"What? I disagree!"
The Perrserker, who had always been extremely magnanimous and amiable, suddenly turned into an irascible, stubborn old man.
"I won't allow it!"
It flatly rejected Lucario's request to take Galarian Meowth to Mist City University, looking as if there was no room for negotiation.
It even held onto the Galarian Meowth's paw, refusing to let it leave.
On the other side, Lucario felt a headache coming on. It hadn't expected that even though the Galarian Meowth itself had agreed, the obstacle would be its grandfather.
Then again, with the Galarian Meowth's state of being sometimes sharp and sometimes confused, who would dare let it run around everywhere?
It had been too hasty.
Lucario sighed. The invisible Greninja also silently felt a pang of sorrow.
Would it never get to eat such delicious food again?
It had already made plans: eat Li Xiang's cooking on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, eat Galarian Meowth's cooking on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and have both on Sundays.
But now... alas. Its fantasy was probably shattered.
Greninja took a berry out from its scarf, found a corner, and started munching on it.
In the distance, Incineroar was being groomed by three cats: one large and two small. The expression on its face was one of slight comfort.
Although it had repeatedly refused, their hospitality was simply too much to decline.
Besides, from the time it was small to now, aside from grooming itself, it had never once been groomed by others. Li Xiang only brushed its fur, never licked it.
It thought, since it was a rare experience, it would set aside thoughts of hierarchy and reluctantly agree.
Unexpectedly, it felt rather good?
Behind it, Absol and the two little Meowth were also enjoying the grooming, putting in plenty of effort, like attendants in a northeastern bathhouse.
But as they continued, the distant shouts from Perrserker caught their attention.
Incineroar turned its head and saw Lucario standing there looking rather embarrassed.
Opposite Lucario were the wary Perrserker and the seemingly dull Galarian Meowth.
"What's going on?"
Incineroar stopped the three dedicated groomers and stood up, walking over there.
"Incineroar..."
Perrserker saw Incineroar approaching and furrowed its brow. Honestly, unless necessary, it really didn't want to confront this big tiger.
For some reason, it always felt that this guy had become completely different from when it had seen him a month ago.
And this Lucario too.
They felt fundamentally different.
If not for the fact that their scents were the same, Perrserker would have suspected that both of them had been replaced.
This was one of the reasons Perrserker refused to let Galarian Meowth go with Lucario to Mist City University.
Even though it had already learned a fair amount about the trainer of these two from the earlier running incident.
...It would have to ask around more.
This kind of thing couldn't be taken lightly. Perrserker made up its mind. Meanwhile, Incineroar, after huddling with Lucario, also understood the situation.
"Huh? Recruiting a cook? Are you serious?"
Incineroar looked at Lucario with a very strange expression.
"How hard do you think Li Xiang works, training, practicing martial arts, and cooking? Don't you know?"
Lucario poked Incineroar's pectoral muscle and said in a low, frustrated tone, "Don't you want him to sleep a little more at night? To rest a little more?"
Wow. Just laying a big guilt trip right on him.
Incineroar scratched its red mane. "What are you talking about? Can it even make Pokémon food?"
The big tiger looked at the somewhat dazed Galarian Meowth with suspicion.
But as soon as it said that, the expression of the Galarian Meowth instantly became sharp, as if its dignity had been challenged.
"Just give me the ingredients and tools! I can make anything! Go ahead, place your order!"
The Galarian Meowth widened its eyes and shouted loudly, startling the surrounding Meowth.
"Yes, yes, Ah-dai can make anything."
Perrserker comforted the Galarian Meowth and said with dissatisfaction, "Can you not provoke it?"
Both the cat and dog were speechless. Who would have thought that one sentence could trigger such a strong reaction from this guy?
Could this guy really be faking it?
Incineroar looked at the Galarian Meowth suspiciously, but then remembered Lucario's words.
It then said bluntly: "I say, boss, just let it come for a visit. What's the worst that could happen? It's not like I'm going to eat it."
"It's too dangerous..."
"How could it be dangerous! Mist City University is full of surveillance cameras! I don't even dare to use the bushes for a bathroom break!"
Incineroar waved its paw. "How old do you think Ah-dai is? Is it still a child?"
"Five years old..."
"Wow, it's the same age as me!" Incineroar raised its eyebrows. As soon as it said this, quite a few of the surrounding Meowth were stunned.
Incineroar and Ah-dai are the same age???
Everyone compared their body sizes and their ways of speaking, falling into a long, deep silence.
In the distance, the young master Absol heard that Incineroar was only five years old, and its mind went blank.
I, I, I—I'm an old Tauros eating tender grass!
Even though it had only nibbled a little, that still counts as nibbling!
Absol was twenty years old this year, with outstanding talent and a promising future, but it had never found a suitable partner.
Recently, it had taken a liking to Incineroar. Since they were both in the Field Egg Group, it thought it was time to discuss the important matter of a lifetime commitment.
But then...
How can you be only five years old! If only you were a bit older, fifteen... ten would be fine too!
Absol's heart was in a mess, and the fur it had been grooming in its mouth suddenly felt a bit awkward.
If this got out, where would its authority as the young master be?
"Why are you all making that face? Lucario is also five years old. Greninja might be a little older. Is there a problem?"
