The tunnel ahead of the Black Obsidian Waterfall shown on the map was now blocked by a large rock. Xu Li decided to change his route and turn back.
Walking along the riverbank, Xu Li saw more and more Magikarp in the river and wondered if he should catch one.
Gyarados was a god-tier Pokémon for clearing the game, a primary generation powerhouse.
Thinking this, Xu Li squatted by the river and scattered some Pokémon bait.
Soon, a Magikarp floated up to eat it, then curiously looked at Xu Li on the bank, its gaze blank, still blowing bubbles from its mouth.
This Magikarp wasn't afraid of people. Xu Li poked Magikarp's hard skull, somewhat puzzled as to why curiosity and blankness could appear in the same eyes.
Xu Li had heard many evaluations about Magikarp in the Pokémon world, saying it was known for being unreliable.
Frail in body, dull in mind, useless, lacking in both strength and speed, only capable of aimless Splash, it was the weakest Pokémon in the world, surviving to this day only through its astonishing reproductive capacity.
Magikarp might be weak, but Gyarados isn't.
He took out a Poké Ball, reached out, and touched Magikarp with the Poké Ball. Magikarp turned into a white light and was drawn into the Poké Ball. It didn't struggle and was caught directly.
[Magikarp ♦
Type: Water
Level: Lv15
Ability: Swift Swim
Moves: Splash, Tackle
Favorability: 40 (I don't know why, but I feel very close to you)]
Xu Li released the Magikarp, and seeing its confused expression, he took out an energy cube and put it into the Magikarp's mouth.
Upon eating the energy cube, the Magikarp's eyes widened, and its white whiskers trembled continuously.
Suddenly, the Magikarp dived directly into the water, and bubbles from its descent churned on the surface.
"Alas."
Before Xu Li could reach out, the Magikarp had already disappeared from his sight.
"What's going on?"
But soon after, the Magikarp resurfaced, but behind it was a golden figure, looking at Xu Li with a dull gaze mixed with timidity.
"This is? A Shinny Magikarp?"
Xu Li was a little surprised; this was the first Shinny Pokémon he had encountered in the wild.
After coming to Xu Li's side, the Magikarp's mouth kept moving, as if expecting Xu Li to continue feeding it energy cubes.
Xu Li took out a Poké Ball, extended it forward, and said to the Shinny Magikarp, "If you want to eat energy cubes, you have to go into this ball first."
Before the Shinny Magikarp could react, it was pushed by the Magikarp to touch the Poké Ball, and it didn't resist, being directly captured.
[Magikarp (Shinny) ♦
Attribute: Water
Level: Lv16
Ability: Rattled
Moves: Splash, Tackle
Favorability: 40 (0v0)]
This Shinny Magikarp even has a hidden ability; after evolving into Gyarados, its ability will become Moxie, a characteristic that makes it stronger the more it fights.
He released the Shinny Magikarp and fed both Magikarp plenty of energy cubes.
After introducing both Magikarp to Axew and the others, the Magikarp couldn't leave the water at this stage, so Xu Li recalled both Magikarp into their Poké Balls and headed in another direction in the Obsidian Fieldlands.
On the way back, he encountered many wild Pokémon blocking his path, a total of 4 Zubat and 2 Dustox, which were dealt with by the Eevee, Shinx, and Growlithe Xu Li sent out. He captured them with Hisui Poké Balls, intending to transfer them to Professor Laventon for research.
Including Spheal and Buizel, Xu Li now has eleven Pokémon captured, and adding the Shinny Ponyta and Chimchar he plans to capture, he'll have enough for two teams.
Now, unless he encounters one he particularly likes, he doesn't plan to easily capture Pokémon anymore; he wants to train the current ones first.
Due to the large number of captured Pokémon, Xu Li couldn't release all of them to follow him; they generally took turns accompanying Xu Li as he advanced through the Black Obsidian Field.
This also led to more encounters with wild Pokémon.
