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

Boom!

The well-fed Pink Rathian did not return to its nest but instead descended into the coral forest.

It leisurely groomed its scales and left deep claw marks on the ground, marking its territory.

"Damn it."

Hiding in the grass, Su Yi felt cold sweat forming on his forehead. The Pink Rathian seemed to have caught an unusual scent, as it looked curiously in their direction.

The grass they were hiding in wasn't particularly tall, barely concealing them when crouched, and—worse still—they were less than ten meters away from the dragon.

And to make matters even worse, Su Yi's Golden Finger, the Hunting Guide, suddenly let out a "ding!". The Azure Star emblem on the book's cover lit up, and the book began vibrating like a phone on silent mode, as if urgently trying to inform him of something.

"Bad luck, bad luck, bad luck!" Su Yi cursed internally.

His Odagoron had only just recovered from a severe injury, and its wounds weren't fully healed. If they fought the Pink Rathian now, the strain could reopen the wounds, causing severe damage and drastically reducing its combat ability.

Meanwhile, his other companion beasts had little means of effective aerial combat. The Pink Rathian could simply stay airborne and bombard them with its breath attacks, slowly wearing them down.

Most importantly, Su Yi only had two Flash Bombs left. He had used too many earlier, and the Rotten Vale was not an easy place to find Flashbugs to replenish his supply. If he couldn't deal significant damage within two flashes, the Pink Rathian would regain control of the battle once it returned to the sky.

Flying wyverns aren't dumb enough to fight on the ground. The only reason they did that in the game was because of mechanics—otherwise, all flying wyverns would be a nightmare to deal with.

To be honest, Su Yi had no desire to fight the Pink Rathian right now. Setting up a campsite was his top priority.

At this moment, Su Yi deeply understood the importance of aerial mobility.

Just as he was about to release his companions for an intense battle, a roar echoed through the air like music to his ears.

"Awooo!"

The Pink Rathian's attention immediately shifted.

A blue-scaled Bird Wyvern emerged from the other side of the coral forest. It was similar in size to a Kulu-Ya-Ku, yet it fearlessly roared at the massive Pink Rathian, challenging it despite the enormous size difference.

Su Yi gave a thumbs-up.

"Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, my friend, you're a true hero!"

Enraged by the tiny creature's audacity, the Pink Rathian let out a furious roar and charged forward.

But the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku did not flee. Instead, it spread the glowing membranes on its head, flashing them rhythmically while calling out.

As the Pink Rathian neared, the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku reared its head, and in an instant, its head membranes flashed like an old-fashioned camera's flashbulb, unleashing an intense burst of light.

Flying wyverns, known for their sharp vision, relied heavily on their eyesight to survey territory and hunt. However, this keen vision also made them extremely vulnerable to bright flashes.

The sudden, blinding light seared the Pink Rathian's eyes, causing it to let out a pained screech. It thrashed its head in frustration, blindly whipping its tail around in a frenzy.

Meanwhile, the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku remained calm and composed, walking nonchalantly past the stunned Pink Rathian before casually disappearing into another direction.

Seizing the opportunity, Su Yi grabbed Rucao and quickly escaped from the coral forest.

The Coral Highlands was filled with rocky formations intertwined with coral, creating numerous caves. Without wasting time, Su Yi rushed into a narrow cave to seek shelter.

Finally safe, he opened the still vibrating Hunting Guide. The book flipped open on its own, automatically turning to the Companion Beasts section.

There, a pixel-art-style egg icon was shaking violently, with several cracks already forming on its surface.

"It's the Pukei-Pukei egg!" Su Yi suddenly realized.

Back when he first obtained the egg, he had already noticed that the embryo had formed. Now, with the help of his Larvesta's Flame Body ability, the Pukei-Pukei was finally ready to hatch.

Su Yi carefully took out the egg and placed it on the ground.

Immediately, Rucao and Rotom gathered around.

"The egg is hatching, meow!" Rucao watched curiously as the egg continued to shake.

Rotom quickly switched to camera mode and activated video recording.

"I must document this moment, Roto!"

Crack! Crack!

The eggshell slowly cracked apart, and in an instant, the Pukei-Pukei egg erupted in a brilliant glow.

Su Yi was stunned. "Wait… this kind of light effect only happens when Pokémon hatch! There's no way Monster Hunter creatures hatch with a glowing animation! Does this mean that once the egg was registered under [Companion Beasts], it automatically gained Pokémon characteristics?"

"What kind of Pokémon will it be, Roto?"

Rotom Phone aimed its camera at the glowing egg, eager to record the moment.

As the glow faded, a wrinkled, adorably ugly Pukei-Pukei hatchling stretched its tiny body and opened its big round eyes.

"Another never-before-seen Pokémon! A major discovery, Roto!" Rotom excitedly snapped a picture, capturing the newborn's first glimpse of the world.

"Waaah!"

The tiny Pukei-Pukei locked eyes with Su Yi the moment it hatched and immediately leaped into his arms, opening its mouth and letting out a soft, eager cry.

Su Yi chuckled, "Alright, alright!" He couldn't help but smile at the newborn's burst of life and energy.

However, its cries soon became more urgent and insistent.

"It's hungry, isn't it?"

Su Yi slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing he had absolutely no experience taking care of baby creatures.

"What do Pukei-Pukei eat again? Scatter Nuts! Right! I remember there are Scatter Nuts in the Coral Highlands… but where the heck do I find them now? And do baby Pukei-Pukei even eat the same food as adults?"

Listening to the hatchling's increasingly desperate cries, Su Yi started to panic, sweat forming on his forehead.

Normally, he kept some Scatter Nuts in his inventory, but he had used them all as throwable projectiles or snacks earlier—and now he had none left.

"Su Yi, Pokémon babies need proper food. Did you prepare anything suitable, Roto?" Rotom asked curiously.

"Wait—Pokémon food!"

Su Yi suddenly had an idea.

Riiing, riiing!

Sonia, who had been chatting with her close friend Nessa, quickly excused herself and answered the call.

"Hello? Su Yi? What's wrong? What?! A newly hatched Pokémon, and you don't know how to take care of it? Where are you? Alright, got it!"

Nessa looked over curiously. "A friend needs help?"

Sonia nodded. "Yeah, he's a friend of Leon's—actually, his junior apprentice. He just had a Pokémon hatch and isn't sure how to take care of it."

"Leon has a junior apprentice?" This was the first time Nessa had heard that the mighty Leon had a fellow student.

"Anyway, sorry, but I have to go." Sonia apologized.

Nessa just laughed. "What are you talking about? Let's go together!"

"Alright!"

They met Su Yi in a park, and without wasting time, Sonia took him to a shopping mall.

"This place has almost every Pokémon product you could need. But for baby Pokémon, you have to be extra careful. Food selection is crucial—you need to consider things like their preferred taste, elemental attributes, and typical dietary habits. Otherwise, they could get sick or suffer from improper development."

As she spoke, Sonia led Su Yi to a specific counter, dropping scientific terms every now and then.

Su Yi scratched his head, feeling a mental overload. "Am I… getting smarter from all this?"

"Pfft!"

Standing beside Sonia, Nessa chuckled. Watching this tall, grown man look so utterly lost while being lectured like a child was too amusing.

"So… I'm guessing this is another one of those unknown Pokémon you somehow captured?" Sonia asked.

"Do you even know its type and dietary needs?"

Su Yi turned away slightly and opened his Hunting Guide.