Hydregion and Lapras watched Dragonite's失魂落魄的背影 — his soul-gone, spirit-bereft back — as he trudged away. The malice in their eyes was no longer hidden, no longer disguised.
Just as the two of them were about to make their move —
"Oh? You're back. I didn't see you two earlier. Want some grilled fish?"
Lu Ze's words, combined with the golden, glistening grilled fish in his hand, instantly changed their expressions.
Hydregion: (° °)
Lapras: (° °)
The two Pokémon nodded without hesitation, then took the grilled fish from Lu Ze's hand.
"Hm?"
Lu Ze glanced疑惑ly at Dragonite, who stood there like a statue, and handed him a fish too.
"Huu."
Dragonite下意识地接住了烤鱼 — caught the fish on pure reflex — and was just about to bring it to his mouth.
SMACK!
A tail and a fin landed on Dragonite's head simultaneously.
"Roar!"
(Show some manners!)
Lu Ze startled as he watched Dragonite being forced into a bow.
"Uh, that's… not really necessary."
"Roar!"
Hydregion and Lapras shook their heads vigorously.
Right right right, you cook well, whatever you say goes!
Lu Ze laughed and rubbed Hydregion's middle head, then headed back to keep grilling.
The smaller Pokémon were full, but the bigger ones still had room.
Like Snorlax, who was currently circling the grill and devouring the freshly grilled fish. The two Charizard, the two Arcanine, Golem, Dragonite, Hydregion, and Lapras — the three of them together.
Wait. Two Arcanine?
Lu Ze愣了一下 — Lu Ze froze mid-step. He was about to look closer when Electabuzz came bounding back from behind.
"Does your master want more?"
The moment Electabuzz returned, Lu Ze asked attentively.
After all, Electabuzz's master had been teaching Electabuzz for so long. Two grilled fish felt a little stingy.
"Lei."
Electabuzz shook his head. His master had left after eating — didn't say he wanted more.
"Did your master say whether it was good or not?"
Lu Ze's hands never stopped moving as he asked with a smile.
"Lei…"
Electabuzz nodded, then shook his head.
He didn't know whether his master was satisfied with the grilled fish or not.
He'd never actually seen his master eat anything other than Berries, so how would he know?
But looking at how happily his master had eaten… probably satisfied, right?
With that, Electabuzz nodded firmly.
"Lei!"
"Satisfied, huh? Good, good. Next time let's see if we can invite him over for a proper meal at home. He has been teaching you for so long, after all."
"Lei!"
Electabuzz nodded, memorizing Lu Ze's words carefully.
After they'd eaten and drunk their fill, Lu Ze lay down on the grass with the others, just like Sui Yan and them.
The Pokémon all half-closed their eyes and settled beside them, basking in the evening sunset.
But autumn had already arrived. The evenings were cold.
So Lu Ze had barely been lying down for a moment before he got up, ready to head home.
"Snorlax, help me clean up."
"Bikka!"
Snorlax nodded, then got to work alongside the Charizard and Crawdaunt — gathering the trash, packing up the grilling setup.
The bag of trash went on Charizard's back; the grill and remaining supplies were packed together and拎着 by Charizard.
And just like that, Charizard flew ahead carrying everything.
"Ao!"
Charizard shot a幽怨的 — resentful, begrudging — look at the smiling Snorlax, then flew off.
Why doesn't Old Stubby here have wings?
"卧槽!"
"WTF!"
"You startled me! What's with the screaming?"
Sui Yan's sudden shout scared Lu Ze half to death.
"Lu Ze, come look at this — which one is my Arcanine?"
"Are you serious? You can't even recognize your own Arcanine?"
Lu Ze cursed as he walked over.
Then he froze too.
"Uh…"
"They look exactly the same."
Anghura pushed in at that point, studying the two Arcanine carefully.
Both Arcanine tilted their heads at the same time, looking at the group. From the outside, there was truly no distinguishing them.
"This…"
Lu Ze had never seen two identical Pokémon before.
But he had an 外挂 — a cheat.
With that, he checked both Arcanine's information.
Pokémon: Arcanine …
Pokémon: Zoroark (Hisuian Form) Gender: Female Types: Normal / Ghost Ability: Illusion (During battle, can transform into the appearance of a Pokémon in the party.) Quality: Orange Base Skills: Shadow Sneak, Nasty Plot, Quick Attack Inherited Skills: Detect, Feint, Psycho Cut
"Zoroark!"
Lu Ze startled. No wonder they were identical — it was a Zoroark.
But… Hisuian form?
Wasn't Hisui a ancient era in the Pokémon world? How could a Hisuian Pokémon appear in modern times?
"Zoroark? That explains it."
With Lu Ze's prompt, Sui Yan, Fugui, and Anghura caught on quickly.
"Hmph~"
Just as they figured it out, the Arcanine on the right flashed a hint of panic, then immediately turned and bolted.
"Arcanine, catch her!"
Lu Ze was still processing when he saw the real one running, and instinctively called out.
"Wang!"
Arcanine barked excitedly and charged after the Zoroark, who hadn't gotten far at all.
Compared to a real Arcanine, Zoroark was still very slow.
So it didn't take long before Arcanine came back,叼着 — holding gently in his mouth — Zoroark, who had reverted to her true form.
"Ah~ So cute!"
Zoroark's aggrieved, pitiful look dangling from Arcanine's mouth instantly struck Anghura's少女心 — her girlish heart.
It wasn't just Anghura. Sui Yan and Fugui were both charmed too.
Even Lu Ze, who had seen Zoroark before, couldn't help but admire its high颜值 — its striking looks.
The white and gradient-pink of the Hisuian Zoroark — there was no question it was infinitely cuter than a regular Zoroark.
That gradient-pink fur was absolutely devastating to the girlish heart.
Which red-blooded male wouldn't want a fluffy little Zoroark like this?
With that thought, Lu Ze turned to Crobat, who was standing nearby watching the commotion.
Crobat:!!!
Crobat felt Lu Ze's gaze and couldn't help but shudder.
She instantly understood what Lu Ze was thinking and shook her head vigorously.
I'm the big sis. Pink and fluffy? What about my dignity?
"Tch~"
Lu Ze pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. There goes my pink Crobat dream. Gone again.
"Hmph~"
Zoroark squirmed unhappily in Arcanine's mouth.
Lu Ze gestured for Arcanine to let Zoroark down.
"Is this coloring… a Shiny Zoroark?"
Anghura poked Zoroark's tail, curious.
(This chapter ends here.)
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