Pokémon: What should I do? My father-in-law always wants to tear me apart

The sunlight shines through the dense tree canopy, dappling on the thick fallen leaves.

A man in a black windbreaker stood in the depths of the primeval forest. His eyes seemed to be looking for something, yet he looked lost.

The surrounding trees are towering into the sky, their branches and leaves intertwined together, forming a natural barrier that isolates the noise from the outside world.

He looked up at the sky, only to see the sun blocked by layers of leaves, and only its faint light could be vaguely seen.

The man took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The white mist slowly rose in the air, just like the unspeakable loneliness in his heart.

His hands were casually placed in his windbreaker pockets, and his footsteps made a rustling sound on the ground covered with fallen leaves, which was the only sound in the silent forest.

"This... should be the forest where Alidos once lived, right?"

A trace of nostalgia and sadness flashed across his eyes, as if he had returned to a certain time in the past.

“Well…”

Behind the man was a huge and fat Bulbasaur, which was looking at its trainer with a worried look on its face, as if it could sense the pain in its master's heart.

The man in the black windbreaker stretched out his hand and slowly took off his hood, revealing a slightly haggard face underneath.

This is Tang Chen who has not been seen for a long time. Since all his Pokémon except Bulbasaur died, he has not carried out any missions.

Hunter J gave Tang Chen a holiday out of empathy or other reasons.

Tang Chen walked aimlessly like this. For some reason, his footsteps finally stopped in this forest, as if an invisible force attracted him here.

He stood there quietly, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar environment around him, his heart full of emotion.

Suddenly, a gleam of light flashed in Tang Chen's eyes, as if the spark of a distant memory was rekindled.

He chuckled softly, with a hint of nostalgia and self-mockery in his tone:

"According to the time, this year's Little Phoenix Cup should have started already, right? What a good idea..."

"Okay."

Venusaur responded softly, and its cry seemed to contain memories of the past.

Tang Chen's mouth curled up into a faint smile, and he continued:

"Yes, Bulbasaur, when you, I, and Alidos participated in the Little Phoenix Cup together, you were just a Bulbasaur."

There was a hint of warmth in his words, but it was immediately replaced by deep sadness.

Tang Chen forced a smile and lowered his head. There was unspeakable pain hidden in that smile.

Bulbasaur looked at him with complicated eyes. It could feel the fluctuations in Tang Chen's heart.

As his partner, Bulbasaur knew Tang Chen's pain, but it didn't know what to say to comfort him.

At this moment, Tang Chen and Bulbasaur seemed to have noticed something and raised their heads at the same time.

They looked at each other without much words, but their eyes revealed a hint of vigilance and confusion.

......

Deep in the forest, there is a secret hidden.

In a tree hole, a cruel transaction is taking place. The atmosphere here is as gloomy and depressing as hell.

Several people with ferocious faces were gathered together, looking in front of them with greedy expressions.

In front of them were a dozen huge iron cages.

Various Pokémon were locked in the iron cages. They were looking at these people with fear on their faces, their bodies trembling slightly, and their eyes were full of helplessness and despair.

"Smash it—"

A man walked over and pulled an Arbok out of the cage. The Arbok looked terrified and subconsciously tried to break free.

There was a flash of fear in its eyes and a low hissing sound came from its mouth.

"Behave yourself!"

The squid king next to the man looked reluctant, but under the threat of the trainer he had to use his super powers to control Arbok.

Arbok struggled desperately, but he couldn't break free from the constraints of his superpowers.

Its body twisted and contorted in the air, trying to escape the squid king's grasp, but it was all in vain.

Its struggles and neighs became part of the transaction and entertainment in the eyes of those greedy people.

When the other Pokémon saw this scene, they were so scared that they huddled in the corner of the cage, not daring to make a sound.

They were afraid that they would suffer the same fate and could only pray silently that they could escape.

Just as the man put on special gloves and picked up the blood-stained scalpel beside him to stab Arbok, a discordant sound suddenly came from the air.

The scarred-faced leader's ears twitched, and he immediately became alert, shouting in a certain direction:

"Who is it? Come out!"

These people were startled and stopped what they were doing and looked towards the source of the sound vigilantly.

A tense atmosphere spread instantly, as if even the air around them had solidified.

Tang Chen was seen walking out from the bushes with his hands raised high and an innocent look on his face.

Rather than saying that he was discovered, it would be better to say that Tang Chen deliberately let the other party discover him. His steps were calm, and his eyes revealed a hint of coldness.

"There's no one keeping watch around, are they rookies?"

Tang Chen pondered in his heart, but then rejected the idea.

