Chapter 166:
"hmm... mmm..."
Hayashi Kaede nodded twice, unable to help but feel heartache for these Pokémon once captured by Team Rocket.
Especially those captured as children—they never had a complete childhood.
This Goodra's body also had some issues.
Normally, wild Dragon-type Pokémon could remain in their first or second stage for over a decade without evolving.
But this Goodra had gone from its first stage to its final stage in such a short time through unnatural means. As a result, its body must have suffered some damage.
However, this also showed how advanced Team Rocket's technological research on Pokémon truly was.
From this, we can see that they had experimented on many Pokémon.
"If it's clingy, then let it be. It's still young."
Hayashi Kaede showed support for the baby Goodra.
Mewtwo's mouth twitched. It is still young?
It's bigger than I am!
The next moment...
Gurgle... gurgle...
Two sounds came from Goodra's stomach. It immediately looked at Mewtwo with hopeful eyes.
Mewtwo: "..."
"You usually prepare its food?" Seeing this, Hayashi Kaede hesitated, then asked in surprise.
"..." Mewtwo chose to remain silent.
"Sss..." Hayashi Kaede sucked in a cold breath.
He looked at Mewtwo in disbelief.
Wow, who would've thought? You really can raise Pokémon... So the legendary "Mewtwo Trainer" is for real.
Hayashi Kaede had assumed Mewtwo's Pokémon usually found their own food.
After all, Pokémon like Dragonite or Salamence were already grown and capable of foraging on their own.
But he never expected there to be a "baby" Goodra too.
Thinking this, an image formed in Hayashi Kaede's mind: Mewtwo painstakingly searching for food outside, then bringing it back for Goodra to eat.
Just like a father returning from hunting to feed his child.
"Such a strange feeling..."
Hayashi Kaede praised, "Didn't expect you to be so kind."
Hearing this, Mewtwo felt a flicker of embarrassment...
It flusteredly explained, "You... maybe don't say that... It's really clingy. Like, it'll cry if it can't see me."
Hayashi Kaede: "Alright then. That shouldn't be a big problem. It probably sees you as a father... a parental figure—someone who can protect it. I'll have the younger Indeedee try looking after it for a while."
The younger Indeedee should be quite good at babysitting.
Even if this "baby" is a bit large...
"Goodra~" (Hungry, hungry...) Goodra was still staring at Mewtwo, almost unable to resist placing its mucus-covered hands on it.
Mewtwo's face darkened.
Hayashi Kaede quickly took out some satiating Energy Cubes from his storage ball and said to Goodra, "Here, eat this~"
Goodra looked at the Energy Cubes, its mouth twitching, but it didn't approach. Instead, it eyed Hayashi Kaede warily.
Even though this human seemed friendly, it had been tricked by similar-looking Energy Cubes as a child. After that, people kept injecting things into its body.
After the injections, its body would feel hot and swollen, and using moves became painful.
The only reason it was even looking at Hayashi Kaede now without any aggressiveness was because Mewtwo had just spoken to him.
"..." Hayashi Kaede fell silent for a moment, then handed an Energy Cube to Mewtwo, signaling it to eat it.
After Mewtwo ate it, Hayashi Kaede gave Goodra a warm smile. "See? It's fine. No problems."
"Goodra?"
The wariness in Goodra's eyes lessened slightly, but it still looked at Mewtwo, seemingly waiting for its approval.
Only after Mewtwo said, "Go ahead, it's safe," did Goodra approach Hayashi Kaede. It carefully picked up an Energy Cube. After eating it, its eyes lit up, but it didn't immediately take a second one. It waited for a while, and only after seeing that nothing happened did it happily take the bag of Energy Cubes and start eating.
"Whew... that was tough..." Seeing this, Hayashi Kaede felt even more heartache, but he didn't know what else to say.
"That Salamence is even more aggressive..." Mewtwo reminded him.
"Let it out. I want to see it," Hayashi Kaede took a deep breath. Even though he already had memories of Salamence's aggressive behavior, he still wanted Mewtwo to release it.
He just added, "Just keep it controlled."
Mewtwo nodded, took out Salamence's Poké Ball, and lightly tapped it.
The Salamence he had sensed with Veridian Power earlier immediately emerged.
At first, it seemed confused, but then it saw Hayashi Kaede and immediately bared its teeth, blood-red eyes glaring.
However, it soon felt the thin layer of psychic energy around it and abandoned the idea.
"It changes its expression that fast?"
Hayashi Kaede remarked, looking at the snarling Salamence.
[Pokémon: Salamence]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Moxie]
[Potential: Red]
[IVs: HP (28) Attack (29) Sp. Atk (28) Defense (20) Sp. Def (14) Speed (27)]
[Level: 75—76]
[Moves: Roost, Dragon Breath, Dragon Tail, Dual Wingbeat, Hyper Beam, Flamethrower, Double-Edge, Earthquake...]
[Description: Strength declined due to long-term malnutrition.]
[Friendship: -50 (Hates all humans equally)]
[Happiness: -40]
-50...
This was the first time Hayashi Kaede had seen a Pokémon with such low Friendship.
Even Mewtwo, when they first met, was only at -20, same as the Squirtle that initially helped him.
Hayashi Kaede extended his Veridian Power over Salamence, then walked up to it and tentatively greeted, "Hello."
"Roar!?"
Salamence was taken aback. It didn't understand why its earlier hostility toward this human had vanished. Now, it even found this human somewhat kind?
Although that's how it felt, it quickly remembered its days of captivity. As Hayashi Kaede approached, it bared its teeth again, as if trying to scare him away.
But Hayashi Kaede took a deep breath and, under Salamence's gaze, walked right up to it. He gently placed a hand on its belly, closed his eyes, and began sensing the source of its hatred.
Darkness...
The scene in his mind was pitch black. Then, a human in a white lab coat turned on the lights and approached it.
It flailed and struggled, trying to break free from its restraints. But the next moment, frost began to fall around it—frost that soon covered its entire body.