Chapter 43: Discussing the Action Plan
"Then what about my evolution?"
In the temporary cave dug out to shelter from wind and rain, Rio lay on the dry grass, somewhat unable to sleep, staring blankly at the stone ceiling above.
Unlike many Pokémon that could evolve once they reached a certain level, or those that needed various magical treasures to evolve, the evolution of a Riolu was rather special. According to the Pokédex entries in the games, a Riolu had to reach a certain level of intimacy or friendship with its trainer, and then level up, to evolve into its more powerful form—Lucario.
However, for Rio, a Riolu with the mind of a human, cultivating intimacy or friendship with a human trainer seemed so unacceptable to him.
"I'm doomed. I can't possibly stay in this unevolved body for my whole life, can I?"
Rio was a bit depressed.
Riolu is a humanoid Pokémon, which made it very quick for Rio, who was human in his previous life, to adapt. After all, if he had been reincarnated as a Pokémon like Grimer, Rio would probably have had a mental breakdown just looking at his own limp, smelly, rotten mud body; or if he had been reincarnated as a Pokémon like Voltorb, which was nothing but a ball, although still quite cool, being without hands and feet would also be very frustrating.
Then again, Rio himself was quite satisfied with being reincarnated as a Riolu, but having to remain in the Riolu state was a rather uncomfortable matter.
Firstly, Riolu's base stats weren't high, only 285 (according to game values), not much different from common Pokémon like Rattata. This meant that without evolving, even if Riolu's level was raised to the very top, there would still be a very large gap compared to the mid-tier or even top-tier Pokémon in this world. Self-preservation might be possible, but to dominate in the wild or win various major competitions in the human world would be an extremely difficult task.
Secondly, Rio this Riolu was considered a large specimen among his kind. As mentioned before, Rio had also roughly measured his overall height to be about 0.8 meters, which was a relatively tall physique for a Riolu. Leaving aside comparisons with those colossal Pokémon, even when compared to ordinary humans, this was merely the height of a child. This was a difficult issue for Rio to accept, as he still yearned in his heart to have a body similar in size to his previous life.
An ordinary Lucario, on the other hand, not only had base stats reaching 525, with strength approaching the final forms of the relatively powerful Grass, Fire, and Water starter Pokémon in the games, but also an ordinary Lucario's height could reach 1.3 to 1.4 meters. If a Lucario evolved from a relatively tall Riolu like Rio, its height could probably reach around 1.6 to 1.7 meters, practically the standard height of a human in his previous life.
Thinking of this, Rio still longed very much for evolution.
"Sigh, but I'd have to be captured by someone. It feels so awkward. Though, if I met a trainer like Red-sama or Ash-sama, it wouldn't be out of the question to consider... Life as a spirit is tough..."
Muttering to himself, drowsiness gradually welled up, and Rio drifted into a deep sleep while still mumbling.
…
Late at night, the darkness was thick. The crescent moon, which originally shed its bright light, was now covered by heavy, dark clouds.
The stream outside Sunrise Valley still flowed with a gurgle.
"Plop," a golden light struggled to swim in the stream, finally stopping in a place where the current was not so turbulent.
…
Early the next morning.
Rio and the Squirtle Boss, having rested well, were discussing countermeasures in the newly rebuilt small wooden hut.
Surrounding the two Pokémon were the remaining few higher-level Pokémon in Sunrise Valley.
Rio also shared the intelligence he had observed. At this point, he no longer cared if other Pokémon knew he possessed a magical ability like the "system." Just like he hadn't deliberately hidden the [Backpack] function before, anyway, as the only Riolu in the world, it wouldn't be surprising if other Pokémon were unfamiliar and mistakenly thought these magical abilities were innate to Riolu as a species.
"According to my observations, whether it's Hegemon Nidoking or his other subordinate Pokémon, they all have two abnormal statuses. One is the 'Berserk' state we previously saw on the Snorlax Leader or that flock of Flying Pokémon; the other is a newly appeared 'Mind-Controlled' state."
"The known information is that Pokémon in a 'Berserk' state will emit blood-red energy, and their strength will be greatly enhanced, but at the cost of losing their sanity. At the same time, their desire to battle will be extremely strong. Correspondingly, due to the loss of sanity, their combat skills will decline to some extent."
"However, Hegemon Nidoking's group of Pokémon, judging from their performance yesterday, could still maintain considerable rationality and possessed mature combat skills and tactics. I believe the reason for all this is the new abnormal state called 'Mind-Controlled'."
"The 'Berserk' state enhanced their combat power, while the 'Mind-Controlled state' allowed them to avoid losing their sanity."
