"Poliwag, keep your distance and kite it! Don't get close and give it a chance to use Absorb!"
Airi grew more excited with each attack—she clearly enjoyed watching her opponent struggle helplessly under constant pressure.
"Stone, let's go deal with the other four first."
Seeing Airi's rising excitement, Icarus gave up on helping her finish the battle quickly.
Maybe it was better to let Airi and Poliwag vent a little.
"Mm." Stone glanced at the heavily battered Paras, then at the excited Airi and Poliwag, and nodded sympathetically.
The two of them stopped assisting and instead moved on to collect mushrooms.
"Paras! Ras (?? _??)??"
I'm not willing to accept this! I clearly had the advantage—why am I being beaten to death?!
As they processed materials from the previous Paras, the one being slowly worn down nearby let out a final unwilling cry before collapsing into the Whirlpool.
"Haha~ Brother Icarus! Brother Stone ! I defeated this Paras all by myself!"
Seeing the bruised and battered Paras lying on the ground, Airi had Poliwag finish it off, then dragged the body over proudly to show them.
"Mm, Airi, you're improving so quickly."
Icarus looked at her bright, triumphant smile, then at the bloodied Paras behind her. He couldn't help recalling the first time she killed a bug Pokémon—when she cried uncontrollably—and felt a bit emotional.
"Nice work, Airi!" Stone, on the other hand, kept things simple and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Hehe~ I'll help too." Encouraged, the girl smiled and joined in dismembering the Paras.
Although Paras meat wasn't valuable—since most nutrients were absorbed by the mushrooms—all three of them had experienced hardship, so they wouldn't just take the mushrooms and discard the rest.
(Even an Ordinary-level Paras sold for about the same price as a newly hatched Magikarp: 40 Alliance currency per jin.)
"Alright, we're just a bit short. Let's hurry and hunt one more group."
After finishing quickly, Icarus counted the mushrooms in his backpack and decided to complete the task as soon as possible.
"Mm." Stone nodded as usual.
"Hehe~ I won't hold you back this time." Airi agreed confidently.
Soon, the trio gathered another group of Paras.
As for why they didn't capture them to test their potential for sale—it was because Paras is a very special Pokémon.
At the Paras stage, the mushroom and the insect coexist. While the mushroom dominates, the insect still retains consciousness.
However, once it evolves into Parasect, the insect's consciousness is completely consumed by the mushroom, leaving only a hollow body controlled by it. (That's why Parasect's eyes are completely white.)
Because of this, very few Trainers are willing to capture and raise them. Watching a Pokémon lose itself completely is something most can't accept.
Naturally, their market price is low—far less valuable than their mushrooms or meat.
"1, 2, 3… 31, 32, 34 pieces! That's enough. We even got two large Parasect mushrooms. Does anyone want to eat these?"
After finishing the last batch, Icarus counted carefully. Remembering that the mushrooms were used as medicinal materials, he asked out of curiosity.
"No, Brother Icarus. I used to work at a herbal shop. Pokémon-based medicinal ingredients need special processing—we don't know how to handle them. If we eat them casually, we'll definitely get poisoned. It's better to sell them."
Stone thought for a moment before answering.
"Mm-hmm, I don't understand either." Airi shook her head.
"Alright, then we'll sell them. It's almost 5 PM—let's head back."
Icarus wasn't surprised.
"Mm. I also need to buy Icy Wind for Poliwag. Tonight I'll have it practice Whirlpool and Icy Wind."
Airi nodded. With her current strength, nighttime exploration was too dangerous.
"Then I'll have Geodude practice Rock Throw too."
Hearing that, Stone shared his plan.
"I won't be training with you tonight. I'm taking Houndour to hunt Oddish in the outer area."
Icarus scratched his nose awkwardly as he explained.
He was in a different situation—Houndour still needed intensive battle training.
Also, while both of them had reached the Ordinary level, the outer area at night was dominated by Oddish, which was dangerous for them due to type disadvantage and limited team size.
"Mm, it's fine! We're both Ordinary level now—we can't rely on you forever, Brother Icarus."
Airi waved her hand quickly.
"Yeah, go do your thing," Shi Tou added.
(Previously, Stone had even tried to repay the 100,000 Icarus had spent on housing and Pokémon, but Icarus refused at the time. Now, however, he silently accepted—Shi Tou could handle it.)
After planning their night activities, the three returned to town.
They submitted their mission and sold extra materials, earning about 150,000 Alliance currency and 20 merit points.
The money was temporarily held under Captain Icarus's account until all missions were completed.
"Let's eat first, then I'll head out."
After explaining the earnings, Icarus led them home.
"Mm."
"Okay! I learned a new dish—I'll cook tonight!"
Airi happily rushed to the kitchen.
"This girl…" Icarus smiled. Because of her past, she always tried to do more for others.
After dinner, they separated.
Icarus fed Houndour some honey and headed back into the forest.
After a night of battles, he earned over 10,000 more, bringing his total balance to around 170,000.
Returning home, he fed Houndour again before collapsing into a deep sleep with his Pokémon.
⸻
The next morning, after preparing, the three headed toward the industrial pollution zone outside the city.
Since the town needed to remain livable, industrial waste was dumped into the wilderness. Over time, it turned into a barren, toxic area—perfect for Poison-type Pokémon.
After natural selection, only Koffing and Grimer remained.
Other Poison-types like Arbok and Ariados required meat, but Grimer and Koffing survived purely on industrial waste.
Among them, Grimer were the most numerous, even spawning from waste itself. If left unchecked, they could disrupt the ecosystem and trigger a Pokémon outbreak.
"Did you bring enough Antidotes? Don't engage Grimer in close combat!"
Standing at the entrance, Icarus reminded them again.
"Yeah, I brought plenty—including stronger ones."
"Same here."
They nodded seriously.
Unlike Koffing, Grimer were essentially walking sources of pollution—biological hazards.
Very few Trainers captured them:
Direct contact was dangerous without strong protection
They constantly spread pollution
Special regulations required permits and relocation
Only high-level Trainers with special abilities could handle them safely.
"Alright, let's go in."
After scanning their IDs, Icarus led them inside.
"Pidgeotto, go scout for Grimer."
"Bip~" Pidgeotto flew off and quickly returned.
"There are 4 Grimer and 2 Koffing nearby. Let's deal with them first. We need at least 40 Poison Cores from Grimer."
"Mm." The two followed.
"Beiduo~!"
"Nona~!"
The enemy spotted them immediately—there was nowhere to hide here.
"Only one Grimer and one Koffing are Ordinary-level. Should be easy."
"Geodude, use Stomp!"
"Heicha! Dong—!"
The ground shook violently.
"Beidun!" The Grimer lost their balance instantly.
"Now!"
"Pidgeotto, Twister—target the strongest!"
"Weepinbell, Bullet Seed—finish the weak ones!"
"Houndour, Ember—attack Koffing!"
"Geodude, Rock Throw!"
"Poliwag, Bubble Beam! Same target!"
Attacks launched simultaneously.
The battlefield was instantly overwhelmed.
The two weakest Grimer collapsed first, unable to withstand the Grass-type energy.
Another fell soon after under sustained damage.
The fight was effectively decided in a single exchange.