"Not necessarily. A rookie shouldn't be able to catch so many Pokémon, and..."

His eyes fell on the corner, where a corpse was thrown on the ground like garbage.

These Pokémon were covered in blood and their organs had been taken away.

Their eyes were wide open, as if they were telling of the pain and fear they felt in life.

Looking at the corpse of one of the Alidos, Tang Chen had a blank expression on his face, but his eyes were fixed there.

"You are Pokémon hunters, and bounty hunters?"

When Scarface heard Tang Chen's question, he was stunned for a moment, then he looked at Tang Chen's face carefully, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

"What? I thought it was a cop, but it turned out to be Tang Chen!"

"Oh?"

Tang Chen raised his eyebrows, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

"you know me?"

"Of course not. You are the first person to defect from the alliance and become a hidden Pokémon hunter as a candidate for the king."

Scarface smiled and waved at the alert brothers, signaling them to relax: "Don't worry, this guy is also in the same industry."

"In the same… line?"

The younger brothers looked at the powerful Bulbasaur behind Tang Chen and couldn't help swallowing nervously.

Tang Chen stared at the Pokémon locked in the cages with great interest and asked curiously:

"Why do you want to kill them? If they die, you can't sell them."

"Haha, you're right, but there's nothing we can do about it."

Scarface smiled helplessly.

"After all, we are different from the Hunter Association. You mainly sell powerful and rare Pokémon, while we mainly serve foreign gentlemen."

Perhaps it was because Tang Chen's identity as a defector made Scarface feel a sense of familiarity, or perhaps it was for some other unknown reasons, in short, Scarface was particularly enthusiastic towards Tang Chen.

"Master? What does this have to do with you taking Pokémon's organs?"

"Oh no! Overseas, they have already started transplanting Pokémon organs into humans, allowing seriously ill humans to survive."

Scarface explained proudly, pointing at the controlled Arbok.

"Humanoid Pokémon's organs have the highest success rate, so they are the most expensive. As for this type of organ, the price is lower, but it seems that it can also be used as research material, so it can also make a profit."

"Oh, I see."

Tang Chen nodded in sudden realization, then stretched out his hand and suggested with a smile:

"Can I have a piece of the pie, too?"

"This……"

Scarface looked a little hesitant. He frowned, as if thinking about the feasibility of this proposal.

"I only want 10%... no, half is fine."

Tang Chen still had a smile on his face, but his eyes revealed a hint of determination.

"Just think of it as making a friend. One more friend means one more way out. If I can't make it in the Hunter Association in the future, maybe I'll work for you."

Scarface was silent for a moment, and finally nodded to show his agreement: "Okay."

He winked at the younger brother next to him, who immediately understood what he meant. He quickly stepped forward and handed a pair of blood-stained gloves and a sharp scalpel to Tang Chen.

Scarface said with a hint of joking smile: "Then just treat it as a chance to get used to the job in advance. You can dig out the organs of this Arbok."

Tang Chen nodded, walked over seemingly obediently, put on gloves, and took the cold scalpel.

Arbok was no longer able to resist. It closed its eyes tightly, as if waiting for the end of its fate.

However, Tang Chen did not act immediately. He just stood there, looking at the Arbok quietly, with complex emotions flashing in his eyes.

Scarface frowned upon seeing this, with a hint of impatience in his tone: "What? You don't dare to do it?"

Tang Chen took a deep breath, then nodded slowly, with a tremor in his voice:

"Yeah, it was too sudden. I wasn't mentally prepared."

"It doesn't matter, just come a few more times."

Scarface didn't take it seriously and continued talking, completely unaware of the impending danger.

At this moment, there was a sharp "swish!" sound in the air. Scarface felt a pain in his neck and a splash of bright red blood splattered out, like a blood-red flower blooming in the darkness.

Amidst the shocked gazes of the crowd, there was no hesitation on Tang Chen's face. He calmly and accurately inserted the scalpel into Scarface's throat.

"you--"

Scarface opened his eyes wide and looked at Tang Chen in horror, his eyes full of disbelief.

But before he could say anything, Tang Chen pulled the scalpel hard and made a big cut on Scarface's neck.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, Scarface's body twitched a few times, and then fell heavily to the ground with a dull "bang".

As Scarface fell to the ground, the younger brothers screamed, fear and panic written all over their faces.

They didn't expect that this seemingly harmless man could take down their boss in an instant.

But Tang Chen was ready. After dealing with the most threatening scarred man, he threw away the scalpel and calmly took off his bloodstained gloves.

He took out a stone emitting colorful light from his pocket. It was a precious key stone.

"Bulbasaur, Mega Evolution!"