After confirming that the Pokémon in front of him—one he had never actually seen in person before—was indeed Guzzlord, its features seemed to become clearer to Roy.
But for Lucario and Mimikyu, nothing had changed.
What changed was simply the mental image Roy's brain had automatically filled in based on his knowledge.
Now he could more clearly make out the two small horns on Guzzlord's head.
However, just like its eyes, those horns were barely noticeable compared to its enormous, gaping mouth.
The light provided by the Fire Punch in Lucario's paw seemed to irritate Guzzlord's eyes, causing it to involuntarily take a step backward.
"Royi..."
It...
Guzzlord's hoarse voice emerged from its mouth once again, echoing throughout the entire passage.
Roy also became more composed now that Guzzlord had revealed itself, replacing his initial fear and anxiety with a calm determination.
Guzzlord remained motionless, standing like a statue and blocking the entrance that Roy and his team had used to enter.
The sound of Murkrow flapping their wings behind them had quietly disappeared along with Guzzlord's voice just moments ago.
This made Roy even more certain that Guzzlord was likely the one who had been directing Murkrow and Sharpedo from behind the scenes all along!
Though Guzzlord didn't appear to have any immediate plans for its next move against Roy.
But when facing Guzzlord directly, Roy didn't dare let his guard down for even a second.
This was thanks to his Aura powers, which had been working diligently all this time.
Ever since Guzzlord's appearance, his Aura had been continuously transmitting waves of malice emanating from the creature.
Lucario was an Aura user as well, so naturally it hadn't relaxed its vigilance from the very beginning.
Even though one paw was maintaining the flame, its other paw was quietly positioned behind its back, continuously gathering energy.
It wanted to be fully prepared!
Mimikyu had been a wild Pokémon before joining Roy's team, so naturally it was well aware of the malicious intent among Pokémon.
At that moment, it was perched on Roy's shoulder, baring its hidden teeth at Guzzlord as if warning it to be careful—if it dared to make any sudden moves, Mimikyu would immediately rush forward and give it a thorough beating.
But Guzzlord seemed completely oblivious to this threat, or perhaps it simply didn't pay any attention to these two smaller creatures at all.
Seeing that this standoff wasn't getting them anywhere, Roy didn't know when Tapu Koko would sense that something was wrong and come to support them.
He couldn't just sit here and wait!
A more pressing concern was that Roy worried the passage might continue to lose oxygen due to Guzzlord's presence blocking the entrance.
If that was the case, then Roy was in a very dangerous situation right now.
Roy took a step forward, thinking to himself that he at least needed to find out what Guzzlord truly wanted.
"What do you want?"
"Maybe we can talk about this."
Lucario was puzzled when it heard Roy say this, but it still chose to wait silently alongside Roy for Guzzlord's answer.
Upon hearing Roy's words, Guzzlord gave what seemed to be a very difficult response.
For some reason, even though there should have been no way to see any expression on a face that was dominated by a mouth taking up two-thirds of it, Roy could clearly sense that the corners of Guzzlord's mouth were turning upward.
"Royi."
I want you.
As Guzzlord's words came out slowly, it extended one of its massive pincer-like hands and pointed directly at Roy's body.
[?]
"?"
Both Lucario and Roy expressed their confusion, but Mimikyu seemed to explode with sudden anger, its dislike for Guzzlord reaching a new peak.
Roy thought for a moment, realizing he still didn't quite understand the meaning behind Guzzlord's words.
Was there some difference between the Pokémon from Ultra Space and those from this world?
With this question in mind, Roy still tried his best to maintain his composure.
He also quietly reminded himself not to be fooled—even though Guzzlord and he could have such a peaceful dialogue, the high level of malicious intent practically screamed that it wanted to kill him.
Suddenly, Roy seemed to realize something.
Guzzlord appeared happy to be able to communicate with Pokémon or humans other than those Honchkrow and Murkrow idiots.
"Royi!"
Your heart! I want your heart!
Even though what Roy heard from Guzzlord sounded like something straight out of a dramatic soap opera when translated directly, Roy fully believed that Guzzlord might genuinely want his heart.
But it definitely meant physically...
"What do you want it for?"
"Royiroyi..."
To...
Guzzlord raised its seemingly flexible pincer hand and pointed in a specific direction outside the passage.
They had never explored this cave thoroughly before. Although the route had been straightforward this time, they had found it by accident in the darkness, so Roy couldn't immediately recall what Guzzlord was pointing toward.
"Who?"
But this time, Guzzlord stopped answering.
Instead, it looked quite flustered.
For some inexplicable reason, Roy felt a strange sense of understanding.
Otherwise, how could someone who was full of malicious intent toward him reveal so much information?
Oh, right—such people did exist.
They were usually described as villains who talked too much and sealed their own fate.
Thinking of this, a sense of pity for Guzzlord suddenly appeared in Roy's eyes.
'Buddy, you're in a bit of danger here.'
But Guzzlord didn't notice this at all. Instead, it seemed quite pleased to be able to communicate with other creatures.
"My heart isn't something I can just give you."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Roy clearly felt Guzzlord's expression suddenly become serious, and his entire body was suddenly covered in a chill.
Those two small eyes seemed to be staring directly at Roy.
Facing such a Guzzlord, Roy remained calm, or at least appeared calm on the surface.
"However, if you let us go, I might be able to find another solution for you."
Roy thought to himself—perhaps when they had kidnapped Caroline before, they had also needed a human heart?
Could any person's heart work for their purposes?
So now Guzzlord was saying it wanted his heart too.
But this question obviously couldn't be answered today.
After listening to Roy's words, Guzzlord shook its head with clear dissatisfaction and rejected Roy's proposed conditions.
That made sense, really—there was no need to waste time negotiating when it could simply take what it wanted by force.