Chapter 18: A Shift in Attitude

No one would have expected a monster to appear in the city center.

Although most monsters are kept out in the wilderness, there are always those exceptionally gifted ones that manage to slip into the city. Like Rattata resembling rats, Spearow flying through the sky, or Magikarp appearing everywhere—in short, while most are contained in the wild, some inevitably slip through the cracks and enter urban areas.

This kind of thing happens from time to time.

Most of the time, the police arrive, open fire without hesitation, and kill the monster. Other times, the monster hides within the city, and even the police cannot track it down.

The first person to spot the monster was a boy of eighteen or nineteen. He had been browsing a nearby stall when he caught a glimpse of something amiss. Subconsciously, he put down the item in his hand and looked over, only to be met by a pair of terrifying eyes.

Those were the eyes of a monster.

His brain froze instantly. As he let out a scream, he reflexively threw the object in his hand. The metal cup struck the monster’s head with force—it looked painful even from a distance. With a "Woo—" sound, a burst of flame erupted from the monster's mouth, and a violent explosion engulfed the boy.

As his body flew backward and hit the ground, blood began to seep from the boy's mouth.

The only fortunate thing was that the attack hadn't hit him directly but had struck the stall beside him; the blast merely pushed him away. While his clothes were badly scorched, he had actually only suffered superficial wounds.

Aside from him, the stall owner was also injured, though only by falling debris, and he hadn't bled; he was quite lucky.

The monster emerged from its hiding spot, visible to everyone. The crowd began to riot, and countless people scrambled to flee. Only the monster walked slowly toward the boy, who could only lie on the ground, retreating continuously, his eyes filled with terror.

"Awoo?" The monster came to a halt a short distance in front of the boy, then turned its head to look elsewhere. Several men wearing security uniforms ran over with shields and weapons, immediately surrounding the monster.

A man who appeared to be the captain helped the boy up. "Are you alright?"

"I, I, I..." He desperately wanted to say he was fine, but the sheer terror left him unable to speak.

"Don't worry, we'll handle this," the security captain said, looking at the boy firmly. "You need to leave here first. We've already notified the paramedics; they'll be here soon."

It wasn't just the hospital; the police and fire department were also on their way.

The security captain glanced at the burning stall. The monster standing by the flames held its head high, its eyes filled with ferocity, fire burning in its throat as it stared intensely at those who had surrounded it.

The only mercy was that this monster wasn't large—about the size of a standard medium-sized dog. Due to recent directives from above, they didn't attack immediately, opting instead to encircle it while holding their shields and weapons.

After having the boy taken away, the security captain stepped forward slowly, pulled out his phone, opened an app, and pointed it at the monster in the center. With a crisp "beep," Qian Lin’s voice emanated from the phone.

[Growlithe, the Puppy Pokémon, Fire-type. Medium danger level. Personality: earnest. It likes to be close to people and will bark at enemies, biting and holding on to drive them away. If you encounter a Growlithe in the wild that is barking or growling at you, it is warning you. Please do not approach; retreat as quickly as possible.]

"It actually works?" The security captain looked at the information on his phone with astonishment. He truly hadn't expected this to be useful, and the Pokédex even provided response strategies—the first choice being to run away immediately, and only if you couldn't run, to attempt contact.

The first step was to lower the Growlithe's guard.

The security captain looked at the Growlithe in the center, which was baring its teeth and growling, then at his frightened colleagues. He thought of the messages released by the authorities, took a deep breath, put his phone away, and walked directly into the circle.

He didn't approach the Growlithe but stood in front of the shields, facing it. "Hello, Growlithe. We don't want to hurt you. Your appearance has caused chaos here, and we just want to take you away. We will absolutely not harm you."

The other security guards were stunned by their captain's actions, subconsciously wondering if he had lost his mind.

But to their surprise, the Growlithe in the center actually stopped growling, though its face remained wary.

The security captain took a deep breath and continued, "It's okay if you don't trust us. We won't come any closer, but could you please stop using your moves? It causes serious damage to the surroundings. If that happens, even if we don't want to, we will be forced to take drastic measures. Do you understand?"

The fire move was devastatingly destructive here; the stalls were mostly filled with flammable goods. The consequences of the Growlithe's fire-breathing could be a massive blaze that would be impossible to extinguish in the short term, and in that case, the Growlithe, as the culprit, would certainly be targeted.

Although the authorities had indicated that they should try to avoid attacking Pokémon and attempt to resolve things peacefully through negotiation, if the lives and property of the public were threatened, they would have no choice but to subdue the Growlithe.

Of course, they were only security guards responsible for building safety; when it came to that point, it wouldn't be them facing the Growlithe, but the police.

