Chapter 496: Hardcore Negotiation
"So, you see, when dealing with certain thuggish species, you have to be firm."
Arthur sheathed Doublade and calmly shared his wisdom on communicating with wild Pokémon with Skarner. The latter swallowed hard and gave a forced smile, replying that whatever the boss said was right.
Not many people could be firm with one of the Seven Chieftains. Even fewer would dare to do so in the stone city, the Krookodile's main stronghold. And Skarner, in all his years, had never seen anyone try it and actually succeed. It just goes to show, if you live long enough, you'll see all sorts of outrageous things.
"Krook, krook, kroo!"
After being kicked to his knees and having a sword held to his neck, the Krookodile Chieftain's shifty eyes finally stopped darting around. Even its roars had become noticeably gentler. It had all happened so fast, he hadn't even had time to summon his nearby subordinates. And that kick from Arthur had been so powerful, he had been kneeling for a long time before he could stand up.
The Chieftain was filled with a mixture of joy and apprehension. He was glad that this human was so capable; he might actually be able to help him find his kidnapped heir. But he was also worried that this human was too capable. Years ago, even the Nidoking Chieftain who had taken the neighboring oasis hadn't been able to make him kneel with a proper Fighting-type Double Kick.
That one kick had made the Krookodile Chieftain question his entire existence. Have I been underestimating the human species this whole time?
Fortunately, Arthur's question cut through his spiraling thoughts. "First, tell me about the Flygon. Then we'll talk about cooperating against the poaching ring."
The Krookodile Chieftain cautiously pushed the blade away from its neck with its claw. "Krook, krook."
Greninja translated: "He asks if there's any room for negotiation."
Arthur's hand twitched, and the blade began to glow with the light of an activated move. "Aren't we negotiating right now?"
The Krookodile Chieftain: "..."
Skarner almost burst out laughing. That was some hardcore negotiation.
Although there had been a few... minor... bumps in the road, the end result was a good one. The Krookodile Chieftain "readily" accepted Arthur's "negotiation."
"So, you're saying you don't actually know where she is right now?" But after getting the information, Arthur's expression once again turned dangerous.
Damn it. No wonder they're called Krookodile. This guy has no integrity at all.
In reality, the Krookodile had very limited information. It only knew of the Flygon's existence, that she occasionally came by to mooch a meal, and that she liked to travel south and west. That was it. And he had dared to use this as a bargaining chip. Truly, a shameless crocodile is an invincible one.
Arthur was so angry he wanted to kick him again. In the end, he could only console himself. "At least I've confirmed that she's in this desert."
With a sigh, he turned back to the Krookodile. "Alright, now tell me about the poaching ring. What else do you know? How did they kidnap your heir?"
They continued their intermittent conversation until evening. Because they needed a Pokémon to translate, the communication wasn't very efficient. Plus, the Chieftain had to summon other Krookodile and Krokorok to provide details, which took up a lot of time.
That night, Arthur and Skarner stayed in the stone house, and the Chieftain went to rest. Skarner was worried. "Are you really going to help this Krookodile go after that poaching ring? I have a bad feeling about this."
Arthur shrugged. "We've already clashed with them. Even if we don't go looking for them, there's no guarantee they won't come looking for revenge." The Krookodile in the city were, after all, feasting on the poachers' Pokémon.
Skarner sighed, at a loss for words. After a long pause, he brought up another topic. "What do you think these people are after? Is it really worth it to go to all this trouble to kidnap adult Pokémon?"
This was a question that had been bothering Arthur as well. The most valuable wild Pokémon were always the young ones, as they could still be captured and sold whole. Adult wild Pokémon rarely accepted being captured by humans, especially after being forcibly taken. This meant the poachers could only sell them for parts, which was far less profitable.
But according to the Krookodile Chieftain, although his kidnapped heir was young, it was still an adult Krookodile. And the poachers hadn't tried to kill it; they had just taken it. It was the same with the Sandslash; their goal seemed to be to capture it whole, not kill it. At least, not initially.
This didn't make sense. Arthur also wanted to know why.
The answer to that question was being discussed by the team that, after nightfall, had finally driven their vehicles out from behind the dune. "What do we do, Captain? Those two took the Seed into the stone city."
The captain took a deep breath. "The capture mission is a failure. Let's pull back and report to the cadre. We'll have to find another way."
One of the men was reluctant. "Are we just going to let this Seed go? And what about those two? They killed so many of our Pokémon. Aren't we going to get revenge?"
The captain's voice was cold. "We report back first. The cadre will decide. Don't worry, this isn't over. For the plan to succeed, not a single Seed can be left behind. We either capture them, or the next time we meet, we destroy them." His tone was chilling by the end.
Arthur had been right about one thing: these enemies held a grudge. They had no intention of letting this go. And Arthur had no idea just how obsessed they were with the Sandslash.
The next day, the Krookodile Chieftain came to inform Arthur that he wanted him to accompany him south to visit the Nidoking tribe, who occupied the largest oasis. According to Greninja's translation, the Nidoking tribe had also recently had an exceptionally talented young member kidnapped. The Chieftain wanted to go and ask for information and look for clues. It was clear he was very worried about his heir.
"Alright, let's go together," Arthur agreed.
The information the Krookodile had given him was that his little dragonfly liked to travel south and west. Heading south first seemed like a good idea. "We'll go pick up our companions first. They're still at the oasis in your territory."
"Krook." (Okay.)
Arthur and Skarner got in their vehicle and headed back to the oasis. The Krookodile, of course, ran alongside them; its massive, nearly ten-foot frame wouldn't fit in the car.
But what no one could have known was that shortly after they left, a Flygon, humming a tune as it swayed through the air, leisurely flew over the stone city.
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 35 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you