Glug glug glug—
Whoosh—
In front of the small wooden house, Groudon held a large wooden plate, continuously gulping down the soup inside.
This large plate of soup was the fish soup Riku had just cooked that day.
When Groudon first arrived at the small wooden house and saw the plate filled with a milky white liquid, it was a bit curious. After all, it smelled quite appetizing.
However, upon learning it was fish soup, Groudon immediately wore a look of disdain.
It had a nemesis—whom it affectionately referred to as Stinky Fish.
They had been fighting every two or three months for at least a thousand years.
Groudon couldn't count how much seawater it had swallowed or how many unfortunate sea creatures it had consumed. The mere smell of fish sometimes made it want to vomit.
If the soup had been made from that stupid fish, Groudon might have shown some interest.
But fish soup made by a human—using ordinary river fish, no less—was hardly worth its attention.
That is, until... it smelled really good.
The three silly birds watched in horror as Groudon gulped down the soup Riku had prepared for them in a single gulp. They instantly erupted in fury.
"Gaa gaa gaa—"
"Master, I told you it could eat a lot!"
"Red Shrimp, hurry up and scram after you're done eating! Don't be an eyesore here!"
"Don't think just because you're big and strong we can't do anything to you!"
"Get lost—get lost now, or the three of us will take you on!"
The legendary birds' exasperated squawking only made Groudon even more smug.
It held grudges quite well.
On multiple occasions, it had tried to steal fruit, only to be stopped by these three birds—sometimes even ganged up on and beaten.
It had often fantasized about skewering them into grilled snacks.
Now, having finally found an opportunity, there was no way it was letting it slip away.
Using the wind to its advantage was Groudon's true nature!
Just as it was about to fire off a mocking remark at the trio, a hand suddenly descended from above and landed right on Groudon's head.
Groudon froze.
The dignified Lord of the Land... was being petted by a human?
Was this scientific?
Was this some sort of twisted joke?
If word got out, Stinky Fish would laugh itself to death!
What was it now? A stray cat or dog?
Even if this human seemed to have the word "invincible" engraved on his forehead, wasn't this too humiliating for a Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon?
"No wonder you even tried eating those unripe berries. You must've been starving, huh?"
Riku suddenly smiled. "Haven't eaten anything decent in a while?"
"In the future, if you're hungry, just come here. I'll always have food for you."
Groudon was stunned.
Did this human really think it had been stealing fruit because it was hungry?
If it weren't for the sake of flying, would it need to stoop so low?
Something strange had been happening—the berries from that forest actually contained fragments of various laws.
Especially one particular tree, which held the Law of Flight!
If Groudon kept eating from that tree, its thousand-year dream might finally come true!
The reason it and its nemesis, Stinky Fish, had never been able to defeat each other was simple: it couldn't fly.
It had fantasized about flying thousands of times.
If it could fly, it would swoop down from the sky and crush that stupid fish with a surprise aerial strike.
It wouldn't have to worry about the fish escaping—it would be fried for sure.
Smack smack—
Thinking about this, Groudon suddenly smacked its lips.
If it could finally eliminate that stupid fish—and have this human cook it into soup—wouldn't that be wonderful?
"Gaa gaa gaa—"
Zappy noticed Groudon grinning foolishly and suddenly felt a chill run down its back.
"Red Shrimp! Hurry up and scram after you finish eating! We don't welcome thieves here—"
"Zappy, what are you doing?"
Before Zappy could finish, Riku frowned and interrupted sternly.
"If you chase Red Shrimp away now, aren't you basically sentencing it to death?"
"You're both Pokémon—can't you show a little sympathy?"
Sympathy? I need to show sympathy to this guy?
Zappy screamed in his heart.
Seeing Zapdos, one of the three legendary birds, with a constipated expression, Groudon found it absolutely hilarious.
"Roar—"
With a deep, rumbling laugh, Groudon accepted Riku's offer to stay.
After all, it had nothing else to do.
There was good food here, and more importantly, the fruit wasn't ripe yet.
Even after sneaking a few bites, Groudon realized the effects weren't as miraculous as it had hoped.
Besides, the three legendary birds patrolled the fruit tree forest constantly and could show up in an instant at the slightest disturbance.
The main issue remained: Groudon couldn't fly.
And it didn't dare to grow to full size suddenly, which would draw attention.
So staying with Riku and waiting for the right opportunity seemed the smartest choice.
---
At that moment...
A Blastoise appeared near the seaside.
It swam swiftly toward the shore, and as it reached the beach, a girl with a red bandana—adorned with a white Poké Ball emblem—leapt off its back.
She wore a red T-shirt, dark blue shorts, and a white skirt. Her yellow fanny pack swayed rhythmically as she skipped in the direction of the small wooden house, eyes gleaming with excitement.
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