The security captain's words were sincere, and the Growlithe could tell. It hesitated, looked at the burning stall beside it, and then silently extinguished the flames in its mouth. It cautiously turned and lay down in a corner, licking the spot where the cup had hit it while keeping a wary eye on them.

Seeing the Growlithe's actions, everyone froze, their hands gripping their shields and weapons not knowing what to do. They turned their gaze toward the captain.

The security captain, pleasantly surprised, clenched his fist, waved for his men to lower their weapons, and nodded at the Growlithe. "Thank you for your understanding. We’re going to put out the fire now, without weapons."

The Growlithe glanced at the captain, then at the burning stall, and gave a faint nod.

Communication successful! The security captain suppressed his excitement and told his men, "Put away the weapons and shields. Leave two people to keep an eye on the Growlithe, and everyone else help me put out the fire."

The entire security team moved in an orderly fashion. The fire at the stall wasn't very large; only the outer canopy was burning, and the interior contained tea leaves and various tea sets. The fire hadn't been burning long and was easy to extinguish.

The Growlithe just watched all of this, pulling its body back into the corner before curling up on the ground like an ordinary dog, watching the security guards extinguishing the fire in the distance.

Not far away, Qian Lin held his Altaria and watched the scene, a genuine smile blooming from his heart. He rested his head against Altaria’s wing and murmured, "Altaria, the world is starting to change. It's changing in a way that is good for everyone."

"Chirp~" Although Altaria might not have understood why, the dampness against her feathers moved her.

She extended a wing and gently patted her trainer's head, stroking him just as he usually stroked her.

*No matter what, I will be with you.*

Qian Lin looked up, his smile radiant. "Thank you, Altaria."

Perhaps because no further danger occurred, the surrounding public gradually crowded in. Some of the bolder ones even took out their phones to record videos, most watching the Growlithe with a mix of fear and curiosity.

Even with the security guards there, there were simply too many people.

The Growlithe felt uneasy and stood up, growling at the crowd.

The security captain was startled by this and quickly ordered his men to step forward and disperse the crowd. Since the fire was mostly out, the rest could focus on maintaining order.

The security captain approached a short distance in front of the Growlithe and soothed, "Growlithe, they mean no harm; they’re just onlookers. You don't need to be agitated."

*No harm?* The Growlithe looked at the captain, its aura becoming more pronounced. The security captain truly meant no harm, but from the crowd of onlookers, the Growlithe felt an unconcealable malice.

Some were hurling insults, some were sneering, and someone even said, "Why don't they just kill this monster?"

The Growlithe didn't want to attack these people; it only wanted these guys to leave. There were too many people, and it felt insecure.

"This..." The security captain was helpless. Seeing the Growlithe on the verge of snapping, he hurriedly turned to the crowd. "Everyone, could you please leave? The police and firefighters will take over from here. Your presence here makes the situation uncontrollable."

Hearing his words, the people hesitated for a moment before slowly backing away. While they were still watching, at least they weren't creeping closer and closer.

Only a few reckless individuals remained, some recording with their phones and others livestreaming, which gave the security captain a massive headache.

"Hey brothers, look, the monster is right there, it's already been subdued by us," a youth with dyed hair—or was it a child?—said to his livestream audience with a proud face. "Once the police arrive, they're going to kill that monster, and I'll be livestreaming the whole thing. Send those gifts, brothers!"

"Awoo!" The Growlithe grew agitated, and flames began to gather in its mouth again.

The security captain was shocked and roared at the livestreaming youth, "You! Turn off the stream! And we are not going to hurt the Growlithe, back away now!"

The dyed-haired youth was defiant. "Who the hell are you yelling at?! What’s a security guard barking for? Were you born to the same mother as that monster? Both of you love barking! And telling me to turn off the stream? It's my stream, I'll open it if I want to, none of your damn business! What an idiot."

With that, he looked at his phone. "Look at this, brothers, some stinking security guard told me to turn off the stream. Who the hell does he think he is?"

The security captain was stunned. The boy’s language was foul. Was he sick? Could he not speak without cursing? But... he certainly had guts.

The security captain said with a dark face, "Smash his phone."

"You wouldn't dare!" The youth was incredibly cocky.

The security captain would have dared, but to be honest, it was already too late.

As a streak of flame flashed through the air, the firelight illuminated the confusion on the youth's face and the grim expression of the security captain. The captain never imagined that a situation that could have been resolved peacefully would be ruined by an absolute moron.

It seemed the higher-ups were right—sometimes, forceful measures are necessary.

*Kid, you’ve dug your own grave.*