Chapter Eleven: Subjugation, Gains, and Setting Out Once More

“Go! Capture Ball!” Su Yi threw the ball with confidence. The Kulu was so badly wounded that it should have no strength left to resist.

Thump!

The ball absorbed the Kulu and fell to the ground. The Great Jagras watched the capture process intently.

Buzz!

The capture ball shook once.

Buzz!

A second time.

Bang!

The ball burst open. The Kulu, dragging its gravely injured body, let out a weak screech, stubbornly refusing to yield.

“Why?” Su Yi couldn’t comprehend what the Kulu was holding out for. He released Chansey and said, “Please, Chansey, use Sing.”

“Lucky!” Chansey smiled and waved, singing a simple, melodious tune.

The hypnotic song lured all into sleep. The wounded, exhausted Kulu’s eyelids drooped, its stance growing unsteady.

“Is this really necessary? Stealing just one egg, is it worth all this?”

Seeing the Kulu, drowsy yet still fiercely resisting, Su Yi couldn’t help but feel helpless.

The Kulu fixed its gaze unwaveringly on the Rathalos egg Su Yi had placed to the side, refusing to look away even in its dying moments. Su Yi rubbed his forehead—how much did it love eggs?

In the Great Jagras’s nest, it had eaten two or three eggs and still wanted to take one back to its own nest. Normally, Kulus would grab an egg and dash home to enjoy it safely.

Clearly, this Kulu was an egg-obsessed glutton, daring even to steal a Rathalos egg. Though it succeeded, it was only because the Rathalos couple had faced an unknown threat and neglected their nest.

“I’ll have to throw another ball.” Su Yi took out another capture ball, holding it in his hand.

Looking at the Kulu’s condition, another hit might be the last straw.

Perhaps because the Monster Hunter world’s power system differed from the Pokémon world, abnormal status moves had little effect on monsters that had become wary.

Su Yi could only try capturing it again.

“Lucky.” As Su Yi prepared to throw the ball, Chansey gently tapped him with its tiny hands.

“What’s wrong, Chansey?” Su Yi looked down to see Chansey patting its belly, as if to say, “Watch me.”

In Su Yi’s puzzled gaze, Chansey walked up to the Kulu, took the egg from its pouch, and offered it forward.

“Are you giving it your egg?” Su Yi watched in astonishment.

“Lucky!” Chansey, seeing the Kulu’s surprised and suspicious stare, smiled and offered the egg again.

“Caw!” The Kulu’s eyes lit up. It eagerly grabbed the egg and pecked it down in quick bites.

Chansey’s eggs, according to the Pokédex, are described as highly nutritious, and after evolving into Blissey, the eggs are said to bring happiness and calm to those who eat them.

In any case, Chansey’s egg seemed perfectly suited to the Kulu’s taste. The rugby-sized egg was devoured in just a few gulps.

Finally satisfied with its favorite food, the Kulu relaxed. Its injuries, exhaustion, and the lingering effects of Sing overwhelmed its body as its spirit eased, and the Kulu collapsed, sleeping peacefully with a look of contentment.

“Maybe this Kulu thought we were going to kill it, and just wanted to savor one last egg before dying?” Su Yi suddenly thought, amused and exasperated.

He walked up to the Kulu and gently tapped it with the ball. The Kulu was instantly absorbed, not even struggling, and the capture was complete.

“Now that’s eye-opening,” Su Yi sighed. Sometimes, the desire for food can be a powerful motivation.

He released the Kulu again, letting Chansey heal it with Healing Pulse. Once sure its wounds were fine, he recalled it.

Then Su Yi opened the “Hunting Guide” and saw that the “Hunt Kulu” quest was complete, with five capture balls added to his inventory.

Counting previous spending, he now had nine capture balls and had gained two trap tools for making traps, giving him more methods for future captures.

“It’s getting late. I’ll spend the night at the seaside forest camp and then return to the Pokémon world.” Su Yi closed the guide, keeping an eye out for materials as he carefully walked through the forest.

...

As the sun set, the camp’s fire burned bright. Su Yi lit the kerosene lantern left from the old camp, illuminating the ingredients before him.

