Pokemon: This Trainer is Too Cautious!

"Squirtle, Water Gun!"

"Budew, Razor Leaf, block it!"

On Silver Mountain, Ace and Cynthia weaved past each other. As Budew unleashed a barrage of leaves to attack the opposing Geodude, it also obscured the opponent's vision. Squirtle, opening its mouth, sprayed a precise stream of Water Gun directly into one Geodude's eyes.

The water seeped into its eyes, making the Geodude extremely uncomfortable, causing it to involuntarily close them.

But closing its eyes meant cutting off a part of its perception.

The next moment, Budew's Razor Leaf descended, leaving cuts all over the Geodude's body. The Geodude could no longer hold on, collapsing to the ground, out of commission.

"Phew, I'm so tired."

Seeing the last two Geodude fall, Cynthia immediately flopped onto the ground, her hair already soaked with sweat. She unladylike wiped the sweat from her forehead, leaving a gray smudge on her fair skin.

"Let's get out of here quickly. The Pokémon tribes here are quite warlike. We need to find a safe place to replenish our energy as soon as possible."

Ace pulled out a bottle of water from his backpack, chugging half of it down, then tossing the rest to Cynthia.

Cynthia didn't mind at all, directly putting the bottle to her mouth and chugging the remaining water.

The two recalled Squirtle and Budew and immediately left the area.

Not long after they left, a Nidoking walked over. It scratched its head in confusion, looking at the many downed Geodude, then turned and left.

In a secluded small cave on the side of Silver Mountain, this was a resting spot Cynthia had her Gible dig out using Dig. Once the two entered the cave and Happiny lifted a rock to seal the entrance, they finally relaxed from their alert state, sitting against the wall, somewhat exhausted.

"The Pokémon here are too warlike, it's insane," Cynthia recovered some energy and couldn't help but complain.

"That's why I chose to train here," Ace checked his trainer level; he was now level twenty. Compared to his Pokémon leveling up, Ace sincerely felt that his own trainer level was much harder to raise. Because it tested a trainer on multiple fronts: knowledge of Pokémon, mastery of skills, judgment of battlefield situations, and so on—it wasn't just about winning battles. Even in defeat, if one could learn from their failures, their trainer level could still improve.

"By the way, what are we eating?"

Cynthia rubbed her rumbling stomach. The high-intensity battles had made her incredibly hungry.

"Cold mixed Bellsprout, salted Slowpoke."

Ace took out a sealed container from his backpack, which held prepared dishes. With some steamed buns, Ace and Cynthia ate heartily.

"Ace, seriously, if you weren't a trainer, opening a restaurant would be amazing."

After eating their fill, Cynthia exhaled, patted her bulging stomach, and said with great satisfaction.

"Oh, come on," Ace put away the empty container, rolling his eyes. "Eating Pokémon is illegal."

"Hehe, but it's delicious," Cynthia chuckled, not caring. Or rather, this was actually a law many people privately adhered to. Overtly, it was forbidden to consume or trade Pokémon. But covertly, consuming and trading Pokémon were basically unstoppable.

For instance, like Ace and Cynthia now, eating Pokémon. But as long as they weren't discovered, or Cynthia didn't blab, who would hold Ace accountable? As for trading Pokémon, it went without saying. Three of Cynthia's main Pokémon were essentially obtained this way; poaching was particularly rampant in the Sinnoh region.

The Alliance was keen to rectify it, but they had only recently taken office and needed time to gain complete control. More importantly, Ace and Cynthia were currently deep within Silver Mountain, where the Alliance had even less control.

Moreover, Ace and Cynthia were mindful. Training in Silver Mountain meant it would be hard to resupply in cities. So, when they ate Pokémon, they only chose renewable parts, for example, Bellsprout's roots, or Slowpoke's tails.

After letting their Pokémon eat their fill and resting for a while, Ace stood up and said to Cynthia, "I'm going to get revenge on that Nidoking. You stay out of it for now."

Cynthia nodded. They had been on Silver Mountain for five days, and during that time, they had encountered the Nidoking Ace mentioned. Last time Ace came alone, he was thoroughly taught a lesson by it. Now that his strength had improved, Ace challenged it again. The result was quite clear: Ace lost again. He was chased for about a mile by the Nidoking before finally escaping it. After that, Ace reflected on his defeat, avoided the Nidoking, and trained for four days. Now that Ace's strength had improved significantly, he was going to challenge that Nidoking again!

Upon hearing about going after the Nidoking, Happiny, among Ace's Pokémon, immediately jumped up. Since its birth, Happiny had been having smooth battles, usually knocking out any Pokémon it encountered with a single punch. But in its last battle with the Nidoking, Happiny fought extremely frustratingly.

It had all that strength, but the Nidoking's Ground-type moves were incredibly skilled. Under the Ground-type interference, Happiny couldn't get close to the Nidoking and was eventually dragged down to defeat. This made it very indignant. Happiny was small, and so was its mind; it was the epitome of holding a grudge. Now, after four days of special training, Happiny felt it was capable again. This time, no matter what, it wanted a one-on-one battle with that Nidoking!

Ace looked at the spirited Happiny, feeling a mix of amusement and helplessness. He crouched down and patted Happiny's head. He took out the Lucky Egg he had already purchased from his pocket and handed it to Happiny, saying, "I know how you feel. So, this battle with Nidoking is all up to you, Happiny."

Happiny's eyes sparkled as it looked at the Lucky Egg Ace handed it. It immediately took the Lucky Egg from Ace's hand and stuffed it into its pouch. Feeling its pouch filled by the Lucky Egg, Happiny felt a surge of power. It looked at Ace, nodding vigorously. At this moment, it felt invincible!

"Let's go. It'll be a good learning experience for me too," Cynthia said to Ace, a slight smile on her lips as she watched Ace and Happiny.

Ace nodded, stood up, and recalled his other Pokémon. Happiny also moved the rock, which was three times its own height, to the side, then walked out of the cave first with its head held high. Ace and Cynthia followed close behind, changed direction, and with Ace and Happiny leading the way, they headed towards the Nidoking's territory...