Rope and Leon were sitting under a large tree.
It was nearing noon, so naturally Rope started preparing lunch under the big tree.
"I didn't realize Rope that you are so good at making curry!"
Leon looked at Rope's skillful movements, smooth operation, before anything else the rice in the pot was already sizzling.
Rope revealed a smile and said, "Actually, I have to say, curry is really great. Simple, convenient. The lower limit is high and the upper limit is not too low. It's really good if you're traveling outside. Even someone with average hands can have a nice hot meal after just a few practice sessions."
A hot meal while out in the wilderness was basically the biggest thing trainers could look forward to.
Trainers have a hard time with the dangerous Pokémon in the wild, the wind, the sun, and the rain. It can only be said that people in the Pokémon world have a special physical quality.
If the original world of those girls, still want to go through all these hardships to become a female trainer after the skin like Cynthia, Lorelei?
This is not a problem that can be explained by the fact that natural beauty is hard to abandon...
Leon is also very emotional, after all, when he went out to travel was followed by Sonia, Sonia although cooking is not very good, but at least it does know how to do it.
Come to think of it Hop... both Victor and Gloria can cook, and both seem to be pretty good at it...
Nope, that kid is going out on his own to travel alone...
Uh-huh. I'll have to see to it that he learns how to cook. It's better to learn how to cook than to go out into the wilderness and eat berries.
Poor Hop didn't realize that because of Rope's meal, he was about to have a mournful life of learning to cook.
"Alright! Let's eat!"
Rope tasted a mouthful of soup, then spread those and the fried cutlets over rice. A spicy hamburger steak curry was served.
Leon took the plate of curry Rope handed him and tasted it, then instantly moved.
"Rope! You're too good at this! This is Charizard-level food!"
He said, taking a big bite.
Rope just smiled bashfully.
"Average, not cool, sit down."
Then took many more servings on a large platter and divided them between himself and Leon's Pokémon.
Then another serving for himself, then scanned the bushes around them.
They thought they were well hidden. But in reality the longing eyes, and whether or not they were loud gulping noises eventually revealed their presence.
Rope served up his share. Then brought the rest of the lot down from the shelf and, to Leon's somewhat surprised gaze, dumped all the remaining cutlets and gravy into the previously filled rice bowl.
Rope picked up the rice bowl and took a few steps forward.
The rice portion was not light, and it was a good thing that Rope was not a normal person.
Then upon sensing the little ones stepping back, Rope stopped in his tracks.
"You guys come and eat some too. Although it's not necessarily enough to eat. But more or less you can eat some."
After saying that Rope turned away to go back to eating his own food.
"Rope are you... feeding wild Pokémon?"
Leon asked, opening his mouth in some confusion.
Actually, this kind of behavior wasn't exactly rare, but to say it was common, it really wasn't.
After all, the situation was already laid out here. There were a lot of wild Pokémon, and your meal was never enough for them. There are some Pokémon who are fine with it, thanking you for the meal and leaving soon after.
There are also always some Pokémon who are insatiable and want to eat more or take more.
If you don't give them what they want, they'll give you trouble.
Pokémon are not all simple and sweet. A lot of Pokémon have just plain nasty personalities. It's not like it's all about attributes or race.
It's more about the Pokémon themselves.
But in most cases, feeding wild Pokémon is not a good idea.
There are so many Pokémon with different tastes, and it's a waste of food and resources.
It's only trainers like Rope who have the money, leisure and craftsmanship to prepare so much food for the Pokémon.
Even the Wilderness Survival Code for new trainers has tips on this.
And every single item on the wilderness survival code. It was all bloody lessons.
Rope nodded and said, "I have quite a few ingredients left over anyway. It's definitely enough for the two of us."
"And getting on good terms with these little guys will be somewhat beneficial to us in finding someone."
Just like going out halfway, as long as the other person is a man, there is absolutely no harm in passing a cigarette up the line.
Leon nodded at that, and he knew better than that, in fact, in capturing Pokémon in this way was really not a bad method either.
Assuming, of course, that the craft was good enough.
As luck would have it, not long after Rope had set down the large pot of curry, a Skwovet stepped out of the bushes, first giving Rope a wary look, then realizing that Rope wasn't staring at them, but rather chatting with Leon with a smile on his face, proceeded to take a couple of steps forward.
