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"Ah! Help! Help!!"
At that moment, the young man's cries for help rang out again. Liam looked up and realized that during the brief moment he had been distracted, the young man had already scrambled up a large tree! He was clinging tightly to the trunk with both arms and legs, desperately trying not to slide down. The agility of his movements and the skill of his technique made it obvious—this was the result of long, repeated practice!
"Woooah! Grrr!!"
Meanwhile, the three Poochyena had already reached the base of the tree. They bared their sharp teeth and stared at the young man's backside, looking like they were eager to take a bite and test the texture.
"Hey! You over there, little brother! Are you a trainer?! Can you stop staring and help me out here?!"
At this point, the young man had clearly spotted Liam standing on the nearby path. In that instant, it was as though he had seen his savior. Stretching his neck out, he shouted loudly toward Liam.
On Liam's side, after hearing the man's plea for help, whether out of habit or some strange instinct, he simply spread his hands and said innocently:
"Well… actually, I don't have any Pokemon with me. Why don't you lend me one—or just give me one?"
Heaven and earth bear witness—Liam truly had no intention of extorting the guy! He simply found the situation strangely nostalgic and couldn't resist playing along with the "script" of the moment.
Of course, if the young man really did give him one… Liam would have no choice but to reluctantly accept it.
But—
"What?! If I had Pokemon with me, would I still be asking for help?! You really don't have any Pokemon?! And you dare wander out alone like that?! Hurry up and go get someone to rescue me! Quick! Quick! My name is Birch!"
The young man in the tree froze completely when he heard Liam's answer. Feeling his body slowly sliding downward—and those sharp teeth below getting closer and closer—he cried out in near despair.
But before he could finish—
Ping!
A white flash accompanied by a crisp sound suddenly popped out from Liam's side. Then Zorua appeared in front of Liam. The little Pokémon yawned and shook its head, clearly looking like it had just woken up.
Liam: "…"
Young man: "…"
This was… awkward.
"Ahem… this little guy only hatched a few days ago. I believe we shouldn't harm the nation's flowers, so that's why I said I didn't have any Pokemon. You… believe me, right?!"
Liam blinked his big watery eyes at the young man.
"Like hell I believe you!!"
The young man was practically exploding inside. But he didn't dare show it—after all, he still needed Liam to save him. Better swallow the anger for now.
"Grr! Grr!"
Just as the atmosphere reached peak awkwardness, the three Poochyena below decided to take matters into their own paws.
Apparently Zorua's appearance had caught their attention. The three Poochyena simultaneously abandoned the man in the tree and rushed toward Zorua with low growls!
"Hm? Looking for a fight? Heh—perfect! Zorua! Time for a lesson in battling. Dodge their attacks first!"
Seeing the Poochyena rushing toward Zorua, Liam smiled slightly and quickly instructed the little Pokémon.
"Chi chi chi!"
Zorua was extremely excited for its very first battle. Letting out cheerful cries, it quickly hopped backward as the Poochyena lunged forward, nimbly dodging all their attacks.
"Now use Scratch!"
"Chi chi chi!!"
Zorua's two red forepaws lit up with white light. With a powerful kick of its hind legs, it leapt in front of one Poochyena and unleashed a flurry of claw swipes! After a chaotic barrage of Scratch attacks, that Poochyena collapsed to the ground clutching its face.
"Grr!"
But just as Zorua knocked down one opponent, the other two Poochyena slammed toward it. Zorua jumped aside to dodge, but only avoided one—another crashed straight into it, knocking it to the ground.
"Chi chi! Chi chi!!"
Feeling the pain from the sneak attack, Zorua angrily scrambled to its feet. Without waiting for Liam's command, a white light flashed across its body. Then Zorua suddenly dashed forward at high speed, lowering its head and slamming into the two Poochyena that had attacked it earlier!
With two clean hits, both Poochyena were knocked flat onto the ground.
"Chi chi chi~!"
After a dramatic rookie-level scuffle, Zorua emerged as the winner. The little Pokémon proudly placed one paw on top of a defeated Poochyena and let out a triumphant cry.
"Nice job, Zorua. Now I'm going to capture them. Go, PokeBall!"
Seeing Zorua win, Liam smiled, picked the little Pokémon up, and then tossed three ordinary PokeBalls at the three Poochyena. One by one, all three were successfully captured.
"Ah~ I caught Pokemon on my very first day here. These three little guys look pretty cute too. If I give them to Delia, she'll definitely love them."
Liam placed Zorua on his shoulder, bent down to collect the PokeBalls, and imagined Delia's happy expression when she saw the Poochyena. The same smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
"Whew! That was close! My butt was almost done for!"
Only after Liam captured the Poochyena did the young man finally slide down from the tree, his face still pale with lingering fear.
Then he noticed Zorua sitting on Liam's shoulder licking its little paw. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly walked over.
"Ahem! Haha, thanks for helping me out, little brother! Didn't expect you to be so capable! You really don't look it! Uh… but now that I'm closer, you seem kind of familiar. I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."
The young man seemed quite self-familiar. As soon as he approached Liam, he started chatting casually.
"Hmm… can't remember. Forget it, no point thinking about it. Anyway, thanks for saving me just now, so I'm going to repay you! I've decided—"
Just as the young man was about to explain his decision, Liam suddenly turned toward him with sparkling eyes and shouted:
"You've decided to give me a Pokemon, right?! Ah~ you're too kind! But since you insist so much, I guess I can't refuse. Hmm… which one should I pick? I really like Treecko… but Torchic is great too… and Mudkip looks adorably silly… Hmm… what should I do? This is such a tough choice!"
Liam had already fallen deep into the abyss of decision-making.
But he failed to notice that the young man beside him had completely turned black in the face.
"Who said I was giving you a Pokemon?! And what Treecko and Torchic?! I was just planning to take you to visit my research lab!!"
Finally unable to endure it anymore, the young man exploded in anger and shouted at Liam.
"Huh? You just want me to visit your lab?"
"…"
"Goodbye."
Liam looked at the young man with utter disdain. After a brief pause, he turned around, assuming a running posture, ready to leave immediately.
Young man: "…"