Kingambit gave Julian a Focus Band. Looking at Kingambit's departing back, Julian said: "In the future other humans would enter this place. If possible, try not to kill them"
Kingambit paused slightly and without even turning back, replied, "The weak have no right to survive."
It was clearly refusing Julian's request.
'Damn, still acting pretentious—just like Kartana, with all that talk about the weak having no right to survive. Well, since I've defeated you several times, shouldn't you just off yourself?'
Whatever, Julian decided not to say anything more.
If anyone entering this secret realm ended up dying by its hand, it would just be their own bad luck.
Returning to the camp with the Focus Band, Julian saw Pawniard, stuffed and bloated, lying on the ground.
It was the first time Pawniard had ever felt so full from eating treasures. The energy from the treasures was continuously nourishing its depleted body, and the warm, comforting sensation was utterly intoxicating.
Its eyes were half-closed, so lost in the feeling that it didn't even notice Julian approaching.
Only when it realized Julian was there did its gaze immediately fixate on the red Focus Band in Julian's hand. Instinctively, it stood up, its expression stirring with emotion.
"This headband—"
"Your father asked me to give it to you," Julian said.
Noticing how emotional Pawniard looked, Julian asked curiously, "What's the matter? Does this thing hold special meaning?"
Pawniard fell silent, a look of reminiscence crossing its face. After a long pause, it slowly explained, "This was my mother's headband."
"Back then, when Steelix invaded our territory, my mother took a hit meant for my father, sustaining injuries that couldn't be healed."
"After giving birth to me, my mother passed away."
"My father told me this. He said he'd give me this headband once I evolved into Bisharp."
So that was the reason it was born prematurely.
Seeing Pawniard's melancholy expression, Julian tied the Focus Band around its forehead and said calmly, "Then work hard—for your mother's sake too."
Among all of Julian's Pokémon, Magearna probably had the most tragic backstory, but it had lost its memories from before. So now with its tragic history, Pawniard's story took the top spot, almost as if it was following the template of a novel's protagonist.
Born with his mother dead, with weak innate talent but strong willpower, not valued by his father and looked down on by his siblings, later discovering that the keepsake his mother left was actually an extraordinary treasure—
Alright, this Focus Band was just an ordinary item, nothing special at all.
Not only that, it was even damaged, offering almost no benefit to Pawniard.
But its sentimental value far outweighed its practical one.
"Father was here?"
Only now did Pawniard realize—this item had always been in Kingambit's possession. So why was it in Julian's hands?
"After you left the tribe, your father followed you all the way. The reason you managed to get here safely, despite all the dangers, was because your father handled the troubles for you."
"So, your father does care about you. It's just his personality that's cold."
"Or perhaps, if he showed you too much attention, it might make your situation even harder."
The love, hatred, and drama within a Pokémon tribe were no less than those in a human family. After all, Pokémon were also intelligent beings, with emotions as rich as humans—sometimes even more profound.
Julian's words left Pawniard frozen where it stood, silent for a long time.
So, his father did care about him. He had been protecting him all along.
Its shoulders trembled slightly, tears falling silently.
"Mage~"
Magearna was already crying like a fountain; its tears more plentiful than Pawniard's, the actual party involved.
Gengar took out a white handkerchief, gently dabbing at the corner of its eye—even though there weren't any tears, it just felt that the atmosphere demanded a little performance.
As for the other Pokémon… well, they had no particular feelings. The only emotion was sympathy for Pawniard's experience.
Among Julian's Pokémon, some were raised by him from eggs, while others had never known their parents—except for Garchomp. That guy had both parents, was the only child in the family, and was thoroughly spoiled.
"Hmph, crying and sniveling, utterly pathetic."
Kartana looked at Pawniard with disdain. This guy was about to take over its job of cutting vegetables for Slowking, damn it—it was infuriating.
"From now on, I won't cry anymore."
Wiping away its tears, Pawniard looked at Julian with unwavering determination and said, "From now on, I will fight for you."
That expression made Julian almost burst out laughing. He crouched down and said with a grin, "You should focus on growing up first. Right now, even if you jumped, you would only reach Aggron's knee."
"Hahaha!"
As he said this, Julian let out a hearty laugh.
"Arf Arf Arf!"
"Ghehehe!"
"Mage!"
"Meta!"
"Tres!"
All the Pokémon let out different degrees of laughter.
This made Pawniard's face flush bright red. Just after uttering such a bold statement, it was immediately teased like this—the contrast was just too much.
However—
Looking at the massive Aggron, with its sturdy armor that even its father probably couldn't cut through, just reaching its knee...
It seemed like even if it jumped, it really would only reach Aggron's knee.
"Focus on eating well, sleeping well, and building up your body first. Without a strong physique, nothing else matters."
"And besides, do you really think there are many opportunities for you to fight for me with them around?"
Julian pointed at his Pokémon—Champions, Pseudo-Champions, peak, late, mid, and early-stage Elites—basically every tier except below Elite-level.
Battle opportunities—there were not even enough to go around for the older ones.
Aegislash: 'I think the last time I battled was... well, the last time.'
Salamence: 'Last time I battled, I hadn't even evolved yet.'
Julian's words didn't discourage Pawniard. Seeing its companions, each a formidable fighter, only ignited its fighting spirit even more.
Its eyes seemed to burn with flames.
That expression was exactly what Julian admired about it.
Potential and talent—these were limitations to a Pokémon's growth, but Julian could easily overcome them. However, a Pokémon's personality was something he couldn't change.
Most of his team had a laid-back, "salted-fish" mentality, with only Lucario and Kartana having a truly positive, driven mindset.
Now, with Pawniard joining, the positive energy in the team had grown a little stronger.
He hoped that one day, the glow of this positive energy would inspire these "salted-fish" to rise up.
Sigh, he still didn't understand why the Pokémon he caught, who were all fine at the beginning, ended up becoming so laid-back later on.
Lying back in his chair, Julian stroked Arcanine's big head with his left hand while holding the juice Magearna handed him with his right.
He called out to Slowking, who was preparing dinner: "Slowking, make a spicy stir-fried pork tonight. It goes great with rice, and make sure there's plenty of sauce—I want to mix it with my rice."
"Slow~"
Slowking: "Got it."
The reason they had all become "salted-fish"… Julian still hadn't quite realized the key factor.
*****
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