My eyes widened when I saw the 10,000$ deposited into my account a few days after dealing with Fuecoco. The Ranger I called said they would award me appropriately for dealing with her, but I did not expect a paycheck like that. The store owner paid me 5,000$ and gave me a TR for Ally Switch he had lying around.
He warned me that TRs were single use only, so I didn't immediately use it on Nautilus. I also didn't want him training too many moves at the same time. I wanted him to at least master Peck and Hypnosis before adding another move to his training routine.
But having 21,000$ at my disposal felt amazingly freeing. I wanted to go on a spending spree, but I chose to hold off. Instead, I strolled through Santalune Forest to find the Pansage and their group.
It was amazing how different walking through the forest felt now that I had Nautilus. I focused on the forest, soaking in the ambient sounds of wild Pokémon living their lives. Most of these Pokémon would never travel with a Trainer. Their lives would always be focused on surviving the day. It was sad in a way, but that was life. They couldn't miss what they never experienced.
Not that I inherently made Nautilus' life easier. If Nurse Joy did not provide the free room and board, I doubted he would have chosen to stay with me. He would have left and gone back to struggling to survive.
Almost as if sensing my mood, Nautilus nuzzled my head and cooed. "Thank you for sticking with me, buddy," I called out to him.
After a few more minutes of checking the map and walking, I finally found the clearing the Pokémon lived in. Several Berry trees stood in the middle of the clearing, the Berries nearly ripe enough to eat. One of the Fletchling saw me and cried out to the others. The Fletchling, Rattata, and Litleo all stared and called out a greeting, but the three Pansage rushed in for a hug.
"Hey, how are all of you?" I asked as the three monkeys swung around my body, annoying Nautilus in the process. When one of them sat on him, Nautilus used his developing Psychic powers to fling them away. "Nautilus, don't be rude. They're just excited to see us."
I grabbed him and removed him from the top of my head despite his protests. "Go be social. You need some friends."
"Ka!" he grumbled but reluctantly floated over to the other Pokémon. The Pansage giggled as he glared at whoever approached him for a conversation.
"He'll be fine," I said. "Underneath all that moodiness, Nautilus is actually very caring."
I admired their new home. It wasn't very large, maybe half the size of a battle court, but there was enough space for everyone. With bushes, logs, and the overhang of the surrounding trees, the group of Pokémon had plenty of resting spots. The Berry trees in the middle provided another area for them to rest and hang out, as they were currently doing.
Two of the Pansage rushed out to play, or annoy, Nautilus. The third, the one that stood up to Fuecoco, stayed on my shoulder. "Are you happy here?"
"Pan!" the monkey cried out, giving me a thumbs up. I smiled. It felt good to help give this group a chance to do better for themselves. I wasn't sure how this world generally treated wild Pokémon, but I didn't like that most didn't care how Trainers dealt with Pokémon considered nuisances.
"I'm glad I was able to help. Have you had any trouble from the local Pokémon?"
"Pa Sa, Sage. Pansage Pansage," the elemental simian answered. His tone was relaxed, so my guess was no. I was expecting a Pokémon to attack or steal the territory. Maybe the large number of Pokémon scared some would-be attackers away. The only thing that really mattered was that they had their own place.
"That's good. I brought some more Berries if anyone is hungry," I said, saying the last part out loud so everyone could hear me. The group cheered, so I took out the Berries for everyone to enjoy.
As we were eating, a roar reverberated throughout the forest. The Litleo tensed up immediately. Nautilus looked at me for a moment, ready to act. A male Pyroar walked into the clearing, followed by a female Pyroar and several Litleo. The two evolved Pokémon looked at the Berry trees and glanced at the Pokémon before their eyes landed on me.
The male Pyroar growled and stepped closer. Nautilus floated over to me, followed by the rest of the Pokémon. I whispered, "Get ready with Hypnosis."
The female Pyroar stepped up as well, her maw glowing red. I noticed the Rattata, Fletchling, and Pansage were ready for a fight, but the Litleo in the group were trembling. I didn't blame them. After seeing the two Pyroar fighting and killing the Team Flare grunts and their Pokémon, I would rather not get into a fight I know I'd lose. But this was their new home, and I knew Nautilus was the strongest one in this group.
"Leo!" one of the pride's cubs cried before bounding over to me. Both Pyroars roared at the little one, but that didn't deter the Litleo. Once at my feet, the cub sniffed me for a moment before rubbing its head against me and purring. I stood there, confused. Why was this Litleo acting like it knew me?
"Leo Leo, Li Leo!" it shouted happily. It turned back to its parents and continued speaking. "Litleo. Li Li Litleo."
"Pyroar? Pyro Py."
The Litleo shook its head. "Leo Lit. Leo!"
The Pyroars also looked confused, though the male Pyroar was growing visibly agitated the longer his cub snuggled with me. I kneeled, rubbing its head. I heard a roar much louder than the previous ones, but I ignored it. Instead, I offered the cub a Pecha Berry. When it finished, I looked up to see the Pyroar and his pride glaring at me.
'Is… Is this the group that fought those Flare grunts? Is this the Litleo I helped save?'
I grabbed my bag and pulled out more Berries. "This clearing belongs to this group of Pokémon," I spoke calmly. "If you are hungry, I have Berries here that you and your pride can have."
I set a decent pile of Berries, mostly Oran and Pecha, halfway between the Berry trees and the Pyroars. I looked the male Pyroar in his eyes and said, "I would love to share this food with you and your pride as a thank you for saving me from those humans that killed one of your cubs."
The female Pyroar's eyes widened in recognition. Before the male Pyroar could respond, I said, "However, this area already belongs to others. I ask that, as a thank you for distracting the Golbat from killing this cub, you leave this area alone."
The hairs on my neck stood up as I felt a pressure emanate from the male Pyroar. The fury in his eyes scared the ever-loving fuck out of me. I was about to die. Except, the Litleo and female Pyroar both stood with me against the leader of their pack. Not a sound was made as the Pyroars stared each other down. After what felt like an eternity, the male Pyroar huffed, ate a mouthful of Berries, and walked away.
The female Pyroar walked over to me and licked my face before eating her share of the Berries. Once the cubs ate their fill, they left. I fell on my ass, taking a deep breath. "That was terrifying."
"Yes, I'm sure it was," a familiar voice rang out. I turned to see Viola, camera in hand. "I'd be hard-pressed to find Ace Trainers who would stare down a Pyroar like that."
She looked through her camera for a few moments before speaking again. "Sure made for some great photos, so thank you for that."
"You were there the whole time?" I asked. "And you didn't try to intervene?"
"I wanted to see what you would do," she replied with a shrug. "It seems like you've encountered them before, and it all worked out in the end. If they did end up attacking, My Heracross would have taken care of them."
"Still feel like it was mean to let me experience that."
"I find experience to be the best teacher for situations like this," she responded nonchalantly. "Either you learned why that was dumb, or you learned you need to get stronger."
"Oh, I've learned alright," I grumbled.
"Do you think you and Inkay are strong enough to fight those Pyroar?" she asked, her eyes boring into mine.
"No, not yet," I answered honestly.
"That's a good answer."
"Do you think we're ready for your Gym?" I responded.
"No," she said immediately. "Based on the single recorded battle on your profile, I think you can come up with appropriate strategies to win. But Inkay is not strong enough to follow through."
"I…" I wanted to argue. Nautilus had grown tremendously since our battle with Mitchel. But I remembered the video of Mitchel's Gym battle. "Yeah, we've got more training to do."
"I suggest going after Team Flux," she said, walking away. "They've been bothering Trainers lately. Someone should stop them, no?"