Special mushrooms, glow flowers, sunflowers, herbivore dragon meat, herbivore dragon eggs, sashimi fish, and a scattering of wild vegetables and berries—these would make tonight’s dinner.

Su Yi rubbed his hands, sighing, “The Ancient Tree Forest is truly bountiful.”

This unspoiled forest still held much to explore.

...

“Making Cat Food for the first time feels novel,” Su Yi said, handling the peeling knife awkwardly as he processed the ingredients.

His cooking skills had always been average, not something he’d invested much effort in. Now, he could only rely on the knowledge granted by his cheat, working clumsily and trying to become familiar with this newfound expertise.

“I’ll help, meow!” Dewgrass saw Su Yi fumbling and hurried over to help with the ingredients and cooking.

Smoke curled, aromas rose, and soon platters of food were laid out on the stone table.

Roasted mushrooms, mushroom soup, stir-fried flowers, grilled steaks, roasted fish, steamed egg custard, fruit platters...

“Smells wonderful.” Su Yi inhaled deeply, appetite awakened.

The cat twitched its nose and exclaimed, “So much food, meow!”

“Good things should be shared—come out, everyone!” Su Yi tossed the balls, releasing Great Jagras, Kulu, and Chansey into the camp.

“Luck!” Chansey sniffed the bounty, delighted.

“Roar?” Great Jagras eyed the food, puzzled, but the tantalizing aroma made it drool unconsciously.

“Wow?!” The wounded Kulu finally woke, shrieking at the sight of Su Yi and his companions.

“Don’t panic!” Su Yi quickly soothed the agitated Kulu.

“Roar!” Great Jagras growled, extending its claw, which glowed with green energy, warning the Kulu not to cause trouble.

As the Kulu panicked, Su Yi carried over a large bowl of egg custard.

“We won’t hurt you. Want a taste?” Su Yi smiled, offering the egg custard.

The Kulu smelled the eggy aroma, its stomach empty and craving food after recovering from its injuries. Drawn by the tempting scent, it edged closer, drooling.

Great Jagras withdrew its claws, crawling beside Su Yi to watch the Kulu.

Seeing Great Jagras actively protect him, Su Yi smiled broadly. “No need to worry.”

Caw!

Unable to resist any longer, the Kulu grabbed the egg custard and devoured it, finishing the whole bowl in a few quick bites. It smacked its beak, savoring the silky, sweet taste.

“Kulu, come adventure with me from now on. You’ll get to eat all kinds of egg dishes.” Su Yi smiled.

Caw!

The Kulu tilted its head, looking toward Su Yi’s tent where the stolen Rathalos egg was wrapped in a bundle.

Su Yi coughed, blocking the Kulu’s view. “This one’s off-limits. Think of it as a way to help us reach more dangerous places and find tastier eggs.”

The now more intelligent Kulu called out, seeming half-convinced.

“In any case, we’re companions now. Let’s look after each other.” Su Yi reached for the Kulu’s claw. The Kulu chirped softly, considered its passion for eggs, and gently touched Su Yi’s hand.

“Rawr rawr,” Great Jagras called.

Su Yi grabbed a large chunk of grilled meat and tossed it to Great Jagras.

“You too, I’ll be counting on you.”

Rawr! Great Jagras swallowed the meat in one bite, licking its fangs, looking unsatisfied.

“Haha! There’s plenty more!” Su Yi grabbed more herbivore dragon meat and eggs, cooking again.

Kulu and Great Jagras waited for Su Yi’s feeding, Chansey was enamored with the special mushrooms, and Dewgrass blew on the grilled fish to cool it.

“No rush,” Su Yi said, amused by the cat’s eagerness.

The scene reminded him of the “Monster Hunter: World” cat food animation. Whenever the hunter finished eating, the Palico would stare in surprise at the hunter, then at its own unfinished food, frantically speeding up.

Great Jagras chewed a roasted herbivore dragon leg, savoring flavors it’d never tasted so closely before.

Kulu pecked at the egg custard, appreciating the refined way of eating.

Chansey, with its modest appetite, finished quickly and admired the starry sky, while the cat finally ate its grilled fish, joyfully meowing as its “white gloves” were stained with oil.