He returned to the Worn-Out Bridge and passed through Deertrack Heights.
Along the way, Xu Li trained his Pokémon's independent combat abilities, defeating many more wild Pokémon, all of which he captured with Hisui Poké Balls.
Moreover, due to traveling overnight, they were attacked by Drifloon, which only appear at night. Growlithe was vigilant, and eventually, they all ended up in Xu Li's Poké Ball.
Finally, at the Tidewater Dam, he was attacked by a Head Bibarel.
[Bibarel (Head) ♦
Attributes: Normal, Water
Level: Lv13
Ability: Unaware
Moves: Tackle, Water Gun, Stomp, Aqua Jet, Sleeping, Rollout, Tear, Iron Tail,
Favorability: 10]
"Eevee, Helping Hand! Shinx, Thunder Fang!"
"Bingu—!"
Shinx had just used the Charge move, its body filled with Electric Light. After receiving Helping Hand from Eevee, its golden beast eyes stared intently at the Bibarel. With a roar, it opened its mouth wide and attacked the Bibarel.
The Bibarel, having previously been hit by Shinx's Thunder Wave, was paralyzed and couldn't dodge at all.
After being attacked by Thunder Fang, it let out a cry of pain, its fluffy tail straightened, and it raised its hands, yelping.
"Bido~~~Bido~~~~"
Shinx was a little confused.
"Bin~gu?"
"Bido~Bido~"
After communicating with the Bibarel for a while, Shinx ran back to Xu Li.
"Bingu~(It says it surrenders and doesn't want to fight anymore)"
Xu Li shouted at the Bibarel, "You attacked us first. You surrender and we don't fight anymore?"
"Bido~Bido~"
The Bibarel looked a bit wronged. It said the stick Xu Li was holding was taken from the dam it had built, which was why it used Water Gun as a warning.
Who knew Xu Li would counter with a series of attacks that hurt it so much.
The Bibarel's words, conveyed by Shinx to Xu Li, left Xu Li a bit bewildered as he looked at the 'Ruyi Divine Sword' in his hand.
This was a perfectly straight and natural branch Xu Li had picked up on the road and was holding; after all, no boy could refuse a straight and natural branch, right?
"This is mine, though. See, this branch has no water on it, so it wasn't taken from your dam."
"Bido~"
The Bibarel blinked, carefully examining the extremely dry branch in Xu Li's hand. It seemed to realize its mistake and lowered its Head.
Xu Li took out a Poké Ball.
"If you enter this Poké Ball and help build some things, I'll let you off."
Bibarel are known for their diligence, easily digging earth with their sharp large incisors and gnawing through trees. They often build dams and riverside nests with branches and mud.
Especially the dams built by Bibarel are renowned for their safety, making them excellent civil engineering Pokémon. Conveniently, Xu Li's yard lacked a civil engineer to tidy up the ground pitted and damaged by Pokémon moves.
"Bido?"
"Really."
Looking at the Shinx it couldn't possibly beat, and the many Pokémon next to Xu Li, the Bibarel succumbed and entered the Poké Ball.
Xu Li healed the Bibarel's paralysis and then stroked its fluffy Head before recalling it into its Poké Ball. Xu Li continued his journey.
[Obtained Loot]
[Exp. Candy S][TM: Aqua Jet][Water Gem]
These spoils of war are perfect for Oshawott.
Aqua Jet is a move Buizel and Oshawott also used in battle; it allows them to pounce on the opponent with lightning speed, which is very suitable for Oshawott to close the distance.
He gave the Aqua Jet TM to Oshawott and then took out an Exp. Candy S.
Xu Li examined it carefully: a blue gummy in the shape of a pyramid. He pinched off a bit and tasted it himself.
"Ah~"
The moment it entered his mouth, a warm current surged through his body from top to bottom, making the areas it passed tingle, causing Xu Li to let out a soft groan.
He then gave the remaining Exp. Candy to Shinx.
"Bingu~~"