[Viewer "No-Cilantro Charizard": Where are you right now, Expert Miles? The night view looks pretty bustling. And watching Munchlax waddle along, gripping that half-eaten Pokéblock for dear life... my heart is melting!]
[Viewer "Thermos Goji Berry": Bros, have you noticed that the little fatty looks a bit sturdier than he did on the indoor camera earlier? Or is it just my old eyes playing tricks on me?]
[Viewer "Bleeding-Heart Meowth": It's true! His fur looks so much glossier, and even his steps seem lighter! The streamer must have been feeding him well. Look at that round belly, I just want to squish it!]
[Viewer "Wild Electabuzz": What's your actual plan, boss? Spit it out! There are tens of thousands of us bros relying on you for content!]
Looking at the dense, enthusiastic chat feed on his phone screen, Miles strolled through the night, pointing the camera at himself and the Munchlax waddling closely beside him.
He chuckled. "Don't guess randomly, chat. I can't afford a trip to a fancy bathhouse. The little bit of cash I just made isn't even enough to fill this little guy's stomach."
"Right now, I'm just heading over to the Doduo Station down the street to pick up a few bags of cheap compressed rations."
Dropping the joking demeanor, his expression turned serious.
"As for my actual plans... I thought about it a lot while we were inside. Officer Barrett's reminder was spot on. In this day and age, operating without an official identity is like walking a tightrope."
"So, I've decided. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to buy professional Pokémon appraisal textbooks and study offline!"
"I am going to earn the League-certified 'Junior Pokémon Appraiser Certificate' within a month!"
"What's more, I'll apply to stream my practical exam live... right here in our channel! I'll show everyone what real, hardcore skill looks like!"
The explosive announcement instantly ignited the chat.
[Viewer "Frontline Lurker": Holy crap! The boss is actually going for his certification? This is huge! Once we have the official League backing, no one can say our stream is just amateur hour! W Streamer!]
[Viewer "Wild Electabuzz": With Expert Miles's god-tier eyes, getting a Junior Appraiser certificate will be a walk in the park. I bet even the Special-grade Masters would have to hand him a cigarette out of respect!]
[Viewer "Outlaw John Doe": Legal education time: if the streamer gets certified, he can legally open up high-value, paid appraisal services. By then, the queue will be so long we won't even get a spot. Bros, better leech off his free appraisals while you still can!]
[Viewer "Keyboard Holmes": The written test requires genuine theoretical knowledge, though. Even if the boss is invincible in practical observation, he still needs to memorize obscure textbook facts. Don't choke on the theory exam!]
[Viewer "Woodland Deerling": Wow! If he live-streams the exam to the whole internet, he'll be a pioneer in the Pokémon streaming world! The examiners are going to have their minds blown by his talent! I can't wait!]
[Viewer "Invincible & Lonely": Getting certified is an incredibly wise choice. Platform regulations are getting stricter by the day; going legit early on will open a lot of doors. If you're short on cash for the books and registration, let me know. Big sis will reimburse you.]
[Viewer "Sober Midnight": Hahaha, I'm already dying to see the satisfying face-slapping plotline where our Expert Miles destroys those stiff, old-fashioned examiners live on stream!]
Reading the wave of supportive comments, a warm feeling welled up in Miles's chest.
He bantered with his viewers, letting the cool evening breeze brush against his face.
The city's neon lights flickered along the street, casting a surreal, vibrant halo over the sidewalks.
In that moment, Miles truly felt that since crossing over into this world, his life was finally on the right track. Everything was heading in the best possible direction.
However, in a world overflowing with extraordinary power, accidents always arrived faster than tomorrow.
Just as Miles and Munchlax approached a blind corner at a secluded intersection—less than two hundred meters away from the Doduo Station—disaster struck.
Boom! Rumble!!!
A deafening, violent vibration, sounding like a heavy-duty tractor wildly crushing the pavement, erupted from the depths of the street ahead.
It was immediately followed by the terrified, ear-piercing screams of pedestrians and the explosive sound of shattering glass.
"Danger! Get out of the way!!!" someone down the block roared in absolute panic.
Miles snapped his head up, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
Down the dimly lit street, a massive, heavily muscled beast charged forward with devastating momentum, tearing up the asphalt as it sprinted directly toward him.
It was a Tauros, and it had gone completely berserk.
