In the trees, in the river, in the bushes—all sorts of Pokémon were curiously watching Victor and his group as they foraged for treasures.
Below is the complaint from a certain unnamed Pokémon:
"Coo, coocoo coo, coocoo coocoo coo..."
"That group is nothing but a bunch of thieves! Especially that little purple fatty! It barged into my home and just took my things..."
In response to this accusation, the little fatty's statement is as follows:
"Gengar."
"I 'borrowed' it with my own strength."
Victor was unaware of all this. Watching his Pokémon gather supplies, he was rather fond of the feeling, even if the process was a bit chaotic. It was similar to the "mountain gathering" lifestyle he had seen in his past life. A "forest gathering" lifestyle in the Pokémon world... wasn't half bad, was it?
However, he did remind Gengar and the others not to take everything, but to leave some behind.
Moderation was key.
After saying this, he walked over to a large fallen tree. He carefully observed the tree lying in front of him; it had clear teeth marks, likely gnawed down by some kind of Pokémon.
More importantly, the quality of the wood was quite good, suitable for making wood carvings.
"Say... if I take a fallen tree back with me, that doesn't count as illegal logging, right?"
Unsure, Victor decided to take out his phone and ask Officer Jenny.
After sending a picture and receiving a negative answer, Victor called Dali and the others over.
"Dali, can you and Sanli carry this tree back?"
Dali walked over, sized up the tree, and then nodded affirmatively.
"That's great. Sorry to trouble you. When we get it back, I'll make some small toys for you," Victor said with a smile.
Hearing this, Dali once again gave a thumbs-up.
"Machoke."
Just as the two Machoke were about to lift the large tree, Victor heard a faint sound.
"Bzz~ bzzbzzbzz~"
Victor held up a finger, signaling for quiet. He listened carefully and saw several yellow figures darting through the forest not far away.
"Is that... a Combee?"
Looking at the Pokémon, which resembled three hexagonal honeycombs each with a single wing, Victor recognized it at once.
However, a whole swarm of other Combee was chasing them. The pursuit only stopped when a queen-like Pokémon appeared, and the chasing swarm turned back.
Only the queen bee Pokémon and a few Combee remained, hovering in the air.
[Vespiquen]
[Gender: Female]
[Type: Bug, Flying]
[Ability: Pressure]
[Known Moves: Slash, Sweet Scent, Bug Resistance, Poison Sting, Venoshock, Toxic, Air Cutter, Confuse Ray, Roost, Aromatic Mist, Attack Order, Defend Order]
[Mood: Dejected]
[Status: Lost and confused]
[Friendship: 0 (You are strangers)]
[Introduction: Possesses great strength. As the second Vespiquen in the swarm, she was exiled from her original colony.]
[Combee]
[Gender: Male (3) Female (1)]
[Type: Bug, Flying]
[Ability: Honey Gather]
[Known Moves: Gust, Sweet Scent, Bug Bite, Bug Resistance]
[Mood: Dejected]
[Status: Loyal!]
[Friendship: 0 (You are strangers)]
[Introduction: Exiled from the swarm along with their Vespiquen. They are loyal to her.]
[You will always be our queen. —The Combee]
Seeing the Vespiquen's introduction, Victor was shocked. The moves this Vespiquen knew were incredibly powerful.
A swarm couldn't tolerate a second queen. It was likely her formidable strength that had made the original queen wary, leading to her exile.
Victor couldn't quite figure it out, but he quickly stopped thinking about it. Since the status window showed she was in a state of confusion, he instantly came up with a plan that would benefit everyone.
He turned to Gengar and the others. "Do you guys like to eat honey?"
At these words, the eyes of Gengar and the Machoke instantly lit up.
Gengar, in particular, started drooling all over the ground.
"Here's the plan," Victor said. "First, I'll go out and talk to them, negotiate some terms. If the talks go well, then everything's fine. If they don't, Gengar, you put them all to sleep, and then we'll take them home."
Hearing the plan, Dali scratched the back of its head.
"Machoke?"
"Is that really okay?"
"We call this 'diplomacy first, force later.' We're persuading the Pokémon with reason."
"Catching" them also counted as persuasion.
Victor patted its shoulder, reassuring it.
After all, Victor knew they were lost and had nowhere to go. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered them.
Victor nodded at the Machoke, then turned to Gengar.
He saw that its eyes were already glowing with a purple light, ready for action.
