After ending his call with Giovanni, Liam made another call—this time to Delia.
Delia had already started helping out at the Day Care that morning. She wore a straw hat on her head, an apron around her waist, and there was even a smudge of dirt on the tip of her nose.
Having gone several days without talking, the two lingered in front of the video call, happily sharing everything they had experienced over the past few days. It was as though the passage of time had ceased to matter to them.
Until...
"Huh! Big Bad Guy, who's this pretty big sister?"
After breakfast, little N had finally grown tired of waiting and wandered over.
The moment he saw Delia on Liam's video call, he asked curiously.
"Wow~ What an adorable little boy! Liam, who is he?"
The instant Delia noticed N, she exclaimed excitedly.
"Ahem. Delia, this is little N. He's traveling with me right now."
"N, this is Delia... my fiancée."
Liam coughed lightly before introducing the two.
"What?! This beautiful big sister is actually your fiancée? No way! I don't believe it! A big bad guy like you actually has someone who likes you? Sister Delia! This guy is a terrible person! Don't let him fool you!"
Still holding Purrloin in his arms, N froze in shock after Liam's introduction. He immediately set Purrloin on top of his head, freed both hands, lunged toward Liam, grabbed at the communicator, and shouted into it.
Liam: "..."
Liam looked speechlessly at the little boy now hanging from his arm, both feet kicking wildly in midair while trying to seize the communicator.
"Pfft! Hahaha!"
Delia burst into laughter.
"So you're little N? You're just too cute! Mm-hmm, don't worry, N. The big bad guy next to you wouldn't dare deceive me. If he ever did, just wait until he comes home and see how I deal with him!"
She said it confidently to N... and just as much to Liam.
Liam: "..."
After chatting and laughing for a while longer, Delia finally ended the call.
Liam finished preparing everything they needed, and then he and N left Striaton City.
His next destination was Nacrene city.
He had bought a tourist map of the Unova region in Striaton City, which marked the locations of Unova's two airports.
Nacrene city Airport was located near a little town… with a scenic mountain range lying between the two. Many tourists actually flew into Nacrene city specifically to admire the beautiful mountain scenery.
To reach Nacrene city, Liam would have to follow the route shown on the map, passing through several cities along the way. It would take quite a bit of time—but now he wasn't in any hurry.
For one thing, Giovanni still needed plenty of time to make his preparations.
And during that time, having lost his tracker, Liam had no way of locating Mewtwo anyway.
So he decided to use the opportunity to truly experience the Unova region while traveling.
Besides...
With N by his side, Liam had actually been waiting for Ghetsis to show himself.
Several days had already passed, yet Ghetsis still hadn't appeared.
Liam had always wanted to have a proper "talk" with that ambitious schemer who intended to use N for his own evil purposes.
But since Ghetsis refused to show himself, there wasn't much Liam could do. He could only continue with his own plans and head toward the next city—Nacrene City.
After leaving Striaton City, Liam and N didn't follow the main road.
Instead, they headed toward a large grassland not far from the city.
The place was called Ripple Meadow. Liam remembered that Ash had once caught a Snivy here.
Since he was quite interested in Snivy as well, he decided to try his luck.
As one of Unova's three starter Pokémon, the Grass-type Snivy generally preferred living on vast grasslands. Ripple Meadow, with its rich grasslands, streams, hills, and ridges, was indeed an ideal habitat.
However...
Perhaps Lady Luck simply wasn't on Liam's side.
By the time the two of them were about to leave Ripple Meadow, he still hadn't seen even the slightest trace of a Snivy.
"Sigh... Fine, fine. If it's not meant to be, forcing it won't help. Besides... I actually like Tepig even more."
Liam muttered sourly, sounding somewhat disappointed.
"Hm? What's wrong, N? Why aren't you saying anything?"
"...Uh... N? Where are you? N!!"
After complaining for a bit, Liam suddenly realized N had been unusually quiet for quite some time.
He quickly turned around—
Only to discover that N, who had been following behind him just moments ago, had completely disappeared.
His expression changed instantly.
"N!"
He hurried back the way they had come, shouting N's name as he searched frantically.
After running back several dozen meters—
"Waaah! Big Bad Guy! I'm over here! Hurry and get me out!"
"Meow!!"
N's cry for help came from the tall grass nearby.
Liam immediately rushed toward the sound, pushing aside the dense grass.
Then he saw that N's body was almost entirely stuck inside a hole in the ground. Only everything above his shoulders remained outside.
Meanwhile, Purrloin sat on top of N's head, vigilantly watching the surroundings.
"N! Don't move! I'll get you out!"
Liam immediately headed toward him.
"Wait, Big Bad Guy! There's a Pokémon here! Be careful—it'll attack you!"
"Dril!!"
The moment N saw Liam approaching, panic spread across his face as he shouted a warning.
But the instant his warning ended… a deep growl came from directly beneath Liam's feet!
Liam reacted instantly.
A burst of air exploded beneath his feet as he propelled himself backward.
The very next moment, a gigantic metallic drill burst spinning out of the ground where he had just been standing!
Missing its target, it immediately rotated, pointed its drill downward again, and burrowed straight back into the earth.
"What?! That's... Excadrill?"
Although it had only appeared for an instant before disappearing underground again, Liam immediately recognized the Pokémon that had attacked him.
Only then did he notice that numerous concealed tunnels surrounded N.
Each entrance had been perfectly hidden beneath the thick grass, making them almost impossible to spot at first glance.
"Rumble..."
The Excadrill's assault wasn't over.
No sooner had Liam regained his footing than he felt another vibration beneath his feet.
Without a second thought, he leaped sideways again.
"Dril!!"
Sure enough… the ground where Liam had been standing exploded apart once more as Excadrill shot out like an enormous spinning drill.
It soared four or five meters into the air before losing momentum, then angled its drill downward, preparing to burrow underground again.
"Hmph. You think you can do that again? Aman—Metal Claw!"
"Skarm!!"
As Excadrill attempted the same tactic once more, Liam gave a cold snort.
A streak of white light burst out from behind him.
Aman charged forward with powerful strides.
Both wings gleamed with a metallic sheen as they slashed fiercely toward the descending Excadrill!
Clang!!
A harsh metallic crash rang through the meadow.
The blocked Excadrill tumbled through the air before crashing onto the ground.
Its drill-like head opened apart, revealing the Pokémon's rather fierce and unruly face before Liam.