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In the grass beside the villa.
Incineroar sat on the ground, holding two tiny Meowths in its hands, covering their mouths to keep them quiet.
Li Xiang wasn't deaf—if they cried out this close, he'd definitely hear them.
"Don't make a sound. We're getting you food."
It lowered its voice and gently shook the two little ones.
The latter pair looked at it with big, adorable eyes, clearly not fully understanding what it was saying.
'Low intelligence is such a headache... Why isn't that Greninja back yet? How long does it take to get some food?'
Incineroar looked up and saw Greninja sneaking out of the house, holding some Moomoo Milk and a small can of food.
But...
Following behind it was a small, humanoid puppy less than eighty centimeters tall.
'Holy crap, why is that shorty out here?'
Incineroar's face darkened. It quickly glanced up at the bedroom and relaxed slightly upon seeing the lights were still off.
"What are you doing here!"
It glared at Riolu angrily, lowering its voice, "What if Li Xiang wakes up? And you! You can even bring someone along when getting food!"
The last comment was directed at Greninja.
"I, Greninja, need not explain my actions to anyone."
Greninja snorted and placed the food it was carrying on the ground. It certainly wouldn't admit it had been caught by Riolu!
The two Meowths saw the food and eagerly tried to run over, but they froze upon seeing Riolu, frantically backing away behind Incineroar.
"Save us! Save us!"
"It's the Evil Dog Gang! Help!"
They hid behind Incineroar, trembling, covering their ears with their paws and closing their eyes like two ostriches.
Riolu, who had just walked over and was about to say something, couldn't help but twitch its mouth at the sight of the two rabbit-like Meowths.
'Evil Dog Gang my foot! You're the evil ones! I'm Fighting-type!'
"What's going on?"
It was asking Incineroar.
"I'd like to know too. You should go back now. Li Xiang will look for you if he doesn't see you."
Incineroar shielded the two Meowths behind it. Though curious about this "dog gang" they mentioned, the priority was to get Riolu to leave.
"Heh..."
Riolu narrowed its eyes, a look of disdain never seen in Li Xiang's gaze appearing on its face as it curled the corner of its mouth. "Aren't you afraid I'll tell Li Xiang?"
Incineroar stiffened, furious. "You'd snitch!?"
"How can it be called snitching?"
Riolu played with its bone armor nonchalantly. "Things like this should be reported to Li Xiang. What right do you have to make decisions alone?"
"... You're saying all this just because you don't want to go back!"
Incineroar wasn't stupid; it saw right through Riolu's intention to stay and was just making excuses.
"Li Xiang is sleeping very deeply. He won't wake up until his biological clock tells him to."
Riolu ignored that comment and changed the subject.
Incineroar gave it a deep look.
"Alright, alright, they're so hungry they're meowing. What are you two arguing about?"
Greninja was speechless at Incineroar's short temper. This guy really could pick a fight with anyone.
Truly a Fire-type Pokémon.
Picking up the food from the ground, Greninja walked over to the Meowths, opened the can, and pushed it toward them.
The Meowths looked at Riolu fearfully, but the hunger in their bellies and the sweet smell of the food before them were hard to resist. They quickly lowered their heads and began eating.
They tried to eat as much as they could with every bite.
"Wow, they were really starving."
Greninja sat down. "Are we really going to find that Grumpig later? In the middle of the night?"
Riolu stood with its hands behind its back, leaning against a nearby tree, not intending to interject.
"Otherwise? Leave them here? Will you have time during the day tomorrow?"
Incineroar rolled its eyes, then added, "Don't always think about troubling Li Xiang! Can't we do anything without him?"
"That's easy to say..."
"One sentence: are you in or not? If not, go back to sleep!"
"... Fine, let's do it."
Greninja had nothing more to say.
Then, Riolu, leaning against the tree trunk, suddenly spoke. "You're really kind-hearted, aren't you? Wasting your own rest time on something that has nothing to do with you, something that might not even succeed. If..."
"So what?"
Incineroar glanced at it disdainfully, exhaling a small flame from its nostrils. "My rest time is mine to spend as I please. I'll do whatever I want; it's nobody else's business. Don't tell me what to do!"
"Heh."
Riolu chuckled and said no more.
After the two Meowths finished eating, the three Pokémon embarked on a brief journey to find their parents.
For Incineroar and the others, whose daily lives consisted only of training and battles, alternating between fighting and sleeping in a monotonous routine, this was a rare change.
Everything, was simply driven by curiosity and past boredom.
Of course, they didn't forget to ask the two Meowths about the Evil Dog Gang.
The answers they got were vague.
Things like "The Evil Dog Gang is the Evil Dog Gang," or "It (Riolu) is from the Evil Dog Gang!"
Who could understand that?
Communication difficulties were such a headache.
...
West of Mist City University.
That Yanma from earlier had given them directions.
It said something about seeing a red-roofed house, then continuing forward five hundred meters to find a large abandoned bus.
