Su Yi, The Pokemon(?) Master (Pokemon X Monster Hunter Fanfic)

"Rucao, let's set off to explore the Great Ant Mound Wasteland." Su Yi said to Rucao while glancing at the battling dragons still locked in combat under the vast forest sky.

"Now doesn't seem like a good time to explore the Ancient Tree Forest, meow." Rucao said, trembling.

There were flying wyverns fighting in the sky, brute wyverns and thunder wyverns roaring in the woods, and who knew how many other monsters lurked deeper, waiting for the steel dragon to leave so they could unleash their hunger and feast to their hearts' content.

"Rucao, do you know how to get to the Great Ant Mound Wasteland?" Su Yi asked.

The fastest and safest way was to pass through the Star Base and exit from the other side straight into the wasteland.

However, Su Yi was currently a fugitive, and it was inconvenient for him to appear before the guild hunters.

"I've never been to the Great Ant Mound Wasteland, meow, but I've heard that you can reach it by passing through the wasteland and canyon on the east side of the Ancient Tree Forest, bypassing the base." Rucao recalled.

"Then let's go that way. I don't want to stay in this forest a second longer."

Su Yi looked at the massive ancient tree, where the fire dragon couple and the azure fire dragon were still circling in a tense standoff.

He wondered: Was that mysterious creature that indirectly helped the Kulu-Ya-Ku steal the Rathian's egg actually the Azure Rathalos?

Without hesitation, Su Yi opened his Golden Finger's [Map] ability.

On it, a fog-covered area marked a path leading out of the Ancient Tree Forest.

This was a path he had glimpsed from atop the ancient tree days ago, running along the towering stone walls that encircled the Coral Highlands.

"I don't know the exact route, but at least I have a general direction."

Su Yi felt like a player in a game who had marked a mysterious area on their map and was now determined to venture forth into the unknown.

"Rucao, this is the start of our adventure!" Su Yi said excitedly.

This was a place never explored in the game. The hidden edges of the map—who knew what secrets they held? It was like searching for Easter eggs left behind by the game developers, a thrilling prospect.

"I've never been there either, meow!" Rucao's interest was piqued. Finally, they were heading into completely uncharted territory!

Moving cautiously through the noisy forest, the dense trees gradually thinned out. The once-fertile land became dry and arid. The midday sun blazed down, making their throats parched.

"We haven't even left the forest yet, and I can already feel the desert heat." Su Yi was grateful that he had stocked plenty of water in his [Items].

"Such towering stone walls, meow!" Rucao marveled at the massive cliffs that stretched hundreds of meters high.

"These thousand-fathom stone walls that encircle the Coral Highlands and the Rotten Vale… they might have been created by an Elder Dragon." Su Yi speculated.

His theory referred to the Elder Dragon that shaped the Rotten Vale—the Behemoth-like Safi'jiiva. Or perhaps… was it something even more unique?

In Su Yi's mind, the vast basin and deep canyon at the center of the New World, along with the encircling stone walls, were almost certainly the work of Safi'jiiva.

"An Elder Dragon?! Can they really change the land on such a scale, meow?!" Rucao was stunned.

To him, Elder Dragons that could summon storms and floods were already natural disasters. But one capable of altering the very landscape—what unimaginable power must it possess?

After all, storms and floods, while devastating, were still natural occurrences that one might witness several times in a lifetime. But a geological shift spanning a quarter of the continent? That was beyond the comprehension of most.

"Did you know? In the Pokémon world, there are beings that create land and sea, travel through time and space, and even shape entire worlds." Su Yi grinned.

"That sounds… unreal, meow." Rucao was dazed.

Su Yi laughed heartily. "And that's exactly why we set out on adventures! Is it true that fairies have tails? Well, no one can even confirm if fairies exist! And that is what makes exploration endlessly fascinating—endless mystery, endless adventure! Isn't that exciting?"

Living a predictable life was not for Su Yi. Perhaps dying in the pursuit of the unknown was the destiny of his untamed soul.

"You're right, meow! Let's keep going!" Rucao was energized.

They continued along the towering, desolate stone wall. The path grew narrower, with cliffs on both sides. Despite the arid landscape, signs of life remained—scorpions, dung beetles, and ants scuttled between rocks, while wyverns resembling lion-headed geese soared above.

"Wait!" Su Yi halted. His waist-mounted Scoutflies suddenly shot forward, gathering around a set of footprints.

"What kind of monster left these tracks?" Su Yi's face turned serious as he examined the three-toed footprints.

