Chapter 484: Proper or Not?
"What's going on?!"
The moment Arthur burst out of his tent, a palpable killing intent emanated from him. He couldn't help it; being surrounded by wild Pokémon in the field triggered a conditioned response, and his entire being was now on high alert.
Just then, Celebi flew out to stop him. "Don't be rash, Arthur! Calm down, there must be a reason for this!"
Celebi had been with them the whole time, but as a Mythical Pokémon—and one that had lost most of its power—it generally avoided appearing in front of people to avoid attracting unwanted attention. It had been hiding in the luggage in one of the vehicles, completely unnoticed. It was the middle of the night, and with the rest of the team still asleep and Arthur being the first one out, Celebi felt it was safe to show itself.
But now, looking at the little onion head, Arthur was at a loss for words. Wait, they're the ones surrounding us. Why are you telling me to calm down?
Celebi's reaction was also instinctive. In its subconscious, it always felt that these Pokémon were the underdogs when facing Arthur, even if there was a massive, intimidating crowd of them.
Just then, the Sandslash, with faint dark circles under its eyes, stood up and let out a series of urgent, chittering cries. Since Greninja wasn't around, Little Lapras stepped in to translate this time.
"My dear friend says: these Pokémon do not wish to be enemies of us, the children of the world. A few days ago, one of their leader's offspring was ambushed by forces from the dark abyss and is now missing. They have mistaken us for minions of that abyss! Furthermore, my dear friend says: the villains from the shadow realm and the heathens who coveted his divine revelation are likely from the same abyss! They are all deserving of purification!"
Little Lapras's translation was, as expected, filled with her unique personal flair. But surprisingly, Arthur mostly understood. "Someone stole their leader's child, and it's likely the same group that was after the Sandslash?"
The Sandslash nodded eagerly. Having been kept up all night by Little Lapras, it hadn't slept a wink. But by a strange twist of fate, this had made it the first to notice the disturbance.
Before Arthur had even come out, it had already had a brief exchange with the Pokémon outside.
"So it was a poaching ring," Arthur's tone turned cold. Perhaps because of his time as a Ranger, he now had a deep-seated hatred for poachers. He hadn't expected to run into these dregs of humanity even here in the Ashen Desert. And their methods were even more vile. He remembered Amani telling him that the sand-proof forest hadn't been destroyed by the Sandslash, but by human explosives. It was all the work of this poaching ring.
At that moment, Skarner, a beat behind, also emerged from his tent, looking at the scene with alarm. "What's going on?!"
Seeing him, Celebi immediately zipped back into hiding. Arthur quickly explained the situation with the poachers and why the Pokémon had surrounded them.
Skarner breathed a sigh of relief. "So it's just a misunderstanding."
But Arthur didn't relax completely. "Even if it's a misunderstanding, getting out of this peacefully won't be easy. The Sandslash probably already tried to explain, but they haven't backed off."
The Sandslash had clearly communicated with the Pokémon outside to get this information. It hadn't said anything more, but Arthur could see for himself. The Pokémon hadn't retreated. They were still surrounding their camp, still roaring and shouting. It was clear that Pokémon in a conflict zone had short tempers and weren't inclined to listen to a Sandslash's explanation. They seemed intent on forcing their way in to inspect the camp themselves, which was making the Maractus on the perimeter shake and chime their bells in alarm. The Dodrio by the vehicles were also screeching in panic, some even burying their three heads in the sand in a futile attempt to hide.
The Sandslash was also at a loss. The other group was numerous, and Krookodile were naturally aggressive Pokémon. Sandshrew were part of their normal diet, so they weren't about to take the word of a single Sandslash.
Now Skarner was getting anxious. "What should we do? Should we wake up Amani and the others to discuss it?" The researchers weren't as alert as Arthur and Skarner and were still fast asleep.
Arthur didn't answer. Instead, he turned to his own Pokémon and asked a seemingly unrelated question. "Old Flame, is my little dragonfly out there?"
Little dragonfly? Does he mean Flygon? Skarner was confused as to why Arthur was concerned about that now.
Old Flame, now airborne, quickly replied through their telepathic link. "There are a few Flygon, but I don't see ours."
Hearing that his own Pokémon wasn't in the crowd, Arthur immediately felt less constrained. "Good. And can you pinpoint the leader? Is it the Chieftain?"
Old Flame replied again. "I can see it, but I don't think it's the one from the rumors."
In the surrounding crowd, a particularly large and muscular Krookodile stood out. This was Krookodile territory, so while other species were present, the leader was undoubtedly a Krookodile. But Old Flame felt that this one wasn't the legendary Chieftain. It didn't seem strong enough. It was probably just a regular pack leader from the territory.
This made Arthur even more confident. "If it's not the Chieftain, then there's nothing to worry about. Although it's a misunderstanding and we're being blamed for what the poachers did, some Pokémon still need to be taught to listen to reason. And since we're heading into their territory anyway, this is a good chance to make a show of force."
Clearing up a misunderstanding required reason. But sometimes, when the other party wasn't willing to calm down and listen, Arthur wasn't opposed to a more... physical... form of reasoning. A proper display of force could help the other party calm down. He was very familiar with this method. Even the once proud and arrogant Queen of the Forest, Suicune, had become as gentle as water after a round of his "emotional counseling." Helping a Krookodile with a personality adjustment shouldn't be a problem.
Skarner was taken aback by Arthur's words. "Don't do anything rash! From the sounds of it, there are a lot of Pokémon on the other side of that dune. You're just a... competitive-type trainer. Being impulsive will only make things worse! This isn't a stadium—"
Skarner tried to use Arthur's own "competitive trainer" admission to calm him down. But before he could finish, Arthur had already whistled for Lina, hopped on her back, and taken to the skies. To catch a thief, you first catch the king. There were too many Pokémon; he was going straight for the leader to have a little chat about life, the universe, and everything.
"Hey! Young man, don't be rash!" Skarner shouted from below.
But as the battle began, his expression slowly froze. Then it turned to disbelief. Then shock. And finally, utter confusion.
You call this a competitive-type trainer? Are the competitions in the Kubfu Alliance... even proper?!
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