The fish and shrimp in the ocean seemed endless. The giant Rhydon spent a full hour feasting in the water before lumbering back onto the beach.
It patted its full stomach, its eyes squinting in satisfaction. There was no feeling quite like being full.
Content, the massive creature lay down on its side right there on the sand. After eating and drinking its fill, a good nap was the only logical next step. Before long, rhythmic, thunderous snores erupted from its massive frame. The entire island seemed to go silent, the snores of the Rhydon drowning out every other Pokémon.
It made sense. With such an apex predator living on the island, the other Pokémon had likely either fled or been eaten.
Were it not for the pressure of survival, how could a Rhydona creature naturally terrified of waterever risk entering the ocean to hunt?
Hisoka waited patiently behind a rock for about fifteen minutes. Once he was certain the Rhydon was fast asleep, he crept out from his hiding spot.
Removing his shoes, he approached the behemoth step by step, his movements cautious and deliberate.
In his arms, Lulu clutched Hisoka's collar tightly, holding her breath for fear of waking the beast. She was highly focused; at the slightest sign of the Rhydon stirring, she was prepared to use Teleport to spirit them away.
Three minutes passed. Hisoka was now only an arm's length away from the giant Rhydon. Those who hadn't experienced it couldn't understand the sheer visual impact of being inches away from a beast that could crush you with a single step.
Hisoka took a deep breath to steady his nerves. He reached out and lightly brushed his palm against the armor on the Rhydon's back. It wasn't as rough as he had imagined; instead, it had the smooth, cool feel of polished marble.
He quickly pulled a pre-prepared tracking chip from his pocket, peeled off the plastic strip, and carefully pressed it onto the Rhydon's back.
With this little gadget, Hisoka could monitor the giant Rhydon's movements on his laptop at any time. Finally, he stealthily snapped a few photos and used his precision camera to perform a full-body scan.
With the task complete, Hisoka patted Lulu's small head and whispered, "Time to go! Let's get out of here!"
Lulu understood. A blue light flashed in her eyes, and the air around the pair blurred for an instant. In the next heartbeat, they vanished, reappearing beneath the large tree where they had first hidden.
...
"Whew!" Hisoka and Lulu shared a look and a smile, both patting their chests in relief. While standing next to that giant Rhydon, they had hardly dared to breathe.
No one truly knew how terrifying an angry Rhydon of that scale could be. If a conflict broke out, Hisoka wasn't even sure if his Weavile could beat it.
A body size that far exceeded its kin naturally brought with it terrifying defense and power. The giant Rhydon could likely withstand many hits from a Weavile, but a Weavile certainly couldn't take a single heavy punch or an Iron Tail from it.
It's best to avoid conflict if possible, Hisoka thought.
Giant Rhydon
Height: 4.25m
Weight: 1235.8kg
Tail Length: 2.58m
...
These were the detailed stats the precision camera had gathered from the scan. Hisoka copied the data onto his laptop and created a dedicated file. When he had more time, he planned to map out the giant Rhydon's full 3D hexagonal attribute chart.
Right now, Hisoka wasn't as interested in the Rhydon itself as he was in why it had grown so massive. He decided to take advantage of the beast's deep sleep to scout out its lair.
Finding the lair was simple. A creature of that size couldn't possibly hide its tracks. He only had to follow the path of broken trees and crushed shrubs, along with the massive footprints visible everywhere.
No sooner said than done. Once he was a safe distance from the beach, Hisoka tightened his backpack and returned Lulu to her Poké Ball. He leaped onto a thick branch and began using the trees to navigate. He would use "jungle parkour" to reach the Rhydon's lair as quickly as possible.
No one knew when the giant on the beach would wake up, nor how far away its lair was. To be safe, he had to move at full speed.
Running quickly through a dense jungle was physically demanding and dangerous. One moment of inattention could lead to a fall over tangled vines or dead branches, so Hisoka maintained a high level of focus.
In his previous life on Earth, there had been a new type of extreme sport called jungle parkour. It was perfectly suited for his current situation. Unlike urban parkour, the jungle version was much more difficult and hazardous.
Fortunately, Hisoka had never neglected his physical training in this life. Furthermore, the baseline physical fitness of ordinary people in this world was significantly better than those on Earth. Combined with years of hard training, Hisoka was able to perform high-difficulty maneuvers in the jungle that would have seemed impossible to a normal person.
...
Time ticked by. Half an hour had passed since Hisoka began following the trail toward the lair. The island didn't look large from the outside, but its interior was deep and the terrain was treacherous. He couldn't simply bulldoze his way through like the giant Rhydon, so the journey took some time.
Fortunately, his judgment had been correct... the big guy wasn't as smart as he had feared.
Breaking through a thicket of shrubs, a pit over five meters in diameter appeared before Hisoka. The giant Rhydon's footprints led straight into it.
Looking down into the hole, it seemed bottomless, with a cross-section sloping downward at a forty-five-degree angle. It appeared the giant Rhydon lived underground, likely spending most of its time sleeping. Maintaining such a massive body required an immense amount of energy; for a creature with no natural predators, it made sense to move as little as possible.
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