Chapter 172:
"Hello, Salamence, we meet again~"
Hayashi Kaede looked at the Salamence who was unwilling to look at him as he approached and greeted it.
Salamence snorted, then turned its head away.
What did he mean, "meet again"?
They had just seen each other this morning.
"Hahaha." Seeing it like this, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but laugh.
He didn't bother it further.
Over the past few days, although Salamence still resisted him psychologically, its affinity had actually increased quite a bit, from -50 to -10.
The Veridian Power and Grepa Berry wine had contributed significantly to this.
But this was pretty much the limit of what the Grepa Berry wine could achieve; even the Veridian Power couldn't erase the dark memories in its heart.
Unless Mewtwo directly removed those memories.
But Hayashi Kaede felt it hadn't come to that yet.
"What's up?" Mewtwo looked at Indeedee following Hayashi Kaede and asked curiously, "Are you letting Goodra out?"
It also knew that Hayashi Kaede had always wanted Indeedee (little sister) to help Goodra overcome the shadows of its "childhood"—or at least become more lively and cheerful.
But the situation wasn't optimistic. Aside from when it was eating, Goodra was still reluctant to interact with Indeedee, preferring to stay by Mewtwo's side, even if it meant spending all day in a Poké Ball.
"Yes. Look at those Eevees over there—they're playing a game called 'Pikachu Fights the Bad Guy.' We can let Goodra play with Indeedee. Of course, if it's unwilling, it can just watch from the sidelines and soak in the joy. So, we'll need you to stay nearby." Hayashi Kaede said cheerfully.
You can also enjoy the fun when watching others play games.
Joyful emotions can spread.
Mewtwo: "..."
So, this is just babysitting?
"And what about it? Is it staying here too?" Mewtwo pointed at Salamence, not rejecting Hayashi Kaede's suggestion.
After all, from the moment it decided to stay, it had already anticipated these kinds of things.
"Salamence? I'll take it aside for a chat."
Hayashi Kaede patted Salamence's wing and said to it, "Come on, let's talk?"
Salamence: "???"
Wait, why should I listen to you?
"Or do you prefer to stay with Mewtwo?" Hayashi Kaede gave it a second option.
Salamence glanced at Mewtwo, then at Hayashi Kaede, and ultimately chose the first option—following Hayashi Kaede to a nearby corner.
Staying near Mewtwo was too oppressive.
And Mewtwo wouldn't even let it return to its Poké Ball.
So, Hayashi Kaede led it to the side, took out a small stool he carried in his Storage Ball, leaned against it to sit down, and even pulled out a bottle of juice to drink.
This left Salamence utterly confused.
It had thought Hayashi Kaede called it over for a heart-to-heart talk, but instead, he was just here to watch the show?
It had even mentally prepared itself, planning to treat whatever this human said as background noise.
But this human wasn't saying anything?
"Oh, this juice is really good. Do you want some?"
Hayashi Kaede suddenly pulled out another bottle of juice and handed it to Salamence. Seeing that it seemed a bit inconvenienced, he even help to remove the cap.
Salamence instinctively opened its mouth. By the time Hayashi Kaede poured the juice into its mouth and it swallowed, it finally realized—this time, Mewtwo wasn't nearby.
Which meant, this time, it had voluntarily eaten it.
It froze for a moment, wanting to spit out the juice in its mouth, but how could it be easy is it to spit out something already swallowed?
So, Salamence stood there dazed for a while, eventually sneaking a glance at Hayashi Kaede. Finding his attention entirely on Goodra and the Eevees over there, it couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
It then also turned its gaze in that direction.
Over there, Goodra stood obediently beside Mewtwo, while Indeedee (little sister) stayed among the Eevees and Alolan Vulpix, seemingly acting as a referee.
Although they were a bit far away, Hayashi Kaede could still hear the conversation between the Eevees and Indeedee (little sister). Basically, with five Pokémon playing, they were one short besides Indeedee.
Then, Indeedee (little sister) subtly hinted to Alolan Vulpix that it could invite Goodra over to join.
Alolan Vulpix, with its socially fearless nature, didn't overthink it—it had already been curious about this seemingly sticky, gooey Goodra.
It's just that Goodra always hid behind Mewtwo, so there was never a chance.
Now, prompted by Indeedee (little sister), it immediately ran over and communicated with Goodra. Who knows what it said, but Goodra glanced at Mewtwo and then ran off to join the Eevees.
Soon, they were playing together—like the Eevees, sometimes running around, sometimes tumbling chubbily on the Bluestone Trail, not minding the dirt.
Fortunately, most of the town's residents were busy with road construction, so no one saw this scene.
But this left Salamence utterly puzzled.
It finally couldn't help but ask, "Salamence?"
Meaning, why wasn't he trying to persuade it?
"Persuade you about what?" Hayashi Kaede turned to look at Salamence. "And persuade you how?"
"Salamence..."
Salamence was stunned by this question. Wasn't he supposed to persuade it to let go of its prejudice against humans?
Hayashi Kaede "suddenly understood," "Oh, you mean that. I'm not persuading you about that. It's fine if you can't let it go. If you can't, then just stay here well-behaved for the rest of your life."
"Don't worry, I'll cover your food and drinks."
"Salamence?" (A lifetime? Staying here?)
Salamence's face darkened.
Although the food here was good,
Staying here for a lifetime meant Mewtwo would be watching over it forever.
That was terrifying.
Perhaps because it had just drunk the juice, its heightened emotions made it more active.
Could it pretend to be obedient first, leave, and then deal with things later?
But Hayashi Kaede's next sentence shattered that idea. "Don't worry, my Veridian Power can deeply sense the hatred in your heart. So, don't think you can fool me by acting. Even Mewtwo couldn't deceive me back then."
Salamence's expression fell.
Watching Salamence's eyes stop darting around, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but laugh.
Although he didn't know what it was thinking, distracting Salamence from its past with other thoughts was also a good strategy.
"Salamence...."
Salamence fell silent. It lay down beside Hayashi Kaede, closed its eyes, and was about to take a little nap,
When suddenly, a powerful, blazing aura forced it to open its eyes and look toward the horizon.
Hayashi Kaede also stood up, murmuring to himself, "The Champion...?"