Urban Pokémon: All My Students Are Exceptionally Gifted [71]

“You two go first, I’ll hold the rear!”

As soon as the words left He Yongsen’s mouth—

The two other rescuers immediately shook their heads in refusal.

“No, Yongsen!”

“If we’re leaving, we leave together.”

Abandoning a teammate was simply unthinkable.

However, He Yongsen’s determination was unshakable.

“No, we won’t make it if we stay together.”

“The longer we drag this out, the worse it’ll get if more frenzied Pokémon pour out from the Secret Realm.”

If they could escape safely together, who would willingly risk their life as a rearguard?

But their current predicament left no room for such optimism.

The Salandits’ refusal to attack outright was a clear sign of their intent to stall, waiting for the fire to spread and exhaust their prey.

Then they’d strike at the perfect moment.

Under Salazzle’s leadership, regardless of their individual strength, these Salandits were remarkably disciplined.

Retreating as one would be hopeless against such coordinated foes.

“Then if someone has to stay, it’ll be me,” one rescuer insisted stubbornly, chin raised defiantly.

In his eyes, He Yongsen was stronger, had greater potential.

If anyone should survive, it was him.

Yet…

He Yongsen sharply snapped, “You, stay behind?!”

“With your abilities?”

“These Salandits range between Veteran and Ace-Tier.”

“Your strongest Pokémon is only Ace-Tier at best. What makes you think you can hold them off, let alone with that hidden Salazzle of unknown strength lurking in the shadows?”

“If you stay, they’ll tear you apart in seconds.”

Though He Yongsen’s harsh words were filled with disdain for their strength—

The two teammates felt no anger.

They knew…

He Yongsen was deliberately provoking them, wanting to ensure they left without regret.

But even knowing that, their hearts remained unwilling to abandon a friend.

Just then, He Yongsen’s expression softened abruptly, breaking into a reassuring grin. “Have you forgotten how fast my Arcanine is?”

“Once you’re safe, I’ll quickly disengage and escape.”

“Enough stalling!”

“Keep hesitating, and none of us will get out.”

Without waiting for their response—

He swiftly lifted the trainee from Arcanine’s back, handing the young trainer over to his teammates.

Immediately, he commanded sharply:

“Arcanine, clear a path with [Extreme Speed]!”

“Woof, woof!”

Empowered by [Extreme Speed], Arcanine transformed into a blazing blur, ramming straight into the Salandits blocking their path.

One Salandit tried to resist, but Arcanine pinned it to the ground with a heavy paw, unleashing a close-range [Thunder Fang].

Bzzzzt—!

Electricity surged violently through the Salandit’s body.

Its limbs convulsed uncontrollably—

Until it collapsed lifelessly onto the scorched earth, completely immobilized.

Having neutralized the immediate threat, Arcanine unleashed a fierce [Roar], its mighty voice shaking the remaining Salandits into stunned silence.

“Now’s your chance!”

“Go, quickly!” He Yongsen urgently shouted.

The two rescuers exchanged a bitter glance, gritted their teeth, and immediately led the trapped personnel through the breach Arcanine had opened.

Though it tore at their hearts, leaving He Yongsen behind was undoubtedly their only viable option right now.

All they could do was hurry, escape, and send back help.

As the prey they had encircled began to flee, a piercing screech suddenly rang through the forest.

Immediately after—

The Salandits, stunned just moments ago by Arcanine, snapped out of their daze and swiftly rose to give chase.

But surprisingly, He Yongsen didn’t order Arcanine to intercept them.

Instead, he pointed toward the origin of that sharp cry and commanded, “Arcanine, flush out that Salazzle!”

Arcanine, after all, was just one Pokémon. Against so many Salandits, what difference would stopping a few even make?

Thus, He Yongsen chose a different tactic—directly striking their commander.

Given Salazzle’s revered status, the moment she came under attack, the entire group would instantly rush to her defense.

As for pinpointing Salazzle amidst the blazing inferno, for Arcanine’s sensitive nose, that was child’s play.

Sniff, sniff!

Arcanine’s nose twitched a few times, quickly locking onto Salazzle’s location.

With [Extreme Speed] activated, Arcanine blurred into motion, disappearing into the roaring flames.

Soon enough, sounds of intense fighting echoed from the fiery depths.

Not long after, a shadow shot violently out of the blaze—or more accurately, was flung out, slamming heavily into the ground.

He Yongsen squinted, identifying the Pokémon clearly: it was precisely the Salazzle he’d ordered Arcanine to target.

