Chapter 45: Hunter Outpost
After encountering several Pokémon group attacks, with Chenxi's assistance, Ju Shi clearly felt the pressure greatly reduced.
Whether it was providing reasonable defensive support when needed or offering treatment when required, Chenxi couldn't claim to be flawless, but she certainly did her duty.
Ju Shi looked at Chenxi's Torterra and felt that this was a good teammate worth trusting.
Especially after battles, besides having Torterra use its skills for treatment, Chenxi would also conduct physical examinations on the Small Elves that had taken damage, and Ju Shi's several MT-type Pokémon, who were always at the forefront, received the most attention.
Because Golem and Rhyperior had always been at the very front of the team, they had accumulated a lot of internal injuries. So, Chenxi even prescribed a traditional Chinese medicine conditioning formula for Ju Shi, which made Ju Shi like Chenxi even more.
Therefore, Ju Shi was also very willing to impart some small MT defense techniques to Chenxi's Torterra.
Firstly, if Torterra became stronger, it could better assist him in defense.
Secondly, because he didn't have much money, he could use this knowledge to pay off his debts. At least, Ju Shi himself felt it was a good deal.
And Chenxi eagerly absorbed this knowledge, which Ju Shi's Small Elves had gained with their lives, because her Torterra truly needed it.
Torterra's Charge system had been successfully built, and its defensive effects were fully demonstrated.
But how to make Torterra withstand greater damage with as little injury as possible, these techniques definitely required Torterra to internalize.
And now, with this Spirit Hunter, who had fought various wild Pokémon on the front lines for many years, teaching, Torterra's growth rate was naturally unquestionable. Chenxi could clearly feel Torterra constantly transforming.
More importantly, Chenxi unexpectedly learned a new technique from Ju Shi: Magnitude.
Magnitude was originally supposed to be a weakened version of Earthquake.
Both can cause Earthquakes, but the Magnitude skill is uncontrollable, easily leading to unstable energy, unstable power, and an unstable range.
However, many ordinary Trainers were still very willing to study the Magnitude skill.
Because they simply didn't have the inheritance of the Earthquake skill, or even if they had Ground-type Pokémon, due to the potential issues of these Small Elves, many skills couldn't be mastered even after reaching the corresponding level.
Only Small Elves with deep enough potential could master their growth skills at a specified level. Basically, Small Elves below Green Grade more or less had issues with incomplete skills.
And Ju Shi's Small Elves were like this; due to insufficient potential, even though the Earthquake skill was in their own skill system, they had been unable to learn it.
So, Ju Shi, like countless ordinary Superior Trainers, had his Small Elves focus on studying a single skill.
And Ju Shi's study was Magnitude.
Ju Shi mainly applied his Small Elves' Magnitude to counter-shock.
The Small Elves connect with the earth, and whenever they take close-range physical damage, the counter-shock force brought by Magnitude is reflected back to the opposing Small Elf.
At the same time, his Small Elves use Magnitude to transmit this force received to the ground.
Of course, if one is not familiar with this guiding force at first, it can easily cause damage to the Small Elf itself.
After all, Ground-types themselves do not resist Ground-types.
However, Ju Shi's Rhyperior, relying on its sturdy Rock Head ability, mastered this force. After adapting to Magnitude's counter-shock, it became a unique skill for the team's MT.
Upon hearing Ju Shi's words, Chenxi analyzed the counter-shock ability quite thoroughly and carefully recorded it.
Because Ju Shi's application of the Magnitude ability was very innovative, but unfortunately, his own knowledge base was insufficient, so he only mastered it in a simple and crude, forceful way, which left extremely severe internal injuries on his Rhyperior and Golem.
If she hadn't met him, Chenxi felt that in two years, these two Small Elves might have collapsed.
But it was undeniable that Ju Shi's technique of using Magnitude as a counter-shock was very much worth her Torterra learning and drawing inspiration from.
However, Chenxi did not immediately have her Torterra research and learn this system.
Firstly, because Torterra had not fully mastered the Grass Drain system, being distracted by learning other things could easily lead to neither being proficient.