As a Normal-type Wild Bull Pokémon, an adult Tauros boasted a terrifying base Speed stat of a hundred and ten.
This frenzied beast had blood-red eyes and snorted scalding white steam from its nostrils.
Its three thick tails were mercilessly whipping its own back. With every brutal strike, its speed and power surged to new, terrifying heights!
At this moment, the Tauros was moving no slower than an eighty-mile-per-hour heavy truck with blown brakes, barreling through a downtown sector.
The pair of sharp, metallic horns on its head acted like a grim reaper's scythes, capable of easily tearing through solid steel.
The most lethal part of the situation was that Miles was pinned in a narrow blind spot. There was nowhere to run.
The Tauros's crimson gaze was already dead-locked onto him!
Through the violently shaking camera lens, the thousands of viewers in the livestream witnessed the desperate scene, and the chat instantly devolved into a tidal wave of pure terror.
[Viewer "Frontline Lurker": WTF WTF WTF!!! What the hell is that thing ahead?! Those red eyes—is that a Tauros?! Why is it on a city sidewalk!]
[Viewer "Wild Electabuzz": It's insane! That's a fully grown, enraged Tauros! It's whipping itself with its tails—it's using Thrash to forcefully spike its adrenaline!]
[Viewer "Outlaw John Doe": Run, streamer!!! Getting hit by that thing is like getting rammed by an eighty-mile-per-hour dump truck. If it even grazes your head, RIP! We'll be eating at your funeral!]
[Viewer "Keyboard Holmes": It's over! The distance is too short! He can't outrun it! A Tauros's straight-line acceleration is top-tier among Pokémon; human reflexes simply can't dodge this! It's a dead end!]
[Viewer "Woodland Deerling": Aaaah! Dodge it, boss! Help! Are there any police around to save him?! I can't watch!]
[Viewer "Sober Midnight": Oh my god... look at Munchlax! It... it's actually charging forward?! Does it have a death wish?! That's a frenzied Tauros!]
Miles's mind went entirely blank.
Faced with the behemoth barreling toward him like a runaway death train, his human instincts screamed at him to dive out of the way.
But the Tauros was simply too fast. He didn't even have the time to command his legs to move.
'Is my luck really this bad? I just got the protagonist script, and I have to restart already?!' he thought desperately.
In that unavoidable split-second between life and death, a fleshy, mountain-like shadow exploded from beside Miles's feet.
Moving with a terrifying speed completely disproportionate to its chubby frame, it threw itself directly in front of Miles with fearless resolve.
"Munch!!!"
The roar was filled with boundless fury and an absolute will to protect.
The typically goofy Munchlax, who usually cared for nothing but eating and sleeping—and rarely got angry even if kicked—stood like an unshakable god of war.
In its simple, pure world, its master was its only reliance. Miles was the entire universe that gave it food and warmth.
If any person or monster wanted to hurt its master... they would have to step over its dead body first.
Staring down the blood-red horns rushing in like a falling meteor, Munchlax didn't flinch.
Driven by pure instinct, the little Pokémon's bloated body suddenly contracted inward, instantly curling into a solid, impenetrable sphere.
Immediately after, a mysterious gray-blue halo of energy—a tangible, unyielding shield—swirled over its body at incredible speed, locking it in a protective embrace.
BANG!!!
A deafening, explosive crash echoed through the narrow street, the massive shockwave drowning out all the surrounding screams.
Though the Tauros was a heavily muscled powerhouse, an adult specimen usually maxed out around two hundred pounds.
In a pure heavyweight clash, Munchlax's seemingly fat-filled body transformed into the ultimate shock-absorbing fortress.
Even under that terrifying kinetic impact, Munchlax wasn't crushed like a dry leaf.
The horrifying reactionary force erupted instantly, leaving the two Pokémon deadlocked at the point of impact for a mere tenth of a second.
Then, the Tauros let out a painful, muffled grunt.
It was forcibly repelled, stumbling backward and carving two deep hoof trenches into the asphalt.
Munchlax, however, was sent flying backward like a heavy cannonball.
Bloodshot eyes wide with panic, Miles completely disregarded his own safety.
He threw his arms wide and lunged forward to catch the airborne Munchlax.
The massive impact slammed into his arms, nearly dislocating his wrists on the spot.
Gritting his teeth, Miles rapidly adjusted his stance, using his own chest and back as a final shock absorber to fiercely protect the little guy in his arms.
