"What do you mean?"
A low, raspy syllable squeezed out of Zoroark's throat.
Its forelimbs bent slightly, claws digging deep into the cracked flagstone ground, crushing small pebbles into powder.
Ariel stood loosely, hands shoved in his pockets.
He didn't rush to answer Zoroark's question, instead quietly watching his opponent.
This was a Pokémon that had survived countless escapes and battles; its muscles were unnaturally stiff from extreme vigilance.
"Literally."
Ariel's voice drifted across the empty plaza, flat and toneless, yet possessing a strength that pierced the night.
"I agree with your mindset, and I agree with your methods."
The wind stopped.
The surroundings fell into a brief silence.
Ariel took a half-step forward.
His soles ground against the gravel, making a coarse sound.
This subtle noise was infinitely magnified in the stillness.
"To survive, you use everything you can. Breaking those hypocritical rules and seizing the initiative for yourself—there's no shame in that. In the wild, when facing life and death, sticking to morals is a dead end. You disguised yourself, you deceived, you used Charizard and Venusaur to create chaos—all of it was to stay alive. You did the right thing. We're very alike; we're the same kind of person."
Zoroark froze.
It had imagined countless reactions from humans after their masks of hypocrisy were torn away.
Roars of humiliated rage, loud denunciations of its baseness, or simply pulling out a Poké Ball to suppress it with force.
It had never expected this blunt attempt at recruitment.
"The same kind of person?"
It was a Pokémon hunted by humans and shunned by its own kind, surviving only in the cracks through illusions and disguises.
It had seen too many humans who spoke of benevolence and morality while dealing lethal blows behind one's back.
The human before it, however, casually grouped them together.
But Zoroark did not let down its guard because of this.
On the contrary!
Intuition was screaming warnings through Zoroark's nerves.
Danger!
Extreme danger!
This man stood casually, yet his entire being exuded the composure of someone in total control.
In the shadows, the presences of Greninja and Weavile had completely vanished.
Vanishing didn't mean they had left; it was proof of predators lurking with ultimate stealth.
In the shadows on the left side of the plaza, Greninja hung upside down from a steel beam.
Its breathing was perfectly synchronized with the rhythm of the night wind, and Water-type energy was compressed to the extreme in its palm without leaking a single ripple.
It was using Lock-On on Zoroark's limb joints, calculating the trajectory of its opponent's movements.
As long as the target showed any intent to flee, a Water Shuriken would sever its Achilles tendons.
Behind a low wall on the right, Weavile was prowling close to the ground.
Its sharp claws dug into the dirt, and Ice-type energy spread along the surface, freezing every inch of the ground on Zoroark's retreat path.
If the opponent stepped on it, it would lose its balance.
The coordination between these two Pokémon had reached a level of perfection; they were waiting for Ariel's command.
Zoroark was well aware of its current situation.
If it made the slightest move, or if Ariel gave the order, lethal attacks would strike from its blind spots.
Its muscles were tensed to the limit, ready to explode at any moment.
Ariel reached into his pocket.
Zoroark's fur bristled, and a warning growl issued from its throat.
Ariel withdrew his hand, holding a small object with a black metallic texture in his palm.
"A communicator."
Ariel flicked his finger.
The object traced a parabola through the air, hit the concrete ground, gave a Bounce or two, and rolled to Zoroark's feet.
"Press it, and you can contact me."
Ariel's voice drifted through the night,
"If you run into trouble, press it. I'll come handle it."
Zoroark didn't look down, its gaze locked firmly onto Ariel's hand.
It didn't dare distract itself for a second, fearing this was a trap to divert its attention.
"You can go," Ariel added,
"Today's matter ends here. I'll take over any subsequent trouble."
Why help me?
This question circled in Zoroark's mind.
Human kindness always came with a price tag.
It didn't believe in charity without reason.
It leaned down, a claw tip picking up the communicator.
The metal casing transmitted a chill into its palm.
No detonation device, no energy fluctuations—it was just an ordinary electronic product.
It gripped the communicator tightly.
Throw it away? Keep it? Throwing it away meant giving up a life-saving trump card.
Ultimately, the instinct for survival won out.
A strange noise came from the distant sky.
The airflow was forcibly torn apart, and the sound of broad wings flapping grew closer.
A ball of orange-red fire appeared beneath the clouds.
It was Charizard.
Each of its claws held a Poké Ball, the flame on its tail burned fiercely in the wind, and a heatwave swept over.
Below, a massive Venusaur was approaching the plaza with heavy steps. The ground vibrated slightly.
Zoroark took a half-step back, lowering its center of gravity.
It stared at Ariel and spat out a few words:
"Ariel? Right?"
"I'll remember this favor."
Ariel stood his ground, not blocking the way.
In the shadows, the subtle sound of flowing water and a freezing chill were brewing.
Greninja's Water Shuriken had already formed, the water spinning at high speed and cutting through the air with a faint hum.
Weavile's sharp claws rested against a tree trunk, a layer of thin frost forming on the bark.
With just one gesture from Ariel, the interception net would close in.
Ariel's fingers rubbed against the seam of his pants twice before finally relaxing.
Subduing a proud, suspicious, and extremely guarded Pokémon by force was a poor strategy.
Even if he beat it down today and forced it into a Poké Ball, he would only get a time bomb ready to backlash at any moment.
When camping in the wild or with one's back turned in battle, such a hidden danger was fatal.
He needed a capable helper, not an enemy he had to be constantly wary of.
You have to cast a long line to catch a big fish.
Zoroark moved extremely fast.
It caught the Poké Balls Charizard tossed from the air; with a flash of red light, the Charizard in the sky and the Venusaur on the ground were recalled into their balls.
It gave Ariel one last look, then turned and leaped onto a green plant tree by the road.
The branches shook violently, and a few leaves fluttered down.
With a few leaps, its figure completely vanished from sight.
Ariel let out a breath, his shoulders slumping.
After Zoroark's figure disappeared, only the sound of the wind remained in the plaza.
Malamar floated behind Ariel, its two soft tentacles resting on his back, sliding up and down as if smoothing his fur.
"Alright, stop that."
Ariel patted away Malamar's tentacles.
He fished a palm-sized black screen out of his space ring and pressed a side button.
The screen lit up with a cold glow, illuminating Ariel's face.
A miniature map appeared, and in the center, a conspicuous red dot was moving northwest at high speed.
That was the location of the communicator.
It wasn't just for communication; it also came with high-precision real-time positioning.
Ariel looked at the red dot on the screen.
The red dot moved very fast and even kept changing directions, showing Zoroark's strong anti-reconnaissance awareness.
"Runs pretty fast."
Ariel tapped the screen with his finger,
"Even knows how to take a detour. Unfortunately, technology changes lives."
Malamar extended a tentacle, pointing at the screen and then at Ariel, letting out a "gulu gulu" laugh that sounded like it was mocking Zoroark's futility.
Greninja walked over to Ariel, peeked at the screen, and licked its chin with its long tongue, a playful glint for its prey flashing in its eyes.
Weavile directly jumped onto Ariel's shoulder, its claws messing with his hair as it watched the red dot on the screen, letting out a sharp "hee hee" sound.
These three guys had followed Ariel for so long that they had already learned his style of doing things perfectly.
Being generous and releasing someone on the surface while planting a tracker behind their back—not only were they not surprised by such things, they even found it quite interesting.
Ariel stared at that red dot, his finger tapping the edge of the screen:
"Settled. Whenever I want to meet, I can find it anytime."
One person and three Pokémon stood in the cold wind of the small plaza, staring in unison at the red dot on the screen.
Birds of a feather.
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