The rain soaked into the deep night, and only a few lights remained around the circular square. Water droplets knocked on the stone slabs and window lattices, and the sound was transmitted through the cracks in the doors into the small spaces of the wooden house, which were darkened by the warm orange light.

Amid the hazy sound of the rain, Shimura tells a long-ago story to the young trainer.

In the eyes of some big cities, the Orange Islands are almost synonymous with chaos – the land is scattered, the population is sparsely distributed, the economy is underdeveloped, and it is far more difficult to manage than in areas such as Guandu and Joto. On some islands far from the heartland, the number of crimes remains high, and some remote towns have even become hotbeds for criminal gangs.

Naipuru Island, the westernmost island of the Orange Islands, was once one such island.

About a decade ago, a group of poachers began to populate the area. They hunt wild Pokémon on the island, tame them with brutal violence, and sell them to small factories that need labor. After witnessing the inhumane treatment of the Pokémon, the local trainers were outraged and gathered to try to confront the poachers many times.

However, the poachers are so cunning that even the natives most familiar with Napuru can hardly spot them in the mountainous terrain. As the gang grew, poachers even began to reach out to other areas, with North Nose being one of the victims.

The owner of this pharmacy at the time, the grandfather of the current owner, Takayuki Shimura, Yasuo Shimura, was an executive on the front line when he was young. He led a rescue team of enthusiastic townspeople to find clues of the poaching group in the mountains.

Considering the huge gap in combat capabilities between the two sides, Shimura Yasuo did not act rashly, but took advantage of the main force of the poacher gang to leave Naipuru Island and launched a thunderous attack on one of their dens. In the end, tens of thousands of Pokémon were able to escape from the demon cave, and more than a dozen members of the poaching group were arrested red-handed.

Considering that the Pokémon that had been abused had suffered a great deal of physical and mental damage, and that it was not suitable to release them directly or send them to an adoption center, the town's trainers took the lead in initiating an adoption campaign to organize capable townspeople to adopt them as much as possible—and it was at that time that Asahi became the old owner's partner.

These innocent victims have seen humanity at its most cruel. At first, the North Nose was extremely repulsive towards all humans, and the trainer would even attack and injure people in a rage if he got too close. The old shopkeeper stumbled with it for nearly a year, and it was only then that Chaobei was moved by the old man's patience and gentleness, and truly became his partner.

The destruction of one of the poachers' dens was one of many and failed to break their bones. After that, the civilian rescue team led by Yasuo Shimura was still in action - while Asahi and his partner were always on the front line, fighting side by side to save more Pokémon.

It wasn't until two years ago that the Executive Department sent soldiers to Naipuru Island to annihilate the poaching group that had been entrenched for nearly a decade with the help of information provided by the civilian rescue team. Shimura still clearly remembers that the grandfather of that day was so happy that he seemed to be ten years younger, and he was willing to go out before he went out before he participated in the celebration banquet, and he did not forget to make an appointment with Chaobei before leaving-

"You take care of the house, I'll be back soon. ”

When she heard this, Xiao Ye was already vaguely aware of something.

Seeing that the child's hair on the other side stood up, he almost wrote on the door of his head "Could it be that there were spies ambushed at the celebration banquet", "Could it be that there are poachers and remnants who want to take revenge on them", "Is there also a big bad guy in the executive department who came to help", Shimura couldn't help but roll his eyes, "What are you thinking? My grandfather died of a sudden illness." ”

He added angrily, "As you get older, there is no shortage of high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and heart disease, and I drank three barrels of wine on the day of the celebration." ”

Sayo: "......"

It turns out that you people in the Orange Islands drink on barrels......

The young pharmacy owner sighed and looked out the window at the black rain curtain.

"Birth, old age, sickness and death are human nature, it's just ...... The North Nose paid too much attention to the man who pulled it out of its misery. To this day, it refuses to accept the fact that its trainers are dead. ”

Shimura could be sure that Asaki understood his words that day.

He didn't know what "death" meant to the long-lived rock Pokémon. It's just that from that day on, Chaobei's nose changed back to the silent appearance he had when he first came to the medicine house.

It no longer happily plays with its partner's little grandson, no longer pays attention to the voices of others, and no longer hums and chirps to the regular customers of the medicine house on rainy days that it hates. No matter day or night, rain or snow, it stood upright at the door of the medicine house and refused to move a step, stubbornly staring at the direction where the old man had left.

