Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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"Were these two holes always on the house and the rock wall?"

Li Xiang stared blankly at the cave in front of him.

Behind him, Litten and Riolu had wary expressions, their duty as bodyguards naturally being to ensure Li Xiang's safety.

A suspicious cave like this was clearly dangerous.

Lin Feng shook his head.

"Definitely not. I mean, with a hole this big, we've pretty much explored everything in this area except the insides of the house. What else is there to check out?"

He seemed confident in his conclusion, running his hand over the broken edge and showing the dust on his palm to Li Xiang. "And look, the break is clean, without much dust. It's obvious this was smashed open recently."

That... made sense.

Could it have been an Onix? 

A wild Pokémon digging holes this close to town would certainly be caught and dealt with.

But this place was by the sea, and Onix, a Pokémon that despises water, wouldn't logically appear here.

Li Xiang scanned the cave floor with a flashlight but found no drag marks that would indicate an Onix moving or digging.

...Wait a second.

"Hey, you didn't happen to know about this cave beforehand, did you?"

Li Xiang waved the flashlight, suspiciously eyeing Lin Feng.

While flashlights provided light, the flame on a Charmeleon's tail could work just as well in confined spaces. It would be less convenient, sure, but sufficient.

So why did Lin Feng bother bringing two flashlights? Unless he had already known there was a cave here that Charmeleon's flame couldn't handle.

Not to mention the bag full of PokeBalls.

Lin Feng flinched slightly but maintained a calm exterior. "Of course not! Do I look like the kind of person who'd hide something like this—"

He cut himself off when he saw Li Xiang's smirk and sighed, lowering his head. "Alright, fine. I found it this morning while checking on the time capsule we buried here ages ago..."

And then he found this cave and decided to catch a Pokémon?

"You're playing with fire, kid!"

Li Xiang jabbed a finger at Lin Feng's chest, exasperated. "A Pokémon that can dig a hole this big and deep—is that something we can handle?"

Such reckless behavior! What was he trying to prove?

Lin Feng, poked repeatedly in the chest, grew frustrated. "What are you saying? Look carefully! This cave is naturally formed—it was just broken open by some Pokémon. The hole in the house was made afterward!"

Hearing this, Li Xiang shone his flashlight across the cave and floor again, carefully examining it for several minutes. He realized Lin Feng was right.

The cave had naturally existed, showing no signs of human excavation. The interior was much larger than the entrance suggested.

It looked as if a Pokémon had broken through the rock wall, creating the opening.

The hole in the house was much smaller than the cave's entrance, clearly made at a different time.

A bit excessive, perhaps?

But looking closer at the damage and the number of broken stones on the ground, it became clear the rock wall wasn't very thick. Litten or Riolu could probably manage it with enough attacks.

"With that level of damage, the Pokémon inside is likely no higher than level 35. What's there to be scared of? Take a chance, and maybe you'll strike gold!"

Lin Feng put on a confident expression, as if he'd done his homework.

True, as he said, such a Pokémon wasn't overly threatening, and they had the numbers advantage.

"...You've been getting bolder lately. Who've you been learning this from?"

Li Xiang was a bit surprised.

"From you, obviously."

At this, Lin Feng straightened up confidently. "You've done the same thing before—acting first and asking questions later. I just picked it up from you. If I'd told you about the cave right away, you'd have refused to come, wouldn't you?"

...That was probably true.

Li Xiang had tricked Lin Feng into coming out multiple times in the past, only to spend the day battling him. Lin Feng would grumble about it for days afterward.

And now, Lin Feng was paying him back in kind.

"You reap what you sow."

"Have you figured out what Pokémon it is?" Li Xiang asked, sweeping his flashlight across the ground. The chaotic footprints made it impossible to discern which Pokémon had been here.

"No clue."

Lin Feng shook his head. "When I found it, the tracks were already a mess. I checked upstairs too—nothing there except a broken window."

So, it escaped through the second floor?

"And now you're planning to head into the cave?"

"Exactly!" Lin Feng nodded. "If we both go in, we can watch each other's backs!"

"Thwa! You're trying to drag me down with you!"

Li Xiang spat at Lin Feng, glaring. "With this little preparation, you're seriously thinking of going in? What if we get trapped? Let's go back and call for reinforcements!"

A cave like this, where cell signals were guaranteed to drop, was far too dangerous.

If the entrance collapsed or they got buried inside, they'd be completely helpless. The priority was to bring in backup.

It was time to trick Li Zhehan's three Pokémon into helping.

"You're agreeing to it?"

Lin Feng looked surprised. Deep down, he felt guilty about dragging his friend into this.

"You've pulled out all the stops to convince me. If I refuse, I'd look petty."

Li Xiang waved him off. After all, he'd been sponging off Lin Feng for months. Helping out was only fair.

Lin Feng looked genuinely touched.

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The second visit to the abandoned dock was different.

This time, they brought three Pokémon along.

"Pelipper, stay outside. If anything happens, fly home for help."

Li Xiang instructed Pelipper, pulling a long nylon rope from his bag and tying it to an exposed steel bar.

"We'll secure this outside. If the terrain inside is complex, we can use it to find our way back."

No one said the cave would be a straight shot. Getting lost would be disastrous.

Next, he placed a strange-looking helmet on Feraligatr's head and switched on its light, illuminating the dark cave entrance.

"This thing's way brighter than your flashlight. Feraligatr can lead the way."

Finally, he handed Lin Feng a gas mask, putting one on himself.

"Just in case there's toxic gas deeper inside, these will offer some protection."

Lin Feng stared at him in stunned silence, as though his entire worldview had been turned upside down.

"If there's a collapse or flooding, stick close to Floatzel. It'll protect us."

Li Xiang gestured at Floatzel, whose inflatable sac around its neck could expand in seconds, offering robust protection.

Lin Feng nodded like a robot, finally understanding why Li Xiang had accused him of recklessness.

"Shame we only had this much time to prepare."

Li Xiang muttered, dissatisfied. If given more time, he'd have brought glow sticks, oxygen masks, tanks, and even protective suits... Okay, maybe that was overkill.

"If anything goes wrong, we back out immediately. There are countless Pokémon in the world, but we only have one life."

Li Xiang warned Lin Feng again.

"Got it, got it! Let's hurry up and get inside!"

Fully equipped, Lin Feng was eager to encounter his next Pokémon.

Li Xiang sighed, patting Feraligatr's side.

With a low growl, Feraligatr moved forward, its helmet light shining like a miniature sun as it stepped into the cave.