Chapter Nine: Foes Meet on a Narrow Path, Twists and Turns Abound

The injured Kulu bird, clutching the enormous egg with excitement, dashed along the arboreal pathway toward the lower levels beneath the ancient giant tree. Yet, curiously, no fire dragon pursued; instead, the sounds of battle above the canopy grew ever more intense.

Something was amiss. The wounds on the Kulu bird must have been inflicted earlier by the Barroth; it had managed to steal the fire dragon’s egg without injury? Then, what were the fire dragon couple fighting above?

Su Yi stared in astonishment as the Kulu bird, gleefully hugging the fire dragon’s egg, passed right by him. The bird eyed Su Yi warily, but seeing he made no move and merely looked at it in surprise, the Kulu bird let out a triumphant cry, as if to boast, “Impressed yet?” before continuing its descent toward the base of the tree.

A fierce roar and a crash echoed from the treetop, startling Su Yi from his thoughts.

“Incredible! There really is such a bold Kulu bird, seizing the chaos to steal the fire dragon’s egg!” Without hesitation, Su Yi hurried after the bird, intent on leaving this perilous place.

“What creature would dare provoke the fire dragon couple?” he wondered. “It can’t be an Elder Dragon—almost all monsters avoid them. Nor is it a terrestrial beast, since the path I took is the only road to the canopy, and the guiding insects detected no other monsters. It must be some flying wyvern, adept at navigating the heights.”

As he pursued the Kulu bird, Su Yi’s mind raced. The sudden appearance of an unknown enemy—could it pose a threat to him? What changes might it bring to the Ancient Forest? Such questions could affect his exploration, so he couldn’t afford to ignore them.

“Could it be Bazelgeuse?” The notorious ‘policeman’ of the New World sprang to mind.

“No, that’s not it—the roar is different,” Su Yi shook his head. Monsters’ roars were distinctive; though he hadn’t memorized most, Bazelgeuse was an exception. Anyone who’d experienced its explosive entrance, blasting music as it rampaged, could never forget its high-pitched, nasal roar; it had left a lasting impression on Su Yi.

“Then what monster could it be?” He puzzled over it, but found no answer.

Setting his doubts aside, Su Yi and Dewgrass followed the Kulu bird’s tracks to a narrow tree hollow passage.

“Up ahead must be the Kulu bird’s nest,” Su Yi observed, growing cautious with his feline companion as they entered a nest-like area.

At a bend in the tunnel, Su Yi peeked inside, seeing the Kulu bird place the fire dragon egg in its nest, then begin to pick among several other eggs of various kinds.

Su Yi withdrew, anxious and troubled.

“How could I subdue the Kulu bird without endangering the fire dragon’s egg?” He coveted the egg—not to eat, but to hatch it as his companion beast. This was his closest chance yet to obtaining a fire dragon.

“There’s nothing in my gathered materials that can put a Kulu bird to sleep.”

As he pondered, Su Yi suddenly smacked his forehead.

“I’m not just a hunter—I’m a Pokémon trainer!” Excitement surged as he summoned Chansey.

“Chansey!” Chansey greeted them, full of energy.

“Meow!” Dewgrass waved a paw in reply.

“Please, Chansey—use Sing,” Su Yi recalled the moves he’d seen in the companion beast menu.

“Chansey!” Chansey waved and began to sing. The simple tune, imbued with a strange hypnotic force, spread throughout the nest. The Kulu bird squawked in alarm, glancing toward the passage.

“Huh?” The bird uttered a confused cry and ambled toward the tunnel beside its nest.

Meanwhile, outside the nest, Barroth paced, sniffing for scents. Suddenly, a song drifted from a tree hollow, and with its towering nasal crest, Barroth inhaled deeply—catching the scent it had been hunting. With a triumphant roar, it charged straight into the tree hollow.

Just as the Kulu bird spotted Chansey around the corner, a thunderous crash sent wood splinters flying—Barroth smashed through the thin tree wall and burst inside.

“Squawk! Squawk!” The Kulu bird shrieked, the drowsiness that had overtaken it vanishing, and it grabbed an egg and fled.

“It’s that one again, meow!” Dewgrass exclaimed in surprise.

“The egg!” Su Yi’s sharp eyes saw that, in its panic, the Kulu bird had snatched the fire dragon’s egg.

Barroth ignored the Kulu bird, opening its jaws to attack Su Yi.

“What grudge do you have against me?!” Su Yi recalled Chansey, angrily turning to flee, Dewgrass close behind.

Boom!

Barroth obliterated the tree hollow and charged after Su Yi.

“Still chasing? You must really want trouble!” Su Yi whipped out a tool and quickly loaded it into his slinger.

“Hah!” He fired a deep yellow, foul-smelling projectile at Barroth’s head.

Barroth jerked aside, dodging the stench bomb.

“You came prepared!” Su Yi was amazed at Barroth’s agile evasion, but wasted no time reloading.

A roar—Barroth’s rage erupted, skin around its throat glowing red, sparks flickering between its fangs.

“Now!” Su Yi aimed and fired again.

The stench bomb struck Barroth’s nasal crest, instantly blocking its nostrils with overwhelming stench, severely impairing its scent-tracking.

Barroth’s eyes glinted with fury, relentless and unyielding.

“I don’t have time to mess with you!” Su Yi loaded his slinger once more.

“Go blind!” He fired a flash pod, and a blinding light exploded in front of Barroth, stunning it and robbing its sight for a moment.

As Barroth roared in impotent rage, Su Yi gradually escaped.

...

Buzz!

Far from the rampaging monster, the guiding insects resumed their work, but after the interruption, their tracking of the Kulu bird became intermittent.

“Will we find it?” Su Yi frowned, his hopes for the fire dragon egg fading. The Kulu bird might very well have eaten it.

“Damn!” Su Yi cursed under his breath.

“Meow! That’s a Kulu bird feather, meow!” Dewgrass, sharp-eyed, spotted a yellow feather among the vines.

“Well done!” Su Yi hurried forward, letting the guiding insects follow the trail.

But the farther they tracked, the more uneasy Su Yi became.

“We’re back?” he realized.

They had followed the Kulu bird’s trail only to find it had looped around, returning to its original nest.

Entering the nest, they found a couple of broken eggs, but the rest had vanished.

“It even knows to sneak back and move its food,” Su Yi marveled.

This Kulu bird was no ordinary creature.

Continuing their pursuit, Su Yi reached a broad trunk atop a great tree, where the Kulu bird was devouring eggs in the tree hollow, with several more stored for later.

“It’s still here!” Su Yi immediately spotted the largest egg—the fire dragon’s egg!

“Aibo! Go for it!”

“Leave it to me, meow! Dewgrass, attack!” Dewgrass leapt down, bone knife glowing with energy.