It's like still believing that as long as it keeps its promise and waits, the old man who loves to laugh will come back one day.

Shimura has exhausted all means to achieve this. Good words and persuasions could not reach its ears, and even attempts to drive it away with cold eyes and angry scolding were of no avail. Eventually, he could only watch as it continued to wait in vain day by day, the former lively vitality drained little by little, and the Pokémon's stiff body became more and more like a soulless sculpture. And as time passed, it ate less and less – and as the owner of the medicine shop, Shimura knew exactly what that meant.

Most rock-based Pokémon have a long lifespan, and on average, the age of the North Nose is only a teenager. The flame of life is gradually extinguished, and such a thing should not happen to it at all.

It is not physical aging, but mental "weakness".

The story, which is not long or short, is told to the end. Shimura let out a sigh of relief and looked at the client he had chosen.

I think you know what I mean. ”

The trainer on the opposite side nodded slightly.

"Do you want me to take it?"

"That's right. The owner of the medicine house stood up and walked to the window to watch the rain draw marks on the surface of the glass, "Since it insists on waiting here for its trainer to return, when it is forced to leave, it will definitely do its best to return here, and will not give up its life easily until it achieves its goal." ”

Xiao Ye closed the notebook in his hand and did not answer immediately.

"I know it's a difficult request. Shimura turned, "Because it wants to escape from you all the time, it can't be a help in your journey, it will only add endless trouble to you." It will be hostile to you, resentful of you, attacking you, and even wanting to kill you. ”

"So, it's up to you to decide whether you want to take this commission or not. ”

Little Pichu listened in a daze, and only caught the key word "kill you" from Shimura's long string of words, and immediately glared vigilantly. However, the person's Xiaoye's expression did not change, and after stroking the hair of the electric mouse with his hand, signaling his peace of mind, he replied calmly, "Understood—I accept your commission." ”

Probably because he replied too quickly, as if without thinking, Shimura raised an eyebrow, "Have you thought about it?"

"Yes. The purple-haired young trainer nodded, "I have the ability to keep it from escaping, or to deal with its attacks." That's why you entrusted the job to me, didn't you? ”

Before yesterday, maybe Xiao Ya was just a newcomer who picked herbs very quickly in the eyes of the owner of the medicine house. And when the Misty Lip Baby unexpectedly went berserk, the snow light that fell from the sky was deeply rooted in Shimura's mind - she was a powerful trainer who could easily defeat the giant ice beast. If "please ask the traveler to take the north-facing nose away" is the only solution to save its life, then the girl she met by chance in front of her may be the most suitable client.

In the warm light, he looked at the other party again—the young trainer had a solemn expression, and there was not the slightest look of contempt or greed on his face.

Eventually, he nodded.

"Good. ”

In the dark night, two humans walked out of the medicine house one after the other and stood still in the rain.

The north-facing body almost blends into the darkness, leaving only a vague silhouette in view. Shimura looked at it and said softly, "Nose facing north." It's not the first time, but I'm going to say to you—"

"It's time for you to leave. ”

The moment the medicine house owner's words fell, Xiao Ye opened the Poké Ball. As the dark purple ghost appeared in the red light, the sculptural Pokémon seemed to realize something.

Its body trembled—at this moment, even though it was impossible to see the Pokémon's expression in the darkness, Nighta still felt a great anger and hostility rushing over her face.

The trainer turned a blind eye to this, and did not even intend to say hello before the start of the battle, and simply gave the order of the "Shadow Ball". At the same time, a rock cannonball was fired angrily at the north nose, and the two sides collided in the air, and exploded after a few seconds.

When fighting alongside his trainer against poaching groups, Northnose is not a weak Pokémon. It's just that it's been two years since it abandoned its fighting skills, and even the most skilled moves of the past have become difficult. Under the onslaught of Ghost Stone, it retreated one after another, and soon began to be difficult to support.

The sound of explosions and fires erupted in the silence of the night. It was probably that the movement of the battle was too abrupt in the middle of the night, and gradually someone came looking for it.

