Chapter 539: Persuading People to Be Good
A few days later—
On a rocky plain in the desert, where giant boulders offered some shelter from the wind, a group of travelers had stopped to rest. They had summoned their cactus Pokémon and were collecting water.
One young man, wearing a headscarf, couldn't help but complain. "Sigh, it's getting harder and harder to make a living in this desert."
As he spoke, he waved his hand irritably to shoo away a Sigilyph hovering above him. "Get lost, you stupid bird! Stop filming!"
When you're in a bad mood, everything is annoying, especially a camera following you around overhead.
The Sigilyph was clever. It landed on a rock face, turned the camera in a different direction, and then comfortably perched right above the group, leisurely preening its feathers.
Although the desert event was supposed to be filmed continuously, everyone has their private moments. When nature called, players would still shoo away these camera birds.
Pokémon are smart, and over time, they learned: As long as I turn the camera away, it doesn't matter if I leave or not.
"These stupid birds used to fly away when you shooed them. Now they've all gotten smart. They just turn the camera and don't budge an inch!"
Despite his complaints, the young man was too lazy to climb the boulder and chase the Sigilyph away.
Above, the Sigilyph let out a disdainful chirp: Heh, humans!
The young man's companions chimed in.
"Sigh, just think about it. These birds just have to fly around with a camera strapped to them, and they get fed. We work our butts off, and we might not even make enough to cover the gas money. It's tough."
These people weren't here for the Seeds or the event points. They were just opportunists hoping to profit from the chaos.
In the past, many of the Seven Chieftains in the Ashen Desert were hostile to humans, and their territories were generally off-limits.
But now it was different. With top Pokémon Masters from all over the world paving the way, these people could tag along and hope to scrounge up some benefits.
Unfortunately, as time went on and the event heated up, even the scavenging business became increasingly competitive.
"This trip, we only got seven Star-Veined Hidden Stones and six Red-Heart Herbs. Selling them might not even cover the gas for this trip! Damn it!"
"Tell me about it. I heard gas prices went up again. F*ck!"
Just then, one of them had a devious idea.
"Hey, how about we try robbery? According to the unspoken rules of the desert, robbery is commonplace now! As long as we don't kill anyone, no one will pursue it afterwards!"
The others were clearly tempted but still hesitant.
"Robbery... we need to pick our targets carefully, right? The water is deep in this area now. We can't just attack anyone we see."
"Yeah, we need to pick a soft persimmon, otherwise we—"
Suddenly, their Decidueye, acting as lookout, hooted to signal someone was approaching.
The young man with the headscarf, who had first suggested robbery, looked through his binoculars and grinned fiercely.
"Brothers, here's our chance! There's only one car coming from that direction, and it's not a minivan, so there won't be many people! Let's make him our first target! One big score!"
His companions were both hesitant and excited.
"Think about those damn gas prices! We've burned through several tanks already. Is picking up a few rocks and herbs enough? A horse doesn't get fat without extra feed at night, and a man doesn't get rich without a windfall, brothers!"
Gradually, their hesitation faded, replaced by ferocity!
"Right! There are probably only one or two people in that car. With all of us together, are we afraid we can't handle a loner?"
More and more people in the group began to succumb to greed, leaving only one or two still hesitating.
Just then, Decidueye signaled again—
The car over there had turned around and was heading toward them!
Some were confused, others delighted.
"Great! Brothers, let's go! This one job will make us rich!"
A few minutes later...
Behind the same wind-blocking boulder.
The group of young scavengers, who had just decided to transition into a career of highway robbery, were lying on the ground in a row, looking utterly hopeless. Their eyes were filled with confusion—
Why did this guy counter-attack so decisively? He looked completely prepared!
Almost the instant they made their move, the opponent's counter-attack came crashing down like a tidal wave!
This is way too practiced!!
Standing before them was, of course, Arthur, who had just arrived.
He was methodically counting the contents of their bags.
"Seven Star-Veined Hidden Stones, good quality, clear patterns, top grade. Six Red-Heart Herbs, roots and leaves intact, very professional collection method, preserved perfectly. Nice.
"Your skills seem quite solid. Handled very well."
Lying face down in the dirt after their defeat, the group wanted to cry.
The words were compliments, but hearing them now just felt incredibly bitter...
"So, you were the ones who had evil thoughts first, right?" Arthur asked with a smile.
The young man in the headscarf tried to stand up and argue, "But you were clearly so well-prepared! You were obviously baiting—"
Arthur simply glanced at him lightly. The young man immediately laid back down and obediently clasped his hands behind his head.
Arthur nodded with a smile.
"You had evil thoughts, and since you lost, you naturally have to pay the price. I'm helping you cut off these dark impulses. You know, the desert isn't a lawless place.
"So you see, I'm not a devil."
As he spoke, Arthur quickly pocketed the Star-Veined Hidden Stones and Red-Heart Herbs.
His movements were so practiced that the people on the ground almost wanted to shout: Why are you so skilled at this?! How many times have you done this?!
After packing everything away, Arthur clapped his hands. "Remember this for the future: don't give in to greed so easily."
"..."
After it was over, Arthur let them go and stayed in this natural shelter to set up camp for the night.
Once night fell, he started a fire. He combined the Red-Heart Herbs with many other precious plants he had "collected," stirred them in a pot, and boiled them down into a pot of translucent, jelly-like substance.
This was essentially a rudimentary form of Pokéblocks.
He then distributed this jelly to Old Flame, Lina, and Old Flame's mate.
"Although it lacks the seasonings of the human world and the taste isn't great, fresh Red-Heart Herbs combined with various precious tropical ingredients make for an excellent tonic for Fire-type Pokémon."
Red-Heart Herb was a natural supplement native to tropical regions that was extremely beneficial for Fire-type Pokémon. Because it was difficult to preserve, it used to be very hard to buy in the Kubfu markets.
This was undoubtedly a bountiful harvest.
Lina critiqued the food as she ate. "Doesn't taste as good as the batch from the day before yesterday."
Forrest's Pokémon, listening nearby, could only sigh silently.
From Lina's words, it wasn't hard to deduce: This group has clearly done this more than once!
Along the way, Arthur had never actively searched for treasures in the desert, yet his Pokémon had eaten quite a few precious local specialties.
In Arthur's words: These are the rewards for persuading people to be good and turning them back to the righteous path!
So, Anderson's guess was absolutely correct!
Arthur adapted to the current rules of the Ashen Desert with astonishing speed!
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