~
"Mr. Qingyu, did you see something?"
Noticing that Qingyu had stopped, Carmine quickly turned back and looked in the direction of his gaze.
"Yeah, it seemed to be a Pokémon I've never seen before?"
Carmine and Kieran probably wouldn't understand if he mentioned Ogerpon outright, so Qingyu could only approach the subject indirectly.
(Ogerpon)
"A Pokémon you've never seen before?"
Carmine lowered her head in thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something.
"Mr. Qingyu, don't tell me you..."
"Ran into the ogre?"
"An ogre?!"
At those words, Lacey jumped in fright and huddled behind Nemona.
Caitlin reacted much the same way, though she wasn't nearly as obvious about it. She merely swallowed once before reaching out to grab the hem of Cynthia's clothes.
If anyone found out that a Psychic was afraid of monsters, wouldn't that be terribly embarrassing?
"If the ogre is a Pokémon, it must be pretty strong, right? I'd really love to see it!"
Compared with Lacey, Nemona was far calmer. She had even begun imagining having a battle with the "ogre."
"Yes, that's a legend passed down in Kitakami for over a hundred years."
Carmine nodded, surveying their surroundings as she continued recalling the details.
"They say that long ago, a terrifying ogre lived in the mountains behind the village and often scared people who ventured there."
"One day, the ogre suddenly flew into a terrible rage and came down the mountain, throwing the villagers into a panic. Fortunately, three Pokémon we call the 'Loyal Three' fought with everything they had and drove it back into the mountains."
"So our ancestors honored them as the heroes who saved the village and built what's now Loyalty Plaza to commemorate them forever."
"Even visitors to Kitakami must have seen plenty of souvenirs featuring the Loyal Three