Secondly, this system, in fact, causes significant damage to the Small Elf's internal organs before finding the balance of Magnitude.
Every failed attempt to control Magnitude is equivalent to taking a Magnitude hit oneself, which is no small matter.
Therefore, it must be in a professional training area, and with sufficient medical treatment, otherwise, Chenxi would not proceed.
So, Chenxi planned to record this matter and, when she went to Qiefeng Academy, ask a specialized Ground-type teacher for advice, which might provide her with sufficient insight.
Along the way, Chenxi also demonstrated her skill in finding medicinal herbs on Mt. Coronet.
This earned her even more respect from the hunter group. In fact, when Chenxi found some herbs, people from the Long Wu Hunter Group would carefully observe them, and some would even come to ask about their uses.
After all, they were all Spirit Hunters making a living out in the world; knowing a few more types of medicinal herbs might provide a bit more security.
While Chenxi's performance was like a blooming garden, Zhu Lan appeared exceptionally low-key.
Firstly, Zhu Lan's skills were not in these areas, and secondly, Chenxi intentionally did it this way.
Because if she was high-profile, Zhu Lan would naturally hide behind her. This was Chenxi's way of protecting Zhu Lan.
Although, if Zhu Lan unleashed Dragon Power on her Garchomp, it might be herself who needed protection instead.
Under such circumstances, the team continued to advance for about half a month, arriving at a wide and open basin area. Upon arriving here, Chenxi noticed that there were quite a few hunter groups.
"There are so many people here!" Chenxi and Zhu Lan couldn't help but exclaim as they looked at the Spirit Hunters, "Are they all here for Salamence's Pokémon eggs?"
"It shouldn't be all of them. Only a portion of the powerful hunter groups are, and another portion of the Pokémon groups are like us, just here to take advantage. Moreover, this place is the last supply station on the outskirts of Mt. Coronet. So, even without this mission, many Spirit Hunters would gather here!" Ju Shi explained.
"It's the Long Wu Hunter Group! So you guys are here too!" At this moment, a middle-aged hunter walked up and said, "Ju Shi, long time no see, still as sturdy as ever. Wu Zi, tsk tsk, it's been years, have you missed me?"
"Scram! Why would I miss a heartless guy like you!" Wu Zi said, but it was clear she knew this middle-aged hunter.
"Then I'm very sad." However, the middle-aged hunter's expression became serious, and he said, "Are you also here for Salamence's egg?"
"That thing, unless you're a Quasi-Heavenly King Trainer, whoever touches it dies! My Long Wu Hunter Group still wants to operate for a few more years!" Wu Zi said with disdain, "What, are you planning to compete for it?!"
"Who doesn't have a dream!" The middle-aged hunter said, glancing at Wu Zi's team. Seeing Chenxi and Zhu Lan, two children, he couldn't help but frown slightly and said, "You even brought children on this mission."
"Don't underestimate them. They are scholars preparing to study at Qiefeng Academy, especially the boy, who was trained by Elf Garden and has very strong healing abilities. They're just following us to gain some experience!"
"Elf Garden... you're really lucky!" Hearing this, the middle-aged hunter's expression changed slightly and he said, "Tonight at 7 PM, there's a hunter group meeting at our camp.
It's initiated by Hei Yan, Zhan Pi, and us.
Bring your people and come listen. It's about this Tianwang-level Salamence Pokémon egg mission."
"Oh? Okay. After I settle my team, I'll go." Wu Zi's expression became serious, and she nodded.
Soon, Wu Zi led everyone to the camp tent where the Long Wu Hunter Group had already purchased residency rights, allowing the members of the hunter group to rest well and prepare for their next action.
For Chenxi and Zhu Lan, the biggest benefit of settling here was being able to take a comfortable hot bath.
This was truly the greatest happiness for the two who had spent a long time on Mt. Coronet.
"Little brother Chenxi, would you like to come with us to the meeting?" Around six o'clock, Ju Shi came over and asked.
Although Chenxi hadn't been here for long, with the role he played, he was considered a guest elder, big or small, in the Long Wu Hunter Group.
Most importantly, Chenxi didn't require any salary.
