Pokemon: My Strange Pokemons

Eevee suddenly thought of a serious problem: the location with a stash of evolutionary stones was in the wild Pokémon reserve.

With Ethan's cautious nature and low risk tolerance, it was unlikely he would go there willingly. To him, Eevee was still just a small, weak, pitiful creature, albeit one with a healthy appetite.

How could she trick her timid Trainer into entering the reserve?

Maybe she could pretend to find some valuable Pokémon item and lead him in?

But that might just result in being scooped up and hearing something like, "Safety is more important than money."

Ugh, it's so frustrating! He has such a strong Pokémon like me, yet he's overly cautious!

Eevee looked toward the boundary between the scenic area and the Pokémon reserve, quietly scheming.

"Should we head back now? If we start now, we'll be home by dinner," Ethan murmured, glancing at the westward-leaning sun.

Eat, eat, eat. That's all you think about. Can you even eat that much at your age? Don't you have any ambition at all?

Though Eevee grumbled internally, her paws obediently followed Ethan's steps.

Forget it. That place wasn't discovered until a year later in my past life when Ethan and I visited it. I'll treat it as stashing some savings in the Miranda Mountain bank.

Including the golden Sitrus Berries and a few Cheri Berries we picked today, we've made nearly 10,000 Pokédollars on this trip.

Sigh, raising a Trainer is no easy task.

Eevee was mentally tallying their harvest when her sensitive ears picked up the distant cries of a child.

Was this a Pokémon attack?

It could also just be a tantrum, but Eevee didn't dare gamble on that chance.

Without hesitation, Eevee turned and darted toward the direction of the cries.

"Hey, Eevee, where are you going?"

Ethan called out, startled, but by the time he reacted, Eevee had already run quite a distance.

All he could do was chase after her while shouting.

Humans in the Pokémon world might be physically strong, but they couldn't compare to the mysterious power wielded by Pokémon.

After about three minutes of running, Ethan had lost sight of Eevee.

However, he now also heard the cries of a child, realizing why Eevee had bolted—it was to save the kid!

Moments later, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps behind him, accompanied by a woman's frantic, breathless voice.

"Give me back my child! I'll give you lots of food!"

Ethan turned to see a young mother he had noticed earlier on the bus.

She seemed to have been running even longer, her legs trembling, tears streaming down her face, her carefully applied makeup smudged.

Seeing Ethan, she grabbed his arm like a lifeline, her voice hoarse as she pleaded, "Please, save my child!"

"I understand. My Eevee has already gone ahead. What kind of Pokémon took your child? Do you have any Pokémon with you?"

Ethan's mind was clear despite the urgency, and he asked the most critical questions succinctly.

"It... it was three Mankey. We only brought a Torkoal this time," the woman gasped out between sobs, tears streaming.

Ethan stayed calm. Pulling out his phone, he quickly called the reserve staff.

The phone connected with a beep, and Ethan spoke rapidly, "A child has been taken by Mankey. We're near the mountain forest, close to the boundary line. Send help immediately!"

The voice on the other end was serious and responded promptly, "Understood. We'll dispatch the nearest ranger for rescue right away!"

After hanging up, Ethan left everything except his phone behind, then turned to the woman.

"Give me Torkoal's Poké Ball. I'll go after them."

The woman, filled with gratitude, handed him a Luxury Ball, her hands trembling. "Please, I'm begging you!"

Ethan ran northward toward the cries at a steady pace.

He knew this was a test of endurance. Sprinting all-out would only result in exhaustion. A balanced pace was the key to catching up.

Thanks to his morning runs with Eevee over the past two weeks, his stamina had noticeably improved. In his previous life, he would've collapsed by now.

Ethan had no idea how long he had been running. His heartbeat thundered in his chest, and a sharp metallic taste crept into his throat.

But the cries grew closer and closer, spurring him on.

Finally, after pushing past some low shrubs, Ethan spotted Eevee by a stream, facing three pig-nosed, monkey-like Pokémon—Mankey.

A young boy, his face smeared with dirt and filled with terror, was huddled behind the Mankey.

Eevee stood panting, her fur matted with dust and scratches. It was clear she'd just fought hard to hold them off.

Ethan didn't have time to wonder how a single Eevee managed to delay three Mankey. The priority now was to rescue the child.

"Listen, I'll give you whatever you want, but please don't hurt him, okay?"

Though Ethan wanted nothing more than to take the Mankey apart, he forced himself to stay calm and negotiate.

Eevee was visibly exhausted, and he himself was on the verge of collapse.

If the Mankey decided to flee with the boy, there was little he could do to stop them.

The only Pokémon with energy left was Torkoal, but asking it to outrun the Mankey? That was as impossible as making Groudon fly.

"Screee!"

One of the Mankey stepped forward, extending a hand toward Ethan as if demanding, "Prove it!"

But Ethan had nothing except his phone, having left everything else behind to lighten his load.

With no other choice, he held out the phone.

"This is the most important thing to us humans. Being without it for even a few minutes feels unbearable. I'll leave it as collateral and bring back lots of Pokéblocks or any other food you want. Deal?"

Though his argument was sound, Mankey were not the brightest Pokémon.

They huddled together, examining the phone, and quickly reached a consensus.

This metal box? Useless!

Feeling insulted, the Mankey erupted in fury and abandoned the boy, charging straight at Ethan instead.

Ethan felt a flicker of relief and gestured for Eevee to lead the boy away.

But Eevee, unaware of Torkoal's presence, refused to leave her Trainer behind for a mere child.

She stepped in front of Ethan, growling angrily at the advancing Mankey.

"Vee! (Fight me one-on-one! What's the point of three-on-one?)"

The Mankey sneered. Three-on-one? That's just teamwork!

As the Mankey inched closer, Ethan resisted the urge to release Torkoal immediately, waiting for the perfect moment.

Just as he prepared to throw the Poké Ball and dash for the boy, a splash came from the nearby stream.

A small, ugly gray fish with a scarred surface—Feebas—emerged, spraying a Water Gun at the Mankey.

The Mankey froze, wiped the water off their faces, and turned their wrathful gazes toward the Feebas.

"Scraa! (How dare you!)"

Redirecting their anger, they charged at the defiant little Feebas in the stream.