"Meow~"
Purugly meowed again. The heartbroken Snubbull still obediently gathered up the scattered dried fruit and beef jerky, swallowing hard as it placed them all in front of Haruki.
The meaning was clear: "return these to their rightful owner… now please leave."
Haruki shook his head and said, "These aren't mine."
With that, he turned and walked away.
After orienting himself, Haruki realized they were right on the town's outskirts. Heading west would take him back to his original planned route.
He glanced at the dilapidated house, lifted his foot, and walked off.
---
Ten minutes later…
"This is so dumb… why did I have to get involved in this mess?"
Haruki briskly returned to Claybank Town, with Skiploom following him.
He went back to the town's only store and once again saw the same girl.
Apparently, her parents hadn't returned yet and hadn't realized she had left earlier.
The girl was dutifully standing by the door, though her eyes kept glancing down the road.
Thinking about how she'd secretly helped Snubbull several times… and how her family owned the town's only shop…
'She really did seem like a solid candidate for this responsibility.'
Haruki figured he might as well give it a nudge; whether it worked or not, at least he'd done his part.
With that thought, he walked over.
"Si… Sir…"
"My name's Haruki. Not Sir."
"H-Hello! Oh, I'm Muki!"
The girl still didn't dare say his name directly.
Haruki didn't mind and continued, "That Snubbull who was stealing food earlier… was it your Pokémon?"
Hearing that, Muki panicked.
"She was just hungry, she didn't mean to… okay, fine, she did steal, but she's still a baby and doesn't know better."
"Then why haven't you taught her properly, as her Trainer?"
Haruki kept pressing.
"I'm not- I haven't…"
Muki's eyes were already turning red again, and she silently lowered her head.
"I'm not her Trainer. Snubbull's a wild Pokémon. She came from the forest nearby."
Haruki pretended to have a sudden realization.
"No wonder. So you don't know why she's been stealing food?"
Muki shook her head, but looked at Haruki curiously.
"You do?"
Haruki didn't answer. Instead, he asked again.
"You really like Snubbull?"
Muki nodded without hesitation.
"But if Snubbull were yours, then all the food she's stolen from the town would be blamed on you. Just like how I misunderstood you earlier. And when that happens, no one will listen to your explanations."
First misleading her, then pushing the point, Haruki's questions made Muki start thinking seriously about it.
"If it really came to that, I'd make Snubbull apologize to everyone in the town…"
"But what if she's still small, doesn't know any better, and is just trying to feed herself?" Haruki interrupted.
Muki was caught off guard. Her eyes turned red again.
But Haruki kept looking at her directly.
After a long pause, she finally replied through sniffles, "Then I'll apologize on Snubbull's behalf, repay the people for their losses… and teach her proper manners."
Hearing that, Haruki nodded. It wasn't the perfect answer, but it was just barely acceptable.
"Snubbull had a reason for stealing. Bring some soft bread and check the half-collapsed house to the west."
"Huh?"
Muki sniffled again, looking confused.
"That's where she is. Do as I said and go see her. I hope that one day you really become her Trainer."
As he spoke, Haruki pulled out a standard Poké Ball and handed it to Muki.
He'd already noticed while looking the store earlier that the town hadn't been licensed to sell Poké Balls yet.
By the time Haruki left, Muki was still standing there in a daze, holding the Poké Ball, unable to react.
-----
Haruki left Claybank Town and returned to his originally planned route.
If the Purugly hadn't been so old that it needed Snubbull's care, Haruki might've just caught it outright.
Not to mention selling it for points, even finding a wealthy owner in a big city wouldn't have been hard.
In the end, though, it was that last-wish gesture from Purugly that moved him and gave Muki a chance.
"I'm with Team Rocket, for crying out loud."
Haruki muttered to himself, then shook his head to clear the thought.
"What matters is the future ahead of me-
BELDUM, DON'T MOVE!"
Haruki shouted, stopping Beldum just as it was about to square off against a Stunky.
Stunky wasn't hard to beat, but once it started spraying, the smell was impossible to get rid of.
…It stuck for days.
"Bel?"
Beldum obediently floated back, blinking its big red eye with a confused look.
"Next time you see a wild Pokémon like that, just run. Run far away."
"Bel?"
"Trust me. You won't get stronger fighting something like that."
'Won't get stronger? Then it wasn't worth fighting.'
Beldum accepted that reasoning right away, nodded, and went off in search of a new opponent.
Haruki couldn't help but admire it.
A pseudo-legendary.
Shiny.
And this driven.
Sure, it was a bit reckless… but all of it was for the sake of growing stronger!
With a Beldum like this, what more could he ask for-
"BELDUM, GET BACK HERE! Don't fight that one eith-"
BOOOM!
This time, Haruki was too late.
When Beldum returned, covered in soot and looking a mess, even Haruki couldn't help but laugh.
"That was a Pineco. It self-destructs when scared. Don't get too close next time, hit it from range."
"Bel~~"
Beldum glanced at its own body and looked a bit pitiful.
"You'll be able to attack from range once you evolve. No rush. Let's clean you up first."
After burning through several towels, Beldum's gleaming silver shine was finally restored.
Haruki nodded in satisfaction.
No matter how many times he looked at it, a silver Beldum was always that cool and captivating.
'But… how much longer until it evolves?'
Haruki wondered silently, not daring to say it out loud for fear of putting pressure on Beldum.
'Forget it. pseudo-legendaries were meant to have longer growth curves anyway. Even if it hit the right level, rushing its evolution wouldn't be wise.'
Better to focus on solid foundations.
---
Half a month later, with frequent stops along the way, Haruki finally reached the southeastern base of Mount Coronet.
The journey had been rough, and all three of his Pokémon looked a bit worn, but their eyes were shining. Clearly, the trip had yielded plenty of gains.
"Once we cross this mountain, we'll be at our destination."
"Ma-Bel-Ski!"
Haruki raised the team's spirits, and all three Pokémon responded in turn.
There was no need to say much about his "old" partners, Marowak and Beldum.
After this stretch of travel, even Skiploom had fully bonded with the team.
As the team's support and healer, Skiploom was attentive, obedient, and perceptive. Always offering help at just the right time.
Even the usually brash Beldum would slow down and be more careful when flying near Skiploom.
Marowak was even more extreme. Quiet and reserved as always, it had started calling Skiploom over whenever it saw pretty wildflowers, just to make it happy.
Haruki observed all this and was quietly stunned.
Marowak had picked up all this on its own. It was going to grow into a real sweetheart someday.
A week passed as they climbed the mountain.
Finally, when Haruki and his three partners stood at the midpoint and saw the smoky skyline of a massive industrial city ahead, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Oreburgh City… they had made it!