Chapter 129. The Strange Little Diglett
"Eek, I'm still so scared."
Inside the Safari Zone, Misty rubbed her arms, feeling no sense of safety at all.
"Yeah.
What if we get attacked and something happens to us?"
Brock also felt a chill.
"By the way, Mr. Natsume, because of the League's rules, if we can't carry Pokémon and get hurt in the Safari Zone, will the Pokémon League be responsible?"
Honora suddenly asked.
In an instant, several pairs of eyes turned to Natsume.
They had just entered the Safari Zone.
Quite a few Trainers were still around, and even Kaiser, who had seen them off, hadn't left yet.
"Relax.
If you die, the League will just dress you up as poachers."
Natsume extended his psychokinesis, searching for the little Diglett's tracks, and answered offhandedly.
"Huh?"
Everyone jumped.
"Mr. Kaiser, I regret this—I want to go back!"
One Trainer lost their nerve.
Kaiser's face went pitch-black.
"Don't listen to his nonsense.
The League has outposts throughout this place.
Your safety is generally guaranteed."
He rolled his eyes.
"Your biggest danger is definitely not wild Pokémon.
It's the poachers who sneak into the Safari Zone."
As he spoke, Kaiser's expression turned extremely stern.
"Those poachers may be carrying lethal weapons.
They're extremely dangerous.
If you encounter them, report to the nearest outpost immediately.
Don't try to play hero, understood?"
Kaiser's voice carried far, and the Trainers present all paused.
"Understood!"
Ash Ketchum answered loudly.
Some Trainers nearby grew even more frightened after hearing this.
They canceled registration and backed out.
But those were the minority.
Anyone who made it to the Safari Zone more or less understood the situation here, and had mentally prepared in advance.
Natsume kept searching for the little Diglett's trail, and everyone followed behind him.
As they continued deeper, there were fewer and fewer Trainers around.
Honora trailed right behind Natsume, carrying the detection gear and sticking to him.
"Why are you all following me?"
Natsume looked back, baffled.
"Security."
Misty and Brock popped their heads out from behind Ash.
Since they couldn't carry Pokémon, the best fighter was probably Ash, and the fastest runner was probably Natsume.
"In that case—"
Natsume clapped his hands.
"Come out."
"Diglett—diglett—"
A clamor rose all around as countless Diglett popped up in a rush.
"Wow, so the Diglett were following right alongside us!"
Misty was delighted.
Natsume crouched down and negotiated with a few Dugtrio at the front.
After a while, Natsume stood up.
"I worked something out with the Diglett.
They'll leave some of their number to follow and protect you.
No need to worry."
Hearing this, Misty and Brock both brightened.
"Great!
I'm going to the river!"
Misty's eyes lit up, and she dashed off with several pairs of Diglett in tow.
"In that case, I'm heading for the rocky area over there."
Brock let out a breath, then ran the other direction with several pairs of Diglett.
"Okay!
Pikachu, Diglett—let's go catch Tauros!"
Ash said, sprinting toward a nearby herd of Tauros.
"Ahem… Mr. Natsume, it looks like it's just the two of us now."
Honora's face flushed red.
"No it isn't.
There are still thousands of Diglett underground."
Natsume didn't even turn his head.
Honora froze, then straightened up and dutifully got back to scanning.
This little Diglett was extremely active.
Natsume found traces it left in many places.
Its tastes were peculiar as well.
All kinds of Berries showed up.
Natsume collected the Berry remains the little Diglett had discarded along the way.
There were more than forty of all sizes, and they could roughly be grouped into sour, sweet, and spicy.
Though the Berry varieties differed, they all fell into those three flavors.
What puzzled Natsume most was that this little Diglett took one bite of every Berry and then tossed it away.
So wasteful.
It didn't fit at all with Diglett's simple, unassuming nature.
Curious as he was, Natsume still recorded everything in detail.
Following the trail the little Diglett left behind, Natsume and Honora wound around for a long time.
Not until the afternoon did they finally stop before a lake.
"Mr. Natsume, what a huge lake.
And I don't think this area is shown on the Safari Zone map?"
Honora's surprised voice came.
Natsume tilted his head and looked toward an island-like spot in the middle of the lake.
It looked exactly like the place where Kaiser took that photo with Dratini.
The little island in the lake was only about half the size of a Pokémon Center.
Natsume used psychokinesis to carry Honora over to the island.
The lake was very deep, and the Diglett could only look across from the shore.
"Mr. Natsume, look here."
Honora pointed at a large rock.
Natsume looked up and found the underside of the rock had been hollowed out into a rabbit-hole-sized burrow.
"Diglett—"
A little Diglett's cry drifted out from within.
"Found it, Mr. Natsume!"
Honora was thrilled.
"Dug—"
Another Diglett sound floated out.
Natsume blinked.
"Diglett—"
Yet another Diglett call followed.
Right after, the rock began to shake, and the thud of impacts came from inside.
It sounded like a fight.
"Mr. Natsume…"
Honora glanced at him hesitantly.
"Is the little Diglett fighting with the native Diglett here?"
Honora wondered aloud.
"I don't remember there being any record of Diglett in the Safari Zone."
Natsume was puzzled too.
A ghostly blue light flickered in his eyes, and he moved the rock aside with psychokinesis.
"Diglett?"
Sunlight shone beneath the rock, and a little Diglett squeezed its eyes shut, dazed.
Behind the little Diglett was a pile of Berries.
Natsume glanced over it and found they were about the same kinds he'd seen along the way.
"Diglett!"
Seeing Natsume and Honora, the little Diglett looked very happy.
Balancing two sweet Berries on its head, it came up to them.
"Diglett—" Eat this.
This one is tasty.
A telepathic link formed, and Natsume was taken aback.
The little Diglett was inviting them to eat Berries.
It was nothing like the bad reputation and unruly personality the Diglett colony had described.
"Thank you."
Natsume accepted the Berry.
The next second, the little Diglett snatched the sweet Berry from his hand.
"Diglett—"
It took two bites, pulled a face, dug a hole, and buried the sweet Berry.
"?"
Natsume and Honora looked at each other, full of doubt.
"Diglett—" That one's not good.
If you're going to eat one, eat this!
The little Diglett turned and balanced two green Berries on its head, then offered them to Natsume again.
Natsume could tell at a glance these two were sour Berries.
As soon as he accepted the sour Berries, the little Diglett suddenly let out a roar.
"Diglett!!!" Thieves!
Why are you stealing my Berries!
"Hm?"
Natsume froze for a beat, and the little Diglett was already charging them in a fury.
The little Diglett leapt, and at the same time, a claw gleaming with white light appeared, swiping toward Natsume.
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