They crashed heavily into the hard brick wall behind them with a sickening thud before finally sliding to a halt.
It felt as though a thousand-pound sledgehammer had caved in his chest.
A violent wave of nausea washed over Miles, nearly causing him to black out.
Ignoring the agonizing pain radiating through his bones, he gasped for air and immediately looked down to check on Munchlax.
He fully expected to see a horrific, bloody mess of torn muscle. After all, it had taken the full-force, lethal charge of a Tauros.
But to his absolute shock and immense relief, he found that Munchlax only had two deep puncture wounds on the outer side of its crossed arms—the exact spots where the bull's horns had struck.
Though its gray-blue fur was blood stained , the strike clearly hadn't hit bone or any vital organs.
That last-second energy shield, combined with its incredibly thick armor of fat, had miraculously absorbed a near-fatal blow.
For a moment, Miles didn't know whether to cry out of heartache or laugh hysterically at having survived.
Still reeling from the shock, a thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately pulled up the system panel to scan Munchlax's data.
Sure enough, at the very bottom of its move list, a brand-new skill icon was vividly illuminated.
However, Miles had zero time to celebrate a new move. His eyes were entirely focused on the trembling Munchlax in his arms.
On the system panel, Munchlax's status read: [Status: Injured, Panicked, Extremely Worried].
It wasn't worried about its bleeding wounds; it was terrified that Miles had been hurt.
"Munchy... good boy. Thank you for protecting me. Don't be afraid, it's okay. We're both fine," Miles whispered, holding the Pokémon tightly.
He reached out with a trembling hand, gently stroking its soft, large ears to soothe it.
"These injuries will heal up in no time. Later, I promise I'm going to buy you the best-tasting food in the entire world!"
Just then, hurried, panicked footsteps approached.
"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! It's all my fault for not keeping my Tauros tethered properly!"
The owner of the Tauros ran over, his face deathly pale and drenched in sweat.
He had already used his Poké Ball to forcefully recall the injured, dizzy Tauros. Now, he was bowing repeatedly to Miles, his entire body trembling.
Miles snapped his head up.
His deep eyes blazed with undisguised fury, glaring at the culprit like an enraged lion.
He had zero patience for this kind of hindsight apology.
Letting a Tauros run berserk in a densely populated city center was essentially indiscriminate attempted murder.
If an ordinary person had been standing in his place today, there wouldn't even be an intact corpse left to bury!
"What the hell is the use of 'sorry'?!" Miles roared, his voice dripping with icy venom. "You are going to report to the Pokémon Center Security Division right now and confess exactly what happened! Take whatever detention you get, and pay whatever fine they hand down!"
According to the League's urban security regulations, highly dangerous bull Pokémon like Tauros were strictly forbidden from being released on city streets.
Equipping them with heavy-duty Poké Balls and enforcing strict locking mechanisms was a mandatory requirement.
This kind of severe violation meant the man was facing at least three days of administrative detention and a massive fine in the tens of thousands.
Even the Pokémon itself would be seized for a rigorous threat-assessment evaluation!
Hearing that Miles wanted to involve the authorities, the culprit's legs gave out, nearly sending him to his knees.
His face twisted in terror as he shamelessly pleaded, "Little brother! I'm begging you, can I just pay you extra compensation? Let's settle this privately, please don't report it! If I get a criminal record, my life is ruined, and my Tauros will be confiscated!"
"Settle it privately? In your dreams!"
Miles cut him off ruthlessly, pointing a shaking finger at the bleeding Munchlax in his arms. He laughed out of sheer anger. "Bullshit!"
"If you had hit a normal pedestrian today, or if my Munchlax had suffered anything worse, you'd be preparing to step on a prison sewing machine for the rest of your life!"
"An irresponsible bastard like you needs severe punishment to learn a damn lesson!"
Seeing Miles's ironclad refusal, the man fell into despair, tears and snot streaming down his face.
Fumbling frantically through his backpack, he pulled out an exquisitely packaged, high-grade medical spray and handed it over with trembling hands.
"I admit defeat... I really do! It's all my fault!"
"Little brother, I'm shamelessly begging you to sign a letter of forgiveness so the Security Division will go easy on me. Please! This is an imported Hyper Potion! Hurry and treat your Pokémon's wounds first!"
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
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