Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
------------------
"You... get up first."
Incineroar looked at the Absol pressing down on him, feeling inexplicably shy. "Get up first, then we can talk."
Who would have thought that after not coming for a month, even this aloof character would have changed?
It turned its head to look at Lucario and saw the dog wearing a mischievous expression, clearly content to just watch from the sidelines.
On the other side, Absol nonchalantly moved aside. Pokémon that lived with humans for too long were so fussy. What was wrong with a little pounce? Grooming each other was a common occurrence. They were just making a big deal out of nothing.
"Why were you gone for so long?"
It licked its fur. Not having seen Incineroar for a long time, it couldn't help but feel a little excited.
"It has been quite a while."
Incineroar got up and dusted off the ash.
For others, only a month had passed, but for it, a full half a year had gone by.
In the distance, a blue-black figure dashed over, accompanied by booming laughter.
"I knew you would definitely come back!"
It was Luxray. This Pokémon, who had been Incineroar's guide, had always held high hopes for it.
When Incineroar failed to show up for so long, Luxray had been one of the most heartbroken. Surrounded by a group of Meowth and Purrloin, the cat and dog made their way inside the cat's nest and met with the fourth-generation leader, Perrserker. Greninja, as usual, remained invisible, bringing up the rear of the group.
Pokémon usually aren't as formal as humans, so after exchanging greetings, they got straight down to business.
After listening, the cat and dog frowned deeply.
"The retirement date has been set?"
Not having visited for a while, a lot had changed. The dean's retirement date had already been fixed.
"Yes, November of this year."
Perrserker nodded.
The cat and dog had previously thought the old dean still seemed quite robust, but in reality, the negative state of overwork had been present all along.
He truly couldn't keep going any longer.
And besides, he had to give others a chance, right? He had been in the position for decades.
"Then what about the new dean? His grandson?"
Lucario asked. The root of all the problems was the Savage Hounds Gang and Li Mingxuan. If they could solve one of the two, perhaps the other would collapse on its own.
"No, it's the other vice dean."
Perrserker shook its head. "He's far from qualified."
"Then..."
"There's a high chance it will be settled in the arena."
Perrserker said confidently. "Whoever can laugh last in the arena will be the winner."
Large-scale brawls and conflicts were something no one wanted to see. After the last incident, the Savage Hounds Gang had done a lot of trash-talking but hadn't actually made a single move.
So, no matter who took office, ninety percent of the time, the outcome of this matter would ultimately be decided in the arena.
And given the current state of the Savage Hounds Gang members, their advantage was really significant.
Aside from the mysterious Drifters from Mist Lake, no other group had as much high-level power as the Savage Hounds Gang.
They were inherently far inferior.
Coupled with the fact that the organizations were scattered and chaotic, it was far from a situation where multiple factions were locked in a stalemate with roughly equal power.
Some groups were even composed entirely of Pokémon who didn't want to join large organizations or be restrained. Their members basically slacked off every day and did absolutely nothing.
Yet they still collected the "salary" the Conservation Base gave them.
From that perspective, maybe the Savage Hounds Gang was doing a good thing?
Incineroar didn't want to dwell on that and asked, "Have the rules been set?"
"No, they'll probably have to wait for Zoroark to get out."
Perrserker shook its head.
Zoroark's release from confinement shouldn't be until around September, which wouldn't be long before the dean's retirement.
The cat and dog looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
They chatted for a while longer. The noise outside gradually grew more lively. Their reappearance had revitalized the cat's nest. Perrserker realized that having a couple more or fewer executives really did make a difference.
Especially an executive like Incineroar, who had a commanding presence and gave the Meowth a sense of security.
The young master Absol was strong enough, but it was taciturn and lacked a commanding presence. Although it could be a solid backing when necessary, its cool and aloof style was useless when morale needed a boost.
On the other hand, Pyroar, that big, simple fellow, had a certain majesty and could lift the Meowth's spirits.
"Well, in that case, we'll come back this evening."
Incineroar stood up to take its leave. The main purpose of the afternoon visit was to check if there had been any major developments.
But things were actually a little better than it had expected.
There was no need to stay any longer. It was better to go home early and practice its moves more. With the summer tournament approaching, they might even get a chance to compete.
At least, that's what Li Xiang had said.
Perrserker tried to persuade them to stay and play a while longer. Incineroar wanted to refuse, but Lucario stopped it.
Confused, but since Lucario had said so, Incineroar was about to go out and look around when it was blocked by two little Meowth who came running over.
They shouted "Brother Incineroar, Brother Incineroar" and ran all over it.
Oh dear. It really couldn't leave now.
Incineroar could only watch Lucario walk away while it had to play with these two little ones.
Along with... dealing with another big problem.
It glanced at Absol out of the corner of its eye. For some reason, this Pokémon, which it had once somewhat admired, was staring at it with a strange look.