Incineroar didn't understand why all these Meowth were staring at it in a daze.
Its exceptionally young age suddenly made its words more persuasive.
"They're both five years old, already adults. Can you protect it for its entire life? It has to go out sooner or later. Rather than being forced out later, it's better for us, who know it, to take it out willingly!"
Incineroar spoke loudly. Seeing that Perrserker was still hesitant, it immediately pounded its chest and said with conviction, "You can always trust Brother Incineroar!"
With the matter put this way, many of the other Meowth were already starting to waver.
What Incineroar said wasn't without reason. Even though some of them were still young, their professional lives only spanned a few decades.
Just looking at the elders made that clear.
When they got old, they could barely stand without falling asleep. How could they have the strength to protect the younger generation?
They could perhaps ask other companions for help, but those who weren't blood relatives wouldn't be as caring after all.
Incineroar smiled. It felt like it was about to succeed.
However....
"But, I'm not really willing to let it become a trainer's Pokémon."
Perrserker shook its head. "I understand your thoughts. You've taken a liking to its cooking skills. But Ah-dai's situation is very special. It's unrealistic to expect it to take care of you all."
A group of Pokémon with trainers wanted to coax a Pokémon without a trainer into their home.
That was an open secret, known to everyone.
Perrserker's experience wasn't vast, but it understood the talent and skill Ah-dai possessed in cooking.
The problem was that Galarian Meowth couldn't meet their needs. Most of the time, Galarian Meowth was a handful, requiring effort and attention to care for.
Otherwise, it could forget to eat, forget to sleep, forget where it was.
Perrserker didn't think a trainer would like such a troublesome Pokémon.
Those Pokémon all needed to be able to battle.
Incineroar and Lucario exchanged glances. Honestly, they hadn't learned much about Galarian Meowth's condition.
They didn't even understand why its mind became so clear when it came to cooking.
Incineroar, being more straightforward, simply asked.
Perrserker hesitated for a moment, then responded softly.
The Galarian Meowth's dullness was actually related to its brain. It also stemmed from a special condition.
— Divergent Attention.
When a creature wants to focus on doing something or looking at something, it concentrates its attention and locks onto the target.
However, Galarian Meowth was born without the instinct to focus its attention. Its attention was more diffuse and harder to concentrate than that of others.
This is why its behavior seemed rather dull. Whenever someone asked it a question, it looked like it couldn't understand or hadn't heard.
Fortunately, human society always had various solutions.
After examinations and data reviews, Galarian Meowth obtained methods for acquired concentration. It was also observed that its attention would also focus when it was emotionally agitated.
Ultimately, this led to the creation of a Galarian Meowth that was extremely sensitive when it came to cooking, sometimes clever and sometimes dull.
"There are things like that?"
Incineroar was very surprised. It was the first time it had heard of this "condition" where attention couldn't be focused.
"Yes."
Perrserker said helplessly, "The Total Concentration Method has a very short effective period. Cooking can help cultivate this ability. But I never expected that cooking itself would also consume attention."
Culinary skill requires hard work and sweat.
Galarian Meowth had limited energy. If it used all its attention for the day on cooking, it wouldn't have any left for daily life.
This completely went against Perrserker and the Dean's original intentions.
They had done this so that Galarian Meowth could live a normal life, but it turned out to be a a backfire.
They had to swallow their broken teeth along with their words.
Fortunately, during battles, because Galarian Meowth's emotions were heightened, its attention would increase, making its thoughts clearer.
At other times, unless something interested or stimulated it, there wasn't much improvement in its expression.
Incineroar and Lucario exchanged glances, feeling that Galarian Meowth was getting stranger and stranger.
However, if an ordinary cat didn't have this peculiarity, it probably couldn't achieve such a high level of skill in cooking.
Lucario's expression was hesitant.
As Perrserker said, its intention in recruiting Galarian Meowth was to help Li Xiang, not to give him more pressure and trivial matters.
If Galarian Meowth couldn't manage its own daily life and required others to take care of it, then it would be putting the cart before the horse.
Moreover, with its lack of focus, communicating with Li Xiang would also be difficult.
Lucario began to hesitate.
Seeing this, Perrserker breathed a small sigh of relief, thinking that indeed, not everyone was willing to take care of a burden like Ah-dai.
"What about just visiting? Nothing's been decided yet. Is visiting not allowed either?"
Incineroar's words interrupted its thoughts.
"What do you think yourself? Ah-dai, I know you can hear me. What's your choice?"
The big red tiger asked the Galarian Meowth, which wore a simple-minded expression, and then said to Perrserker, "It's already a big cat. I think it has the ability to make its own choices!"
"You..."
"I want to go!"
Just as Perrserker was about to say something, the firm voice of the Galarian Meowth came from beside it.
It turned its head and saw that the Galarian Meowth, which was usually simple and dull, was looking at it with a yearning and pleading gaze.
"I want to go!"
The Galarian Meowth repeated.
Perrserker was silent.
After a long while, it finally nodded and sighed, "Alright, go then. But you absolutely have to bring it back to me!"
Perrserker still didn't trust the trainer.
"Of course!"
Incineroar laughed heartily.