Perhaps due to Salazzle’s prolonged role as commander rather than fighter, her battle prowess paled drastically when directly confronted by Arcanine—despite their comparable strength levels.

Arcanine emerged from the flames, lithe and powerful, launching itself gracefully through the air toward the fallen Salazzle.

Witnessing the impending danger, Salazzle shrieked out her familiar cry.

Instantly, the Salandits harassing Leng Yun and the others ceased their assault, immediately breaking off combat and rushing back to defend their queen.

“Quick, now’s our chance!”

With no time for hesitation, the rescuers doubled their speed, following the escape route.

Though Salandits needed time to regroup, Salazzle frantically spewed thick, obscuring [Smog] from her mouth, desperately trying to buy herself precious seconds.

But perhaps Salazzle had forgotten, for Arcanine, scent was far superior to sight.

Despite the smoke obstructing its vision, Arcanine’s keen nose could still track Salazzle’s exact position.

Boom!

Another heavy blow landed, sending Salazzle tumbling once more.

Seeing this, He Yongsen’s face lit up in triumph.

He’d never imagined Salazzle would be so careless—leaving herself utterly unguarded, without even a single Salandit to protect her.

This was the perfect opportunity to capture her.

If I subdue Salazzle, the Salandits won’t dare act rashly.

Then I’ll have plenty of time to wait for backup.

Rapidly analyzing the situation, He Yongsen’s decision crystallized immediately.

“Arcanine, [Thunder Fang]!”

“Take down that Salazzle!”

With the order given, Arcanine’s jaws crackled with electric energy as it lunged once more toward Salazzle.

Seeing Arcanine charge again, Salazzle felt indescribable bitterness:

How could I have ended up in such a humiliating position?

She hadn’t stationed any guards because she had never intended to join the battle herself.

Her original plan had simply been to quietly direct the Salandits from the shadows. Someone of her noble standing would never personally engage in battle!

Who would have thought, her concealed location would be found so easily by Arcanine, plunging her into such mortal peril?

However, to have risen as queen of the Salandits, Salazzle was certainly no weakling herself.

She’d simply grown complacent from long periods of inactivity, losing the fierce instincts she once possessed.

But now, cornered in a life-or-death crisis, her ferocity reawakened.

Whoosh!

Salazzle’s slender tail glowed a faint violet, accumulating immense Dragon-type energy—

[Dragon Tail]

Salazzle’s desperate counterattack.

[Dragon Tail] clashed violently with [Thunder Fang].

In an instant, two intense energies collided and interwove, neither willing to yield.

An explosion erupted!

Arcanine was knocked backward, while Salazzle was hurled violently away, landing in a much worse state, battered and scarred.

Once again, Salazzle clearly held the losing hand.

Yet this desperate strike had fulfilled its intended purpose—

Because at that moment, her most loyal subordinates had finally returned.

Hisssss!

Seeing their queen grievously wounded, the returning Salandits let out anguished, enraged hisses.

Immediately, multiple [Dragon Rage] attacks formed in their mouths, hurtling toward Arcanine.

Strange as it might seem, though neither Salandit nor Salazzle bore any Dragon-type lineage, they nevertheless learned a surprising number of Dragon-type moves—

[Dragon Rage], [Dragon Pulse], [Dragon Tail]…

Seeing multiple [Dragon Rages] unleashed in a coordinated volley was undeniably impressive.

Woof! Woof!

Facing a barrage of attacks, Arcanine dodged most due to its exceptional speed.

But one or two [Dragon Rages] struck true, exploding violently against Arcanine’s body.

And since [Dragon Rage] dealt fixed damage, these hits weren’t trivial, inflicting considerable injury.

“Dammit!”

He Yongsen’s expression darkened as he saw how quickly the Salandits had returned.

Now facing over a dozen Salandits, even if none individually matched Arcanine’s strength, sheer numbers could overwhelm.

Unless the strength gap was utterly overwhelming, raw numbers couldn’t simply be ignored.

“I have no choice.”

“It’s do-or-die now.”

Brows furrowing, He Yongsen knew he could only rely on himself now.

Grasping another Pokéball from his waist, he released it in a flash of red light.

A turtle-like Pokémon appeared by his side—

Wartortle.

The second core Pokémon he had trained.

As firefighters, most trainers rarely raised six fully battle-ready Pokémon. After all, their primary duty was rescue, not battling.

There was no need to go through the hassle of training a full team of six—some even specialized exclusively in one type.

But He Yongsen aspired to be an all-around firefighter.

Thus, in addition to Fire-type Pokémon, he had also trained a Water-type Pokémon, specifically for rescue and firefighting scenarios.

