After playing to his heart's content, Yan Yang sat on a rock to rest. A gentle breeze blew across his face, bringing a touch of coolness and carrying away the sweat left on his body.
The sun shone warmly overhead, white clouds drifted by, and a few birds flew through the low sky.
Yan Yang lay on the rock, looking at the sky, when he suddenly seemed to see something falling from above.
"Ahhh!" A Pokémon with colorful feathers was falling. Yan Yang had not gotten a clear look at it, but he had already risen to his feet and caught it before it hit the ground. However, it was somewhat heavy, and he lost his footing, accidentally falling over as well.
Only after getting back up did Yan Yang see that the Pokémon in his arms was one that did not belong to the Johto Region—a Hawlucha.
This Hawlucha should not have been fully grown yet. Adult Hawlucha stood a full eighty centimeters tall and weighed over twenty kilograms, while this one was less than half that size and not especially heavy.
But why would a Pokémon from the Kalos Region be in Johto?
It was not impossible for Johto to have Hawlucha, since people and Pokémon could travel between regions. However, as far as he knew, this forest did not have this kind of Pokémon. Its residents were all native Johto Pokémon.
So where had this Hawlucha come from?
The Hawlucha in his arms had already regained consciousness. It quickly leaped out of Yan Yang's embrace, its eyes filled with vigilance and fear.
Yan Yang took the opportunity to check its condition:
Hawlucha (Alert) Gender: Male Type: Fighting, Flying Level: 35 Ability: Limber (Cannot become paralyzed) Item: None Moves: Omitted Status: Injured, extremely nervous and afraid. Evaluation: A battle-loving brute. Never let him encounter Mankey or Primeape, or a fight may break out easily.
At this level, it could not really be considered underage. Perhaps some other reason had caused its smaller build.
Seeing so many Pokémon around it watching, Hawlucha grew increasingly uneasy and prepared to attack Yan Yang.
"Don't be afraid. I don't mean any harm," Yan Yang said gently, making sure to look as harmless as possible.
Hawlucha froze for a moment, then shook its head to clear its mind and calm itself. Only then did he realize that this human seemed to have saved him. He withdrew his hostility, silently curled up, held his injured area, and wore an expression of strained endurance.
"Would you like me to treat it?" the human across from him asked.
Hawlucha did not reply. Still, his condition was not looking good. In order to recover quickly, he nodded.
With the Pokémon's permission, Yan Yang began treating Hawlucha's wounds. He was already quite skilled at this sort of thing. Whenever Pokémon got hurt while playing with his companions, he was always the one to help treat them.
Entei had introduced him to many plants and Berries in this forest. Combined with a little experience from his previous life and the Pokémon's powerful healing abilities, the results had always been fairly good.
There was no need to use Entei's Healing Sacred Fire. That would be overkill. It was generally only used on seriously injured Pokémon—except for Yan Yang, of course.
Hawlucha quietly watched Yan Yang tend to his wounds, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"All done. How does it feel?" Yan Yang asked after finishing. Hawlucha moved around slightly and found that it truly did not hurt as much as before.
"Much better. Thank you very much," Hawlucha said, his voice trembling slightly.
"You're welcome. It's enough that you're feeling better."
Hawlucha was somewhat surprised that the human before him could understand his words, but he quickly accepted it.
"Where did you come from? I don't think I've seen you before," Yan Yang asked once he saw Hawlucha was doing much better.
After a friendly conversation, Yan Yang learned the whole story.
This Hawlucha had originally been a wild Pokémon in Kalos. While resting, he had been captured by a group of humans and brought to this place, wherever it was.
Yan Yang knew it was probably the work of Pokémon Hunters. Like Team Rocket's trio in the anime, they captured rare or unusual Pokémon.
The difference was that Team Rocket's trio captured Pokémon to present to their boss, while these hunters captured Pokémon to trade with wealthy people.
It was truly infuriating. Yan Yang hated people like that. In a world where humans and Pokémon coexisted, what difference was there between trafficking Pokémon and trafficking children? In his eyes, such trafficking deserved severe punishment. They absolutely could not be let off.
Just imagine it. If you were a Pokémon, happily living at home, and one day you encountered a group of hateful humans who knocked you unconscious, then woke up in a dark cage with a pungent smell filling the air, would you not feel utterly desperate and terrified?
If those bad people had even a little conscience and wanted to keep you in your best condition for a deal with a customer, then perhaps it would be slightly better. At least it meant the buyer might want to treat the Pokémon well.
But if you encountered beasts among beasts, then it would be utterly miserable. Those beasts would never see Pokémon as Pokémon at all, only as tools for making money.
Hawlucha recalled what he had gone through:
He had curled up in a corner of the cage, his eyes filled with fear and confusion. His feathers were a mess, and his body had grown weak from going so long without battle or activity.
Near the cage lay several nearly empty food bowls. Other Pokémon around him made weak cries, as though they were comforting one another.
People would come in from time to time to check on them. Disobedient Pokémon would be whipped, and he himself had taken quite a few lashes.
He had finally managed to escape, only to discover that he had no idea where he was. He could only fly around aimlessly. He could not stop, because if he did, he might be captured and taken back. Yet the wounds from the whipping still ached faintly. In the end, he had been unable to fly any farther and had fallen from the sky...
He did not dare think about it anymore. Hawlucha shuddered. Yan Yang completely understood his state of mind, so he patted Hawlucha on the shoulder and softly comforted him. The other Pokémon also came over to console him and encourage him to pull himself together. Only after quite a while did he calm down again and thank Yan Yang and the Pokémon present.
Yan Yang asked, "Do you want to teach those bad people a lesson?"
Hawlucha's body trembled slightly, then he answered with great determination, "Very much! They must pay the price!"
He had suffered so much for no reason at all. How could he possibly swallow it in silence? He was a battle-loving, justice-filled Fighting-type Pokémon. He would never forgive what those bad people had done.
Besides, many Pokémon were still suffering in their hands. Now that he had an opportunity, he had to save them.
Yan Yang looked into his eyes and nodded. "Good. You've got courage!"
Then Yan Yang asked Hawlucha whether he still remembered where those villains' base was, how many people were there, and what the situation was like.
Although Hawlucha's memories were somewhat hazy, he still remembered the general details.
After learning the information, Yan Yang began considering a plan. In truth, there was not much to consider. If he told Entei, Entei could directly wipe out that nest of Pokémon Hunters. If Entei learned about this, he would surely be even angrier than Yan Yang. He might even kill those villains outright.
Yan Yang did not object to Entei hurting or even killing people. Those people deserved to die. What he feared was that it might bring retaliation from their associates or an investigation by officials, disrupting the peace of this quiet forest. That would truly be an undeserved disaster.
He was human himself, so he understood human thinking all too well. Human society might appear calm on the surface, but hidden currents still surged beneath it. He had to remain cautious, or he would not even know how he had been played to death.
He still needed to discuss this with Entei at length. After carefully thinking it over, Yan Yang said goodbye to his Pokémon companions and took Hawlucha home with him.
Before you continue