The men did not accuse the opponent of disturbing their rest - the owner of the gym equipment store silently opened the window, the owner of the tree fruit house was standing by the door and watching, the eldest daughter of the owner of the fishing tackle shop rubbed her eyes and looked out the window, and Miss Joy of the Pokémon Center walked out of the front desk step by step. The people who lived a little further away braved the rain in their pajamas and hurriedly hid under the canopies of the surrounding shops, refusing to take their eyes off the fighting place for a moment.

The members of the "White Wave Rescue Team", who had fought side by side with the old owner of the medicine store, gathered silently in the square on a rainy night. They all seemed to understand something, didn't talk, didn't laugh, just watched quietly what was about to happen.

"—Shadow Fist!"

The bottom-up punch hit North Nose so hard that it staggered and nearly fell.

It wasn't until this moment that Shimura realized that it wasn't just the smoke and dust from the explosion that filled the surface of the ground—a black fog like water had covered the ground at some point. Ghost Stone flew deftly in the night sky, his hands sinking into the smoke and dust on the surface, completely hiding his form in the mist. As the angle of the Shadow Fist continued to change, Chaobei Nose had completely lost the initiative, and was so dizzy that he couldn't even find the enemy's location for a while.

But it still refuses to fall, still burning with rage. It struggled to stand on its feet against the storm of the Shadow Fist, and suddenly erupted with great force—gravity suddenly changed with the north nose as the center. The pots were crushed, the branches and leaves of the potted plants twisted and broken, and the shelves rattled as if they had been trampled by an invisible beast.

Caught off guard, Shimura, who was within the affected area, fell directly to the ground and knocked his knees in pain. But Xiao Ye, who was closer to the north nose, was not shaken in the slightest, and she still stood as usual with her face as usual, as if she had not been able to withstand the sudden increase in gravity.

And the ghost stone on the battlefield is equally calm. For gas Pokémon, the effect of gravity is minimal. No trainer would make such a low-level mistake -

It's just that their opponents don't have trainers to fight alongside them.

Thunder condensed in front of his nose towards the north. The rain quickened the surge of electricity, and all the energy was compressed into the blinding energy cannon, engulfing its fear and rage towards the ghosts in the night sky.

—Shadow Ball Combo. ”

Ghost Stone let out a creepy shrill laugh. It throws energy balls one after another like a game, and its moves are almost connected into a fine pitch-black curtain. The light of the electromagnetic cannon fell into it, and it was silent in an instant.

The next moment, a rainstorm of shadow balls fell. In a dance of wind and fire, the rock Pokémon fell heavily.

Facing North's scarred body turned into a red light, which was incorporated into the red and white Poké Ball, and it shook weakly twice before it was silent.

Sayo picks up the rain-soaked Poké Ball and looks sideways at the client who has been watching the battle for a long time.

"Well done, thank you. Shimura said.

His gaze lingered on the Poké Ball for a moment—in fact, he braved the rain to enter the mountain not just to test Night's reaction. The young man had come to the aid of the Misty Lips Baby when she was running wild, and it was almost natural for such an enthusiastic trainer to rush to the rescue after noticing that someone was in distress in the mountains, and it was too superfluous to deliberately test her "kindness".

What Shimura really wanted to test was the reaction of the north-facing nose.

If the despair of the past two years had completely blinded its mind, drained its good intentions, and made it indifferent to the news of the distress of its former family, then Shimura would never entrust such a Pokémon to a young man. On the contrary, as long as the will to protect something remains in its body—

You can still be saved.

"I'll leave it to you for the next year. In the dim and rainy night, the current owner of the medicine house said solemnly, "You must keep a firm watch over it, and you must not let it escape back here." ”

"And ...... Take it to see the world and see more beautiful scenery and kind people. Let it know—"

"How stupid it is to seek death for the sake of a person. ”

====================

Small Theatre:

Shimura: (angry) As I get older, I don't lack high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and heart disease, and I drank three barrels of wine on the day of the celebration.

Night: ...... (Seems to have realized)

——One day,Xiao Ye and Yang Yu had dinner together——

Sayo: I've ordered three barrels of wine, so you can add more if you don't think it's enough. (The people of the Orange Islands will be happy if they do that.jpg)

Yang Yu: ......!?(Are the people of Guandu giving me a .jpg)

#今天关都人和橘子群岛人互相理解了吗#

#没有, and the misunderstanding is deeper#