A Grumpig was inside.
They searched along the way and, just as the Yanma said, found a dilapidated bus without wheels or windows.
Outside the bus, a bonfire was burning. Several Centiskorch—red, belt-like centipedes—were gathered around a cluster of flames.
On the periphery were a few Illumise and Volbeat and a bunch of other miscellaneous Bug-type Pokémon.
"Who goes there! This is Boss Grumpig's turf—uh."
A Skorupi crawled out of the grass, waving its shiny pincers at Incineroar and the others, but upon seeing who they were, it promptly retreated back into the grass.
Over by the bonfire, commotion gradually erupted.
Some Pokémon were shouting toward the bus for the boss, saying some tough customers had arrived.
Incineroar couldn't help but feel weird, as if it were personally experiencing the world of gangster movies.
'What's next? Do I have to take down three streets to prove I'm the boss of this area?'
'Forget it. Don't cause trouble for Li Xiang.'
From inside the bus, a dark figure flashed and soon walked out.
—A black, bipedal pig with a large head and several dark gems on its body.
The Psychic-type Grumpig.
Upon seeing Incineroar and the others, it was startled at first, then calmed down.
"You... are students' Pokémon, right? Freshmen? Haven't seen you before."
Grumpig walked over to the bonfire, casually picked up a skewer of golden-brown roasted vegetables, and began munching on it, its demeanor slightly arrogant.
It seemed to be relying on its numbers to think Incineroar and the others wouldn't dare cause trouble.
Incineroar didn't mind its attitude. It set the two Meowths down from its shoulders. "A Volbeat told me you know about their origins."
Grumpig glanced at the two Meowths. "Oh? Is that so?"
"I need to find their parents."
Incineroar stated its purpose.
"But what does that have to do with me?" Grumpig sat on a rock, grinning. "I'm not a great philanthropist like you."
Its tone was somewhat sarcastic... enough to make one's blood boil.
Incineroar's expression gradually turned ferocious. It cracked its neck and knuckles. "No problem. It'll have something to do with you soon—"
"Sigh, brute."
Riolu sighed, interrupting Incineroar. It gave Incineroar a "calm down" look and said to Grumpig, "Just say what you want."
Incineroar looked very displeased but didn't say anything.
Though they often bickered—a habit learned from Li Xiang—their bond was actually very strong, and they trusted each other deeply.
Greninja, who had somehow appeared behind Grumpig, was a bit disappointed.
'What? No fighting?'
It had already prepared to capture the ringleader first.
Completely unaware it was only fifty centimeters away from being taken down, Grumpig smirked. "Straight to the point! I don't want much! Just get me a box of specialty food for Psychic-type Pokémon!"
Even if Grumpig's trainer was a cafeteria auntie, specialty food wasn't something Grumpig could just eat casually.
At most, it could occasionally eat the leftovers... but even the leftovers were incredibly delicious.
"You call that 'not much'!?"
Incineroar glared. Li Xiang had said good specialty food could sell for nearly a thousand bucks outside!
And that was just for one meal!
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. If there's no reward, sorry, can't help you." Grumpig shrugged humanely.
'Screw that, I'm gonna get that free lunch today!'
Incineroar was furious. At home, only the simple-minded one ate Psychic-type food, and that was specially made by Li Xiang with great effort. Want to eat it? Dream on!
"How about Pokéblocks?"
A soft voice sounded behind Grumpig.
Grumpig felt a tingling sensation run from the base of its tail all the way to its scalp. It turned around abruptly and saw Greninja with narrowed eyes.
"You! Don't just stand behind people like that!"
Grumpig, nearly scared out of its wits, yelled angrily.
"Oh. So, Pokéblocks or not? Salty flavor. I noticed you seem to like munching on salty veggies."
Greninja's "scarf" was like a four-dimensional pocket—it pulled out another small box of Pokéblocks.
Incineroar's expression turned awkward. 'Is this guy running a Pokéblock wholesale business?'
Riolu, on the other hand, breathed a slight sigh of relief. At least they didn't have to go back again.
Greninja was pretty reliable.
"Hmm... I suppose that'll do."
Even though drool was practically dripping, Grumpig tried to sound tough. "Seeing as you're so sincere, bring those two kittens over."
Riolu wanted to comply, but the Meowths were terrified of it. As soon as it reached out, they ran behind Incineroar again.
It could only glare helplessly.
"Heh heh heh." Incineroar let out a teasing, sly laugh and led the two Meowths forward.
Grumpig held the box of Pokéblocks in one hand, looked at the two Meowths before it, first examining the coins on their foreheads, then checking their paw pads.
"Ha, lucky guess. Got it right on the first try."
It said to the tall Incineroar, "They're cubs of the Iron Meowth Gang. Probably got chased by the aggressive Evil Dog Gang the other day, panicked, and accidentally wandered into the school."
Iron Meowth Gang? Evil Dog Gang?
'WTF!?'
Question marks flashed over the three Pokémon's heads.