Pokémon: My Online Friend Is Cynthia

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Simulation Ended

Only after the cries of "Meltan" faded into the distance did Julian wait a long while longer.

Then, very carefully, he dug out a piece of iron ore and stuffed it into his mouth.

He chewed while watching his surroundings, checking whether any Meltan would crawl out from the corners.

Eat one piece.

Stop.

Wait.

Only then did he carefully finish the iron ore along that side of the wall.

Julian originally wanted to return to Duraludon’s nest, but after thinking it over, he gathered his courage and went back to check on Steelix.

Maybe he could scavenge something.

Like a hyena.

Or a vulture.

When he arrived at Steelix’s nest, all he saw was a long, serpentine mass of flesh and exposed white bone.

The outer metal layer had been eaten clean by the Meltan.

Julian was about to leave when a thought suddenly occurred to him.

Steelix’s bones might be edible.

He lowered his head and bit into one of the white bones.

The metal content inside was even higher than the iron ore he had just eaten.

If the bones were this nourishing, Julian did not even want to imagine how rich the outer metal layer had been.

The Meltan had suffered from a lack of education.

They clearly had no idea that Steelix bones also contained a large amount of metal.

Which meant they had left Julian a feast.

Since the Meltan had only just eaten Steelix here, they probably would not return for a while.

Julian decided he could stay here safely.

He did not dare eat until he was too full. That would affect his ability to fight.

More importantly, it would affect his ability to run.

He only ate half of Steelix’s bones, then used the sand and soil on the ground to rub away the moisture clinging to his body.

Duraludon’s body would rust if it was not dried properly.

That part was genuinely troublesome.

Julian also used Rock Tomb to create rocks, sealing off the tunnels leading in and out of Steelix’s nest.

The rocks could not stop a Pokémon.

But if anything pushed them over, they would warn Duraludon in advance and prevent him from being ambushed.

After sealing the entrances, Duraludon found a dry corner, closed his eyes, and began digesting the gains from this adventure.

His level had risen from Lv. 38 to Lv. 39.

The development level of Light Metal had increased from 0.3 to 0.32.

Even Rock Tomb had gained 1 point of power.

Thank goodness for Light Metal.

Without it, he never would have escaped Melmetal’s iron fists.

Three or four hours passed.

The ore and bones in his stomach had mostly been digested, and Julian was just about to eat the remaining half of the bones when the rocks he had used to block one of the entrances were pushed over.

Judging by the footsteps, it was not Melmetal.

Good

Then perhaps he could try hunting whichever Pokémon had wandered in.

Julian carefully hid behind a rock and gathered energy.

The moment the intruding Pokémon showed itself, a Hyper Beam blasted out of Duraludon’s mouth.

To his surprise, the other Pokémon twisted aside nimbly and dodged it.

Then it rushed straight up to Duraludon and struck him in the face with Iron Head.

Duraludon took the hit and—

Hm?

It did not hurt.

Julian immediately understood.

The two of them were evenly matched.

He could not hit Mawile.

Mawile could not break through his Defense.

The commotion just now might have been heard by Melmetal. Since things had already reached this point, there was no need to fight.

They could split the remaining Steelix.

Half each.

"The meat is yours. The bones are mine."

Mawile nodded.

"Fine."

Duraludon stepped forward, pulled the bones out from the flesh, and began chewing them down in large bites.

Julian turned his head and saw that Mawile was eating even faster than he was.

The huge mouth behind its head chewed rapidly, devouring Steelix’s flesh at a visible speed.

Then Mawile turned and ran.

Julian sped up his own eating. After finishing the bones, he chased after Mawile in the direction it had left.

"Why are you following me?"

Hearing movement behind it, Mawile stopped and turned around. The huge mouth behind its head opened wide, glaring at Duraludon with clear hostility.

"We can work together. I eat steel. You eat flesh. We need different parts of the same prey. I think we can cooperate. What do you think?"

Mawile’s eyes shifted.

It seemed to think Duraludon’s idea made sense.

