After Giovanni looked at the Pokémon, he had an 'of course' expression, "No wonder you were able to escape all the way from Fuchsia City to here."
After giving the Pokémon a simple treatment and getting them past the danger period, Sasaki replied to Giovanni:
"Don't even mention it. I really didn't expect the environment outside to be so harsh."
That wasn't quite right, so he added, "But I've gotten used to it now."
Seeing Giovanni building a treehouse, he became curious, "Are you building a treehouse?"
Giovanni replied without turning his head, "Yes, it's more convenient to rest at night this way."
Sasaki immediately moved closer to Giovanni, a desire to learn washing over him. "Teach me. If I had known how to do this when I came out, I wouldn't have ended up in this state."
This is human nature; only when the day of need truly arrives does the desire to learn appear.
Giovanni glanced at Sasaki, "Suit yourself."
Sasaki chuckled and imitated Giovanni's movements.
His practical skills weren't that strong; the treehouse he built was barely fit for living in.
It would be a struggle to even block out some wind and rain.
He also felt a bit embarrassed and smiled awkwardly at Giovanni, "It's fine, I can make do with resting here."
Giovanni sighed, "Forget it, there's no rush."
He then helped Sasaki build a simple treehouse.
Sasaki concentrated on learning by his side, muttering, "This is still a bit troublesome. When I get a chance, I'll teach a Pokémon a mystical power move, and everything will be much simpler."
Giovanni's brows furrowed into a 'well' shape. Although he also thought mystical power was more useful, at this moment, he really didn't want to hear Sasaki chattering in his ear.
"Shut up, or go live in the one you built."
As soon as Sasaki saw Giovanni getting angry, he immediately covered his mouth.
They only rested after the treehouse was built.
Of course, Sasaki inevitably asked Giovanni, "Aren't the Pokémon standing guard at night?"
Giovanni closed his eyes, "I have my own methods; you just rest easy."
After Sasaki heard Giovanni's even breathing, he slowly relaxed.
After all, Giovanni's strength was much greater than his. Since he said so, there was definitely no problem.
He was already very tired, and after feeling safe, he immediately fell into a deep sleep. This was probably the most peaceful sleep he'd had since running away from his marriage.
The night was deep, and only Haunter remained awake, observing its surroundings with wide eyes.
The next morning.
Giovanni's waking sound also woke Sasaki. He stretched, feeling much better, finally coming back to life.
Remembering his promise to Giovanni yesterday, he diligently said to Giovanni, "Do you have any ingredients? I'll prepare the necessary Pokémon food."
Giovanni had both ingredients and food.
However, with Sasaki's current appearance and his dirty hands, Giovanni wouldn't let him touch the food.
So Giovanni said, "No rush. According to the map, there should be a small river ahead. I'll take you to wash up first."
Sasaki, who hadn't washed up in a long time, immediately perked up. "That would be excellent!"
As someone from a large family, he was naturally very clean. His current appearance was simply due to circumstances.
Who likes to be dirty?
After walking for about an hour, they soon saw a wide river.
Just as Sasaki was about to jump in, Giovanni shouted at him, "You're really not afraid of death! Aren't you afraid the wild Pokémon in the river will eat you?"
Sasaki then realized that Giovanni didn't have any Water-type Pokémon to protect him.
So he released Blastoise, also letting Blastoise see the water and have Blastoise watch over this area for him.
A Senior Level Blastoise still had some imposing presence.
This river wasn't particularly large, and the Pokémon within weren't very strong.
So after Blastoise appeared, the nearby Pokémon immediately scattered, leaving the water clear.
Bang!
Water splashed as Sasaki jumped in. However, he was incredibly dirty; after just two rubs, the water around him turned black.
Even Blastoise somewhat disdainfully moved away from him.
Sasaki took off all his tattered clothes, revealing his emaciated, skeletal body, and gave Giovanni a bright smile.
"Giovanni, you should come down and wash too."
Giovanni was also a bit disgusted, but after Sasaki washed, Giovanni realized that his appearance was almost identical to James's.
Only his hair color was a lighter purple, and he had a wisp of hair on his forehead.
As for bathing, Giovanni sniffed himself and indeed noticed a new smell.
He also chose a spot far from Sasaki and took off his clothes.
His strong, sculpted physique made Sasaki exclaim in admiration.
"Your physique is unbeatable."
Giovanni felt a bit uncomfortable under Sasaki's intense gaze. After leaving on his underwear, he jumped directly into the small river and quickly washed up.
At the same time, he was also wary of Sasaki, in case the guy had ulterior motives.
Suddenly, Sasaki cried out, "Ouch, what was that!"
Giovanni turned his head to look, only to see splashes of water erupting in front of Sasaki. Before Blastoise could react and come over,
Sasaki embraced something with both hands, and from the water in front of him, he actually pulled out a lively Magikarp.
Slap! Slap!!
The Magikarp's tail repeatedly slapped Sasaki's face.
Under the sunlight, Giovanni realized that this Magikarp was actually golden.
A shiny Pokémon! A shiny Magikarp!
This was the first time Giovanni had seen a shiny Pokémon, but Giovanni wasn't particularly fond of Water-type Pokémon.
Seeing the dazed and foolish Magikarp about to escape, Giovanni immediately shouted at Sasaki, who hadn't reacted yet, "Don't let it get away!"
Spurred on by Giovanni, Sasaki got excited and let go of his hands.
The golden Magikarp took the opportunity to dive back into the water.
Seeing this, Giovanni's eyes widened, "It got away!"
It wasn't that he coveted this golden Magikarp, but rather that a shiny Pokémon had escaped. The feeling was incredibly frustrating.
"No!" To his surprise, Sasaki chuckled, and then the water surface exploded.
The guy actually kicked the golden Magikarp out of the water, and it landed with a splash on the shore.
The already dazed golden Magikarp was first a little confused, then its eyes widened, and it angrily used Splash!
Splash! Splash!
Sasaki, with his back to the golden Magikarp, grinned at Giovanni, "How's that? I didn't let it get away, did I?"
But what did Giovanni's and Blastoise's widened eyes mean?