The Rare Moonlight Pokémon

Upon hearing Jiang Chuan's command, Butterfly gracefully flew forward.

It hovered in mid-air, its compound eyes flickering slightly, precisely locking onto each restless supersonic bat.

The butterfly let out a soft chirp and began to flap its wings at a high frequency!

The pale yellow powder, carried by the airflow generated by the flapping of wings, quickly spread towards the group of supersonic bats.

Sleep powder!

With the added benefit of the "compound eye" property, these powders are distributed over a wider range and more evenly.

The group of supersonic bats was not of a high level to begin with, and seemed to be in a state of excitement and agitation for some reason, so they were completely unprepared.

The pale yellow powder silently adhered to their wings and bodies.

The first few supersonic bats suddenly froze.

Immediately afterwards, the frequency of wing flapping slowed down noticeably.

My eyelids started to droop.

Its cries also became weak and feeble.

thump!

The first supersonic bat, like a kite with a broken string, plummeted straight down from the sky, landing on the grass with a soft snoring sound.

Once there's a first one, there's a second, a third...

One after another, supersonic bats fell from the sky like dumplings being dropped into a pot, landing around Li Ke and sleeping soundly.

It only took a dozen seconds.

The dozen or so supersonic bats that had been aggressively attacking him just moments before were now lying on the ground, snoring all around them.

"Ah...this..." Li Ke, who was surrounded, was stunned and even forgot to cover his mouth and nose.

He was jolted awake when a wisp of sleep powder drifted in front of him. He quickly covered his nose and mouth, his face turning red from holding it in.

Jiang Chuan nodded in satisfaction at the result.

The combination of compound eyes and area control skills results in high efficiency in clearing the field.

Butterfly is a godsend for dealing with such a large but weak group.

"Well done, Butterfly," Jiang Chuan praised.

Ee~

The giant butterfly flew happily back to Jiang Chuan's side and nuzzled him affectionately.

At the same time, a system notification flashed before Jiang Chuan's eyes, visible only to him.

[Pokémon: Butterfree, Level: lv10→ lv13]

This is the advantage of a short experience bar; this group of Zubats directly boosted Butterfree's level by three.

At such a fast speed, it might even catch up with Pikachu and the others.

……

Rescued, Li Ke carefully moved out from among the sleeping supersonic bats, patting his chest with lingering fear.

His face and white coat were covered in dust and grass clippings, and his glasses were askew; he looked disheveled.

Once he was sure he was safe, he immediately turned around, his gaze fixed on Jiang Chuan, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"My benefactor! My benefactor!!"

He let out an exaggerated wail, opened his arms, and rushed towards Jiang Chuan with great excitement, as if he wanted to give Jiang Chuan a solid bear hug.

Jiang Chuan's eyelids twitched.

Just as Li Ke was about to pounce on him, he calmly extended a hand and firmly placed it on Li Ke's shoulder, preventing him from getting any closer.

"A verbal thank you is enough," Jiang Chuan said calmly. "I don't have the habit of giving people enthusiastic hugs."

Beside Hanako, Eevee tilted its little head, its eyes filled with confusion.

(Doesn't this human often cuddle and pet his owner? What is he saying?)

Li Ke awkwardly withdrew his arm, hurriedly adjusted his glasses, and vigorously wiped the dust and tears from his face.

"Ahem... Sorry, I got too excited." Li Ke cleared his throat, trying to regain the composure of a researcher.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Li Ke, and I am a researcher at the Nibi Ecological Museum."

"Mount Tsukimi has always been a key research project for me!"

"This place boasts a unique ecosystem, home to a rare Pokémon, and its underground contains precious Moonstone veins... It should be a protected, pristine land!"

"But, I don't know when it started, the news that there are Moon Stones and rare Pokémon here began to spread."

"This has attracted a large number of greedy trainers and criminals! They're digging recklessly here, damaging the environment, and disturbing the Pokémon!"

"After much effort and persuasion, I managed to obtain a temporary protection order from the alliance and the government, prohibiting large-scale mining and hunting, which finally brought a few months of peace to Mount Tsukimi..."

