Chapter 38: The Rogue Panda Is Back Again

Over the next few days, Qian Lin, accompanied by Swablu and Growlithe, searched for the Aipom troop. Along the way, they encountered several Pokémon they hadn't seen before, such as Ariados and Amoonguss.

It occurred to him that there seemed to be quite a lot of Poison-type Pokémon in this vicinity.

Around the fifth day, Qian Lin finally located them at a fruit packing plant some distance from Twelve Village. The entire factory had been occupied by the Aipom troop, but they didn't seem to reject other Pokémon; on the contrary, they got along quite well with the surrounding wildlife.

When he approached the troop, the nearby Pokémon didn't show any signs of agitation. It seemed that because this area was so far removed from human civilization, the Pokémon here had never had any conflicts with people.

The Aipom themselves didn't act strangely when they saw Qian Lin, suggesting that they had likely never encountered humans before.

That made things simple.

Although Aipom are mischievous, they aren't malicious. Once Qian Lin offered them some berries, the Aipom happily cooperated. Eventually, an Ambipom stepped forward and shared everything it knew with him.

In essence: they hadn't stolen any necklace from humans, they had never been to the human village, and they had never seen a golden necklace.

That was that.

Having received his answer, Qian Lin thanked them, bade farewell to the Aipom troop, and headed back toward the campsite.

"Aipom are just playful, not bad-natured, so they shouldn't have been lying to us. Grandpa Zhou Fuqing’s photo definitely wasn't taken by the Aipom," Qian Lin mused, rubbing his chin. "Does this mean I have to go look for other Pokémon with the Pickup ability?"

[I think you're overthinking this. Why does it have to be a Pokémon with the Pickup ability?]
[Exactly, other people besides bad guys can do bad things too.]
[Aipom has one tail, Ambipom has two—it's so weird.]
[Qian Lin said Aipom's tail is more dexterous than a human hand.]
[Cute, but a little creepy.]

After all, the sight of an animal possessing limbs just like a human's—and having those limbs be tails, no less—was still a bit unsettling for a human who had only recently been introduced to Pokémon.

Qian Lin patted the Swablu on his head, his tone laced with doubt. "Am I really overthinking this?"

Aside from the Pickup ability, what else could possibly allow a Pokémon to take something from a room?

Swablu squinted its eyes comfortably.

"Growlithe, do you have any thoughts?" Qian Lin asked, looking at the Growlithe beside him.

"Arf?" Growlithe looked puzzled.

I'm just a little puppy, you're asking me?

"Alright, I see you don't know either," Qian Lin chuckled. "Let's head back first; I need to organize the knowledge in my head."

Although the system had instilled all knowledge about Pokémon into Qian Lin from the start, that information wasn't truly his own, so sometimes, without a specific goal, he couldn't recall things immediately. It was too vast and disorganized; mastering it completely would take time.

Just then, the Growlithe walking beside him suddenly raised its head in alert, baring its teeth at the path ahead as wisps of flame gathered in its mouth.

Seeing Growlithe’s sudden vigilance, Qian Lin immediately grew serious. His right hand reached behind him, gripping the end of his hiking staff. "Is there a Pokémon there, Growlithe?"

"Awooo!" Growlithe nodded, its eyes grave.

[Is there an enemy?]
[What's happening?]
[Is it a Pokémon?]
[I don't know, but Growlithe looks very tense. It doesn't seem like just any ordinary enemy.]

Qian Lin narrowed his eyes and drew his hiking staff, pointing it forward.

This wasn't just any ordinary hiking staff. It was crafted from an incredibly tough, lightweight material. He didn't know exactly what it was made of, but it was said to support nearly a thousand kilograms of weight; laid across a ravine, it could even support a vehicle. The top of the staff featured a spherical grip, which could be used as a hammer in an emergency.

Seeing their tense posture, Swablu immediately flapped its wings and took to the air, circling overhead while keeping a sharp eye on the direction Growlithe was watching.

From within the woods, a two-meter-tall figure pushed aside the trees and brush. Its black-and-white form emerged into the sunlight, its cold, sharp eyes fixed on Qian Lin.

"Pangoro!" Qian Lin was startled at the sight of the familiar figure, and his entire body went taut.

Ursaring wasn't there to help him this time; after receiving the crate of berries, the Ursaring had returned to its den to rest. It didn't need to go out for food for a while, and besides the occasional visit to catch up with Qian Lin, it spent most of its time sleeping.

"Chirp!" Swablu hovered in front of Qian Lin, staring firmly at the Pangoro.

"Arf!" Growlithe stepped forward to shield Qian Lin, the flames in its mouth burning brighter.

The Pangoro stood its ground, but its gaze shifted past Swablu and Growlithe, landing directly on Qian Lin. It chewed on the bamboo in its mouth, shifting it back and forth as if contemplating something.

"Damn it, the only thing in this area that could fight a Pangoro is Ursaring. We need to find a way to escape..." Qian Lin spoke quietly, trying to sound relaxed, but the cold sweat on his forehead made the audience watching the screen feel incredibly tense.

[Growlithe and Swablu can't beat a Pangoro. Qian Lin, come up with a plan!]
[Forget the plans, just run!]
[Why is the Pangoro attacking Qian Lin anyway? He didn't provoke it.]

"Woo—"

Just as Qian Lin was looking for an escape route, the Pangoro suddenly let out a soft sound. It gestured behind itself at Qian Lin, glanced at Swablu and Growlithe, and then turned to walk back into the woods.

Qian Lin froze, not quite understanding the Pangoro's intent.

Swablu tilted its head in confusion, then flapped its wings to land on Qian Lin's head, staring at him with its large eyes.

Growlithe remained alert, though the flames in its mouth had extinguished. It looked at Qian Lin, its eyes full of inquiry.

An inquiry?

Qian Lin paused, watching as the Pangoro walked into the woods, turned to face him, and gestured again.

"Is the Pangoro asking me to follow?" Qian Lin could hardly believe it.

"Arf~" Growlithe nodded. Then, it tilted its head and asked, "Arf?"

So... are we following?

[Should we follow and see?]
[Don't! What if it's a trap?]
[I actually think it might be safe. If the Pangoro wanted to attack, it could have done so already. There's no need to go through all this trouble.]
[That makes sense, but what if something goes wrong?]
[I think we should skip it, or at least go find Ursaring first.]
[I support finding Ursaring.]