But now, He Yongsen hadn’t raised this Wartortle for very long.

In terms of strength, it was leagues behind Arcanine. It hadn’t even reached its final evolution yet.

But at this critical juncture, with his own fighting power insufficient, He Yongsen had no choice but to send it out to battle.

Weak as Wartortle is, it’s still stronger than me!

Hiss!

At Salazzle’s sharp command, the Salandits lunged simultaneously toward Arcanine and He Yongsen.

The two sides clashed fiercely.

Thanks to its overwhelming strength and phantom-like speed, Arcanine easily maneuvered through the enemies, even gaining a slight advantage despite being heavily outnumbered.

But He Yongsen wasn’t so fortunate.

Under the Salandits’ relentless siege, even his firefighter’s protective suit began to tear apart.

As for Wartortle, though it held the type advantage, the gap in strength was simply too large. Just preserving itself was already difficult; protecting its trainer was beyond its capability.

Suddenly, Arcanine transformed into a blazing streak, flashing past He Yongsen’s side.

A Salandit had tried to exploit an opening, sneak-attacking He Yongsen from behind. But Arcanine caught it immediately.

With a fiery [Flare Blitz], Arcanine slammed into the attacker, knocking it flying.

Then Arcanine stayed close by He Yongsen’s side, easing some of the pressure.

Observing Arcanine’s fierce loyalty, a wicked thought suddenly formed in Salazzle’s mind.

A faint, sweet fragrance slowly diffused through the air.

This was a special ability unique to the Salandit species—a pleasantly aromatic poison gas. Unsuspecting victims, lured by the sweet scent, would inhale too much and succumb to the poison, their bodies weakened and unsteady.

Yet Salazzle’s gas differed greatly from that of ordinary Salandits—

It contained potent pheromones capable of beguiling human males and all male Pokémon, bending them completely to her will once inhaled.

Salazzle simply wanted to see, would Arcanine fight back if its own trainer turned against it?

Admittedly, even Pokémon queens like her occasionally indulged in wicked amusements.

However, Salazzle underestimated He Yongsen’s vigilance as a firefighter.

The moment he caught a whiff of the scent and felt his consciousness blur, he immediately reacted.

“Oh no!”

“It’s Salazzle’s pheromone gas!”

As firefighters, they had to be intimately familiar with the traits of known Fire-type Pokémon. After all, during rescue operations, Fire-type Pokémon were by far their most frequent opponents.

Extensive knowledge could avert numerous crises.

Salazzle’s pheromone gas had been explicitly emphasized by instructors—because in a past incident, firefighters had carelessly inhaled too much and ended up helping Salazzle rather than fighting the fire, severely hindering rescue efforts.

Thus, Salazzle had become a key focus in firefighter training.

Under normal circumstances—

Their firefighter suits could block out such gas.

Unfortunately, He Yongsen’s protective gear had already been damaged earlier, losing its insulating effect.

Now, only one choice remained.

Determination flashed in He Yongsen’s eyes as he quickly withdrew Wartortle into its Pokéball.

Since Wartortle was male, it would similarly be vulnerable to the pheromone.

Then, he shouted decisively at Arcanine:

“Arcanine, run! Don’t worry about me!”

With that shout—

He Yongsen decisively struck himself with a precise chop to the neck, collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

Indeed…

This was the last-resort technique taught by their instructors:

Knocking oneself out.

Only this method could prevent oneself from sabotaging other firefighters’ rescue operations.

However, the result was obvious:

Survival became entirely a matter of fate.

Live or die, it depended solely on luck.

Hisss—!

Seeing the human destroy her anticipated spectacle of trainer and Pokémon fighting each other by knocking himself unconscious, Salazzle seethed with fury.

Damn human! You’ve ruined my fun!

In anger, Salazzle summoned the Salandits, intending to tear this insolent human apart.

But, Arcanine, commanded by He Yongsen to flee, did the exact opposite, instead launching itself into a merciless rampage.

Previously, while waiting for reinforcements, Arcanine had prioritized evading and stalling the Salandits.

But now, seeing its trainer in mortal danger, Arcanine could no longer hold back.

Arcanine’s jaws crackled fiercely with [Thunder Fang] as it lunged savagely at the Salandits.

The battle now escalated rapidly to a brutal intensity.

To protect its trainer, Arcanine had to eliminate as many enemies as possible…

Even at the cost of accumulating more wounds on its own battered body.

—

This is a fan translation of 都市精灵：我的学生个个天资不凡 by 一年一次. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!