-057- Coward and Iron-Shelled Insect? (2/3)

"Relax, I’m just going to give you a beating and take your Pokémon as experimental material—I won’t kill you. After all, only with you going to the Pokémon Association to report us will people know what evil things our Bronzite Team is up to, hahaha..."

The man in brown, true to the organization’s usual flamboyant style, prepared to thrash Tong Si and snatch his Eevee.

"What kind of twisted amusement is this?"

Tong Si couldn’t help but feel at a loss for words.

So this is the Bronzite Team? What a bunch of lowlifes!

"Eevee, how are you feeling?"

As the two Timid Worms crept closer, he needed to make sure Eevee was fit for battle.

"Vee!"

Having absorbed a large amount of grass energy, Eevee felt entirely comfortable.

"Good! Then let’s fight!"

Through his scanning eye, Tong Si saw the precise data of the two Timid Worms on his panel:

Timid Worm x2
Level: 20
Ability: Eager to Flee
Quality: Common

These two Pokémon seemed like carbon copies—identical in both level and quality.

Seeing their stats, he quickly judged that this brown-clad man’s rank within the Bronzite Team couldn’t be high.

From what Tong Si knew, the Bronzite Team was a massive organization, spanning the whole of Hualong. If every member used high-level, high-quality Pokémon, the team would never be able to supply so many.

This man was likely just a low-level grunt, which explained why he used two common-grade Timid Worms.

Tong Si was well versed in the details of all kinds of Pokémon.

Among them, Timid Worms were weak, dual-type Bug and Water Pokémon. Before evolving, they could only learn three moves: Bug Resist, Sand Splash, and Harden. Unless one used a skill disk, those were all they could do.

Moreover, Timid Worms had a glaring weakness—they were afraid of electricity.

The thought brought a smile to Tong Si’s face. He’d initially thought these two Bronzite Team grunts would be tough to handle and considered making a bigger commotion to wait for a search officer’s help.

In the Leafy Forest, though there was no cell signal, several professional trainer-grade search officers regularly patrolled the area.

But if this brown-clad man was all he faced, Tong Si was confident he could handle it himself.

"Eevee, use Thunderbolt!"

As the two Timid Worms crawled toward them, Eevee leapt forward.

A golden bolt of electricity shot out instantly.

"What? How can Eevee use Thunderbolt?"

The Bronzite Team grunt was clearly stunned to see Eevee unleash the attack.

Even though he'd been a poor student, he knew Eevee was a Normal-type and shouldn’t be able to use Thunderbolt.

"Vee!"

With Eevee’s Thunderbolt, the two Timid Worms recoiled in terror.

"Don’t run!"

The grunt shouted after them.

He’d thought Tong Si was a rookie trainer—an easy target to bully. As someone who’d recently joined the Bronzite Team, he was always pushed around by his seniors. This rare mission was his chance to vent some frustration, but he hadn’t expected this newcomer to be so difficult!

"Use Bug Resist, quick!"

That was the only damaging move Timid Worms possessed.

The two Timid Worms hesitated, torn between their fear of Eevee and the man behind them.

After a moment’s indecision, they both recklessly launched Bug Resist at Eevee, attacking frantically.

"Thunderbolt!"

Tong Si’s expression didn’t change. The best way to deal with Timid Worms was with electric moves.

"Vee!"

In that instant, Eevee found its confidence.

Another sharp Thunderbolt struck, hitting both Timid Worms clustered together.

"Ssss..."

"Shyaaa..."

They cried out in pain and, in the next moment, both retreated into the grunt’s Poké Balls.

"What are you two doing?!"

The brown-clad man roared at the Poké Balls.

This was a Pokémon battle! How could they retreat halfway through—was this desertion?

"You mean you don’t know? Timid Worms have the ability Eager to Flee. When their HP drops below half, they return to their Poké Ball and swap for another Pokémon!"

Tong Si shook his head, exasperated.

"Eager to Flee?"

Hearing Tong Si’s explanation, the man finally understood why his Timid Worms had retreated.

"I told you—read more books and stop spending all your days plotting evil. You’re as ignorant as a fool."

Tong Si shrugged helplessly, looking at the man as if he were hopeless.

The man saw Tong Si’s gaze—like he was staring at an idiot—and his anger flared.

At that moment, another Poké Ball in his pocket burst open, releasing a Pokémon.

The grunt had only three Pokémon in total: two Timid Worms, and… a Cocoon Beetle!

With the two Timid Worms recalled, the Cocoon Beetle was forced into battle.

"Cocoon Beetle!"

The man grew anxious. He’d secretly caught this one earlier, when their group had been forcing a swarm of Cocoon Beetles to evolve into Beedrill.

Within the Bronzite Team, it was strictly forbidden to privately own Pokémon aside from those assigned by the higher-ups.

Each member’s Pokémon strength and number were determined by their organizational rank.

As members rose in rank, they could even exchange their Pokémon for stronger ones.

Low-level grunts like him weren’t entitled to keep Pokémon; only when out on missions could they temporarily register for one or two from the warehouse, which they had to return afterward.

Most of the Bronzite Team’s Pokémon were, in fact, shared assets.

Little wonder the man knew almost nothing about his own Timid Worms.

"So there’s a Cocoon Beetle too! Eevee, use Thunderbolt on it!"

Tong Si quickly checked the data panel: this Cocoon Beetle was only level 8, not even close to evolving into a Beedrill.

"Vee!"

Eevee’s Thunderbolt struck the Cocoon Beetle squarely.

Though its physical defense was high, its special defense was low. The electric move knocked it out instantly.

"Useless thing!"

The man was furious—his secret Pokémon had been exposed in front of Tong Si, and it had been defeated in a single blow.

He recalled the Cocoon Beetle and sent out his two Timid Worms again.

Meanwhile, Tong Si noticed Eevee’s level seemed to have risen to seventeen?

At that moment, a white light flared from Eevee’s body.

"Is it going to evolve?"

Tong Si’s heart leapt with excitement.

As he’d suspected, this moss-covered rock could indeed trigger Eevee’s evolution!

...(To be continued)