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When Natu saw Sato take out two packs of premium Psychic-type Pokémon food, its little head, which had been held high, immediately drooped slightly—but quickly lifted again as it turned its face away, refusing to look at Sato.
"How about five packs? Look, they're all waiting for your answer."
Seeing Natu act this way, Sato silently cursed the little rascal for taking advantage of the situation. Still smiling, he cheerfully pulled out three more packs of premium Psychic-type food from his space backpack, opened one, and said with a grin.
The moment the premium Psychic-type Pokémon food was unwrapped, a delicious aroma wafted out—so enticing that any Psychic-type Pokémon would be deeply drawn to it.
With its sharp sense of smell, Natu caught the scent immediately. Its eyes, now sparkling with foodie delight, locked onto the opened pack in Sato's hand.
"You're giving it to me, right? I'm not stealing or forcing you to hand it over."
Natu wiped its beak with a wing, then fluttered down from the tree branch to perch atop Sato's head.
Raising its head again and still eyeing the open pack of premium food, it spoke to Sato in a tsundere tone via telepathy.
"Yes, yes, I'm giving it to you. But if you want to thank me, why don't you tell me what Slowking, Alakazam, and the other Psychic Pokémon are all fighting over?"
Hearing Natu's haughty tone, Sato smiled helplessly. As he guided Arcanine to circle away from the central lake with Thomas, he held out the opened pack of food to Natu and said somewhat wearily.
Though Natu was clearly tsundere, Sato trusted its word. He chose not to linger near the central lake.
"It's nothing too special," Natu replied between satisfied pecks of food. "I heard from my parents that around this time every year, the Wisdom Lotus that the Slowpoke tribe carefully cultivates reaches maturity."
"The Wisdom Lotus is a treasured item of the Slowpoke tribe. Legend says Lord Slowking brought it back from a forbidden zone a long time ago. Normally, it's hidden deep within the lake, under constant care. Only when it's about to bloom does it rise to the surface. The lotus seeds it produces can help those dull-headed Pokémon get a little smarter."
"Though honestly, no matter how many they eat, none of them are ever going to be as smart as me."
"For other Psychic-type Pokémon, the lotus is still a valuable item. It can slightly increase mental strength and even help heal psychic injuries."
"But Lord Slowking is way too powerful. They can't beat him, so they asked Grandpa Alakazam to hold him off. That way, the others can try to grab a seed when the Wisdom Lotus blooms and rises out of the water."
"Oh, and humans like you can eat it too. Even though your mental power is laughably weak, you barely meet the minimum requirement to absorb the lotus. If you did eat one, your psychic power would definitely increase."
"But you probably won't get one. The others trying to steal the seed are really strong—and their escape skills are just barely worse than mine. A human who doesn't even know Teleport like you stands no chance, fufufufu~~"
While munching gleefully on the premium food, Natu explained via telepathy everything going on at the lake. Every now and then, it'd sneak in a boast about itself or mock Sato's inadequacies.
During this conversation, while Natu's guard was down, Sato casually released Crobat into the air, instructing it to tail the bird from above.
"So that's what's going on. And earlier, you were flying over there to try and steal a Wisdom Lotus seed, weren't you?"
Sato's expression turned contemplative after hearing Natu's explanation. Then, giving a signal to Crobat mid-air, he waited for the moment when Crobat used Taunt on Natu—causing it to lose access to its Teleport.
Seizing that instant, Sato gently grabbed the suddenly-speechless Natu from the top of his head and smiled sweetly.
"You villain! You weren't like this before! What did that bat do to me? Why can't I use Teleport? I won't badmouth you anymore—just let me go!"
Panicking upon realizing it couldn't use Teleport, Natu tried to look as pitiful as possible, using telepathy to whimper at Sato.
Natu actually really wanted to smack Sato with a strong Psychic attack, but when it saw both Crobat overhead and Kecleon on Sato's shoulder staring at it with ill intent, it gave up immediately and wisely chose to beg for mercy.
"Weren't you just calling me names a second ago? What, scared now?"
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. But for the time being, you'll be coming with me. If you behave, I'll let you go."
Seeing Natu finally looking scared and pitiful, Sato flicked her beak with a finger and said with a smile.
Sato was currently in need of a Pokémon that could use Teleport, and this little thief Natu fit the bill perfectly. After all, it wasn't like he forced her—Natu had flown straight into his hands. It would be ridiculous not to take advantage of the opportunity.
"Kecleon, Lick."
Without hesitation, Sato commanded Kecleon on his shoulder to attack.
A tongue laced with Ghost-type energy instantly struck the struggling Natu in Sato's grip.
Though Kecleon wasn't known for its battle prowess, it had participated in nearly every battle and often landed finishing blows. Over time, it had quietly reached level 37.
Thanks to its Protean ability, the moment it used the Ghost-type move Lick, it transformed into a Ghost-type itself. With the same-type attack bonus and type advantage, the level-15 Natu couldn't withstand the hit. Letting out a tsundere cry, it fainted on the spot.
Immediately afterward, Sato pulled out a black PokeBall, gently tapped the button against the unconscious Natu in his hand—
A beam of red light shot out from the opened PokeBall and enveloped Natu, drawing it inside.
A moment later, thud!—the black PokeBall shook a few times in Sato's hand before the red light on the button went out.
Sato had successfully captured Natu.
"Next is the Wisdom Lotus seed. Natu was right—there's no way I'm missing out on a treasure like that. Arcanine, turn around—we're going back."
Tossing the PokeBall up and down with a grin, Sato's cheerful expression quickly faded into a serious one. He put the black PokeBall away and patted Arcanine beneath him.
At that moment, Slowking and Alakazam had stopped fighting. They hovered silently above the lake, along with a crowd of Psychic-type Pokémon surrounding the area, all of them gazing solemnly at the surface of the water.
From beneath the lake, a white lotus slowly began to emerge. As it floated upward, it gradually bloomed in full—eventually revealing a massive, fragrant flower, as large as a millstone, radiating a gentle and soothing aroma across the entire lake.