Compared to tasteless steel, it definitely preferred flesh.

Of course, Berries and honey were Mawile’s real favourites.

"Fine. I know a Lairon that lives nearby. We’ll go kill it."

Julian followed Mawile through the underground tunnel and into another underground space.

Looking at the claw marks scattered across the rock walls, this Lairon had probably lived in the area for a long time.

Mawile, walking in front, turned a corner.

Then it suddenly stopped moving.

Julian caught up and looked ahead.

A massive Aggron was lying on the ground, chewing loudly on something that looked suspiciously like Lairon.

The moment Aggron saw Mawile, it roared and lunged.

Mawile dodged to the side, stepped against the rock wall, swung the huge mouth behind its head, and used Iron Head against Aggron’s skull.

Julian refused to back down and answered with Take Down.

Then he was sent flying.

It felt like being hit by a speeding lorry.

Duraludon smashed into the rock wall behind him and sank into it. His whole body felt as if it were about to fall apart.

Mawile’s Iron Head could not even hurt Duraludon.

Against this Aggron, it was even less useful.

"Run!"

Julian dropped from the wall, struggled upright, and turned to flee.

When he glanced back, he saw that Mawile was still holding Aggron off with Iron Head.

It was surprisingly loyal.

Julian gritted his teeth.

If Mawile was willing to stand its ground, then he could not just run away like this.

Duraludon gathered energy, opened his mouth, and fired a Hyper Beam, forcing Aggron back for a moment.

"I told you to run! Why did you come back? I can escape by myself!"

If Mawile was saying that, Julian had no choice but to turn and run.

"I’ll wait for you where we ate earlier."

He returned to Steelix’s nest and waited for a long time.

Mawile never came back.

The first underground layer had Melmetal.

The second had Aggron.

Both were monsters that ate Pokémon and left only bones behind.

That was enough proof that the underground was not suitable for growth.

Julian decided to return to Duraludon’s nest, leave through the cave entrance, and see what the surface world was like.

He carefully made his way from Steelix’s nest back to Duraludon’s own cave.

Julian did not go outside immediately.

Instead, he spent as much time as possible familiarising himself with Duraludon’s body.

The chance to become a Pokémon was rare.

By using Dragon-type moves through Duraludon’s body, Julian could understand them from the inside.

Once he returned, he could pass that experience on to Jangmo-o.

He practised Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail, and Dragon Pulse.

He reduced the energy output and focused on technique.

The moves produced very little noise, so Julian could train inside the nest without worry.

There were also Hone Claws and Iron Defense, which improved Duraludon’s Attack and Defense.

After one proper meal, and with Julian keeping his training light, it took a full three days before he finally felt hungry again.

That hunger pushed him to move aside the rocks blocking the cave entrance and go outside.

Bright sunlight.

A gentle spring breeze.

Green vegetation covering the mountains and fields.

Only in this kind of environment could someone feel at ease.

But after circling the forest for a long time, Julian only found a few Oran Berries.

They were nowhere near enough to fill his stomach.

A Skarmory had also been circling in the sky the entire time, seemingly preparing to attack him.

So that was the problem with the surface world.

There was no food.

Julian sighed and decided to return underground to continue mining.

Just as Julian reached the cave entrance, a dark shadow suddenly leapt down from the mountain.

A hammer slammed heavily into Duraludon’s head.

The force was so overwhelming that Duraludon lost consciousness on the spot.

When Julian opened his eyes again, he was back in his room.

[The host has been killed byTinkaton]

[Simulation ended]

[Simulation evaluation: B]

[Evaluation ranks are divided into four grades: S, A, B, and C]

[Please continue to work hard]

Of course.

What kind of peaceful place could the simulator possibly have sent him to?

The reason there was so little food outside was that Tinkaton had eaten it all.

As for killing Duraludon?

That was to collect metal and forge an even bigger, better hammer.

[Calculating rewards...]

-----------------------

If you’re enjoying the story, add it to your collection, leave a review, comment and drop some power stones to support the novel!

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!