"But recently, even though the protection order is still in effect, obvious signs of damage have appeared inside Mount Tsukimi."

"That's why I came here to patrol and check things out myself... I didn't expect that I would disturb this group of Zubats so soon after I came in..."

After listening, Jiang Chuan retorted expressionlessly, "So, you come on patrol without bringing a single Pokémon for self-defense?"

"Ah, this..." Li Ke was speechless for a moment when asked the question, and then a kind of almost pious glow appeared on his face.

He pushed up his glasses and said in an idealistic tone, "You don't understand! What I pursue is the most harmonious coexistence between humans, Pokémon, and nature."

"Bringing aggressive Pokémon around will make the sensitive Pokémon here feel uneasy and fearful."

"This goes against my research principles! I hope to move them with my sincerity..."

Xiaoxia couldn't help but roll her eyes, pointed to the circle of supersonic bats sleeping like dead pigs on the ground, and said speechlessly, "Hmm, it is indeed quite 'harmonious,' you've been 'dancing' with them for half a day."

"If it weren't for Jiangchuan's Butterfly, you'd probably still be dancing right now, wouldn't you?"

"Uh..." Li Ke's noble expression instantly crumbled, and he became embarrassed.

Hanako looked around and asked a crucial question: "Mr. Li Ke, you don't bring Pokémon for self-defense, but if you really find the bad guys who are destroying Mt. Moon, how do you plan to stop them?"

"Are you going to try to persuade them verbally with your 'research philosophy'?"

Hanako's question hits the nail on the head.

Li Ke froze, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Yes, we only thought about not disturbing wild Pokémon and maintaining "harmony," without considering what to do if we encountered bad people with malicious intentions.

Is it really just a matter of empty talk?

"I...I..." Li Ke frantically scratched his already messy hair, his face full of embarrassment and frustration.

"I was so focused on the ultimate ideal of ecological harmony that I forgot about fighting the bad guys..."

He suddenly raised his head and looked at Jiang Chuan and the other two, especially Jiang Chuan, who had just commanded Butterfree to easily deal with the Zubat swarm. His eyes instantly lit up with hope!

His eyes welled up with tears again: "Trainers! You are all kind people with a strong sense of justice."

"Please, you must help me! Please help Tsukimiyama! Find the culprits who destroyed this place and stop them! Please!"

Jiang Chuan and his two companions were genuinely concerned about maintaining the Pokémon ecosystem, especially given the mission rewards.

Therefore, Jiang Chuan readily agreed to Li Ke's request.

According to his memory of the "original script," the ones causing trouble at Mt. Tsukimi were almost certainly those three clowns from Team Rocket.

However, as Jiang Chuan progressed, he discovered that the storyline involving the Team Rocket trio did not unfold in a strictly predictable manner.

It's probably because those three guys have such unpredictable thinking, they act entirely on a whim, and they do whatever comes to mind.

But no matter how you try to explain it, judging by the timeline, those three must have been released on bail by now.

Sakaki probably doesn't expect these two guys to do anything big.

However, keeping them as mascots to show care for the descendants of "veterans" and concern for the young masters of "investors" is a good choice for winning people's hearts and maintaining the organization's superficial harmony.

Therefore, there is a very high probability that they will be released and continue to cause trouble everywhere.

...............

Following Li Ke, the three entered the interior of Mount Tsukimi.

Before long, the signs of destruction became clearly visible.

The once intact rock face was brutally chiseled open, leaving rubble and tool marks scattered on the ground.

Some places that might have been georms or gopher burrows have been completely dug up, and there is also discarded garbage around them.

"Look! It's right here!" Li Ke pointed to the marks and said painfully, "They only appeared recently! And they're spreading deeper!"

Jiang Chuan squatted down and carefully examined the chisel marks and scattered pebbles.

The tool marks were rather messy, unlike those of a professional mining team; it seemed more like... a few shovels and picks hastily put together and started working haphazardly.

It fits the style of a certain trio very well.

Jiang Chuan quietly began waveguide-assisted exploration.

Invisible perception transcends the rock walls.

Soon, not too far ahead, deep in the winding passage, he "saw" three familiar soul waveguides, who were engrossed in their work.