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

Su Yi, Lu Cao, and Kulu-Ya-Ku quickly slid down from the tree canopy and hid inside the ancient giant tree. The next moment, the roar of the storm echoed above them.

"Phew, that was close. I almost forgot that Kushala Daora likes to rest at high places," Su Yi exhaled in relief.

"Ga..." Kulu-Ya-Ku, however, seemed a bit disappointed.

Su Yi comforted it, "Don't be discouraged. We'll go raid the nests of the Aptonoths later."

Unexpectedly, Kulu-Ya-Ku let out a sharp squawk and shook its head disapprovingly.

After all, it was Kulu-Ya-Ku that had led Su Yi to the Aptonoth's nest in the first place. Where else would their usual egg-based dishes come from?

Kulu-Ya-Ku had long grown tired of Aptonoth eggs and had been yearning for a new flavor.

"If Aptonoth eggs won't do, how about Kestodon eggs? If that's still not good enough, there's always the eggs of the Raphinos. One of them has to suit your taste right?" Su Yi coaxed.

"Ga! Ga!"

Hearing this, Kulu-Ya-Ku's eyes lit up. It turned and eagerly walked toward the other end of the tree passage, so excited that it even seemed to forget its fear of the Elder Dragon.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Su Yi quickly followed.

As they walked, the path grew increasingly familiar. Before long, the trio—one man, one feline, and one bird—arrived at the observation platform where Su Yi had once climbed up the ancient tree and, together with Rucao, overlooked the entire Ancient Forest.

Through the gap in the giant tree, they could see the gray sky and the howling winds raging outside.

"Ga! Ga!"

Kulu-Ya-Ku ignored the scenery and instead pointed insistently behind them.

"Huh?" Su Yi looked in the direction Kulu-Ya-Ku indicated.

There, within the ancient giant tree, slender branches stretched out, intertwined with countless vines. Amidst these branches and vines, a nest made of woven twigs and foliage was hidden. At a glance, it seemed like just a tangled mass of vegetation.

"That... looks like a nest?" Su Yi narrowed his eyes and observed carefully. Inside the nest, he could faintly make out what seemed to be eggs.

This area was typically a resting place for Raphinos, and judging by the nest's size, it most likely belonged to them.

Su Yi glanced at the nest, which was suspended mid-air. It was obvious that Kulu-Ya-Ku, given its physique and body structure, had no way of climbing up to it.

Understanding the situation, Su Yi chuckled. "You've been craving this for a while, haven't you?"

"Ga!" Kulu-Ya-Ku squawked anxiously, urging Su Yi on. It had never tasted a Raphinos egg before.

Amused, Su Yi pointed at Kulu-Ya-Ku. "You little rascal~"

Switching his slinger to a grappling hook, Su Yi carefully aimed and launched the hook towards a sturdy vine. After ensuring it was securely latched, he let the hook pull him up into the nest with ease.

"Phew, good thing this nest is strong enough." Su Yi steadied himself and stopped the nest from swaying. Then, he peered inside.

"Huh?"

The sight before him took him by surprise.

Among the four melon-sized eggs was a single, football-sized egg.

"Is this also a Raphinos egg?" Su Yi wondered aloud. But then, the scouting insect on his waist flew out and landed on the larger egg.

"Wait a minute..." Su Yi retrieved a Pukei-Pukei feather from his pouch, and as soon as he held it up, part of the scout bug left the egg to attach itself to the feather.

Su Yi smacked his forehead in realization. "It's a Pukei-Pukei egg! Right, Pukei-Pukeis are brood parasites, just like some species of cuckoo in real life."

Brood parasitism refers to laying eggs in another species' nest, leaving them to be raised by unsuspecting foster parents.

But Pukei-Pukeis took it a step further. Their hatchlings emerged first, pushing the Raphinos eggs out of the nest to monopolize the foster parent's care until they were old enough to fly and hunt on their own.

When Su Yi first learned of this behavior, he couldn't help but be astonished. "Who would've thought that these ugly-yet-cute creatures had such ruthless reproductive habits?"

Of course, in the grand scheme of evolution, this was simply a survival strategy. The concepts of good and evil were merely human perspectives. Besides, compared to Su Yi, who was literally stealing eggs, wasn't the Pukei-Pukei's method somewhat justified?

Either way, these eggs now belonged to him.

"Jackpot!" Su Yi gleefully stashed all the eggs into his Item Pouch, then turned and fired his grappling hook to swing back down from the nest.

Seaside Camp

With Kulu-Ya-Ku eagerly waiting, Su Yi prepared a Raphinos egg custard.

In truth, once water and seasonings were added, Raphinos eggs tasted quite similar to Aptonoth eggs. But Kulu-Ya-Ku still found it novel and devoured it with enthusiasm.

Sitting to the side, Su Yi flipped through his Hunter's Guide, reviewing the findings from his recent forays. He had collected a fair amount of materials, and his Ecology Report had been updated with new information, including Pukei-Pukei's breeding habits, their diet, and the stormy weather caused by Kushala Daora.

"Oh? A new Quest was triggered?"

Su Yi checked his log. Due to the unexpected storm, he hadn't noticed three new quests appearing:

Hunt an Anjanath

Capture a Nargacuga

Drive away Kushala Daora

Tears welled up in his eyes. These were all beyond his current capabilities.

The Anjanath and Nargacuga quests might be feasible if he could tame some more monsters. But Kushala Daora? That was far out of reach.

What caught his eye, though, was a new reward item: High-Rank Sphere and Life Dragon Vein Shard.

The High-Rank Sphere was likely an upgraded version of the Capture Sphere, but Su Yi was curious about the Life Dragon Vein Shard. He knew about Dragon Vein Stones, but was this new item somehow related to monsters?

As intrigued as he was, these quests were currently impossible for him. If he failed to track down the targets within three days, the quests would be automatically forfeited.

"I have a clear plan, and I'm not about to waste my time and energy chasing after these beasts just yet," Su Yi decided. So, he left the quests in the Quest Log, where they would sit until they expired.

"One step at a time."

Summoning Chansey and Larvesta, Su Yi placed Larvesta in his lap for warmth while getting Chansey and Rucao to help him craft items from his gathered materials.

Who knows how much time had passed?

The howling winds finally began to subside.

Lost in his crafting, Su Yi looked up to see the gray sky clearing, with golden hues of sunset piercing through the clouds. He quickly opened his Hunter's Guide—the storm zone had vanished.

He could finally return to the Pokémon World.

"Finally! Time to head back. This unexpected storm completely disrupted my plans, and I need to restock some supplies."

Stowing away all his tools, Su Yi recalled his Pokémon and companions, then activated the Return to Pokémon World option.