Whatever Ralts had smeared onto her head was incredibly difficult to wash off.
Florges spent a long time scrubbing and cleaning before she finally managed to remove every trace of the green liquid.
Afterward, she carried Ralts over to Charizard and had him gently dry her with warm air.
The little one had received the full treatment.
Once everything was finished, Chen Shi picked Ralts up and seated her on his other shoulder.
Ever since Mew had stayed behind in the original timeline, Chen Shi had felt strangely uncomfortable without something perched on one side of his shoulders.
Now that Ralts had joined him, she could conveniently take Mew's usual spot.
"Ralts~"
Ralts simply could not understand what this human wanted from her.
If he intended to harm her, he certainly didn't appear hostile.
He had even promised to give her delicious food in the future.
But if he truly meant no harm...
Why did the way he looked at her feel so strange?
Almost as though he was coveting her body...
Ralts stiffened.
A terrifying possibility suddenly occurred to her.
Could this human... want to have an Egg with me?
The instant the thought appeared, Ralts looked at Chen Shi in absolute horror.
Before stealing the food, she had already considered the worst possible outcome.
She might die.
She might be eaten by those frighteningly powerful Pokémon.
But that did not mean she was willing to lay an Egg!
Especially not with a human!
That was even worse than being eaten!
Noticing the terrified way Ralts was staring at him, Chen Shi assumed she was afraid he might hurt her.
He immediately softened his voice.
"Little one, don't be scared."
"I really won't hurt you."
"I only want you to become my companion. There's no other intention behind it."
Instead of reassuring her, those words made Ralts even more suspicious.
This human already had so many powerful companions.
Why would he possibly be interested in a Pokémon as weak as her?
That was clearly impossible.
Therefore, there could only be one truth.
The human was using those words to lower her guard.
He planned to take things slowly.
The moment she finally relaxed, he would reveal his true intentions and force her to have an Egg with him!
Ralts swallowed nervously.
This was terrifying.
Maybe she should escape.
But...
Could she actually get away from this human?
Ralts glanced at Victini, Dragapult, Metagross, and the others.
After carefully considering the situation, she reached a grim conclusion.
Escape appeared completely impossible.
At that moment, Ralts fell into despair.
Her eyes became hollow, completely devoid of life.
...
"Vii~"
Victini swallowed the last Pokéblock, let out a satisfied burp, and slowly floated back into Chen Shi's arms.
The other Pokémon had also more or less finished eating.
Chen Shi left Dragapult and Togekiss outside and recalled the rest into their Poké Balls.
"Dragapult, let's keep moving."
Chen Shi climbed onto Dragapult's back and pointed in a certain direction.
According to Nio, the Psychic Tribe should not be much farther ahead.
Unfortunately, the Meteor Tribe did not possess anything resembling a map.
Chen Shi could only search according to Nio's description.
The general direction should have been correct.
The exact location was another matter.
"Draga~"
Dragapult nodded, glanced toward Togekiss, and flew in the direction Chen Shi had indicated.
This time, Dragapult had learned its lesson.
It deliberately slowed down enough for Togekiss to keep up.
However, even after flying for quite some time, they still failed to find the Psychic Tribe.
They did come across several smaller tribes along the way.
Left with no choice, Chen Shi approached the residents of one of them to ask for directions.
The people were extremely enthusiastic.
One after another, they knelt and respectfully explained the exact location of the Psychic Tribe.
Just as Chen Shi obtained the correct direction and prepared to leave, Ralts suddenly spoke from his shoulder.
"Ralts?"
(Why are you looking for the Psychic Tribe?)
Chen Shi paused before smiling.
"There's no particular reason."
"And it isn't only the Psychic Tribe."
"I'm curious about all three of the large tribes in this area, so I wanted to visit them."
Ralts immediately fell silent.
In truth, she was a Pokémon from the Psychic Tribe.
However, because her appearance differed from that of the others in her group, she had constantly been rejected.
Even her mother had been treated coldly because of her.
The others said she had given birth to an aberration.
Ralts did not want her mother to continue suffering because of her, so she had resolutely left and begun wandering alone.
She never expected this human to be heading toward the Psychic Tribe.
Ralts silently sighed.
Perhaps this was for the best.
At least she would have one more chance to see her mother.
She wondered how her mother was doing now.
After Ralts left, life should have become much easier for her.
...
Within the Psychic Tribe—
As one of the three largest tribes near Meteor Falls, it was incomparable to the Meteor Tribe.
A clear river flowed directly through the center of the settlement.
Rows upon rows of wooden houses stood along both banks.
The tribe was many times larger than the Meteor Tribe.
A wooden bridge crossed the river at the heart of the settlement, allowing the residents to travel freely between both sides.
Most importantly, Gardevoir and Kirlia could occasionally be seen moving throughout the tribe.
The Psychic Tribe had maintained a close relationship with the Gardevoir line for generations.
That bond was the reason they had become one of the region's three great tribes.
At that moment, seven or eight women sat inside the ancestral hall in the center of the settlement.
At their head was a woman who appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old.
She wore a simple, ancient-style dress.
"Have we finished storing enough food before winter arrives?"
The woman at the head of the gathering, Liya, asked softly.
A dark-skinned middle-aged woman seated below her stood up.
"Thanks to everyone's efforts during this period, the tribe's current food reserves should be enough to last us through the coming winter."
"Very good."
Liya nodded slightly.
"Elder Sister Xilin, we must remain especially careful about the food reserves."
"What happened last year cannot be allowed to happen again."
Xilin nodded firmly, indicating that she understood.
Liya swept her gaze across the group.
"Are there any other matters that need to be discussed?"
"If there are, bring them up now."
The women exchanged looks.
No one stood to speak.
Seeing that there appeared to be no further issues, Liya began,
"Since there's nothing else—"
Before she could finish, Xilin interrupted her.
"Liya... something happened in the tribe yesterday."
"I... don't know how we should handle it."
Xilin sounded hesitant.
"Even Elder Sister Xilin doesn't know what to do?"
Liya's expression immediately became serious.
Xilin might not have been the strongest Beast Tamer in the Psychic Tribe, but she was the most experienced when it came to handling important matters.
Liya consulted her on most major tribal decisions.
If even Xilin did not know how to resolve something, it could not be a minor issue.
"Elder Sister Xilin, just tell us what happened."
"We'll discuss it together."
Hearing this, Xilin gritted her teeth before finally speaking.
"Yesterday... one of the Gardevoir in our tribe died."
...
White Dragon
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