Pokemon: Rising From The Dark Chapter 149 - 402 Absol

"Hey, tell what your mission is. Maybe our missions overlap," Aoki said, coughing slightly to mask his inner embarrassnt.

Kaitou glanced at him strangely, but Aoki had already regained his usual indifferent expression, making it seem like nothing had happened.

Still, she wasn't naive enough to reveal her mission so easily. She remained vigilant, arms crossed.

"What? You lunatic, are you trying to steal my Pokémon again?" She looked at him as if protecting her own team.

Aoki felt a headache coming on.

Wasn't it just an Onix with average potential?

If she wanted, he could go catch a dozen right now and sell them to her!

Back then, he had been in a rush.

"It wasn't about taking it from you. I was just in a hurry, so I acted fast. You attacked first, didn't you? And it was just an ordinary Onix. If you want, I'll get you a dozen more next ti," Aoki explained.

He had a hunch that whatever Pokémon she was after this ti had to be valuable.

If he could capture it first, it might be the key to his promotion to a four-star hunter. With that rank, he could finally form his own team, and with his newly recruited subordinates, he'd have a strong foundation for both power and profit.

Kaitou raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued.

"Just for an ordinary Onix, you went that far?" she muttered.

Back then, he had seed like a crazed fool, but now... he was talking like a rational person.

"This mission is sothing I waited a long ti for in the Hunter's Guild. Do you think I'd just tell you?" she said.

"Oh? What a coincidence. I also waited a long ti for a mission in the Hunter's Guild. Which branch are you from?" Aoki asked, playing along.

"Of course, from Shady Town's branch..."

"Then we're different. I'm from Goldenrod City's branch."

Aoki smiled to himself.

He continued, "But in a remote place like this, how often do strong wild Pokémon suitable for two-star hunters appear? I think our missions might really overlap."

Kaitou narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously before revealing four golden stars pinned to her chest—her Hunter rank—before quickly covering them up again.

The ssage was clear.

She was already a four-star hunter.

Aoki was slightly surprised.

Her strength was lower than his, yet she had already reached that rank? Did she spend all her ti capturing Pokémon?

Either she had a natural talent for capturing Pokémon, or she was forced into it by necessity.

But seeing her Roserade, Aoki leaned toward the latter.

Roserade required high friendship to evolve, aning she had to form strong bonds with her Pokémon rather than just catching them for the sake of numbers.

Could it be that every Pokémon in her team was personally raised by her from the beginning?

Aoki couldn't help but admire that level of dedication.

"I'm about the sa," he said, waving it off. "But I don't really like carrying those golden stars around, so I don't have them with ."

Kaitou's disbelief only grew stronger.

"Then let give you a hint," she said. "Rumor has it that when this Pokémon appears, it's often followed by an unknown disaster..."

Before she could finish, Aoki's eyes lit up, and he interrupted.

"I see. Our missions really do overlap. This Pokémon is also my target."

"Oh? I haven't even finished talking. How can you be so sure? What I just said wasn't even from the mission details. I heard it from local rumors. Now tell , what's the Pokémon you're after?"

Aoki didn't hesitate.

"The rare Pokémon known as the Disaster Beast—Absol."

Kaitou's expression changed.

Absol was known for sensing disasters before they happened. It would appear near impending catastrophes to warn people, but in ancient tis, humans misunderstood its intentions. They believed Absol's arrival caused disasters and attacked it on sight.

Because of this, Absol had long since retreated into deep mountain ranges, avoiding human contact.

Nowadays, most people understood the truth and no longer hunted Absol. But among older generations, the legend persisted.

She had only heard this from an elderly man once. It was the first ti she had encountered this rumor firsthand.

But one thing was certain—Absol wouldn't appear unless a major disaster was imminent.

"It seems our missions really do overlap," she admitted. "So, what now? With your personality, do you want to fight over it? I won't hold back this ti. Absol's value isn't low."

She reached for a Pokéball, ready to battle if Aoki made a move.

Aoki slowly shook his head and held up both hands to show he wasn't looking for a fight.

"Then what do you suggest? Whoever catches it keeps it?" Kaitou asked, her grip on the Pokéball loosening slightly.

Aoki shook his head again, but this ti, he wasn't playing gas.

"How about this?" he proposed. "Even though we know Absol is likely sowhere in this forest, finding a single Pokémon in such a vast area won't be easy. Why don't we work together and catch it together?"

She stared at him.

Only a complete fool would act separately from her in this situation.

Without any leads or clues, his only reason for even knowing about Absol was because he ran into her at the right ti.

If he didn't cooperate with her, what were the chances he'd even find it?

Moreover, Absol was a rare Pokémon. Its value was extrely high, and Aoki needed the points from this mission to advance in rank.

"Together?" Kaitou asked. "And what happens if one of us catches it first?"

"We share it evenly," Aoki said without hesitation.

"Evenly? But this is a solo mission," she pointed out.

"That's easy to solve," Aoki replied. "We split the mission points, divide the Pokecoins equally, and share whatever else we gain from this hunt. What do you say?"

His expression was calm and confident.

Like a weirdo who thrived on unpredictability.