then another panicked cry for help rang out, abruptly cut short, and his mind instantly cleared.

After exchanging a glance with the equally awakened Ice Eevee, they didn't hesitate any longer and headed straight for the direction from which the sound came.

The night was completely dark.

Ze Shu guessed that it was probably midnight. Entering the dense forest from which the cries were coming, an ordinary person would be completely in the dark.

But finding what he wanted wasn't too difficult.

The firelight burning in the darkness was very conspicuous in the forest.

even so.

A faint golden flame gradually lit up in Ze Shu's pupils.

The subtle details hidden in the forest are all clearly visible.

You can see the grassy twigs on the branches, also awakened by the screams, looking completely bewildered. And occasionally, you can hear the sound of a xylophone, made by the two antennae on the head of the Master Yuan colliding with each other, coming from afar.

From afar, Ze Shu could clearly see the situation within the firelight.

There are two figures.

One was short and stout, the other tall and thin, both dressed in the same dark purple clothes. A large wolfhound with a black mane spread across its back lay resting by the fire with its eyes closed.

As they drew closer, they could faintly hear their conversation: "...I told you my judgment was right, and you were blaming me for causing trouble! Look at this foam squirrel, its soft fur and adorable body are absolutely top-notch!"

"Those wealthy ladies in the city love this kind of product the most, so there's no worry about selling it."

"Even if we don't get anything from this operation, catching this foam squirrel is still a win-win situation, plus we get a few 'bonus' ones..."

Upon hearing these words, Ze Shu frowned slightly: "A Pokémon hunter...?"

In the Pokémon world, those who indiscriminately capture Pokémon by force, and even forcibly steal Pokémon belonging to trainers and resell them, are utterly despicable.

Next to them was a cage with a gray foam squirrel inside. Its body seemed to be bound by an electric collar, and even its mouth was tightly bound with bandages, making it unable to struggle or make a sound.

Those bright eyes that were just recently 'teaching Ze Shu a lesson' were now overflowing with tears of despair, making them look utterly helpless.

Not only that, but several Pokémon were also tied up in the same cage as the foam squirrel.

This is the situation.

We definitely can't just sit idly by.

Seeing that the Pokémon hunters seemed to be "resting," the most logical course of action would be to stay put, call the police, and apprehend them easily. However, Zeju didn't know much about this area, didn't know where the nearest city was, and didn't even have a cell phone.

This method, of course, will not work.

"Eevee..." Zeki whispered.

"Buee~"

Eevee understood what Zeki meant and also called out softly.

As the two Pokémon hunters discussed, icy vapor quietly condensed in the dark forest, unaware that two fiery eyes were watching them from the shadows.

but.

The large wolfhound was quite alert; it twitched its nose, opened its eyes, and looked around in confusion before barking a few times as a warning.

"Woof..."

But when it barked, the two Pokémon hunters were still in shock: "What...?"

A slender beam of light, radiating a chilling aura, pierced through the grass like a sharp blade and suddenly descended upon the vulnerable belly of the large wolfhound.

Freeze Beam!

As if to pierce through it, the large wolfhound suddenly howled in agony, its frozen body flying backward. Not only that, the ice on its belly shattered and exploded again during its flight, inflicting secondary damage!

The large wolfhound that rolled to the ground was unable to get up again.

The squirrel that had been secretly wiping away tears in its cage suddenly froze, staring blankly at its surroundings with expectation.

"...What's going on! Big wolfhound, what are you...who are you?!"

Before the Pokémon hunter could even finish his exclamation, the giant wolfhound was rendered unable to fight.

Startled by the sudden turn of events, their voices trembled with shock and anger.

The Great Wolfhound is their most reliable Pokémon for "hunting," otherwise they wouldn't have only released it to guard this place openly.

But before they even met, he defeated the large wolfhound from the shadows... in one strike!

They were surprised and terrified.

But Ze Shu was not surprised at all.

Although Glaceon couldn't even last a minute against Luffy, the level of its main Pokémon as a Gym Leader is something that no Pokémon hunter can easily contend with.

This sudden incident.

The two Pokémon hunters were quite surprised and uncertain, and immediately decided to run away.

The fat Pokémon hunter quickly recalled his Mightyena and released a Houndoom; the thin Pokémon hunter released a Crowhead. Their eyes darted around, especially guarding the spot where the freezing beam had just pierced through, and they moved stealthily, trying to make a quiet retreat.

but……

While the Pokémon hunter's gaze wandered elsewhere.

The location is different from the one just given.

Another freezing ray of light!

Like a ghost, it suddenly and unexpectedly landed on the wing of the crow's head!

"Gah—"

The ice shattered, and black crow feathers scattered everywhere.

The crow cawed mournfully, unable to take flight for a moment, and fell to the ground.

"Over here!"

The fat Pokémon hunter reacted quickly, pointing directly in the direction the ice beam was coming from, "Flamethrower, Houndoom!"

"Waaah—"

Houndoom, resembling a hellhound, puffed out its mouth, unleashing a massively expanded jet of flame that illuminated everything in the forest, including Zephyr and Glaceon, who were standing just out of the flame's reach.

The bubble squirrel, who had been quietly observing the situation, also saw Ze Shu's face, paused for a moment, and then its eyes gradually lit up.

"So it's you, isn't it!" Seeing that it was just a 'kid' with a youthful face, the fat Pokémon hunter grinned maliciously. "Since that's the case..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

"Mud shooting," Ze Shu said softly. "You talk too much nonsense."

A thick layer of mud smeared into the mouth of the Houndoom, which had just unleashed its Flamethrower, causing it to choke and gasp uncomfortably. This also brought the Pokémon hunter to an abrupt halt, his chubby face gradually turning bright red: "You…"

Just as Houndoom finished spitting out mud and clearing its mouth, it heard an extremely angry command: "Flamethrower! Kill him!!"

Sensing the trainer's anger, Houndoom put in a lot of effort, even though its vision was still covered in mud, it still spewed out flames.

Bake, bake, bake—

Countless jets of flame gushed from its mouth.

However, Glaceon was surrounded by a blue-green stone slab, and several ice walls rose up, barely blocking a significant amount of the Flamethrower.

Despite its type disadvantage, Glaceon actually had the upper hand on the field and even headed straight for Houndoom, with a faint Water Pulse gradually forming around it.

Swah——

Houndoom is about to be hit by Glaceon's Water Pulse, which it has been building up for a long time.

But then...

The tall, thin Pokémon hunter, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "Now! Arbok! Tighten!"

"hiss……"

A chilling hiss suddenly rang in Ze Shu's ears, and Arbok, with its terrifying belly markings, charged at Ze Shu from an angle that was difficult for ordinary people to detect!

The two Pokémon hunters wore smug expressions.

This kid is still inexperienced; he let the Pokémon stay so far away from him.

These wilderness places, like the forest, are not like the playhouse on the sports field!

You don't need to defeat all your Pokémon.

As long as the opposing trainer is captured directly, whether through threats or killing, the battle will inevitably end.