Among similar footprints, he was most familiar with the Deviljho's. But he was no expert in tracking—he couldn't be certain. And he couldn't blindly rely on game knowledge either.

"It looks like a wyvern species' tracks." Su Yi scanned the surroundings for more clues.

"Over here, meow!" Rucao, being small, was better at spotting things on the ground.

"Is this… metal fragments?" Su Yi approached a rock where Rucao had found tiny metallic shards.

For a moment, Su Yi tried to connect the dots.

"No way…" His pupils shrank as the sound of clashing blades echoed in his mind.

"We need to get out of here—NOW!"

A narrow path like this was the worst place to get cornered by a monster. If something came for them, their only escape route would be outrunning it.

Fortunately, the road ahead was clear. As the path widened, the rocky terrain revealed gaping fissures, their depths unknown.

Then, they arrived at the Great Ant Mound Wasteland.

The landscape was dotted with towering ant mounds, some over ten meters high, others just barely peeking above the ground. The true rulers of this land—the desert ant colonies—had built an empire of countless stone mounds.

Perched atop some mounds, dozens of Raphinos rested. Around them, patches of green cacti brought a rare splash of color to the desert.

"Gugu-aaah!" A strange cry echoed through the wasteland.

Creeping closer, Su Yi spotted a gray-black furred flying wyvern perched beside an ant mound, scrutinizing its outer shell.

"Another subspecies… the Nightshade Paolumu!"

the Nightshade Paolumu took a deep breath and exhaled a cloud of sleep-inducing gas into a crack in the mound. Moments later, ants began pouring out in a daze, and the dragon swiftly sucked them up like a whale feeding on krill.

"Another creature I've never seen before, meow! So it eats ants, huh?" Rucao was amazed.

As the wyvern finished its meal, it spread its furry wings and took off. The nearby Raphinos's screeched and scattered, but the Nightshade Paolumu bared its teeth, letting out a sharp shriek in return.

The Raphinos's became agitated, their screeching cries piercing the air.

Su Yi clutched his ears in agony.

"Why the hell did you have to provoke them?!"

The sound was like a whistle blasting in his eardrums, making the world spin. But then—

The ground began to tremble.

Su Yi's blood ran cold.

"No way…"

Rumbling grew louder. The ant mounds shook violently.

Then—

BOOM!

A pair of massive, razor-sharp horns burst from the earth. A gigantic beast emerged, slamming onto the ground with a thunderous crash.

Its war hammer-like tail shattered ant mounds with ease, and it reared back its horned head to roar—

"Black Diablos! And it's a pregnant one!"

He should have been more cautious the moment he saw the abundance of cacti in the area!

That damn Paolumu! And those damn Raphinos!

Whoosh! The Black Diablos dug its feet into the ground, carving deep trenches, before locking its pitch-black, curved horns onto Su Yi and Rucao.

"This place is too narrow, the only option is..."

Su Yi quickly scanned the surroundings and immediately raised his hand, firing a grappling hook toward the towering rock wall.

Swish!

In the nick of time, Su Yi grabbed Lu Cao and propelled himself toward the cliffside, narrowly dodging the Diablos' deadly charge.

Boom!

The weathered rock wall, weakened by years of erosion, crumbled under their weight, causing the hook to lose its hold.

"Whoa—!"

Su Yi plummeted.

Bang!

The impact wasn't on soft sand—it was on something hard, armored.

Dazed and bruised from the fall, Su Yi ignored the pain and quickly got to his feet. The thing beneath him was moving. A dark, armored back rose, attempting to shake him and Lu Cao off.

"Aaaah-oooh!!"

The Black Diablos let out a furious roar, thrashing violently and slamming into the surrounding cliffs and ant mounds. Su Yi clung onto its back plate with his Clutch Claw, while Lu Cao used its moves to grip the coarse shell tightly.

"There!"

Amid the chaos, Su Yi spotted a lower ledge on the cliffside. He held onto the feline, and during a brief moment of stillness, he sprinted, jumped, and launched his grappling hook toward a crevice in the rock face.

Click!

Thud!

The hook latched on, retracting swiftly and pulling Su Yi toward safety.

But just as he grabbed the ledge—before he could even pull himself up—a massive, razor-sharp claw loomed before him.

At that instant, Su Yi's mind flashed back to the giant footprints he had seen earlier in the canyon.

He jerked his head upward—a colossal, metallic-hued tail blade filled his vision.

"The Scorching Blade—Glavenus!"

Roar!

What greeted him was a deafening bellow, accompanied by the grating sound of sharpened metal scraping against itself.