"Whirrrr~~~"
The sound of spinning fans echoed through the corridors.
The compact drone continued tracking the Shiny Pichu's movements.
Encountering a Pichu here genuinely surprised Sieg, though not because he planned to raise some legendary "Pika-God" Pikachu.
Rather, Pichu was even more sought-after among wealthy people than Emolga.
Pikachu typically lived in groups, surviving as cohesive family units.
Pichu evolved into Pikachu simply by increasing friendship, paired with just a slight level boost.
What could raise friendship faster than familial bonds?
This meant a Pichu born just days ago could quickly evolve into Pikachu under its parents' care, purely through natural affection.
Consequently, wild Pichu were exceptionally rare.
And the one Sieg had encountered was a Shiny Pichu at that!
Shiny and non-shiny Pichu actually looked quite similar in color—one light yellow, one deeper yellow. Difficult to distinguish at a glance.
However, regular Pichu had pink electric sacs on their cheeks, while Shiny Pichu had bright crimson ones.
Just looking at the cheeks made it obvious.
"Well, well. Just when I'm short on funds, a shiny Pokémon walks right into my lap."
He had a theory about this Shiny Pichu, most likely it had been driven away from its group precisely because it was shiny, which prevented it from evolving into Pikachu.
To humans, "shiny" might represent rarity and value.
But among Pokémon of the same species, a shiny was an outcast, hence the exile.
"If I put this on the black market, those wealthy ladies would lose their minds."
After all, what could be more prestigious than owning a Shiny Pichu?
As for the concern about it accidentally evolving during training, there was an item called the Everstone.
Though its function was rather niche, it prevented Pokémon from evolving to their next stage, keeping them in their current form indefinitely.
Typically, wealthy pet owners equipped their Pokémon with Everstones to prevent sudden evolution.
After all, having your adorable Glameow suddenly evolve into a Purugly would be rather difficult to accept.
"Go, Poké Ball!"
After having Murkrow wear down the Pichu's stamina somewhat, Sieg threw a Poké Ball directly.
Such a low-level Pokémon was naturally caught in one throw, without incident.
Sieg continued exploring deeper into the power plant. Narrow passages, flickering electrical arcs.
Naturally, he encountered various Pokémon along the way.
Magnemite, Electrike, even a Blitzle.
"That door ahead should lead to the turbine room, the power plant's core, and the place with the most concentrated energy."
Sieg cautiously peered through the door's gap, but the dim lighting couldn't penetrate inside, revealing only murky darkness.
If any Elite-level Pokémon existed in this entire power plant, they'd most likely be behind this door.
The turbine room occupied nearly half the facility's total area.
Just as Sieg prepared to push through the door, a thunderous roar erupted from the adjacent corridor.
"A Zebstrika?!"
In the narrow passageway, Zebstrika's massive body left no room to dodge.
"Crawdaunt, Protect!"
Instantly upon command, a green barrier materialized before him, blocking Zebstrika's charge.
Zebstrika's eyes glinted with hatred. Its body surface became covered in countless electrical currents, arcs crackling between the hairs of its coat.
"Zebra!"
Zebstrika reared up again, charging forward in an attempt to break through the Protect barrier.
Unfortunately, Protect's powerful defense could withstand full-force attacks from same-level opponents.
Sieg seized the opportunity to retrieve a pre-loaded poisoned crossbow from his storage ring. At such close range, missing was impossible.
"Fwssh~~"
The poison-coated bolt cut through the air, piercing Zebstrika's hide as purple mist faintly dispersed.
Potent toxins instantly invaded its body. This poison, capable of bringing down Elite-level Pokémon, was overkill against a level-30 Zebstrika.
But Sieg didn't consider it wasteful.
Setting aside the emergency situation, while Protect prevented Zebstrika from attacking, what if something went wrong?
Sieg wouldn't gamble his life on a one-in-ten-thousand chance. After all, Zebstrika could inherit the move Feint.
Moreover, Zebstrika's level wasn't low, at least level 30, and being Electric-type, it countered most of his team.
The only counter he had was Sandile, whose level was far too low, not even level 20 yet.
This was the downside of type specialization, vulnerability to targeted counters.
Sieg couldn't waste time fighting this Zebstrika in such cramped quarters. If it attracted other lurking Pokémon, the situation would turn ugly.
He was already deep in the power plant's central area. Pokémon at Zebstrika's level definitely weren't rare here, and Electric-types generally had aggressive, volatile temperaments.
Sieg didn't have time to finish off the poisoned Zebstrika. The massive commotion had certainly drawn the attention of other Pokémon inside the facility.
This was no place to linger.
Sieg immediately pushed open the turbine room's steel door, quickly locking it behind him once inside. He'd already tested these power plant doors, ordinary Pokémon couldn't break through them.
Therefore, he didn't need to worry about outside Pokémon breaking in.
However, the Pokémon inside the turbine room wouldn't necessarily be any friendlier. They might become even more aggressive due to Sieg trespassing on their territory.
"But as long as I don't face two Elite-level Pokémon simultaneously, I can handle it!" Sieg thought confidently.
This wasn't arrogance, he genuinely had the strength to back it up.
Crawdaunt had reached level 39, and Sharpedo was rapidly catching up at level 37.
With just these two Pokémon, he could contend with ordinary Elite-level opponents, and if he had type advantage, even defeat them.
Even against two Elite-level Pokémon, Sieg was confident he could stall long enough to make a clean escape.
This was the result of massive investment and meticulous training.
Unless absolutely necessary, Sieg would never provoke an Elite-level Pokémon unprovoked. But if the potential reward was sufficient, he'd occasionally take the risk.
After all, without taking risks, how could one succeed?
Life wasn't a progress bar. It wasn't about steady effort guaranteeing advancement.
Sometimes you had to take the unconventional path!