Of course, if there were any needs, Chenxi would directly bring them up, but ordinary things didn't catch Chenxi's eye.
Therefore, Chenxi had a decent relationship within this small group; at least, everyone would give him some face.
"Alright! I'll go say hello to Zhu Lan, then I'll be over!" Chenxi was quite decisive and directly told Ju Shi.
"Just let the little girl Zhu Lan come along!" Ju Shi said nonchalantly.
Hearing this, Chenxi naturally didn't object. He told Zhu Lan, and Zhu Lan was also very willing to go and see for herself.
The group then headed towards the camp, and along the way, Ju Shi instructed Chenxi, "The meeting we're going to attend next is initiated by three A-rank hunter groups. They are the Hei Yan Hunter Group, the Zhan Pi Hunter Group, and the Sha Scorpion Hunter Group. The leaders of these three hunter groups all want to compete for the Letter Hunter spots."
"Letter Hunter... I heard there's more than one vacancy for Letter Hunter this time. Is it necessary to compete so fiercely?" Chenxi asked casually, wiping his mouth, upon hearing Ju Shi's words.
"Oh, you've heard too?" Ju Shi looked at Chenxi in surprise and said, "Indeed, there are four vacancies this time, but three of them have already been taken by reserve Letter Hunters who completed their missions earlier. If it weren't for four vacancies opening up at once, even A-rank hunter groups might not have been qualified to compete this time."
"Then so many hunter groups are competing for one spot, can they really win?" Chenxi said, somewhat surprised.
"Not everyone is necessarily competing for that spot. Some, like our hunter group, just want to get some benefits, deal with Salamence's subordinates. Others have already agreed on how to distribute the spoils of Salamence, and so on!" Ju Shi scratched his head and said, "The intricacies inside are actually quite complex. It's best to leave these to the Big Sister."
As he spoke, they had already arrived at the Sha Scorpion Hunter Group's camp.
This was just an earthen house, surrounded by a not-so-tall earthen wall. The earthen wall had sharp stone edges, and inside, one could see the Sha Scorpion Hunter Group's Trainers patrolling back and forth.
Although these Trainers seemed to be chatting, their positions were all in open areas with clear views.
And even when they were just casually chatting, their gazes were still scanning their surroundings, appearing quite vigilant.
There were many Spirit Hunters coming and going, clearly indicating that this was a rather large meeting. However, the larger a meeting, the more it suggested it was just a formality.
Chenxi just smiled at this thought.
After all, to put it plainly, he and Zhu Lan were just there to gain some experience.
The meeting place was in an open courtyard within the camp. Basically, having a bench was considered high treatment.
Chenxi and Zhu Lan could only stand behind Wu Zi, like Ju Shi, indicating that they were people brought by Wu Zi.
Wu Zi's position was decent, not in the furthest corner, but also not close to the three major guilds; it was considered a medium-sized hunter group.
As the Spirit Hunters arrived one by one, of course, this time only Trainers from small and medium-sized groups came. But these hunter groups, ranging from seven or eight people to dozens, added up to nearly two to three hundred people, which was a considerable force.
However, very quickly, as the leaders of the three A-rank mercenary groups arrived, the previously somewhat noisy environment quickly quieted down, and everyone looked forward to these three.
The leader of the Sha Scorpion Hunter Group, who was sitting in the middle, didn't say any superfluous words, but simply and concisely announced to everyone,
"After joint deliberation by the three great hunter groups—mine, Hei Yan's, and Zhan Pi's—we plan to jointly attack Salamence to obtain its Pokémon egg.
Those of you who are interested in participating are most welcome to our three great hunter groups.
However, you will need to register with us, and you will need to follow our arrangements and assist us in resisting the Pokémon along the way.
If anyone does not register and instead follows us secretly, and is discovered by our three great hunter groups, please forgive any accidental injuries."
At this moment, a rather burly-looking Trainer stood out and said, "I wonder what this 'following arrangements' and 'assisting the region' means. If you're asking us to die, we won't agree!"
"Precisely what Brother Lie Dou said. Even if I arranged a mission for you to die, would you agree? We are simply in the same boat, huddling together for warmth."