Speaking to this point, the Squirtle Boss rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
"Indeed, if it were the Nidoking of the past, even if his temper was as irritable as ever, he wouldn't have been as unreasonable as yesterday. Moreover, the Toxic Swamp is already a very good habitat for him and his subordinates. If they deliberately came over to provoke a dispute yesterday to seize territory, it doesn't make sense, as Sunrise Valley is not suitable for their group of Poison and Ground-type Pokémon."
"Therefore, I boldly speculate that Nidoking and the others were all controlled by some unknown power. Thus, all those unreasonable actions were a result of them acting according to commands received after being controlled and brainwashed."
"Clap!" Rio slapped the wooden table, drawing a final conclusion.
"This inexplicable mind-controlling power most likely comes from a Pokémon. Therefore, to fight against the Pokémon of the Toxic Swamp, we must also be wary of this mysterious Pokémon behind them."
Hearing that he made sense, the other Pokémon nodded one after another.
"Before we discuss how to rescue our companions," the Squirtle Boss paused, his gaze turning to Butterfree, who was flapping its wings. "Butterfree, I hope you can stay in the valley."
"Ah, but I want to participate in the battle too!"
Butterfree's antennae twitched, a look of displeasure on its face.
"You are the highest-level among the remaining Pokémon in our valley, and there are still many young Pokémon in the valley now. We cannot be without a guardian. So, we can only rely on you."
Butterfree fell silent, sighing inwardly. She clearly knew that guarding the Pokémon of Sunrise Valley was also an extremely important matter.
"Alright, let's get to the main topic. How do we rescue our companions? Does anyone have any ideas?"
Rio glanced around, mentally calculating the combat strength of the Pokémon present:
"Most of the Pokémon gained levels in the previous battles."
"Excluding Butterfree, who is the highest at lv23, the Pokémon above lv10 who can participate in this operation are only the lv21 Geodude Leader, the lv21 Gloom, the lv19 Beedrill, the lv18 Second Geodude, and the lv15 Machop and Mankey, plus the lv14 Goldeen and normal Squirtle."
"And among the Pokémon from the Toxic Swamp last time, besides the Hegemon Pokémon, there was the lv29 Elite Arbok, the lv24 Elite Sandslash, the lv22 Elite Nidoqueen, and a large number of normal Pokémon above lv10, with some around lv20."
"If we go to war against that group of Pokémon from the Toxic Swamp with this lineup, the outcome doesn't look optimistic."
As Rio pondered this, the straightforward Geodude raised its hand and bluntly voiced Rio's concerns.
"Boss, I don't think we have enough Pokémon to fight those guys."
"Moreover, how do we deal with the poisonous fog of the Toxic Swamp? Apart from a few Poison-type Pokémon, we can't stay in the poisonous fog for long. This will greatly limit our combat ability."
"Currently, relying solely on ourselves, our combat strength is indeed insufficient. Therefore, I think we can join forces with the Pokémon of Crescent Lake. This way, not only will we have more Pokémon to fight together, but Crescent Lake's Water-type Pokémon will have a type advantage against that group of Ground-type Pokémon, and we can concentrate on dealing with the Poison-type ones."
"As for the poisonous fog, we still have an external supporter."
The Pokémon's gazes turned to Takuma, who had remained silent all this time.
The Pokémon had no particular objections to Takuma, this human child. After all, when they were cleaning up and rebuilding the valley yesterday, Takuma had helped many Pokémon with his strange little mechanical gadgets. The Pokémon of Sunrise Valley were naturally kind-hearted and naturally appreciated Takuma's help. In this way, Takuma got along quite well with many of the valley's Pokémon in a very short time.
Seeing the Pokémon's gazes focus on him, Takuma confidently patted his chest.
"Leave it to me! The gas masks I made are not only easy to wear but also have excellent anti-poison effects. They can even remain effective for up to three days."
As he spoke, Takuma demonstrated to everyone how the gas masks were triggered and how they didn't hinder movement after being put on.
"That's good then." The Geodude bobbed its spherical body up and down, indicating its approval.
"Haha, Takuma, you're amazing!" A Squirtle who was quite familiar with Takuma joked with him.
"Leave the Poison-types to me! Watch me poke a few holes in them!" The warlike Beedrill eagerly rubbed the sharp lances on its two arms.
Other Pokémon also chattered amongst themselves.
Seeing the Pokémon's morale rise again, the Squirtle Boss adjusted his sunglasses and was just about to explain his pre-planned tactics in detail when several panicked shouts came from outside the wooden hut.
"N-no, it's not good! A strange Pokémon has collapsed outside our valley!"
The Oddish hopped in, flustered.
A strange Pokémon?
Rio and the Squirtle Boss exchanged a glance, then turned and followed the others out.