Chapter 167: Facing Palkia (Patreon)

Greed in a person's heart was like a boulder rolling down a mountain; once it started, it could never be stopped.

The existence of the Hunter's Guild, to some extent, confined lawless lunatics like Hunter J within a relatively large cage, making it harder for them to act completely unchecked.

But understanding that was one thing; Alex still harbored a deep revulsion toward the Hunter syndicate. He didn't have a shred of goodwill toward them.

Arbitrarily seizing the Pokémon others treasured as precious companions, and unscrupulously poaching rare and precious wild Pokémon—how could Alex, who loved Pokémon, tolerate such heinous acts?

Seeing Alex's indifferent, even slightly contemptuous expression, Hunter B knew his persuasion had failed.

However, in this moment, Hunter B could still somewhat understand Alex's attitude. After all, young people—who among them wasn't brimming with dreams and vitality?

It was only in the end, when they were ground down and exhausted by life, that they inevitably transformed into the very people they once hated the most.

Alex raised his eyes slightly, his expression calm. "From the looks of it, you don't seem like the talkative type."

The corners of Hunter B's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a meaningful smile as he spoke slowly. "I think someone like you is worth a few extra words. Besides, it's not like I have anything to lose, right?"

In the end, this was just a casual, effortless move—just moving his lips. If it worked, it would yield massive profits; if it failed, there was no loss whatsoever.

Only hot-blooded, petty street thugs would completely lose their minds over a bruised ego.

"The Hunter's Guild's invitation remains valid. You can contact me directly anytime through the Hunter Pokédex. I sincerely hope to have the opportunity to partner with an outstanding Trainer like you."

With that, Hunter B hung up. The Hunter Pokédex didn't trigger some cliché "self-destruct" sequence like in the movies.

As for Hunter B's promise, Alex scoffed. Just moments ago, the man had sworn that only transactional relationships existed between Hunters, yet now he was trying to use words like 'partner' to fool him. Did he take Alex for an idiot?

However, after some thought, Alex ultimately didn't destroy the Hunter Pokédex outright.

Of course, to prevent any unspeakable tracking devices from being hidden inside, Alex simply tossed the device into his system space. The system space was a completely sealed dimension; once something entered, it was impossible to transmit even the faintest signal out.

Alex wasn't a fanatic. While he despised the Hunter's Guild, he might find a use for them one day.

Afterward, Alex pulled out his official Pokédex, preparing to contact the League and have them handle this mess as soon as possible.

"Is the Hunter's Guild's technology really that advanced? The official Pokédex is a useless brick here, but the Hunter Pokédex works perfectly fine?"

He tapped his official Pokédex a few times, but the signal bar remained completely blank. He instantly found it ridiculous.

Alex almost cursed out loud. The genuine article was worse than the bootleg—where was the logic in that?

However, it seemed the League's achievements in black technology were truly lacking, lagging far behind the research of dark syndicates.

In fact, most of the time, the League's technology tree, aside from excelling in developing Poké Balls, had almost zero impact in other fields. Whether it was Team Rocket successfully creating Mewtwo, the various era-defying black technologies used by the Hunter syndicate, or even the myriad mechanical contraptions built by the Team Rocket trio in the original story, they were all crystallizations of the dark syndicates' cutting-edge technology.

"Wait, I feel like I'm forgetting something." While inventorying his spoils, Alex suddenly remembered he had important business to attend to on Mt. Coronet.

Just as Alex turned around, preparing to resume his search for Roxanne, he saw Palkia's towering figure standing right behind him.

Palkia's mountain-like silhouette radiated an oppressive aura as it silently watched him.

This gave Alex a massive fright; his back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.

'Why is Palkia so fixated on me?'

For a moment, silence descended upon the area.

Alex didn't dare act rashly without knowing Palkia's intentions, while Palkia simply stood there quietly, lost in its own thoughts.

Time seemed to stand still. He didn't know how long had passed.

Just as Alex felt he couldn't hold on any longer, his legs beginning to turn to jelly, Palkia finally spoke slowly.

"Human, you carry His aura upon you."

For powerful Legendary Pokémon, telepathy was a fundamental ability. Many Legendary Pokémon seemed ferocious and impossible to communicate with at first glance for the simple reason that they couldn't be bothered to pay attention to you.

Hearing Palkia's majestic words, Alex instantly understood what it was referring to. To be solemnly referred to as 'Him' by Palkia, the deity of space, there was truly only one existence in the world.

Though it pained him immensely, Alex gritted his teeth and pulled out the Splash Plate.

"Are you referring to this?" Alex asked, his heart aching.

After all, Palkia was a Water-type Legendary Pokémon; Alex wasn't surprised that it could acutely sense the aura of the Splash Plate.

No matter how reluctant he was, right now, he could only take the financial hit to avoid disaster. A wise man submits to the circumstances; just like Hunter J, Alex wouldn't do something as stupid as valuing money over his own life.

Frankly speaking, the Plate was merely an external object; it couldn't magically propel Alex's Pokémon to the first-tier Legendary level anyway, so discarding it was acceptable. With the system, as long as he survived this hurdle, Alex would eventually be able to settle today's score.

Thinking back, perhaps Darkrai had also sensed that unusual, mysterious aura on Alex. Worried that he might accidentally attract trouble like Palkia—which could essentially be considered a walking natural disaster—it had driven Alex away without explanation.

But what Alex never expected was that Palkia merely cast a casual glance at the Splash Plate in his hand before indifferently looking away.

"That's not what I'm talking about at all... Never mind, it is indeed too early for you to understand these things."

Palkia spoke cryptically, simultaneously condensing a mass of pink spatial energy in its hand.

Alex focused his complete attention, his eyes wide open, terrified that in the next second, he would be ruthlessly sliced in half by Palkia's Spacial Rend.