Beneath a towering tree sat a large platter piled high with fruits of every color. From the forest, a Rhydon lumbered out. Its eyes lit up at once, and it strode toward the tree.
With both arms it grabbed the basin-sized platter, tilted its head back, and dumped the entire plate of fruit straight into its mouth. An amount that would feed an ordinary person for two weeks was devoured by the massive creature in three seconds flat.
Crunch, crunch…
Rhydon ate with obvious delight. Juice streamed down as its bell-sized eyes curved in satisfaction. The furious aura it had shown the day before — when the Rainbow Orb vanished and it had wanted to destroy everything in sight — was completely gone.
"Weavile, is this steak tasty?"
"Wea~ vile~…"
At that moment, a rustling murmur caught Rhydon's attention. It was the first time it had ever heard such a language. Along with the voices, an unfamiliar fragrance drifted continuously from beyond the bushes.
Rhydon set down the empty platter. Its silver-white horned snout twitched nonstop, sniffing the air. Rising to its feet, it closed its eyes and simply followed the scent toward the shrubs.
Carefully, Rhydon parted the bushes and poked its head through to peek.
On the other side, three strange creatures were gathered together, eating some kind of incredibly fragrant meat…
Kael bit into his steak, but inwardly he remained tense. He could already sense that the gigantic Rhydon was hiding in the bushes behind them. Those shattered-gold pupils were locked firmly on them.
"Lulu, the moment that Rhydon shows any sign of attacking, use Teleport and take me out of here immediately," Kael communicated silently in his mind.
"Understood," the little girl nodded lightly.
As for Manyula, the Dark-type energy within her body interfered with Teleport, so Lulu couldn't bring her along in a blink. Fortunately, with Weavile's speed, escaping wouldn't be a problem.
Rhydon showed no sign of aggression. Nor did it assume that Kael and the others were the thieves who had stolen its treasure. A human — or a clever Pokémon — might easily suspect these sudden strangers. But Rhydon's mind was far simpler.
It continued hiding behind the bushes, observing quietly. After a while, the rich aroma of steak proved too much. Drool streamed from its mouth.
Finally, the big fellow stopped hiding. It shoved aside the bushes and strode over. When it was still four or five meters from Kael, it suddenly plopped down on the grass with a heavy thud, blades scattering everywhere.
"Roar! Roar!"
Rhydon opened its mouth and let out several low calls. Its golden eyes fixed longingly on the steak sizzling in the pan.
Kael cast a sideways glance. Seeing no hostility, he let out a quiet breath — though he didn't drop his guard. Yesterday's rampage was still fresh in memory. The simpler the mind, the harder it was to predict.
"Lulu, what's it saying?" Kael asked curiously.
"The big one says… can it join us? It really wants to eat that fragrant meat."
Using telepathy, Lulu translated Rhydon's meaning directly into Kael's mind.
"Phew." Kael finally relaxed. His guess had been right — this giant Rhydon's thoughts were indeed simple and childlike.
If it had barged in and tried to snatch the steak by force, Kael would've fled immediately and never tangled with it again. Their fated encounter would have ended there.
"Tell it," Kael said softly, "we're happy to let it eat with us — but it must not attack us."
Lulu nodded and floated over with her psychic power. Though her expression appeared calm, her heart was pounding. She kept Teleport ready at any second. Even sitting there peacefully, such an enormous Rhydon was an immense pressure.
"Big guy," Lulu's ethereal voice echoed in Rhydon's mind, "Master says you can join us for food. But you mustn't bully us or grab the food."
Rhydon blinked, startled, then realized the tiny one before it was speaking inside its head.
"Roar! Roar!"
It thumped its chest and nodded vigorously. "I won't bully you. After eating your food, I'll go to the sea and catch fish to repay you…"
Lulu translated the response.
Hearing that, Kael couldn't help but chuckle. This big fellow was adorably foolish — he even knew to repay others after eating their food.
Kael sat cross-legged beside Rhydon and handed him a plate of freshly fried steak with a smile.
"Big guy, how long have you lived here?"
With Lulu acting as a flawless telepathic translator, communication flowed without barriers.
"Roar!"
Lulu translated: "Since I was little. I've always lived here."
"Do you have friends?"
"What are friends?"
"Friends are companions — ones who stay with you, play with you, explore other places together…"
"Oh! Then I don't have any. I've always played by myself."
"Would you like to be friends with me?" Kael asked. "I can take you away from here — let you see the outside world."
"The outside world?" Rhydon paused mid-bite, eyes shining. "Is it fun?"
"Of course it is," Kael replied with a grin. "You'll even meet many others who look like you — just a bit smaller."
"No!" Rhydon shook its large head. "My treasure is missing. I have to find it first. But we can still be friends. I'll take you fishing."
"Uh…" Kael awkwardly cut himself off.
If this big fellow ever learned that the culprit behind its missing treasure was the very human sitting in front of it, who knew how it would react?
Truthfully, deceiving such a simple, innocent creature left Kael with a trace of guilt.
But what was done was done.
The only choice now was to see it through. There was always a solution if one thought hard enough.
Kael had already begun devising a small scheme — one that would help this giant Rhydon resolve the knot in its heart caused by the disappearance of its treasured orb.
***************************
Read advanced chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.
P@treon/GodDragcell