Finally, after escaping from the Random Guy, I arrived at the North gate. I decided to walk to the city outskirts before summoning Truck-Kun. After a few minutes, I reached the city outskirts, and fortunately, there were no people nearby. I decided it was safe to summon Truck-Kun.
"Wah-what happened? Where am I?" Truck-Kun asked me with a half-sleepy, confused expression.
I couldn't help but be sarcastic as I responded, "How come you can eavesdrop on me without any trouble, but whenever I summon you, you're sleeping and look surprised?"
"Oh, shut up. I need my beauty sleep. By the way, where are we?" Truck-Kun asked me curiously.
I quickly filled him in on the situation, saying, "Well, after defeating Monkey Kong, I got a Main Quest to go and meet the other heroes in the capital. So, we're leaving for the capital today."
"I see, so that's why you summoned me. Very well, then hop on. Let's get going. Do you know where to go, and how long will it take us to reach?" he asked with a curious expression.
"Yes, as for the direction, we just have to follow this road, and as for the distance, according to my calculations, it will take us about one and a half to two days," I answered his questions and continued.
"Alright then, let's go," I declared, got into Truck-Kun, and started driving.
…..
It had been a few hours since we left Random Town, and as we continued to travel, I began to feel bored. The landscape was monotonous, with nothing but a dirt road flanked by trees, grass, and rocks. I expressed my boredom to Truck-Kun, and he suggested using his new FM skill, which he had acquired while I was fighting Monkey Kong.
We decided to give it a try, and to our surprise, it was excellent. The skill offered a wide variety of songs, including many classic and famous instrumentals. We continued our journey while enjoying some music, when suddenly, Truck-Kun said something.
"My mana sense is tingling; there is someone ahead of us," he declared. I stopped driving and asked him, "What? You sense someone? How many are there?"
"Just one for now. Should we ignore him or try approaching him?" Truck-Kun asked for my opinion.
"Hmm… let's just ignore him and leave. The last time I stopped to talk with someone, they suddenly started attacking me. Besides, this time we have a lot of things to do," I gave him my opinion.
Truck-Kun agreed, and we started driving again. However, as we were going, someone suddenly stopped us.
He suddenly spotted us and darted in front of Truck-Kun. I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting him, and I could even see the tire marks left behind us.
"What the hell are you doing, you fool? Do you have a death wish or something? Or are you planning to get isekaied by Truck-Kun?" I shouted at him angrily because of his sudden appearance in front of a massive truck.
"Wait, that's a unique SumMon you got there, and our eyes met. Do you know what that means? It's time for combat," declared the person, without even realizing that he nearly got isekaied.
I observed the said individual closely, he possessed a youthful appearance, likely in his early teens, with a lean and athletic build. He has untamed, messy hair that appears to be a dark, almost black shade. His eyes are sharp, dark, and filled with determination, reflecting a sense of adventure and curiosity.
He wears a distinctive outfit consisting of a red cap, a blue jacket, jeans, and sneakers. He also sports green fingerless gloves that add a unique touch to his attire. A backpack is slung over one shoulder, filled with essential items for their journey.
His most unique feature was a small horizontal lightning bolt symbol present in his cheeks, it was almost like he survived one who should not be named twice.
He was not alone he had a small companion, a small creature, standing at a diminutive height with a round, chubby body covered in soft, bright-colored fur. Its most striking feature is the pair of large, expressive eyes, which are red or brown and shimmer with a blend of innocence and intelligence.
The creature has pointy ears that twitch when alert and a small, button-like nose. Its cheeks sport a hint of rosy color. Notably, the creature's cheeks also generate sparks when it's excited or charged with energy. And it was sitting on his shoulders.
"What do you want, you brat? Get lost; I am busy," I snapped at him angrily.
"Who are you calling a brat? I am ten years old," he declared and continued.
"My name is Dash Catchum, and I am going to be the SumMon Master. This is my partner, Electric Rat," he introduced himself and his companion.
To be honest, I didn't really care about either of them, but what shocked me the most was his age – he was only ten years old. What the hell was he doing on this dangerous road alone? While I was thinking about this, he suddenly gave his companion a command.
"Electric Rat, I choose you," he exclaimed. The rat jumped down from his shoulders and got ready for battle, uttering something that sounded like "Rat Rat."
Then he continued, "Electric Rat, use Thunder bo–" Before he could finish, I activated my own skill.
"Acceleration"
"Acceleration"
"Acceleration"
I floored the accelerator pedal on Truck-Kun and ran over the Electric Rat, which immediately merged with the ground. As I did this, the familiar status screen popped up and displayed some text.
*You have gained 420 XP for defeating an Electric Rat.*
"Noooo, my Electric Rat!" he let out an ear-piercing cry.
*Sigh*
I sighed and said, "This is why I told you to get lost." I said that and decided to leave but Truck-Kun asked me something curiously.
"Are you not going to ro-, Ahem… I mean take money from him for winning the fight? And why did you attack him first?"
*Sigh*
Once again, I sighed and said, "No, not really, I don't really feel like taking money from him. As for why I attacked first, I know from my experience that a ten-year-old with an electric rat should not be messed with. And that's not all, I don't know if you remember this or not, but electric-based attacks are your weakness," I reminded Truck-Kun.
"Oh right, Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing something like that. Anyway, should we leave this place? We still have a long way to go," Truck-Kun asked me.
"Yes, let's go and start the music," I said, and we left that place.
…..
After our hero and their trusty companion, Truck-Kun, left the area following their battle with the kid in the hat, three unusual individuals emerged from a nearby bush. They began quietly discussing their observations.
"Did you all see that?" asked the person with silver hair.
"Yes, I saw it too. Can you believe that the electric rat we've been chasing for so long was defeated so quickly? Should we change our target from the electric rat to that strange SumMon?" the creature with the peculiar speech questioned.
"That might be a good idea. If we manage to steal that weird SumMon, the boss will surely be impressed and praise us," suggested the individual with blond hair.
"Alright, it's decided then. This marks the start of a new chapter for Team Pocket," declared the strange creature.
Who are these three mysterious individuals calling themselves Team Pocket? Will they succeed in their new goal? Only time will reveal the answers.
…..
Hmm… Why do I feel like someone just decided to stalk me for life? Anyway, I was very tired, and I unconsciously fell asleep. Then suddenly, I heard a crashing sound.
*Crash*
I jerked awake, my heart racing. Oh no, it looks like I slept while I was driving and crashed into a tree.
"Truck-Kun, are you alright?" I screamed out of concern for my trusty vehicle.
"Goddammit! How many times do I have to tell you that something like this won't do anything to me now? And why the hell are you doing? Did you just fall asleep while driving?" He scolded me angrily and demanded an explanation.
"N-no, I just rested my eyes for a moment," I stuttered in response.
"You bastard, why the hell are you sleeping while driving? Do you have a death wish?" He continued to berate me.
"Yeah yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, where are we?" I half-heartedly apologized and inquired.
"After you fell asleep, you drove us somewhere away from the road that leads to the capital. I tried to call you many times, but you didn't respond to me," Truck-Kun updated me on our situation.
"What does that mean? Are we lost?" I asked him with a panicked voice.
"I guess we are, and I blame you for that," he replied in a carefree tone.
"Why the hell are you so calm?" I was genuinely taken aback by his nonchalant response.
"Do you want both of us to panic and make things worse? Besides, we're not completely lost; we can use your map skills to trace our way back to the main road with ease," Truck-Kun explained his reason for staying calm.
Oh right, we can definitely do that. As I pondered our situation, something caught my eye.