"Gengar."
"You might as well just surrender."
This guy is becoming more and more of a little tyrant, Victor thought with a helpless shake of his head. He then walked up to the Vespiquen.
"I know of a place with a beautiful environment. Would you like to consider it?" Victor said with a smile, getting straight to the point.
"Ves?"
Seeing Victor appear, the Vespiquen became alert, a white light glowing from its two hands.
"Lili..." The Petilil in Victor's arms grew scared, sensing the Vespiquen's hostility.
Victor patted the Petilil's head to reassure it, then continued speaking to the Vespiquen:
"Since you're lost and don't know where to go, why not come stay at our place for a while? It's much safer than here. You can leave whenever you figure things out. How about it?"
The Vespiquen's eyes still glowed red as it stared at Victor.
Seeing its expression, Victor swallowed nervously.
Did the negotiations fail? Damn it...
Just as the atmosphere between the two sides grew stranger and a conflict seemed imminent, a soft, sweet voice reached their ears.
"Li... Lili..."
"Our place... is... is really fun..."
The Vespiquen looked down at the Petilil in Victor's arms but remained silent.
Terrified, the Petilil burrowed deeper into Victor's embrace.
Victor held the Petilil protectively, preparing to signal Gengar to make a move. His hand started to reach for the Poké Ball in his pocket.
Just as he was about to give the signal, the Vespiquen nodded.
"Ves."
The tense, smoke-filled atmosphere collapsed in an instant, replaced by one of harmony.
Victor's face broke into a warm smile again. "You can come back with us and see the place first. If you're not satisfied, we can talk again."
The Vespiquen nodded, flew over to its few Combee, and began to explain the situation to them.
Watching the Vespiquen lead the Combee over, Victor patted the Petilil's head.
"This was all thanks to you, Petilil."
Hearing Victor praise it, the Petilil's face instantly turned red, and it let out a couple of happy cries.
"Lili, lili."
Dali and Sanli squatted down and lifted the large tree. Victor praised them as well.
Then, Victor took the lead, heading out of the forest and back towards the Breeding House.
Beside him, Gengar happily floated along with the basket on its back. Dali and Sanli followed behind, carrying the large tree, and the Vespiquen and its Combee brought up the rear.
From a hidden spot behind Victor, a pair of crimson eyes watched their departing figures.
Gengar turned its head, puzzled, but saw nothing.
"Gengar?"
"Why do I feel like someone's watching me?"
Gengar was confused. Gengar scratched its head. Gengar couldn't reach.
"What's wrong, Gengar?" Victor asked, looking in the direction Gengar was staring, but he didn't see anything either.
Gengar shook its head and continued towards the Breeding House with the basket on its back.
In the hidden spot, a fox-like Pokémon that had been sitting there stood up and departed into the distance.
Back at the Breeding House, after directing Dali and the others to put the tree down, Victor took the Vespiquen and its followers to choose a spot.
The Vespiquen flew around the small forest area in the yard and finally chose a section near the lake.
Victor nodded. "This is a Breeding House, so we might have other Pokémon boarding here in the future. I'll tell them not to bother you beforehand. If you see any of the Breeding House's Pokémon, don't worry, you can just ignore them."
The Vespiquen stared at Victor and nodded.
Seeing it agree, Victor continued, "If it's possible, when you make honey, could you share a little with me? Just a little is fine, not too much."
Victor gave it a super-friendly, wide smile. The Gengar beside him also put on a super-"friendly" wide smile, full of anticipation.
The Vespiquen stared intently at Victor and Gengar, then glanced at the Petilil in his arms. It finally nodded, then turned to leave, but Victor called out to it.
It turned back around and saw Victor and Gengar struggling.
"Gengar Σ(・Д・」)」"
"My food...!"
Victor sighed in amusement at the sight of Gengar squatting in a corner, drawing circles on the ground, all because he had taken some berries from the basket that the Vespiquen might like.
"Gengar, they have to work hard to make that honey. We can't just take it for free."
Gengar looked up at him, silent.
"Go on then..." Victor closed his eyes in resignation. Hearing this, Gengar happily launched itself at Victor with its large, crimson tongue.
After pushing Gengar away, Victor wiped the saliva from his face and handed some sweet-tasting berries to the Vespiquen.
The Vespiquen, having witnessed the whole exchange, calmly accepted the berries and then turned to leave.
The frequency of its wingbeats was much more cheerful.