"???"
Agumon was dumbfounded.
Now neither biting nor letting go seemed right. Agumon froze on the spot.
Qingliu finished his countdown just then and slowly withdrew his hand. With perfect nonchalance, he wiped the saliva off on Agumon as he spoke.
"The countdown's over. Since you didn't object, I'll take that as agreement."
"You're... cough, cough... cheating."
Agumon clutched his throat, coughing as he spoke.
"Whether it's cheating is a minor detail. What matters is that, if you consider me an important friend, you can't shoulder all the blame yourself. You should choose to face it together with your friend."
Qingliu patted Agumon's shoulder and said, "That's the most basic kind of trust between friends."
Hearing that, Agumon still wanted to say something.
Qingliu raised his hand, threatening to stick it into his mouth again, and Agumon immediately covered his mouth.
"All right, stop looking so down. It's time for grilled fish. Eat your fill so you'll have the energy to travel tomorrow."
[Friendship] 60 → 70 (Important friend)
Glancing at the change in the panel, Qingliu gave Agumon no time to react. He picked up the fish from the ground, tossed it to Agumon, and pushed him toward the fire.
Seeing Agumon's conflicted expression, as though he wanted to speak but couldn't find the words, Qingliu shook his head with a soft chuckle.
Just then, another notification flashed on the panel.
Qingliu immediately stopped and began scanning his surroundings for whatever had triggered the panel.
"Qingliu, what's wrong?"
"There's a Pokémon nearby," Qingliu said.
"What?"
Agumon instantly perked up, lowering his voice. "Is it the one that stole our grilled fish?"
"I'm not sure, but we'd better be careful. Over here."
Keeping an eye on the information on the panel, Qingliu turned slightly to face the direction of the newcomer.
Agumon also widened his big green eyes, staring warily in the direction Qingliu had indicated.
A shadow gradually appeared in the nearby forest, which had now fallen into complete darkness.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
The shadow slowly passed through the bushes and emerged from the forest.
Judging by its path, it seemed to be heading straight toward them.
Even if it wasn't the Pokémon that had stolen their grilled fish, it probably wasn't here with good intentions.
Agumon instantly tensed, flames slowly gathering in his mouth. At a single command from Qingliu, he would roast the intruder on the spot.
Qingliu placed a hand on his shoulder, signaling for him to stay calm.
The human and his companion watched quietly.
Only when the shadow left the shade of the forest and entered the clearing did its appearance gradually become clear in the moonlight.
It was a monkey-like Pokémon with purple fur covering most of its body, including its head, back, and tail, with cream-colored fur in only a few places.
But more eye-catching than its appearance was the tail growing from its rear, which was far longer than its body.
Strangest of all, the end of that tail wasn't bare. Instead, it had a huge, three-fingered palm, making it look as though it had an extra hand.
None of that mattered to Agumon, though. What he cared about was the object clutched in that hand-shaped tail-a grilled fish.
The intruder's identity was obvious: the fish thief!
In that case, there was nothing left to discuss.
Agumon stepped forward, flames blazing in his mouth as he prepared to compress them into a ball and attack.
Qingliu reached out and stopped Agumon.
"Wait."
Agumon looked at Qingliu in confusion.
"Don't rush. Let's see what happens first."
Qingliu spoke slowly as he studied the information on the panel that only he could see.
[Species] Aipom [Category] Long Tail Pokémon [Type] Normal [Ability] Skill Link (Multi-strike moves always hit the maximum number of times) [Level] 8 [Exclusive moves] None [Known moves] Scratch, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Astonish, Fake Out [Base stat total] 360 (HP 55, Attack 70, Defense 55, Special Attack 40, Special Defense 55, Speed 85) [Friendship] 10 (Thanks for the grilled fish, and thanks for nature's bounty) [Status] Healthy (Restrained) [Information summary] Described in ancient books as a peculiar Pokémon with only one hand, it can maintain its balance while traveling through the forest using only the strength of the hand on its tail. Over long ages of evolution, their tails have grown increasingly nimble, while their hands have become increasingly clumsy. Mischievous by nature, they enjoy pranks and teasing others. More than a hundred cases of them stealing travelers' belongings have been recorded, making them disliked by many travelers.
"Aipom... No wonder it could steal the grilled fish and get out of the panel's detection range so quickly."
Naturally, Qingliu had also noticed that the fish in its tail was the one stolen from him.
But logically, Aipom had no reason to return after stealing the fish. It could simply have eaten it and run off.
Yet it had doubled back, which puzzled Qingliu.
Only after he spotted a conspicuous green seed on top of Aipom's head, saw "Restrained" in its status field, and watched a second information panel pop up after Aipom's did Qingliu notice another figure in the shadows of the forest behind it.
It was a Pokémon whose head resembled a tree stump topped with a snow-covered conical hat. Its upper body was snowy white, while its lower half was dark brown.
Its thick arms and legs, combined with its barrel-shaped body, gave it a very solid appearance.
At the same time, lines of small blue text appeared before his eyes.
[Species] Snover [Category] Frost Tree Pokémon [Type] Grass, Ice [Ability] Snow Warning (Snow begins to fall when it enters battle) [Level] 13 [Exclusive moves] None [Known moves] Leer, Powder Snow, Leafage, Ice Shard, Leech Seed, Icy Wind [Base stat total] 334 (HP 60, Attack 62, Defense 50, Special Attack 62, Special Defense 60, Speed 40) [Friendship] 20 (Naturally friendly toward humans) [Status] Healthy [Information summary] A Pokémon that lives on mountains covered in deep snow. It absorbs nutrients by sinking its feet into the snow. When spring arrives, the excess nutrients it has absorbed turn into Berry-shaped ice pops around its waist. Naturally gentle and fond of humans, it will follow human footprints it finds in the snow to seek them out. Even when faced with disobedient children, it does not lose its temper.
Yet this Snover, classified as gentle by the panel, was standing behind Aipom with a very stern expression, urging it to do something.
Aipom fearfully glanced twice at Snover's thick arms waving in front of it. Finally, looking embarrassed, it approached Qingliu and Agumon, stopped two meters away, and stretched out its tail to offer back the stolen grilled fish.
Qingliu watched the scene with interest.
It looked very much like a parent bringing a child over to apologize after the child had done something wrong.
But that wasn't quite right either. The two Pokémon didn't seem to know each other. Rather, it looked more like Snover had imposed peace through overwhelming force.
After all, what parent brought a child to apologize tied up like a dumpling, while constantly waving huge fists over its head?
So, was this Snover stepping in to uphold justice?
Before you continue