Chapter 173:
Moltres circled briefly before spotting a suitable landing spot and gently touching down beside Hayashi Kaede.
Dismounting was the tall, imposing Champion, Kazephyr, dressed in an off-white coat.
Hayashi Kaede stood up and greeted him, "Champion."
Then he asked with hopeful anticipation, "Do you have news about my parents?"
Kazephyr glanced at the Salamence nearby, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Hearing Hayashi Kaede's question, he thought of the information he'd gathered about the young man's parents over the past few days and found it rather baffling.
In all the League's records, he had never encountered such a strange phenomenon.
He turned back and shook his head. "No."
"The League's information shows your parents disappeared near a wilderness area on the outskirts of Nagisuna City, but that area has long since been developed into Osmanthus Hill."
Hayashi Kaede nodded with regret. "I see..."
Seeing his expression, Kazephyr offered comfort, "It's not that there's no progress, it's just that there are some issues at the moment. So, don't be too pessimistic."
Hayashi Kaede shook his head and changed the subject. "It's alright, Champion. What brings you here this time?"
"Just passing by suddenly, and I came to buy some drinks. The Bounsweet juice here really lifts your spirits after drinking it," Kazephyr said very frankly.
Hayashi Kaede: "..."
"Alright."
He had nothing to say to that.
But Kazephyr clearly changed his mind then and there. This time upon returning, he hadn't only investigated Hayashi Kaede's parents; he'd also looked into the pink, humanoid Pokémon by the young man's side.
After all, the other hadn't shown any fear when facing that Darkrai.
But the result was that he found nothing. Whether in Kanto, Kalos, Alola, or the distant Paldea region, there was no information on this Pokémon at all.
This left him rather incredulous.
Now, with just a casual glance, Kazephyr spotted that Pokémon over there again.
He couldn't help but ask, "By the way, that humanoid Pokémon from last time... yes, what Pokémon is that? How come I've never heard of it?"
Hayashi Kaede didn't hide it. "That... is Mewtwo. It was derived from Mew, an independent life form."
Kazephyr exclaimed in amazement, "Derived from Mew? Does it have a colony?"
Hayashi Kaede shook his head. "Just this one. But it's very powerful."
"Indeed, it is" Kazephyr said, recalling the conversation between this Pokémon and Darkrai that day, sighing with emotion.
Then he asked again, "It's still here with you. Did you capture it?"
When asking this, Kazephyr's tone carried caution and wariness.
This Pokémon's strength was undeniable. If it truly had been captured by the young man before him, he couldn't imagine what level the boy's trainer strength would have reached.
"Uh..." This question stumped Hayashi Kaede. You have to remember, the two of them were only this distance from Mewtwo; it would be very easy for it to hear.
So, Hayashi Kaede chose his words carefully. "Not really. It just helps me with some work."
"An employee?"
"Mhm."
Kazephyr fell into deep thought, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
He remembered a researcher once saying that some Pokémon have very peculiar thinking—they don't consider themselves Pokémon but independent beings with their own thoughts, "humans." So, when addressing them, you need to call them according to how they see themselves.
This was especially common among Pokémon that assisted humans with research.
But actually, achieving such a relationship indicated that the bond between the two was already very strong.
For someone as young as the boy before him to already have such a powerful Pokémon by his side!
Kazephyr couldn't help but turn his gaze to the Salamence beside Hayashi Kaede. From the very beginning, this Salamence had been baring its teeth at him. He thought it was a protective instinct upon seeing Moltres.
But even after their long conversation, the Salamence hadn't stopped baring its teeth.
This wasn't protective behavior; it was malice toward a stranger!
Most importantly, from his earlier observation, this Salamence wasn't just baring its teeth at him—it did the same to Hayashi Kaede?
And in its eyes, there was also a kind of... hatred?
This strange phenomenon put him on alert.
Kazephyr couldn't help but ask, "This Salamence is...?"
"Salamence!"
Hearing this human mention it, Salamence timely let out a roar, especially upon seeing the other's Moltres, which was clearly much stronger than itself, making it increasingly restless.
It was a sense of unease.
Faced with a Pokémon significantly stronger than itself, it feared being captured again deep down.
"Montreal!"
This restlessness quickly made the nearby Moltres alert as well. A tense, confrontational atmosphere began to slowly spread between the two.
However, as an inexplicable pressure fell between the two Pokémon, they both turned their gazes toward Mewtwo, who was accompanying Goodra over there.
This faint, almost imperceptible pressure warned them not to act.
If they acted, something bad would happen.
Moltres's gaze turned grave. Salamence closed its bared mouth.
"You mean it? It was saved by Mewtwo from Team Rocket's hands. Before, because it endured too much experimentation from Team Rocket, its personality changed somewhat. Now..." Hayashi Kaede didn't sense the atmosphere and instead suddenly grew curious.
"Speaking of which, how does the League handle Pokémon rescued from those dark organizations?"
Compared to other regions with various organizations—Team Rocket, Team Aqua, Team Magma, etc.—the Eastova League was relatively stable, without any particularly large dark organizations.
But there would always be some Pokémon poachers or members of other organizations smuggled in from different regions.
'Rescued from Team Rocket?' Kazephyr was taken aback internally. His eyes suddenly scanned the Salamence's arms and back, noticing obvious needle marks.
Understanding dawned on him, and he couldn't help but reassess his perception of Team Rocket.
"Generally, rescued Pokémon who aren't in too bad shape, we will find suitable ecological zones nearby or directly look for new trainers for them."
Hayashi Kaede asked further, "What about the Pokémon belonging to captured dark organization members? Among them, there must be some... ones with severely twisted personalities?"
Kazephyr fell silent for a moment before finally choosing to reply, "It depends on the situation. If the consequences are too severe, usually we choose to....."