"Hm? Is there something wrong with that rock?"
Garchomp's hostility immediately caught Liam's attention.
After all, Garchomp's species typically lived in caves within sandstorm regions.
Having coexisted with sandstorms for years, they had developed incredibly sharp instincts for hunting. No prey could escape their senses.
Scientific research had also shown that Garchomp possessed unique sensory organs in its head, functioning much like radar, allowing it to detect the bioelectric waves of every living creature around it.
The way Garchomp was reacting now could only mean one thing—
It had sensed another living being!
"Garchomp! Use Dragon Rage on that rock!"
"Graaah!!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Liam ordered the attack!
Blue-violet energy rapidly gathered inside Garchomp's mouth before erupting outward in a blazing beam!
But just as Dragon Rage was about to strike the rock—
"Zoro!!"
A sharp cry rang out as a pulse of Dark Pulse suddenly shot out from inside the rock!
The purple-black wave collided head-on with the blue-violet Dragon Rage, triggering a violent explosion that sent black smoke billowing everywhere.
"Oh! That cry?"
Liam smiled knowingly.
"So that's what it is. No wonder we've been unable to find our way out of this forest. Heh... Garchomp, hold on a moment."
The cry, together with the strange phenomena surrounding them and that Dark Pulse, was enough for Liam to identify the Pokémon hiding before them.
He raised a hand to stop Garchomp, who was about to charge into battle, then took out another PokeBall and opened it.
"Zorua, come on out. Go say hello to your companion."
"Chi chi chi~ Chi chi! Chi chi!!"
A flash of white light burst forth as Zorua appeared beside Garchomp.
The instant it landed, Zorua seemed to sense something. The little Pokémon became visibly excited and immediately bounded into the lingering smoke.
As the smoke gradually dispersed, Liam finally saw what had been hiding there.
The large rock had disappeared completely.
Standing in its place was a red-and-black Zoroark, happily chatting with Zorua. The two looked incredibly close, as though they had reunited after a long separation.
Both Zoroark and Zorua were Pokémon that valued emotional bonds above almost everything else. The ties within their species meant a great deal to them.
Liam had known this, which was why he had released Zorua first, hoping it could establish a friendly relationship with the Zoroark and avoid an unnecessary battle.
As it turned out, it had been the right decision.
"Chi chi chi~ Master! Master! This is wonderful! Zorua found another one of our kind!!"
"Zoro~"
After chatting for a while, Zorua happily led the Zoroark over to Liam.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Zoroark. I'm sorry for disturbing your home."
Smiling warmly, Liam reached out his hand in greeting.
"Zoro, Zorua~"
The Zoroark extended a paw and lightly touched Liam's hand, shaking it somewhat shyly.
"Chi chi chi~ Master, my companion says she's very sorry for making you get lost in the forest."
Zorua hopped onto Liam's shoulder and immediately translated Zoroark's words.
Meanwhile, little N stood behind Liam's leg with his mouth hanging open. Only half his face peeked out as he stared nervously at the Zoroark.
"Zoro, Zorua~"
At that moment, Zoroark noticed little N as well.
A smile suddenly spread across her face. She called out cheerfully, reached over, grabbed little N's hand, and pulled him out from behind Liam.
"H-Hey! What are you doing?!"
Little N was completely caught off guard.
He struggled to free himself, but Zoroark was much stronger. Helplessly, he could only let her lead him toward where the giant rock had been, looking back at Liam with a face full of pleading for help.
"Hehe, don't worry, little N. Zoroark doesn't mean any harm."
Curious about what Zoroark intended to do, Liam followed behind them.
The enormous rock from earlier had clearly been an illusion created by Zoroark.
Now that she had dispelled it, both Liam and little N discovered that the place where the rock had stood was actually Zoroark's home.
Not only had the massive boulder vanished—even the surrounding forest began to fade away.
A lush green meadow spread across the ground.
Within moments, a vibrant field larger than a football pitch stretched out before Liam's eyes.
"Zoro, Zorua~"
By then, Zoroark had already led little N to her grassy nest.
She crawled inside, searched around for a moment, and then emerged carrying two objects.
One of them was a Pokémon Egg. It was purple-black in color and decorated with several crimson cloud-like markings.
"This... Is this your Egg, Zoroark?!"
Liam stared at the familiar-looking Pokémon Egg in surprise.
"Zoro, Zorua~"
Zoroark smiled and nodded.
Then she carefully placed the Egg into little N's arms.
"Huh? F-for me?"
Little N froze.
"No, no! This is far too precious! I can't accept it!"
He immediately tried to hand the Egg back, but Zoroark simply shook her head and refused to take it.
Instead, she picked up the second item—a black, ancient-looking scroll—and turned to hand it to Liam.
"Hm? There's one for me too? Then... thank you."
Liam hesitated briefly before accepting the scroll with both hands.
"Zorua, Zorua~"
"Chi chi chi~ Master, my companion says she's about to leave this place and won't be able to take care of her Egg anymore. That's why she's entrusting it to little N. She says she can tell he's someone special.
"As for the scroll, she says it's a move scroll. Consider it both an apology for trapping us in her illusion and payment for taking care of her child."
After Zoroark spoke a couple of times, Zorua faithfully translated.
"...She only made two sounds. Are you sure you got all that from those?"
Liam turned toward Zorua with a speechless expression.
"...Master, I think you're focusing on the wrong thing."
Zorua shot him a look full of disdain.
"Ahem... never mind."
Embarrassed after being looked down on by Zorua, Liam cleared his throat. He gently pulled little N closer, patted him on the head, and looked at Zoroark.
"Don't worry, Zoroark. Zorua was also a Pokémon I raised from an Egg. I'll help little N take good care of your child. Thank you for trusting us."
"M-Me too!"
Little N hugged the Pokémon Egg tightly against his chest.
"I don't have any experience, and I don't really know how to take care of a Pokémon Egg... but I'll do my very best! Please don't worry!"