In a clearing not far from Li Yuan's camp, a massive tree stood tall, its trunk thick enough for five people to link arms around.
Gardevoir had chosen this tree. Using her Psycho Cut, she had carved a hollow into the trunk ten meters above the ground. For the foreseeable future, this would be home for her and her daughter. She gathered dry grass and large leaves to make a bed, completing their simple shelter.
While it looked shabby to human eyes, for a wild Pokémon, this was a "luxury apartment." Many Pokémon couldn't even find shelter from the wind and rain. Gardevoir, having never lived in a city, was quite satisfied.
Her only worry was food. Just as Li Yuan predicted, she didn't know the distribution of berry trees in the area. Finding a rich resource point was difficult. The good spots were already claimed by powerful wild Pokémon, and as an outsider, taking a share would mean a fight.
Wild Pokémon tried to avoid combat because there were no Pokémon Centers in the wild. A serious injury could mean death. But for her daughter's survival, she was willing to risk it. With Teleport, she could always escape if the opponent was too strong.
The problem was, even though she was ready to fight, she couldn't find a suitable spot. All she found were scattered trees with a few unripe, sour berries.
It was better than starving, so she brought them back to her daughter. Watching Ralts bite into a berry and grimace at the sour taste broke Gardevoir's heart.
If they hadn't been captured by humans and dragged to this strange place, she wouldn't be worrying about food. Her old home was a paradise of resources where she was the local queen. Feeding her daughter had been easy. Now, she felt like a failure.
The thought made her furious. Damn humans. If I see them again, I'll destroy them!
Just as she thought this, a familiar yet unwanted human voice drifted up to her ears.
"Huanhuan, let's stop here for today. Find a good spot for the tent. We'll have lunch here." Li Yuan's voice rang out from below the tree. He intentionally raised his volume to ensure she heard him.
"Meow~ (This spot is fine. Good shade under the big tree,)" Huanhuan played along, bored.
"Alright, you set up the tent. I'll prep lunch." Li Yuan waved his hand, and a full set of furniture appeared out of thin air from his system storage.
Plates of steaming hot food and bowls of fragrant Energy Cubes were placed on the table. The rich aroma of the Cubes drifted upward on the wind, straight into the tree hollow ten meters above.
Ralts, who was just about to force herself to eat another sour berry, froze. Her little nose twitched. The smell was incredible—a thousand times better than anything her mother had ever found. Just sniffing it made her drool. (¯﹃¯)
Gardevoir immediately looked down, her guard up. Sure enough, it was the boy who claimed to have saved her yesterday.
While it was true he had saved her, she was disappointed in humanity and wouldn't feel gratitude. She was more concerned about why he was here. She had teleported miles away yesterday specifically to avoid him.
Is this a coincidence? Or is he hunting us?
Gardevoir didn't believe in coincidences. He was definitely after them. These humans are like ghosts, haunting us even in this desolate place. Do they want to drive us to death?
She knew they couldn't stay. Humans only brought disaster. They had to move immediately.
"Baby, pack up. We're leaving," Gardevoir turned back to grab her daughter.
But when she turned around, her anxious expression turned pale. Her daughter, who had been hiding behind her a moment ago, was gone.
Instead, she heard her daughter's voice coming from... below the tree?!!
Gardevoir looked down in horror. There, at the base of the tree, Ralts was already in the human's arms!
What is happening?! How did she get from behind me to his arms in a second?
Did she learn Teleport?
Ah... While Gardevoir was happy her daughter learned a life-saving move, she had never seen a Pokémon learn Teleport purely out of a desperate desire to appear in front of food!
That wasn't Teleporting to safety; that was Teleporting onto the dinner plate!
Gardevoir felt faint. Did you forget we were kidnapped yesterday? Did you learn 'Amnesia' too?
She took a deep breath. Calm down. She's just a child. She doesn't know the world is evil. I just need to educate her later. Right now, I need to get us out of this.
"Ralts! Ralts! (So much yummy food!)" Ralts had indeed teleported straight into Li Yuan's lap.
Even Li Yuan was stunned. He had planned a whole "eating show" with Huanhuan to lure her down. He didn't expect the loli to have zero resistance.
No wonder Hunter J caught her so easily. Did she just walk up to J and ask for candy?
But it didn't matter. The plan was working.
"Eh? Ralts, why are you here? Where is your mommy?" Li Yuan feigned surprise.
"Ralts! (Mommy is still in the house!)" Ralts, the innocent traitor, pointed straight up the tree, exposing her mother's hiding spot instantly.
Gardevoir, watching from above, nearly blacked out from rage. She almost fell out of the tree.
"Gardevoir! So you moved here! We were just about to eat. Do you want to join us?" Li Yuan looked up with a "pleasant surprise," waving at the Shiny Gardevoir.
Gardevoir didn't believe his act for a second. Even though her empathy sense detected no malice from him, she refused to trust a human again.
But she had been spotted, and her daughter was hostage in his arms. She couldn't stay up there.
To avoid raising suspicion, she nodded stiffly and floated down, intending to grab her daughter and run the moment she was close enough.