"Garde."
Gardevoir turned and smiled gently at Absol, as if affirming Infernape's words.
Seeing how friendly everyone was, Absol rubbed his eyes with his paws in disbelief.
Were these really the humans and Pokémon who had always regarded him as a disaster and an ill omen?
Why weren't Infernape, Gardevoir, and the others afraid of him?
"Come on, let's go."
Ye Qing took in every change in Absol's expression, waved his hand, and led everyone toward Shuidi City.
The closer they got to the city, the more Trainers they saw along the road.
"Gardevoir. I'm so jealous."
Looking at the shiny Gardevoir beside Ye Qing, some passersby grew more envious the longer they looked, wishing they could put black stockings on her long, slender legs.
"Absol?"
A passing Trainer suddenly noticed the snow-white Pokémon in the middle of the group and froze in fright.
Absol turned to glance at him, scaring the young man out of his wits on the spot.
As he fled, he shouted, "Mom, save me! I've been tainted! That thing saw me!"
Seeing his disgraceful behavior, Ye Qing really couldn't understand how this guy had become a Trainer.
He could let it slide when older people who had never received a systematic education didn't understand Absol, but how could a Trainer believe in this kind of superstition too?
As they entered the city, there were more and more pedestrians on the streets.
Most were idle older people in their fifties, who initially only dared to point and whisper from a distance.
Once a few more people gathered, they began closing in on Ye Qing.
Every one of them radiated hostility.
Faced with those unfriendly gazes, Absol lowered his head and recalled his past experiences, feeling an urge to flee this place quickly.
"Infer."
The accusations around