Jiang Han suppressed these thoughts and was preparing to plan his next route when a crisp, high-pitched bird cry came from high above, piercing the silence of the sky.
He raised his head and squinted his eyes to look.
A Swellow!
Its body was sleek, its feathers shimmering with a blue-black luster under the sunlight, and its wings spread out like a small fighter jet as it dove toward him at an incredible speed.
Even more striking was the package tightly wrapped in waterproof tarp held within its powerful talons.
Jiang Han's brows rose slightly.
"Oh, Team Rockets' mission reward method has been upgraded; they even have Pokémon-exclusive delivery now."
He teased verbally, but his eyes turned playful.
He was all too familiar with this Swellow.
Back when he first arrived in Hoenn, on that wave chaser that had been robbed by pirates, hadn't Laic lent him this Swellow as a temporary mount?
Jiang Han clearly remembered its disdainful attitude when it dropped him off on the small island of Dewford Town.
It had raised its head proudly, not even bothering to give him a second glance, and with a flap of its wings as it left, it had splashed a face full of sand on him.
At that time, it looked down on him for being too weak.
The curve of Jiang Han's lips became more pronounced as a trace of mischievous fun quietly grew in his heart.
Times have changed. Am I still weak now?
With a thought, he said nothing and just calmly opened the three Poké Ball on his waist one by one.
In flashes of red light, the figures of Sandile, Inkay, and Sneasel appeared by his side.
Swellow circled in the air and Lock-On to Jiang Han's position.
As the distance closed, it also felt that the figure of the human on the ground was strangely familiar.
Black hair, that calm face... it remembered!
Wasn't this that frail Team Rockets rookie who needed it to carry him back then?
Seeing the half-smile on Jiang Han's face, an ominous premonition instantly gripped Swellow's heart.
It instinctively wanted to pull up and fly higher, but with a mission to complete, it could only brace itself and descend.
"Whoosh—"
Swellow landed steadily in front of Jiang Han, tossed the package from its talons onto the ground with a clean motion, pretended not to know him at all, and turned its head, preparing to spread its wings and fly away!
However, just as it was about to exert force, it felt a huge pull from its tail, and its body abruptly stalled.
It turned back in terror only to see the Sandile that had appeared out of nowhere, using its toothy maw to firmly Bite onto the two long tail feathers it was so proud of!
Swellow's feathers ruffled instantly, and it flapped its wings desperately, but no matter how hard it tried, it was as if it were clamped by iron pincers and couldn't move.
With a forceful swing from Sandile, Swellow was brought back down to the ground.
Just then, a large hand patted its back neither too lightly nor too heavily, and a faint voice sounded in its ear.
"Bird Bro, how have you been? What's going on, why are you still Level 22? How are you doing worse and worse?"
Swellow's body went completely stiff.
It turned its head mechanically and met Jiang Han's smiling eyes.
To be honest, Jiang Han's 'Bird Bro' gave it the creeps.
Glancing to the side, Sandile was grinning, revealing ghastly white teeth.
Sneasel had its arms crossed, its gaze icy, and its claws glinted in the sunlight.
Even the most harmless-looking Inkay was floating in mid-air, its luminous organs flashing on and off, emitting a heart-palpitating Psywave.
Three Pokémon, every one of them fierce and malevolent.
Swellow appeared calm on the surface, but inside it was already as panicked as a bird hit by an arrow.
It's... it's been so long, surely this person... doesn't still hold a grudge?
He wouldn't want these three Pokémon to give me a beating, would he?
Jiang Han ignored Swellow's inner monologue; he bent down to pick up the package, skillfully opened it, took out the two tm inside, and casually stored the items into his space ring.
After doing all this, he looked back at Swellow, naturally stretching out an arm to hook around Swellow's neck in an intimate posture like that of old friends.
"Bird Bro, let me ask you something. Are you heading back to Mauville City in a bit?"
Upon hearing this, Swellow shook its head like a pellet drum.
You must be joking; even if it were going, it had to say no now!
The smile on Jiang Han's face remained unchanged, but his tone sank a bit.
"Why don't you think about it again?"
Before he finished speaking, the Sneasel nearby slowly raised its right claw and gently, elegantly made a horizontal slitting gesture in front of its own neck.
The movement was small, but the threat was extremely strong.
The meaning was clear: if you don't go to Mauville City today, your throat will be slit... A chill ran from its tailbone straight to the top of its head, and almost all of Swellow's feathers stood on end.
It was startled into a shudder by this, and its survival instinct overrode everything else.
Swellow's head began to nod frantically with such vigor as if it were about to snap its neck.
"Is that so? Then what a coincidence!"
Jiang Han laughed loudly as if he had truly encountered a huge coincidence.
"Bird Bro, since we also happen to be going to Mauville City, could you give us a ride along the way?"
Swellow's eyes were full of resistance and humiliation, but under the cold stares of the three pokémon, it could only nod with extreme reluctance.
"How straightforward!"
Jiang Han patted its back heavily twice in satisfaction, then waved to his three Pokémon.
"Everyone, get on."
Sandile let go of its mouth and hopped up.
Sneasel and Inkay also followed nimbly.
Swellow looked at Jiang Han in shock, the meaning in its eyes clear: Aren't you going to put them back into their Poké Ball?!
Jiang Han understood its meaning and explained with a matter-of-fact look:
"Oh, they aren't used to staying in a Poké Ball; they like to get some fresh air outside. Bird Bro, you're so reasonable, you'll definitely understand, right?"
He emphasized the word "right" heavily.
What else could Swellow say?
It could only shed tears in its heart and nod in humiliation once more.
If it were given an Encore chance, it would definitely not provoke the fiend in front of it.
Thus, outside Granite Cave, a strange sight unfolded.
A man, accompanied by three Pokémon, all squeezed onto the back of a single Swellow.
With Jiang Han's command to "set off," Swellow let out a sorrowful cry, flapped its wings vigorously, kicked up a gust of wind, and wobbled into the sky.
Its flight posture was nowhere near as graceful as when it arrived; instead, it looked like an overloaded transport plane, with every flap of its wings appearing heavy and strained.
"Fly a bit higher and steadier, Bird Bro," Jiang Han sat at the very front, feeling the strong wind of the high altitude in a great mood, "I won't be responsible if we fall."
Swellow wanted to cry but had no tears; it could only fly upward with all its might, heading toward Mauville City to begin a humiliating journey.
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