Chapter Twenty-Four: Breeding Season Delicacies, the Favorite of the Scratching Bird

Su Yi, Dewgrass, and the Scratching Bird quickly slipped down from the treetop and hid inside the ancient giant tree. Almost immediately, the roar of the storm echoed above their heads.

“That was close. I nearly forgot that Steel Dragon likes to rest at high places,” Su Yi let out a long breath.

The Scratching Bird, however, seemed a bit dejected.

Su Yi tried to console it, “Don’t be discouraged. We’ll go raid the Herbivorous Dragon’s nest in a bit.”

But the Scratching Bird gave a discontented squawk and shook its head.

It was the Scratching Bird who had led Su Yi to the Herbivorous Dragon’s nest in the first place—otherwise, where would their daily supply of eggs have come from? It had long grown tired of eating Herbivorous Dragon eggs and wanted a new flavor.

“If not Herbivorous Dragon, then Crested Dragon, and if not that, then Skywing Dragon. Surely there’s a taste for you,” Su Yi hurried to reassure it.

To his surprise, as Su Yi spoke, the Scratching Bird’s eyes lit up. With a delighted squawk, it turned and headed toward the other end of the wooden passageway, its excitement even dispelling some of its fear of the Elder Dragon.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Su Yi called, quickly following.

The path ahead felt increasingly familiar, and soon, the trio—man, feline, and bird—arrived at the very observation deck where Su Yi had once climbed up the ancient giant tree with Dewgrass to gaze upon the vast expanse of the Ancient Tree Forest.

Now, looking out through the breach in the giant tree, only a gray sky and howling winds filled the view.

But the Scratching Bird ignored the scene and instead kept pointing with its claws to a spot above and behind them.

“What is it?” Su Yi asked, puzzled, turning to follow the bird’s gesture.

Within the ancient tree, other trees had grown slender branches, and countless vines twined and tangled among them. Between these branches and vines, a nest woven from various twigs and creepers rested, so well camouflaged that one could easily mistake it for a clump of tangled foliage.

“There… is that a nest?” Su Yi squinted, peering closely. Within the nest, he could just make out the vague shapes of what seemed to be eggs.

This area was once where Skywing Dragons perched. Judging by the nest’s size, it was most likely a Skywing Dragon’s nest.

Su Yi eyed the nest, suspended high in the air. Given the Scratching Bird’s size and physique, climbing up there was impossible.

Realization dawned, and Su Yi chuckled. “You’ve been craving something new for quite a while, haven’t you?”

The Scratching Bird squawked, urging him on impatiently—it had never tasted a Skywing Dragon’s egg.

Su Yi, amused and exasperated, pointed at the bird. “You little rascal~”

Switching his launcher to the grappling hook, Su Yi took careful aim, shot the hook into the tangled vines, and, after confirming it was secure, let the cable pull him up easily into the nest.

“Phew, good thing this nest is sturdy.” Su Yi steadied himself to stop the nest from swaying, then peered inside.

“Huh?” The sight surprised him.

Among four eggs the size of small melons, there was a fifth, as large as a soccer ball.

“Is that also a Skywing Dragon egg?” Su Yi was astonished. Then, the scout bug at his waist floated out and attached itself to the larger egg.

“Could it be…” Su Yi opened the container at his waist that held monster traces and took out a Feathered Vulture’s plume. Instantly, the scout bug split, some of it adhering to the plume.

Su Yi slapped his forehead, remembering. “Aha, it’s the Feathered Vulture! The lore says their breeding is nest parasitism, just like some cuckoos in real life.”

Nest parasitism means laying one’s eggs in the nest of a similar species, leaving them to be raised by the host.

But the Feathered Vulture’s method was even more ruthless: its chicks would hatch first, push the Skywing Dragon’s eggs out of the nest, and monopolize the care of the Skywing Dragon until they could fly and fend for themselves.

When Su Yi first learned of this habit, he couldn’t help marveling: who would have thought such a comically ugly creature would possess such a sinister reproductive strategy?

Of course, this was nature’s way of ensuring survival. Judgments of good and evil were just human sentiment; was Su Yi any better, stealing eggs as he did?

In any case, all this now played to Su Yi’s advantage.

“A great harvest! Hahaha!” Su Yi stuffed the eggs into his inventory one by one, then fired his grappling hook at the vines and swung down from the nest.

...

Back at the Seaside Camp, urged by the Scratching Bird, Su Yi served up a custard made from Skywing Dragon egg.

In truth, after diluting with water and seasoning, Skywing Dragon eggs tasted hardly any different from Herbivorous Dragon eggs, but the Scratching Bird still relished the novelty, eating with great delight.

Su Yi sat to the side and opened his golden-fingered “Hunter’s Guide,” reviewing his recent haul. He’d gathered plenty of materials, and the Ecology Report now held new entries—such as the Feathered Vulture’s breeding habits, its diet, and the gale weather brought by Steel Dragon.

“Oh? Did I trigger some new ‘Quests’?” Su Yi checked. Due to the sudden downpour, he’d barely noticed the three new tasks: slay the Brutejaw Dragon, capture the Swiftclaw, and drive away the Steel Dragon.

Su Yi felt a pang of helplessness—none of these were within his current abilities. The Brutejaw and Swiftclaw might be manageable after taming more monsters, but facing the Steel Dragon was a distant dream.

He noticed, however, that the rewards for these quests included new items: the Superior Ball and Life Vein Shard. Since they were only listed as rewards, he couldn’t check their descriptions yet.

But a Superior Ball was clearly an upgrade over the Capture Ball—he wondered if there were even higher-tier balls to come. As for the Life Vein Shard, it left him puzzled. He knew about Life Vein Stones, but a shard… could it be related to monsters?

Eager as he was to investigate, these quests were beyond his current reach. If he didn’t locate the quest targets within three days, the tasks would be automatically abandoned.

Since he already had clear plans for capture, there was no way he’d waste time and risk his life chasing these three beasts. So, for now, the quests would simply gather dust until they were dropped.

“One bite at a time,” Su Yi murmured, releasing the Lucky Egg and Firebug.

Warming his hands with the Firebug while asking Lucky Egg and Dewgrass to help, Su Yi took out his gathered materials and began crafting the items he needed.

...

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

At last, the wind died down.

Lost in his work, Su Yi raised his head. The gray sky was clearing, and the sunset’s glow pierced the clouds. He immediately opened the “Hunter’s Guide.” The storm zone had dissipated—he could return to the Pokémon World now.

“Finally, I can leave. Let’s head back. This sudden mishap threw off all my prior plans, and I need to resupply some goods.” Su Yi packed all his items away, recalled his companion beasts and Pokémon into their balls, and chose to return to the Pokémon World.