Growlithe stared blankly up at Steven.
"Woof!"
It still wanted to summon Heatran. As it happened, Steven needed a place for Aggron and Heatran to rest as well, so he turned to Palina.
"Could you take me somewhere I can rest for a while?" he asked.
"Of course. I've also been wanting to meet the tamer who pacified the Forest King," Palina said, nodding lightly.
She led Steven toward her encampment, with Growlithe trailing cautiously a short distance behind them.
"Palina, I wanted to ask—have you seen a Galaxy Team member around here?" Steven said.
Palina chuckled. "Yes, actually. I brought him back and tended to his injuries."
"To be honest, I ran into him right around here. Growlithe had wandered off into Heatran's territory again, and I came to fetch it back when I happened to come across him. Heatran seemed a bit off at the time, but since there was an injured man to look after, I brought him back with me first. The Galaxy Team already sent someone to collect him yesterday."
Steven nodded, relieved that the team member had made it back safely. Now he could turn his attention to training his Pokémon and continuing his search for the Relic.
"A couple of days ago, Captain Pearl told me about how you pacified the Forest King. I didn't expect to run into you so soon," Palina went on. "Ever since I arrived here, I haven't seen anyone brave enough to challenge Heatran. I certainly didn't expect you to tame it the moment you showed up."
In Hisui, those who commanded Pokémon in battle were known as tamers, and capturing a Pokémon was often called taming.
"I was really only looking for the missing team member. Running into Heatran was unexpected," Steven explained. "Its eyes had turned blood-red, so we ended up in a battle."
Palina's eyes widened. "You mean Heatran went berserk?"
"Don't worry, it's recovered now," Steven said. "But I do need somewhere I can treat it, along with the rest of my Pokémon."
"I understand. This way, then."
Palina led Steven to her dwelling, with the Growlithe still following silently behind, watching him the whole way.
Once there, Steven released all of his Pokémon. Growlithe caught sight of the badly injured Heatran and rushed forward anxiously, baring its teeth at Steven as if demanding to know what had happened.
Steven paid it no mind. He took out a Hyper Potion and some Sitrus Berry energy cubes to tend to Aggron, then sprayed Burn Heal over the patches where Lava Plume had scorched its hide—thankfully without leaving any lasting burns.
Heatran lifted one arm and pressed Growlithe down against the ground.
"Woof?"
Growlithe froze, staring up at Heatran in confusion. Heatran shook its head slowly and spoke to the pup in a low, serious tone.
"Eeyah..."
For a long time, Heatran had been holding back a wild, berserk power building inside it, and it had finally reached its limit. Steven had arrived and subdued it just before it lost control completely. That hadn't been his intention going in, but Heatran respected the strength he'd shown. When Steven expressed his wish to capture it, it hadn't resisted—otherwise, a single Poké Ball would never have been enough to hold it.
Heatran looked down at the Growlithe pinned beneath its paw. When will this little one grow to be as strong as its father?
Steven noticed that Growlithe had stopped glaring at him and no longer seemed on edge. He walked over to Heatran and began treating its wounds.
"Eeyah."
Heatran turned to watch him work, applying medicine with care. The sound carried real gratitude—thanks for having been pulled back from the edge before it lost itself entirely.
"You're welcome," Steven said with a light laugh, surprised to find such a gentle nature beneath Heatran's fearsome exterior.
Growlithe's eyes kept darting between Heatran and Steven. Palina watched the two of them getting along so easily, clearly taken aback. It was almost unheard of for anyone to communicate with Heatran like that—its strength alone put it near the level of a King, and its usual domineering presence was enough to keep most people at a distance. And that wasn't even counting the rest of Steven's Pokémon. Palina had never seen anyone who could earn the trust of so many at once.
Seeing that Growlithe had let its guard down, Steven pulled out a few more energy cubes and held them out. Growlithe glanced up at Heatran first, and only after Heatran gave a small nod did it lean in and take the cubes gently from his hand.
"Woof?!"
Its teeth sank into the soft, jelly-like cube, and the rich flavor spread through its mouth at once—it was the best thing Growlithe had ever tasted. It barked happily at Steven, tail wagging without pause.
"That was easy," Steven said with a muffled laugh, resting a hand on Growlithe's fluffy head and giving it a gentle scratch. It only confirmed what he already believed: every living thing loved good food. If something didn't work, it just meant the food wasn't good enough yet.
Palina looked on, stunned. Growlithe in the Hisui region were notoriously wary creatures, usually guarding their territory in pairs and keeping a careful distance from humans. Earning their trust normally took a great deal of time—Palina herself had spent months with this very Growlithe before it would let her so much as pet it. That long history was what let her understand it so well. She knew it still carried the weight of the previous Island King's death, so she'd never pushed it to take up that title itself. Because of that choice, she'd faced plenty of questions from the Pearl Clan. Pearl, worried about her, had taken to visiting Gunjo Coast more often than anyone else.
After a little more time spent with Growlithe, Steven stood and walked over to Palina.
"You really are something," Palina said as he approached, catching him off guard.
"Huh?" Steven blinked.
"That's the first time I've seen a Growlithe warm up to someone so quickly," Palina said with a laugh. "When Pearl told me about you, I wondered how the Galaxy Team ended up with such a strong tamer. Now I see it's not just your strength—you have a real gift for connecting with Pokémon."
Steven scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. If he weren't already a top Pokémon Coordinator, he might have considered teaching the people of Hisui how to make energy cubes himself. Without his usual tools, though, walking them through the method wasn't realistic. Cooking, on the other hand, was something he could manage. The seasonings available here weren't quite what he was used to, but there was enough to work with—a simple meal wouldn't be any trouble.
"This is just a kind of jelly," he said, "made from berries mixed with good milk. We call it an energy cube."
He handed a few more to Palina, along with a rundown of the ingredients. Whether the people of Hisui could recreate it themselves would be up to their own ingenuity.