Zangoose's eyes had already turned red. In a forest filled with poisonous miasma like this, it had encountered all kinds of Poison-type Pokémon. From the day it was born until now, it had hovered on the brink of life and death countless times, and by now it had already formed a special resistance to the toxins of these Pokémon.
So whenever it saw a Poison-type, what it felt more than anything was excitement… the excitement of certain victory!
Yet now, it was facing a mere Ariados, a Pokémon that could hardly even be ranked among Poison-type Pokémon, and it had actually been beaten to the point where it could not fight back at all…
Tetsuya also kept his eyes firmly fixed on Zangoose, not daring to let his guard down in the slightest. With an explosive killer like this, the instant it got close to Ariados, Ariados might be finished on the spot.
Time seemed to stop for a moment.
Zangoose's eyes suddenly gleamed. With a powerful leap, it landed on the nearest tree.
Tetsuya immediately sensed trouble.
Climbing trees was a cat's natural instinct. Once it came to its senses, the situation would become dangerous for him.
Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, Zangoose had already leaped across two trees and closed in on Ariados. Ariados did not even wait for Tetsuya's command. The sense of danger honed through battles had already made it instinctively use String Shot to move toward the trees behind it.
Tetsuya's palms were already sweating a little bit.
This could not continue. It was only a matter of time before Zangoose's speed allowed it to catch up with Ariados. Once it did, with Zangoose's Attack power, Ariados would be completely at its mercy.
"Spider Web!" Tetsuya shouted, hoping Spider Web could trap Zangoose, or at the very least slow it down slightly.
Ariados had just reached a new tree when it opened its mouth and fired out a web!
After launching Spider Web, Ariados did not pause in the slightest and immediately leaped toward the next tree.
What Zangoose faced was a Spider Web large enough to completely cover it. Zangoose did not slow down in the slightest. It swung both claws and tore the Spider Web in half right in front of it, without losing any momentum.
Tetsuya now appreciated this Zangoose even more!
Its sharp instincts in battle and ability to adapt on the spot proved that it was a born warrior.
After breaking through Ariados's Spider Web, Zangoose only grew fiercer as the battle continued, charging forward with even greater force.
Often, just when victory was within sight, a single opening could lead to ultimate defeat, and a Pokémon Trainer needed to have the ability to spot that one error.
Tetsuya's gaze sharpened as a way to deal with Zangoose naturally came to mind.
"Ariados, Spider Web." Tetsuya gave the command once again. Although Spider Web had failed to achieve anything just now, Ariados did not have the slightest doubt about Tetsuya's command.
Spider Web shot out once again!
Of course, the result was still the same. Zangoose spread its claws, and the Spider Web was once again torn into four pieces.
But this time, things would not be so simple…
"Ariados, 'Sticky Web'!" Tetsuya gave the command the instant Zangoose tore through the Spider Web.
Tetsuya's voice was exceptionally loud this time, and Ariados also sensed the importance of this move. Clumps of Sticky Web shot out one after another. Zangoose had only just torn through the Spider Web and had not yet had time to recover from the motion. Moreover, while in midair, it had no way to dodge at all.
Clumps of Sticky Web struck Zangoose's claws, then its body and legs.
Zangoose fell from the air.
At this point, its claws had already been firmly stuck together by the Sticky Web and could not even spread apart.
Zangoose gritted its sharp teeths and struggled from side to side, but no matter what it did, it could not break free. Without the use of its claws, Zangoose was practically helpless!
"Attack. Make sure you don't use any Poison moves."
Now was the time for Ariados to go all out!
Although Zangoose had been trapped by Sticky Web, Tetsuya still was not at ease. He absolutely could not let this fellow become poisoned. Otherwise, with its Attack power suddenly increasing by half, there was no telling what might happen.
Using its silk, Ariados launched a "Storm-type" assault, with Megahorn, Fell Stinger, and X-Scissor coming from different angles.
It continued until Zangoose did not have the slightest bit of energy left, and even its will had been worn away.
Finally, it collapsed…
Tetsuya threw a Poké Ball and caught this ferocious beast.
Now, his Poison-type team frame could basically be considered complete. Catching any more Pokémon would merely be icing on the cake. His next task was to hone this Poison-type team until they worked together as well as possible.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Tetsuya estimated that Zangoose had recovered a little stamina inside its Poké Ball and sent it out.
The moment it emerged from the Poké Ball, Zangoose still maintained a hostile attitude toward Tetsuya. Even though it was panting heavily and could not even swing its claws, a Zangoose in its current state could not possibly hurt him.
"You've already been caught. From today onward, I'm your Trainer." Zangoose seemed to have yet to accept this fact, so Tetsuya had no choice but to repeat himself.
However, Zangoose's gaze remained sharp without relaxing in the slightest. After all, it had been like the ruler of this forest, so being brought under someone else's control like this naturally left it unwilling and resentful.
Tetsuya naturally saw through its thoughts as well. "Even if you killed every Pokémon in this forest, so what? Once you leave this forest, you still won't be able to survive. Just like you lost to Ariados today, you might not even be able to defeat… me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Tetsuya willed it, and Gengar's shadow stretched out. Two Shadow Balls shot from the darkness, instantly blasting two trees apart, with the trunks at the points of impact completely reduced to powder.
Immediately afterward, Tetsuya used his psychic power and uprooted another large tree.
Zangoose froze on the spot, no longer doubting Tetsuya's words in the slightest. Instead, it found itself more laughable than anything else…
It had foolishly believed itself invincible, able to roam this forest unhindered, only to discover that it had merely been living in a bubble…
While Zangoose stood there in a daze, Tetsuya had already sprayed Potion over its body. At this point, Zangoose lowered its head to Tetsuya as well, completely acknowledging him as its Trainer.
Now that he had caught Zangoose, the strength of his Poison-type team had indeed risen to another level, but its food had become a major problem…
Judging from its battle with Seviper just now, even if Zangoose did not eat Poison-types at every meal, they were still a regular part of its diet.
If it followed him and no longer had these poisonous creatures to sustain it, its resistance to poison would very likely decrease significantly, in which case it would lose its value.
It seemed that after leaving this forest, he would have to specifically find a food supplier for this Zangoose. This would undoubtedly be another enormous expense…
Raising Pokémon was simply far too dependent on money, so he had no choice but to speed up Brodie's arrest.
Only once Brodie had been dealt with would he have a chance to learn the art of disguise from Duplica's mother. Only then could he freely switch between multiple identities, naturally making his work as a Pokémon Hunter much smoother. Of course, the ultimate goal was undoubtedly money, so that he could raise even stronger Pokémon.
It's not that there weren't other ways, but to preserve his freedom, and given he had a lifetime of experience as a Pokémon Hunter, this was his best method.