Watching, Su Yi felt a rare sense of satisfaction—perhaps this was the feeling a chef gets seeing diners’ content faces.

“I’m tired, but I should try making Cat Food more often, and find opportunities to gather more cooking tools and spices.”

...

Night deepened. Great Jagras and Kulu were recalled into their balls to rest, and the exhausted cat was already asleep in the tent.

Su Yi, sitting outside on a stone bench, gazed at the clear night sky, his heart filled with joy and excitement.

Now he finally had time to check his recent gains. Opening the “Hunting Guide,” he flipped to the “Companion Beasts” section, where the icons for Great Jagras and Kulu pulsed gently.

[Name: Great Jagras
Species: Great Jagras (Male)
Type: Dragon, Dark
Ability: Potent Stomach Acid (Removes buffs from creatures swallowed, reduces defense, and the defense reduction increases over time)
Moves: Bite, Body Slam, Dragon Claw, Devour (exclusive move, power 40, Dark type, special move, swallows appropriately sized creatures to deal ongoing damage), plus standard moves like Tackle, Scratch, Roar, etc.
Held Item: None]

Clearly, Great Jagras’s exclusive move was designed to pair with its ability, offering a powerful way to weaken opponents’ defenses, but with two distinct weaknesses.

First, size. Given Great Jagras’s bulk, it could swallow most Pokémon, but against Monster Hunter’s large monsters, this move was mostly useless.

Second, Pokémon could use all sorts of powerful moves. Swallowing them could put itself in danger.

Even so, Great Jagras remained one of Su Yi’s strongest companions.

[Name: Kulu
Species: Kulu (Male)
Type: Dragon, Flying
Ability: Resourcefulness (Kulu can choose to condense field materials into different types of solid rock for heavy strikes)
Moves: Peck, Fury Attack, Frenzied Scratch, Heavy Rock Strike (exclusive move, power 95, Rock type, physical move; condenses a hard rock to wield in its claws, used for attack and defense until discarded or broken)]

Kulu’s exclusive move and ability also complemented each other.

Although the exclusive move lacked same-type bonus, its high power made up for it, and more importantly, it could counter its weakness to Ice types—a major strategic advantage.

The “Resourcefulness” ability depended on the field, so it was somewhat unstable, but since it could choose whether to use the environment, it gave the exclusive move some flexibility.

Seeing the two large monsters as companions, now empowered with Pokémon abilities, and the rich trove of materials in his inventory, Su Yi was moved.

Originally, he’d only aimed to capture small monsters like herbivore dragons or Pachycephalosaurus, but unexpectedly found the chance to capture large monsters.

Though it had been a turbulent journey, the outcome far exceeded expectations, giving him much more confidence for exploring the Pokémon world.

“This is hunting. At first, it may be tough and yield little, but if you seize opportunities and hunt patiently, rewards will come.”

Su Yi flipped through the guide. In the “Ecological Report,” he found records of creatures he’d encountered—large monsters, small monsters, environmental life, and materials he’d gathered.

On closer inspection, he noticed the recorded lengths of the Great Jagras and Kulu he’d captured.

“This Great Jagras is 1380 cm—that’s a gold crown, the maximum size!” Su Yi exclaimed.

No wonder it felt so huge up close.

Kulu’s length was unremarkable, 902 cm, average for its species.

“A good start is half the battle,” Su Yi thought, satisfied with his rich haul, and went into the tent to sleep.

...

North of the seaside forest camp, the trees gave way to a marine cliff. Ahead, towering sea-eroded pillars stood. In the game, monsters would leap across these pillars to switch zones.

“Su Yi, you’re here, meow!” Dewgrass found him, gazing out at the ocean.

Su Yi pointed toward the sea, the wind tossing his hair as he stared across the waves. “On the other side lies the Everfrost Tundra.”

The cat widened its eyes, straining to see through the misty haze.

“There’s land beyond the sea, meow?”

“Yes, but that’s not our concern for now.”

Su Yi took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled, “Let’s head back to camp and pack up. Another world awaits our exploration!”

The cat called out expectantly, “Let’s set off, meow!”