Growlithe Guards the House

Entei soon arrived at Wang Yan's private residence with Yan Yang and Hawlucha.

After helping Entei purchase a whole pile of things, Wang Yan had also given him his address, saying that he could come here to find him if he ever needed help.

He had even assured him that he lived at this address alone.

Yan Yang looked around. Wang Yan's residence could be described as both luxurious and natural. It was located on the outskirts of the city, with a lush forest not far away.

They were currently in the backyard. It was a vast garden planted with all sorts of strange plants and Berries, along with a modest swimming pool. Since there were no fences, walls, or other barriers, it attracted many wild Pokémon to come and play.

There was also a small training ground here, clearly an ideal place for the owner and his Pokémon to train and play together.

The Pokémon were having a great time. Even when they saw strangers arrive, they did not scatter, as though they were used to unfamiliar Pokémon visiting often.

Entei sensed that Wang Yan was not home at the moment, so he went to wait in a corner.

Yan Yang also crouched down while holding Hawlucha and sat beside Entei. It was better not to run wild at someone else's place. This was not like the forest back home, where he could mess around however he liked. It would be bad if he trampled someone's flowers and plants.

Seeing that the three of them were sitting off to the side instead of joining in, the other Pokémon were displeased and came over one after another to invite Yan Yang and the others to play.

Yan Yang smiled and declined, though he still asked Hawlucha what he thought. Hawlucha said that he was already a mature Pokémon and no longer needed to play.

However, his restless body had already exposed his true thoughts. He was clearly just forcing himself to hold back.

When those Pokémon saw that Yan Yang and the others had no intention of playing, they gave up and went back to entertaining themselves.

However, one Squirtle seemed particularly interested in them. He leaped straight onto Yan Yang and asked question after question, a true social butterfly among Pokémon who did not treat the three of them like strangers at all.

After barely answering Squirtle's endless questions, Yan Yang wanted to learn more about Wang Yan, so he asked, "Do you know what kind of person the owner here is?"

Squirtle was still a little dazed. This human had actually taken the initiative to answer his questions. He seemed to understand what Squirtle was saying.

But upon hearing Yan Yang's question, Squirtle immediately shifted his attention and replied excitedly, "Squirtle, Squirtle! He's a really good person. Not only does he let us come in here to play, he gives us tasty food and treats injured Pokémon too. He's amazing!"

A Meowth with bandages wrapped around one of his feet nodded in agreement nearby.

Yan Yang thought, Mm, he really was a good person. No wonder Ho-Oh favored him.

Seeing how interested Yan Yang was, Squirtle continued, "Squirtle, Squirtle! But he has rules too. You're not allowed to damage the plants here however you want, and you can't fight here either. Otherwise, you'll be thrown out."

There had once been a Scyther who relied on his great strength to bully the Pokémon here all the time. He had even wanted to claim this place for himself. When that human found out, he ordered his Charizard to fire a Flamethrower and drove Scyther away. The way Scyther had fled in disgrace was pretty funny. All the Pokémon had felt incredibly satisfied.

Yan Yang understood, but did Wang Yan really not leave even a single Pokémon behind to guard such a huge backyard? Was he really that unconcerned?

Even if Pokémon were rather innocent and would not do anything, he should still guard against human thieves and the like. After all, there was not even a wall here. Since Entei could bring him straight in, other people could probably enter just as easily.

People that carefree were quite rare.

Perhaps seeing Yan Yang's confusion, Entei spoke. "It isn't that there are no Pokémon guarding the place. It's just that he is hiding and secretly watching us."

Yan Yang: "?"

Well, damn. So he had been hiding and watching them all along. Entei had not made any move, so that Pokémon probably did not mean them harm. Yan Yang would have to search carefully and find where he was hiding.

Yan Yang looked around and soon spotted an orange figure in a patch of grass.

When he moved a little closer, he saw that it was a Growlithe.

Seeing that he had been discovered, Growlithe stepped out on his own, walking out openly as though he owned the place. Well, he did own the place.

Growlithe lay down on a rock some distance away, his eyes still watching Yan Yang and the others warily.

His master had said that if a large Pokémon resembling Growlithe's evolved form came here in the future, he did not need to interfere. He was to wait for his master to return and not disturb them.

Yet Wang Yan had barely been gone for any time at all before they arrived. This...

Although he had his master's orders, Growlithe still wanted to observe them in secret. He wanted to see what kind of Pokémon his master knew. The result shocked him. That Pokémon was very strong. That aura was even stronger than his father, who worked as a police dog at the police station.

With strength like that, there was no way Growlithe could stop him if he forced his way in.

And there was that child. He was covered in that Pokémon's scent. Such a strong scent could only come from living with that Pokémon constantly. It seemed they had been telling the truth. This child really had been adopted by that Pokémon.

As for the eagle Pokémon, there was nothing unusual about him. He was an ordinary wild Pokémon.

Yan Yang looked at Growlithe and silently checked his information:

Growlithe (slightly wary)

Gender: Male

Type: Fire

Level: 25

Ability: Intimidate (lowers the opponent's Attack by one stage upon entering battle)

Item: Charcoal (increases the power of Fire-type moves)

Moves: Omitted

Status: Healthy, curious.

Evaluation: He can fearlessly confront opponents stronger and larger than himself. Brave and exceptionally loyal, he will risk his life for his master. He is one of humanity's most loyal and most worthwhile Pokémon companions.

Looking at the evaluation, Yan Yang felt that Growlithe truly deserved his reputation as a Pokémon known for loyalty. Still, this evaluation was unusually normal. That was not normal at all.

Yan Yang rather liked Growlithe. In the anime, his character had been portrayed so well that no one could say a bad word about him. James's Growlithe had left an especially deep impression.

Still, he preferred the cool and handsome Entei.

Who the hell said Entei was a little Arcanine? (╬◣д◢)

After receiving Entei's permission, Yan Yang gently approached Growlithe. Since Growlithe did not react too intensely, Yan Yang began petting him. Petting a dog really was satisfying.

Growlithe was fairly compliant. After all, the other party was only a child who had not yet grown up, so Growlithe did not find his behavior rude.

Besides, as a canine Pokémon extremely close to humans, he was especially polite toward children. Dogs liked kids, and Growlithe naturally had quite a favorable impression of Yan Yang.

"Hello, Growlithe. Nice to meet you."

"Woof! Likewise." Growlithe knew that Yan Yang could understand him, so he was naturally willing to talk with him.

"When will your Trainer return?"

"Woof, woof! He's busy with something right now, but he'll be back soon. If you're hungry, I can get you something to eat."

"No need, thank you."

Yan Yang returned to Entei's side. Hawlucha had already run off to play with some Pokémon nearby, and it was obvious that he was having a great time.

After everything Hawlucha had gone through, he must have still been carrying some emotional scars. Now that he was playing, he was surely feeling much better. There was no need to worry about his mental state anymore.

Who knew how much time had passed when Growlithe suddenly became excited, wagging his tail nonstop. Entei also stood up, letting Yan Yang know that the owner of the house had returned.