"Wait! If you pass by me, you have to battle me! Let's battle!"
I immediately shook my head and cut him off. "Hold on! We're hungry right now, so we can't battle you!"
But he stubbornly set his jaw. "I don't care. Those are the rules. Anyone who passes in front of me has to battle me!"
"Ugh! There's no reasoning with you. But first, you have to take us out of Santalune Forest and back to the first city, Santalune City, and let Riolu and me eat our fill. Then we can battle you!"
For once, Riolu nodded along in agreement.
"Well..." The ninja suddenly looked troubled, turning the same color as Froakie. Actually, wasn't Froakie's face blue to begin with?
"Then... you have to battle me afterward!"
"No problem!" ...He must have a screw loose.
We bumped fists to seal the deal.
We passed through the path with the Shroomish again, twisting right and turning left, startling a few Fletchling into the sky. At last, we saw a glimmer of light and emerged from Santalune Forest. Following the winding trail, we returned to Santalune City.
As promised, he treated us to some fast food from a place like McDonald's and filled Riolu's bowl with Pokémon Food, too. This NPC had really helped me out!
"Thanks! Now we can battle you." Riolu nodded happily, too. We really were on the same wavelength when it came to getting free food and drinks!
"No big deal! Haha."
Though his smile seemed to be twitching a little...
After eating our fill, we began our first battle on the Pokémon battlefield in front of the Pokémon Center.
Since it was my first battle, of course I really wanted to win. I'd played plenty of Pokémon games, so surely there wouldn't be a problem!