Chapter 111: The Stalker
Scraggy was still the same Scraggy, but compared to when they first met, it looked a bit worse for wear.
It was dirty, and its molted skin "pants" had a few leaves stuck to them.
Scraggy held up its pants, and inside the fold, it cradled three or four berries.
They were yellow, looking like Sitrus Berries.
"Scraggy..."
Scraggy looked smug. Clutching its pants and the berries, it trotted up to Gyarados. Then it let go, and the berries fell to the ground.
Scraggy picked one up, wiped it on its pants, and offered it to Gyarados like a precious treasure.
"Scraggy..."
Kenji was starting to admire this Scraggy. It had actually managed to tail him all the way here.
But judging by Ninetales's unfazed expression, she probably knew Scraggy had been secretly following them the whole time.
Gyarados slowly lowered its body. Then, its face, larger than Scraggy's entire body, appeared right in front of Scraggy.
Its mouth was open, revealing sharp fangs directly facing Scraggy. Kenji had no doubt that Gyarados could swallow Scraggy whole in one bite.
"S-Scraggy..."
Scraggy gulped, forcing a smile, and offered the berry to Gyarados again.
"ROOOAR!!!—"
But the next instant, Gyarados's expression changed abruptly. It let out a roar, its face ferocious, looking like it was about to bite down.
"THUD!!—"
Scraggy was so scared it dropped the berry.
Gyarados slammed its tail down, sending a wave crashing over Scraggy, knocking it flat.
"Scraggy..."
Scraggy scrambled up. Under Gyarados's threatening gaze, it pulled up its pants and ran off again, disappearing into the tall grass.
...
The night sky was cloudless. Kenji sat by the campfire, resting his head on Arbok's body, with Beedrill sitting beside him. Together, they looked up at the stars.
In his past life on Earth, seeing stars at night had become a rarity.
In this life, every time Kenji looked up at the starry sky, he couldn't help but marvel at its beauty.
On the other side, Ninetales held Bellossom, and Bellossom held a berry, munching away happily.
These were the berries Scraggy had brought. Gyarados hadn't even spared them a glance, so the little Bellossom had picked them up and eaten them.
As for Pupitar, having nothing better to do, it was digging holes nearby with its head.
Kenji yawned. He wasn't sleepy, just bored.
"Hey, Ninetales. Use your psychic powers to check if that Scraggy has left yet," Kenji asked, tilting his head as a thought occurred to him.
Ninetales closed her eyes, then opened them a moment later and shook her head.
"Nope. Still hiding behind that bush over there. Should we chase it away?"
Ninetales tilted her head, asking for Kenji's opinion.
Kenji shook his head. "Forget it. If it wants to follow, let it follow. It doesn't mean us any harm anyway."
Kenji finished speaking, yawned again, and stood up.
"Alright, it's getting late. Time to sleep. For the night watch... Gyarados and Pupitar, you two take the first shift tonight, okay?"
Kenji's gaze swept over the three Pokémon that hadn't been out much during the day, finally settling on Gyarados and Pupitar.
"Roar..."
Gyarados nodded and gave a low growl of agreement.
Pupitar was still quite energetic and nodded as well.
"Pupitar..."
having arranged the night watch, Kenji recalled Arbok, Beedrill, and Bellossom.
When it was Ninetales's turn, she looked resistant. "I don't want to go into the Pokéball qwq"
"Then where will you sleep tonight? I only brought one tent," Kenji said helplessly.
...
The next day, Kenji opened his eyes as the sky was just beginning to brighten.
He glanced sideways and found that Ninetales, back in her original form, was already awake. She was sitting nearby, watching him with her mismatched eyes.
And what he was using as a pillow was none other than Ninetales's large, fluffy tail.
He had to admit, the tail was fluffy, soft, and warm. It was incredibly comfortable to sleep on.
Kenji pushed himself up. Ninetales withdrew her tail, tilting her head to examine it seriously, as if checking for drool or anything weird.
After checking and seemingly satisfied, Ninetales looked away.
Unzipping the tent, Kenji saw Gyarados still standing guard in the river.
And Pupitar was hovering in the air, diligently performing its guard duty.
"Time for breakfast." Kenji clapped his hands. After preparing breakfast for the Pokémon, he released the others from their Pokéballs.
"Scraggy..."
"Gulp..."
"Grrrrg..."
In the nearby grass, Scraggy lay prone behind a bush, staring at the High-grade Pokéblocks. It swallowed hard, and its stomach rumbled loudly in response.
Kenji subconsciously glanced over and met Scraggy's eyes.
"Zip!!—"
The moment their eyes met, Scraggy ducked its head back down.
Kenji sighed and continued rummaging through his backpack.
Just in case, he had brought some Pokéblocks for other types besides those needed by his own team.
He grabbed two handfuls of High-grade Fighting-type Pokéblocks, put them on a plate, and walked toward the bush where Scraggy was hiding.
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