From the beginning until now, it had barely taken its eyes off Incineroar. It made Incineroar's scalp tingle.
What was going on?
...….
Outside the cave.
Lucario looked around, searching for Galarian Meowth.
It was genuinely interested in this cat, including but not limited to its personality, its uniqueness, and its culinary skills.
Before, when Lucario and the others were leaving the arena, they had smelled a wonderful aroma.
They hadn't paid it much attention at the time. It wasn't until they were accompanying Li Xiang on his run that they realized it was this creature doing the cooking!
A cat that could cook!
And it seemed to be pretty good at it, too. At the very least, when Lucario smelled that aroma, it found it very enticing.
It had made its stomach growl.
Moreover, this creature's demeanor when cooking was clearly different from its usual self. It no longer had that dull, stupid look on its face.
Why?
Lucario's curiosity was immediately piqued.
It had come all this way; how could it not see and talk to this cat? Maybe even taste its cooking and get a glimpse into the reason for its behavior.
A moment later….
"There!"
Lucario spotted its target and immediately ran over.
Galarian Meowth was currently sitting under a tree with a lazy, dazed expression, being groomed by an adorable Liepard.
"Ah-dai, you need to learn how to groom yourself. You're so big already. Honestly."
The Liepard complained as she vigorously licked Galarian Meowth's fur.
At first glance, it looked like a mother fussing over her son.
Ah, grooming.
Lucario couldn't help but glance at its own smooth, short fur.
Lucario and Incineroar generally didn't spend much time grooming their fur because Li Xiang and professional breeders helped them with it.
So it had almost no idea what it felt like to groom or be groomed.
It looked pretty enjoyable?
Lucario stepped forward and said, "Ah-dai, do you remember me?"
Galarian Meowth looked up blankly, glanced at this somewhat unfamiliar creature in front of it, then twitched its nose and ignored it.
"How about another round? A battle?"
Lucario wasn't annoyed by being ignored and took the initiative to invite it.
After this evolution, its ability to sense aura had become much stronger.
Before, when it looked at Galarian Meowth, it only saw its aura, which, like its external appearance, was calm as still water. Only now did it notice the surging waves and whirlpools beneath that still water.
But was this creature deliberately pretending?
No.
Lucario knew that many things in the world could deceive a dog, but aura could not. The waves were hidden beneath the calm, which meant this creature's emotions were being suppressed.
It could be congenital or acquired.
Personally, Lucario thought it was congenital.
"Meow!"
Galarian Meowth pushed aside the Liepard who was grooming its head fur and slowly stood up.
This creature never seemed to refuse any challenge, even a "fairly matched" battle like this one.
"Ah-dai!"
The Liepard was pushed aside, feeling a little dissatisfied, but she understood that this was just his temperament. She turned to Lucario and shouted, "Hey! There's a first-come, first-served rule when it comes to stealing tomcats!"
As soon as she said this, Lucario was stunned for a full three seconds. A question mark appeared above its head.
"?"
Steal... a tomcat?
Squeak—
The skin under Lucario's black fur instantly flushed red. Being young, it hadn't even thought about that; it was merely curious about a special creature like Galarian Meowth.
Why did this Liepard think it had come to steal a tomcat? Besides, even though they were both in the Field Egg Group, this cat was still a cat!
"I'm not!"
Lucario retorted loudly. "Don't talk nonsense!"
With that, ignoring whatever reaction the Liepard might have, it directly went to find Galarian Meowth, who had walked off to the side.
This creature hadn't even paid attention to what they were saying; it was just looking for an open space to have a battle.
The battle between the two attracted quite a few cats. Meowth of all sizes surrounded them. Just like last time, most were cheering for Galarian Meowth.
However, how could Galarian Meowth possibly be a match for Lucario? In the past, maybe its lightning could have caused Lucario some trouble.
Now, it was even difficult to land a hit.
Its potential wasn't very high.
Lucario frowned and casually sent Galarian Meowth flying with a bone club.
A month had passed, and Galarian Meowth's strength hadn't improved much. Was this the gap between a Pokémon with a trainer and one without a trainer?
No, the growth of a Pokémon with a trainer couldn't change drastically in a month either… unless it evolved.
What a shame.
Galarian Meowth's battle talent was pretty good. Without saying anything overly dramatic like it was "born for battle," it was at least better than most Pokémon.
That much was obvious from the way it used its moves.
But relying only on itself, it would probably take more than a decade, or even several decades, to reach its current level.
That's a long way off.
"Hey, do you want to become stronger?"
As if possessed, Lucario asked the staggering Galarian Meowth, who had just gotten back on its feet.
In response, Galarian Meowth's claws shimmered with silver light, its eyes unreadable.
"Meow!"
Metal Claw!