He cautiously reached his hand out towards the basin before picking up a chunk of meat, staring at it for a moment to make sure it didn't look dangerous before taking a tentative bite.
The moment the piece of meat was in his mouth, his eyes lit up.
He looked like he was about to throw up, waving his hand towards the bushes behind him while he kept grabbing the curry in the pot with his hand and frantically filling his mouth with it.
The Pokémon in the bushes looked at Skwovet's gesture signaling that it wasn't delicious, and were instantly a little disappointed.
It obviously smelled so good!
Rope, on the other hand, glanced at the image with his afterimage and was dumbfounded.
Leon on one side also just shook his head rather amused, "This Skwovet is pretty funny!"
Rope nodded, "A very clever little fellow. Has some training value if you like sparring."
"You're not a racial supremacist?"
Leon looked at the little guys around Rope. That is, these little guys all had a final evolved type racial value[1] of 500 or more. Even Gengar, the worst of the lot, did indeed have a racial value of 500 and could Mega Evolve and Dynamax.
Others might not know that Dynamax could be bred later. But how could Leon not know that? It was important to realize that the one who initially discovered this secret was his teacher, Isle of Armor's Master, Mustard.
Even if it's that unseen one over there, that Poipole couldn't possibly be weak in its own right.
Speaking of which, the Dragon Pulse Technical Machine prepared for Poipole hadn't even reached Rope yet because of the suddenness of the incident. He can only wait until he returns to Pokémon Center to receive the Technical Machines he purchased last night, and if nothing else, Poipole will probably learn Dragon Pulse in three to five days if he learns at the normal pace.
With a guy like that, how can you not think he's a racial supremacist.
"I'm certainly more than that. I like all Pokémon, it's just that the Pokémon who like me happen to all be of high racial value."
Rope had a big smile on his face.
He certainly has nothing against regular Pokémon. Keep in mind that Pachirisu also won the White Demon title back in the day after stiff-arming Draco Meteor at Worlds and then helping Garchomp destroy Salamence and Tyranitar.
Actually, this example really speaks for itself. There are very few wasted Pokémon. more still, trainers who can't use Pokémon.
Leon looked at Rope with the eyes of a scummy Pokémon. No one else knew that, but of course they, the champions, did. The one that followed Whitley, that little girl, was the heir of a god.
Little Lugia's future accomplishments were truly immeasurable.
And whose Pokémon will little Lugia end up being among Whitley and Rope?
That was the result of the discussion between the two masters and disciples of the family.
Only they still don't know that the nature of little Lugia is completely different from what they know.
He was Lugia, only he wouldn't grow until the Lugia of this world fell.
Rope doesn't explain too much, though.
Seriously, the gods were on the verge of overwhelming the League. Not to mention that not long after that Ultra Wormhole would probably explode.
After all, the Oak's had found traces of Cosmog, the Little Nebula, in Alola.
The Little Nebula is capable of opening the Ultra Wormhole.
This sort of subsidiary world to this world is actually enough of a headache.
If Rope now adds 'There are other parallel worlds that people might pass through oh!'
League's executives could be driven crazy by so many unstable factors...
So Rope wasn't going to report it for a while.
Thinking of this, Rope couldn't help but glance at the Soul-Nourishing Beads wrapped in solid flame around his waist. it said that according to the rules, there would be people from the Civilization Recycling and Management Bureau coming to retrieve this Soul-Nourishing Beads tonight.
Rope still felt wonderful about this organization from the main world. After all, the force and mystery of the main world was much higher than this Pokémon's world.
And whether it was the bell that Rope had gotten, those other compensated items didn't seem to have much use right now is all.
Although Rope was thinking, but did not delay the meal, rice this kind of thing even if the cooking is no matter how delicious, the chef himself ate, the feeling is just like that.
So he finished his meal almost mechanically, and then looked over to the wild Pokémon on the other side.
Leon and the others also finished eating not long afterward.
Looking over at the large group of wild Pokémon over there feasting.
Skwovet's approach certainly wouldn't be hidden from these Pokémon for long. They might be innocent, but they were definitely not stupid.
So they realized that something was wrong when they realized that Skwovet's mouth hadn't stopped even though he kept saying it wasn't good.
