Chapter 31: A Peculiarity of Sichuan—The Rogue Panda

Zhou Fuqing’s voice was barely audible, and the faint trembling in his tone revealed the deep fear within him. “I didn’t do anything. It saw me and charged straight at me like it was mad, with a glow emanating from its hands, roaring incessantly… That punch didn’t hit me—I dodged. It struck a tree instead. I watched with my own eyes as it broke the tree as easily as snapping a small branch.”

“I was terrified, but I couldn’t outrun it. I had to throw down my backpack and dared not carry anything. I was afraid that if it caught me, I’d be dead…”

“I just kept running and running. I don’t even know what happened next. When I finally came to my senses, the bear was gone…” Zhou Fuqing swallowed hard. “I could hear distant sounds like explosions, and from time to time, flashes of light shot up into the sky…”

After speaking, he fell silent, his face bearing the relief of having survived a calamity.

“Bear? Besides the Cubchoo, what other bears could there be?”

“Why are you asking us instead of Qian Lin? Are you serious?”

“I know! A mutated panda bear. Only in Sichuan—truly a land of national treasures.”

“Don’t joke about this. It’s no laughing matter. Let’s wait for Qian Lin’s explanation.”

Being attacked by Pokémon is hardly something to laugh about. As Qian Lin had mentioned before, not only bears— even a tiny Pichu possesses power strong enough to easily kill an ordinary person.

That’s precisely why Qian Lin wanted to educate people about the existence of Pokémon—to minimize such incidents as much as possible.

Qian Lin sighed, having no words for Zhou Fuqing’s ordeal. He could only explain to him and the viewers: “What Zhou Fuqing encountered was likely a Pangoro, the Rogue Panda Pokémon.”

“Pangoro is Fighting/Dark type and prides itself on its brute strength. It’s a naturally powerful pugilist. A single punch from it can turn a large dump truck into scrap metal. Although Pangoro has a violent and impulsive nature, it possesses a strong sense of justice and won’t tolerate bullies harming the weak. Normally, it wouldn’t attack a ‘weak’ creature like a human unprovoked…”

Qian Lin paused, looking at Zhou Fuqing’s silent expression, unsure how to continue.

Though not an absolute paragon of justice, Pangoro actively protects weaker Pokémon in the wild. In fact, it’s quite different from the previously encountered Cubchoo.

Yet now, the irritable Cubchoo was protecting a Pichu, while the justice-driven Pangoro was frantically attacking a weakling. It goes to show that the Pokémon world, like the human world, is full of diversity.

“Unexpected things always happen… Alright, I can’t make this up any further. The bottom line: always maintain reverence, and stay away from unfamiliar Pokémon.”

Ending his explanation with customary advice, Qian Lin chuckled lightly, “Let’s change the subject. Let’s talk about where I’ll be going for the next livestream.”

“Maintain reverence. Stay away from snakes.”

“Reporting plagiarism of catchphrases.”

“Setting up a persona, huh? Come on, when are you starting sales, and what are you selling?”

---

“He’s already started selling stuff. Didn’t you notice?”

“Huh? What goods? I haven’t seen anything.”

“Me neither.”

“The Pokémon Encyclopedia, you bunch of fools.”

“You... actually have a point.”

Boom—

Just as Qian Lin and the chat were chatting merrily, a thunderous roar echoed from the foot of the mountain, reverberating through the valley and startling countless birds and Pokémon into flight.

“Chirp!” The Swablu suddenly woke with a start, its eyes wide with the dazed look of being forcibly activated.

“That sound…” Qian Lin followed the direction of the noise and saw a towering flame casting the mountain red. “A fire-type move… Flamethrower?”

The next moment, Qian Lin’s expression darkened. “Could it be that Growlithe got into a fight with someone?”

It had been nearly four hours since the car owner contacted Qian Lin, so Growlithe arriving now was entirely expected. But why would Growlithe be fighting? And with whom?

“Could it be Cubchoo?” Qian Lin’s anxiety grew. “Although that Cubchoo isn’t as strong as the Milotic we encountered last time, it’s definitely more than Growlithe can handle.”

“We have to get down there as soon as possible.” He looked toward Zhou Fuqing. “I’m going to speed up. You hold on tight.”

“Ah? Okay!” Zhou Fuqing gripped Qian Lin’s shoulders firmly, nodding repeatedly.

They shifted from walking to running, no longer overly cautious. As long as they avoided missteps, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

While running, Qian Lin said to Swablu, “Swablu, fly down and check it out. If it’s Growlithe and Cubchoo fighting, try to explain to them that you’re not enemies. If it’s other Pokémon, just leave it be for now.”

Wild Pokémon battles are inevitable—part of the ecological chain. But Growlithe is a bonded Pokémon, essentially removed from the wild ecosystem. So unless necessary, it shouldn’t engage in fights with wild Pokémon.

This isn’t favoritism. Growlithe has a trainer and can recover quickly from injuries, but wild Pokémon lack trainers. If injured in the wild and confronted by other natural enemies, the outcome is usually fatal. So, win or lose, injury is never good for wild Pokémon.

“Chirp chirp~” The forcibly activated Swablu didn’t even have time to understand what was happening. Upon hearing Qian Lin’s words, it instinctively spread its wings and flew toward the source of the sound, its eyes still filled with that dazed look.

---

She understood, but not completely.

“Chirp chirp chirp!”

About ten seconds later, Qian Lin heard Swablu’s faint calls, seemingly in conversation.

“Awooo~”

That was Growlithe’s voice, accompanied by a towering blaze.

It was a clear day—Growlithe’s favorite weather for using its moves.

“Why are they still fighting? Didn’t Swablu go to mediate?”

“Mediation? Isn’t that just hitting both sides?”

“Swablu probably can’t win…”

“No way. Didn’t Swablu beat Growlithe once?”

“That was under Qian Lin’s command. Qian Lin himself said that in a wild fight, Swablu isn’t a match for Growlithe.”

“So who are they fighting? Cubchoo?”

“Most likely not Cubchoo…” Qian Lin’s face grew grave. “Cubchoo knows Swablu and probably won’t attack once it sees her. They may have encountered other Pokémon.”

Let’s hope it’s not something on Cubchoo’s level.

Growlithe and Swablu are both still young. Swablu may have been born just about a month ago; Growlithe’s exact age is unknown, but judging by its moves, its level can’t be much higher.

If it were Cubchoo, even Growlithe and Swablu together wouldn’t stand a chance.

We must hurry!