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

Under Chansey's Heal Pulse, the Great Girros' injuries began to improve.

Su Yi took out some medicine and approached the Great Girros.

The gang boss-like monster shifted slightly, its imposing demeanor noticeably subdued, yet it remained highly wary and reluctant toward Su Yi's approach.

Beside it, the Great Jagras let out a low growl, seemingly warning the Great Girros not to be ungrateful.

Su Yi didn't waste words. He quickly sprayed the medicine onto the Great Girros' wounds.

The massive monster's body bore deep gashes from their battle, and simply tending to the injuries cost Su Yi several bottles of medicine.

After having its wounds treated, the Great Girros' attitude softened slightly.

Su Yi knew that monsters living in the Rotten Vale generally had bad tempers, so he didn't expect the Great Girros to immediately acknowledge him or follow his commands. He would have to slowly build trust.

Leaving the Great Girros alone for now, Su Yi turned his attention to tending to Great Jagras and Kulu-Ya-Ku's wounds.

The Kulu-Ya-Ku was relatively better off—a few sprays of medicine and some herbs for recovery would be enough.

But Great Jagras' wounds were far more severe—deep bite wounds from the Odogaron's fangs and razor-sharp claw slashes cut deep into its muscles.

Looking at his fierce and loyal companion, who had fought so desperately for him, Su Yi felt a wave of heartache.

"You idiot! If it bites you, why don't you just dodge?!" Su Yi scolded while carefully applying medicine to the Great Jagras.

The Great Jagras let out a low whimper, as if saying: If I didn't hold it down, you wouldn't have escaped.

Time passed. Half an hour later, Su Yi finally finished tending to his battle-worn companions, before finally addressing his own injuries.

"Chansey."

Chansey helped treat the wounds on Su Yi's back, where bruises and welts covered his skin. There was barely a single uninjured spot left.

Su Yi glanced at his bandage-covered body and smiled wryly.

"I have no idea how I even survived the fall into the Rotten Vale."

At this point, he was starting to suspect he had a Hunter's constitution.

Finally having a moment to think, Su Yi began recalling the details of his fall.

After the rock wall crumbled, revealing a crevice leading to the Rotten Vale, he had slid down the rocky layers, bumping against jagged surfaces along the way before finally blacking out.

Thinking back, it was likely because the crevice didn't lead straight down but had twists and turns, which slowed his descent just enough to keep him from dying on impact.

"I really got lucky this time."

He turned to Rucao, his Palico companion.

"Rucao, did you get injured during the fall?"

"No worries, nya! I'm small enough to move freely in the crevice, so I didn't tumble down like you. I slid down bit by bit, nya! But watching you fall uncontrollably really scared me, nya!"

Rucao recalled the scene, still a little shaken.

"Phew... as long as you're okay." Su Yi let out a sigh of relief and started thinking about his next move.

Now, he had two choices:

Continue exploring and set up a camp to make future expeditions easier.

Abandon the Rotten Vale and resume his original plan of heading toward the Wildspire Waste.

If he chose the first option, he would have to survive in harsh conditions while gradually establishing a base. He wouldn't be able to freely leave until the camp was completed.

His fast-travel ability only worked between established camps. If he left the Rotten Vale before setting up a camp, he might have to find another way back next time—a dangerous and uncertain prospect.

In the game, the path to the Rotten Vale only opened due to Zorah Magdaros' arrival, which cleared the way for hunters to explore.

If Su Yi left now, there was no guarantee he'd find a safe route back later.

Additionally, choosing to stay and explore meant temporarily giving up access to the Ancient Forest's resources.

Since he couldn't teleport back to the Ancient Forest's coastal camp until this one was fully established, he would be cut off from that area for now.

After thinking it over, Su Yi made his decision.

"I'll explore first and look for materials to build a camp. The Rotten Vale is dangerous, but who knows—there might be some unexpected rewards waiting for me."

If I Could Find a Path to the Coral Highlands, That Would Be Even Better...

Roar!

Awooo!

Sinister howls echoed through the Rotten Vale.

The Great Girros immediately stood up, raising its head in alert, carefully listening to the sounds. The source of the noise wasn't far from Su Yi's current location.

"One of them sounds like an Odogaron," Su Yi identified.

"But what's the other one? I'm curious... but I can't afford to check it."

With all of his companions already wounded, they couldn't afford another battle. Watching from the sidelines could easily backfire.

"Better to play it safe."

With that in mind, Su Yi took out food from his inventory, ate to replenish his strength, and then lay down to rest.

The Rotten Vale was perpetually dark, making it impossible to tell the time or weather outside.

Shrouded in thick miasma, the area had poor visibility. The maze-like rock formations and piles of bones made it disorienting and easy to get lost.

Guided by the Great Girros, which was now at least somewhat willing to follow commands, Su Yi arrived at a massive pile of corpses.

"There's Barnos here."

Su Yi quickly examined the bodies, searching for materials he needed.

These Barnos corpses had fallen from the Coral Highlands, their lifeless bodies ending up here.

Together with Rucao, Su Yi carefully skinned the fresher corpses to collect Barnos hide.

This material was crucial for building a tent—once properly treated, it would be waterproof, moisture-resistant, durable, and insulating.

Whoosh!

A loud thud echoed as yet another corpse fell from the massive hole above, tumbling down from the Coral Highlands.

"Su Yi, nya! Something really big just fell!" Rucao pointed at the large, dark silhouette.

"Whoa! A Legiana!"

Su Yi turned and was shocked—it was the corpse of a Legiana, a top predator of the Coral Highlands.

Approaching the fallen wyvern, Su Yi examined its body.

Surprisingly, this Legiana wasn't as large as he expected. Its wing membranes were shredded, and its body was covered in deep, bone-exposing claw marks.

"Huh? Spines? No… wait, these are poisoned spines."

In the Coral Highlands, the only creature that used poisoned spines was none other than the Rathian subspecies—Pink Rathian.

Su Yi studied the wounds carefully.

It was clear—this was a young Legiana, recently reaching adulthood, but it had fallen prey to a Pink Rathian.

Both species were rivals, constantly fighting over territory and food. A stronger Pink Rathian wouldn't hesitate to eliminate a future threat before it could grow.

"Well, lucky for me! Even though the body's damaged, it's still got plenty of useful materials!"

Su Yi rubbed his hands together eagerly and pulled out his carving knife, preparing to harvest the valuable parts.

Suddenly—

Rattle! Rattle!

The Great Girros let out a strange roar, and within moments, a pack of Girros rushed over, gathering to protect their leader.

"What's wrong?"

Su Yi immediately stood up and turned to look.

The Great Girros was snarling in warning, its eyes locked onto a dark red figure slowly emerging from the murky, yellowish miasma.

A chilling sniffing sound echoed through the air.

A familiar shape took form.

Su Yi's face darkened.

"You again?!"