Soon another Venonat came up and looked at Skwovet, who was intent on filling his mouth with something, and tried a bite, then happily exclaimed.
The rest of the Pokémon were no longer skeptical, and swarmed up in unison.
It was also fortunate that Rope did cook quite a lot, or else it was expected that after that wave, the curry would all be gone.
Of course, this also had to do with the fact that the larger Pokémon ate less.
They didn't blame Skwovet either, but even if Skwovet had been allowed to eat his fill, what would have happened? Before he evolved into Greedent, his meals were still small even if they were large.
And that's really the nature of Greedent. There was nothing for everyone to say.
Just when everyone was having a good meal, Flygon seemed like he suddenly remembered something, then picked up Skwovet and put him in front of his eyes and barked twice as if he was saying something.
Flygon didn't lower his voice, and those Pokémon slowed down their eating speed when they heard Flygon's words.
Like he was waiting for someone.
And Skwovet nodded, then broke away from Flygon's claws to land lightly on the ground.
Then quickly disappeared amongst the trees.
Rope and Leon both looked at each other in puzzlement as they watched the other's behavior.
Both also saw the confusion in the other's eyes.
Rope turned his head to look at Rotom.
After all, a new skill obviously couldn't be learned as easily as in a game.
There was always a time cost involved.
"Rotom, what are they talking about?"
Rotom heard Rope's question and gulped as he watched the other Pokémon take a bite of the curry on their plates, then turned his head as he listened sideways to the sound of the other's discussion, "They're saying they're going to invite a boy to come along and eat. Lotto!"
Rope's brow furrowed at that, then stretched a moment later. He probably guessed who this supposed boy was.
And off to the side, Leon had heard the news from. Hearing the word boy, he was also a bit surprised.
"Rope, a boy? That's..."
"It should be the orphan of the two professors who had a car accident in the forest... that's probably my assumption. After all, I've always felt that there must be something fishy going on behind the scenes of this incident."
Rope's eyes were glazed over as he said this. It was as if she had discovered something well worth exploring.
But Rope actually knew everything about this place, Koko, whose real name is Al Molybdenum, is the only son of Chrom and Phossa Molybdenum, Chrom escaped from Dr. Zed and took his family in a car, but the Molybdenum family was hit by Dr. Zed and fell into the river, only the baby survived. Zarude saw the baby floating on the river and brought him back, though it would have violated the laws of the forest, and decided to raise him himself, naming him Koko.
In fact, Koko's story is as simple as that. It's also one of the few of Pokémon's theatrical releases to explore kinship.
Though environmental conservation still takes up a lot of space is all.
Rope's acting skills are naturally nothing to sneeze at.
He's just the master of playing dumb!
Although he wouldn't talk dollar into a knife, he was still good at pretending what he knew was something he speculated.
"Is your... reasoning, is that powerful?"
Leon still couldn't help but tug at the corner of his mouth.
This was reasoning? He'd believe you if you called it divination.
Rope didn't care about Leon's reaction either. This was just a basic operation.
Of course, at this moment, Rope's eyes were filled with a little bit of anticipation. After all, a person who grew up living with Pokémon and could understand Pokémon's words. More than that, he could fully understand Pokémon's feelings.
Such a child would simply be an excellent candidate for one's institute, or for the mission. If Whitley was a diamond in the rough that needed carving. Then Koko is a half-finished product in need of finishing.
Such a leek... bah, how could Rope miss such a talent!
And so, Rope began to look forward to Koko's arrival as well. As for how to lure Koko onto his bandit ship, Rope already had a draft in mind as well.
——————————
Skwovet's figure swiftly and quickly traveled through the forest. Running in the direction of Koko's home.
Although he didn't know why Koko didn't come to play with him today. But at this point in time, if Koko didn't come out to play it must be because he had something going on in the house today.
This so-called something is usually daze.
Skwovet, of course, doesn't know what Koko is doing when he's lost in thought.
But the loneliness in Koko's body while he was staring at his life was so overwhelming that Skwovet, who was accompanying him at the side, could explode...
But today there is yummy food! Super yummy! Call Koko over, maybe Koko will be happier.
I really have to thank that Flygon guy. Usually he looks mean, but when it comes to being nice to Koko, everyone's on the same page.
