Druddigon's single eye was deathly locked onto Jiang Han, and the look in its eye was a churning, primal rage from its nest being violated.
"Roar—!"
A deafening roar exploded throughout the underground cavern; gravel fell from the ceiling, splashing into the water and creating circles of ripples.
The air seemed to solidify under the pressure of this angry roar.
Jiang Han's heart tightened, but there wasn't a trace of panic on his face; his hands moved as fast as lightning.
A flash of red light appeared, and Sandile's figure materialized between him and Druddigon.
Facing a Druddigon several times its size, Sandile's small body looked somewhat comical, but there wasn't a hint of retreat in its black eyes.
Its front claws dug deep into the hard rock ground to steady its lower body, and it let out a low growl at the behemoth in front of it, declaring its presence.
"Sand Attack!" Jiang Han's command was concise and cold.
A turbid current mixed with sand and gravel suddenly sprayed out, accurately plastering itself against Druddigon's huge single eye.
Druddigon instinctively closed its eye and tilted its head; the moment its vision was obscured, Jiang Han moved.
He had no intention of lingering for a fight, turning and sprinting wildly toward the cave entrance.
The path beneath his feet was uneven and the cave walls were slippery, but every step he took was extremely steady, with only one thought in his mind—increase the distance!
This was a Level 33 wild pokémon; going head-to-head was just asking for death!
Druddigon shook its head to clear the sand from its eye; when it opened its eye again, it only saw Jiang Han's fleeing back and the Sandile still blocking its path provocatively.
The humiliation of being toyed with by a tiny tot caused its anger to burn even brighter.
It raised its hideous giant claws and, with a whistling sound that tore through the air, slammed them down toward the top of Sandile's head!
If this claw strike landed solidly, Sandile would likely lose its ability to battle on the spot.
Jiang Han didn't look back, as if he had eyes in the back of his head; just as the sharp claws were about to touch Sandile, he pressed the switch on the Poké Ball.
"Return!"
A beam of red light shot out accurately, recalling Sandile an instant before the giant claw fell.
"Bang!"
Druddigon's claws slammed heavily onto the empty rock, causing the entire cave to tremble.
Realizing it had been fooled again, Druddigon fell into a complete frenzy.
It let out a series of hysterical roars to the sky and, without any more hesitation, took heavy strides to chase in the direction Jiang Han had fled!
The cave passage seemed somewhat narrow for its massive body; as it ran, rocks were constantly smashed by its body, making loud rumbling noises.
Jiang Han could clearly feel the violent vibrations coming from behind him and that killing intent that almost wanted to swallow him whole.
He didn't dare look back, only charging forward with all his might.
Finally, a glimmer of green light appeared ahead.
He burst out of the cave!
Fresh air and warm sunlight rushed toward him, but Jiang Han didn't relax at all. The moment he burst out of the cave, he immediately performed a side-roll and hid behind a giant rock.
Next, a huge figure carrying endless rage charged out from the dark cave entrance.
The pokémon in the oasis that were originally drinking water and resting leisurely instantly panicked upon sensing Druddigon's terrifying aura, screaming as they scattered and fled, leaving the entire oasis in chaos.
Although Druddigon had a pair of wings, it had lived in caves for years, and its ability to fly had long since degenerated.
However, as it bathed in the sunlight, its dark red, rough skin seemed to absorb the heat, and its body temperature rose rapidly. Its originally somewhat stiff movements became more swift, and its speed was actually several points faster than in the cave!
"Damn it!"
Jiang Han cursed inwardly; seeing Druddigon adjust its posture, its speed surged, and the distance between them was rapidly closing.
His gaze quickly swept across the surroundings, looking for any terrain or objects he could use.
Soon, a pair of pokémon snuggling together not far away entered his sight.
Nidorina and Nidorino!
A thought flashed through Jiang Han's mind instantly; he immediately changed direction and charged toward the position of those two pokémon.
Druddigon pursued relentlessly; its mouth still carried the scent of that Nidoran that had been lured by Inkay earlier.
When Jiang Han brushed past Nidorina and Nidorino, the following Druddigon also brought this scent before them.
The two pokémon were stunned at first, then their noses twitched wildly; when they confirmed the source of that familiar scent mixed with blood and fear, their eyes instantly turned crimson!
That was the scent of their companion!
Grief and anger instantly drowned out their reason; they let out a shrill scream and, regardless of the huge gap in strength, crazily turned around and used the sharp horns on their heads to ram hard into Druddigon!
Although their attacks couldn't cause any substantial damage to Druddigon, this sudden entanglement successfully hindered Druddigon's pursuit.
Now's the time!
Jiang Han seized this precious breathing room, bursting forth with his fastest speed, finally shaking off Druddigon and rushing onto the beach at the edge of the oasis.
The speedboat was parked right at the shore.
He jumped onto the speedboat in a few steps and quickly started the engine.
"Vroom—"
The roar of the motor sounded, and the heavy stone in Jiang Han's heart finally fell. He looked back at the chaotic battlefield behind him, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise.
The harvest this time was too great!
A Gym-level aptitude Inkay, with infinite potential!
"As for you, big guy, and those white stones in your nest that can boost Psychic powers..."
Jiang Han looked at the enraged Druddigon in the distance, his eyes flashing with a light of determination to succeed.
"Wait until I come back, and it'll all be mine!"
He had already started planning that once his strength increased, he must come back and catch this Druddigon and those mysterious stones all in one go!
However, just as he was preparing to drive away and was imagining the future.
"Whoosh—!"
A sharp sound of breaking air came from behind!
Jiang Han's pupils shrank suddenly, and a feeling of extreme danger enveloped his whole body. He instinctively wanted to jump ship.
But it was already too late.
A giant rock the size of a house was thrown by Druddigon with brute force; it drew a deadly parabola in the air and accurately smashed right into the center of the speedboat!
"Boom!!!"
With a loud bang, the speedboat instantly shattered into pieces; wood chips and metal parts flew everywhere, and the hull disintegrated directly under the huge impact, sinking rapidly into the water.
The cold seawater instantly submerged half of Jiang Han's body; he emerged from the water in a disheveled state and looked back.
On the beach not far away, Druddigon had already resolved the entanglement of Nidorina and Nidorino and was staring at him gloomily with that cold single eye.
That look was no longer pure anger, but like looking at a piece of moving food that was about to be caught.
Jiang Han wiped the seawater off his face; instead of panicking, he let out a cold laugh.
Think you've won just like this?
He raised his hand and, with a thought, the space ring flashed with a faint light.
The next second, a simple-looking black surfboard appeared out of thin air on the water in front of him.
Jiang Han flipped himself onto the surfboard and pressed a button on it.
"Buzz buzz buzz..."
At the tail of the surfboard, two palm-sized propellers started up instantly and began to rotate at high speed. The sound wasn't loud, but the churned seawater formed two huge whirlpools.
Before Druddigon could react to what this thing was, the surfboard had already carried Jiang Han away like an arrow from a bow, speeding across the sea surface!
That speed was more than one level faster than his speedboat!
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Han's figure disappeared where the sea met the sky, leaving only a long white wake and the Druddigon on the beach letting out an unwilling roar at the ocean.
The sea breeze blew through Jiang Han's hair; he looked back at the desolate island which had already turned into a small black dot, his gaze calm and profound.
"This island, I will come back again."
"Next time, it won't be to escape."
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