Even though everyone hates his Zarude dad.
After all, Zarude... the forest rascal.
He could see Koko's treehouse in the distance.
He couldn't help but pick up his pace.
But when he got closer, he was dumbfounded.
In front of him, there was no such thing as a cozy little tree house. The top of the tree house had a big hole in it. And the bottom was the same. The vines connecting the surrounding trees were torn off a lot.
It was obviously a broken wall after the war.
Skwovet looked at the scene in front of him and instantly became a bit panicked.
That's not right, where's Koko? Was this attacked by those Zarude?
The panic didn't last long. Skwovet immediately reflected.
No! He couldn't stay here.
So he quickly turned around, then dashed towards the direction he came from.
Judging from the outcome of the battle, no matter who the guy who attacked Koko and the others really was, it wasn't something that he, a single Skwovet, could handle.
So he needed to go get help from the other Pokémon.
Zarude would be just fine...nothing can happen to Koko!
Thinking about this, Skwovet couldn't help but speed up a few more points.
Luckily, it really wasn't that far from where they were eating.
Within a few minutes, Skwovet came running back in a panic, then spoke of his discovery to the astonished eyes of a group of Pokémon.
Pangoro and Flygon exchanged glances, and then the feud was put aside between the two foes for the time being. It didn't matter to the others, Koko was their friend. They must try their best to protect Koko only.
"Rope Rope! That boy they were talking about and that Zarude seem to have been captured by someone! Rotom!"
Rotom hurriedly prompted. After all, he did know that Rope had always seemed quite interested in the kid. For Rotom, a lot of Rope's secrets would be told to him. After all, although it was said that Whitley was Rope's assistant.
But he, Rotom, was Rope's tool ghost! A tool ghost can be unpaid, but the cause and effect is something that must be understood.
Though he tended to know just a little bit about Rope's goals.
Rope's face didn't look good, and not just for the reason that his leek had been cut off by someone else.
"It should be Malkin."
Leon was quick to analyze.
"If the Zarude you're talking about is really a Divine Beast, then I guess that Malkin guy should have a hard time restraining his desire..."
Saying that, Leon also had some sighs of relief. A divine beast that didn't make any waves under Malkin's hands, and was captured almost silently. This Malkin's strength...it's still underestimated.
"It shouldn't be Malkin's own power." Rope said thoughtfully, "Although I didn't formally interrogate Kumas, I can probably guess that Malkin should have gone to his own grandfather to borrow a Pokémon."
"Kumas, as a veteran powerhouse, it's not unusual for him to have two Champion-class Pokémon on hand."
"So the fact that he didn't put up much of a fight when I threatened him?is in itself abnormal. That means he was literally powerless to resist me at the time."
"Then the odds are that Malkin has Kumas' Pokémon on him. And only multiple Champion-class Pokémon teaming up could have made Zarude disappear so effortlessly and almost without any movement."
He glanced at Leon and said, "It's a good thing you followed me out here as well. Otherwise, it would probably be a bit troublesome for me to deal with this strengthened version of Malkin if I were alone."
Of course, even if Leon came alone, it would only be a bit troublesome.
They, the top Champion level trainers, were of course all Champion level.
After analyzing these things, Rope quickly stood up and looked at the Pokémon who had already left in pairs before saying, "Let's follow them as well, catching Malkin ahead of time will be good for us as well."
"I guess our speed of finding Plate will also increase dramatically if we have his intel on it."
He glanced at Leon, who nodded then said, "Let's go then. Keep up with these Pokémon...we can't just watch them die bye-bye..."
Leon let out a rather helpless sigh as well. This was indeed no joke either.
According to their character analysis of Malkin. It was still normal for this guy to do such crazy things. So naturally, Leon wouldn't watch them die when he was able to.
So the duo followed the footsteps of those Pokémon.
And somewhere in a dark corner of the forest that they didn't know about Malkin was looking at the one man and one monkey in front of him. He stroked his chin and said with interest, "You two are really good cargoes for a Pokémon!"
Koko was gagged and bound, so all he could do was stare angrily at the thing in front of him that looked so much like himself.
While Zarude, who was covered in wounds and looked almost dying, looked at the man with contempt.
'Humans, indeed, are the least trustworthy creatures in this world!"
[1] base stat