Chapter Twenty-One: All that is called the past is but regret; all that is called the future is naught but the unknown.

A journey is not just about moving forward; it is also about looking back.

Chen Ou had never been one to lament a life of misfortune, though the twists and turns of fate had certainly marked his recent years. He never considered himself unlucky—after all, he once spent just 6,480 and managed to fully unlock a character in a game he used to play. Yet, he truly had no idea how he’d ended up here. Heaven knows, he had only wanted to find shelter from the rain.

“Gentlemen, let’s talk this through. I didn’t see or hear anything. The dog is yours. Just pretend I was never here.”

He now found himself inside a cave, facing four burly men, each accompanied by a fierce-looking Pokémon: Toxicroak, Pangoro, Pinsir, and Crobat. The Crobat in their midst was clutching a large net, inside of which squirmed more than a dozen different kinds of Pokémon. The most eye-catching among them was a Growlithe at the bottom of the net.

One of the Growlithe’s paws poked through a hole in the net, and it stuck out its tongue at Chen Ou. Unlike the other Pokémon, who looked either angry or exhausted, this one seemed… entertained. Chen Ou could almost read a sense of “how interesting!” from its expression.

For heaven’s sake! You’ve been caught by poachers—is that fun?

Enjoy yourself, then. I’ll be going…

Chen Ou edged backward.

“Catch him!” shouted the man standing beside the Pinsir.

“He’s onto our plan! We can’t let him leave!” Heaven help me, all I saw was you guys staring daggers at that Growlithe! What plan?

“Enough talk. Hurry up. The folks in Johto are waiting for us to coordinate.”

So, not locals then.

“Arf!” (“Beat them up!”)

You damn mutt! Why are you causing trouble—wait, why can I understand what this dog is saying?

Chen Ou’s gaze at the Growlithe shifted instantly—first to excitement, then to confusion.

A natural bond, and it’s with a dopey dog?

But his hands didn’t slow. With a slap to the Pokéball on his belt, his Charmander burst out, mouth open in what looked like an Ember, but was in fact a real Flamethrower.

The four hunters had been about to mock Chen Ou for sending out a mere Charmander to fight, but their laughter froze as their three Pokémon were forced back by a jet of flame.

Sensing the situation, the Crobat dropped the net and lunged at Chen Ou with its fangs bared.

A sensible move, truly.

Unfortunately for them, their opponent was Chen “Never-Lost-in-the-Wild” Ou.

And so… Crobat went down.

In the terrified eyes of the four hunters, Charmander and Chen Ou moved as one.

And so… everyone went down.

————————————

Chen Ou and Growlithe ended up playing a staring contest—the first to blink would lose. Chen Ou didn’t want to play, but somehow, whenever he met Growlithe’s eyes, he couldn’t help but start this childish game.

The Rotom Pokédex, which had come out of the bag on its own, and Charmander, who had just finished calming the rescued Pokémon, could only watch helplessly as a fool and a foolish dog locked eyes.

A minute passed; man and dog glared at each other.

Two minutes; still glaring.

Five minutes; still glaring.

At last, when the Rotom Pokédex’s timer reached seven minutes and forty-two seconds, Growlithe blinked. Yet it continued wagging its tongue as though nothing had happened.

Chen Ou grinned slyly, took an empty Pokéball from his belt, and held it up to Growlithe’s nose.

Growlithe… promptly bit the Pokéball.

“You silly dog! You’re not supposed to bite it! Just tap it with your nose!”

Chen Ou yelled. Growlithe paused, then stood on its hind legs, tossed the Pokéball from its mouth, and with its head raised, balanced the ball on its nose, keeping perfectly steady.

Chen Ou: …

You’re not a Growlithe, you’re a Spheal!

So skilled—pray tell, do you belong in an aquarium or a circus?

Annoyed, Chen Ou snatched the ball away and tossed it at Growlithe. The dog turned into a beam of red light and was captured without so much as a shake—perfect catch.

Chen Ou picked up the ball, feeling a swirl of emotions.

What the heck? Why is my perfect match such a dumb dog…?

This natural bond was rare and precious. As far as Chen Ou knew, only Red and Pikachu, Cynthia and Garchomp, and perhaps the not-yet-debuted Ash and his unseen Pikachu had such rapport.

No others had it. Even Blue and his Pokémon had forged their bond through countless battles.

The thought balanced Chen Ou’s mind a bit—better to have one than none.

He released Growlithe from the ball.

Growlithe immediately sat on its haunches, staring up at Chen Ou, tail wagging at dizzying speed as if fitted with an extra motor.

“My name is Chen Ou. I’m your Trainer.” He pointed to the still-stunned Charmander and Rotom, “These two are Rotom and Charmander. From now on, we’re all partners!”

Growlithe followed his finger to look at Charmander and the Rotom Pokédex, then turned back to Chen Ou and barked.

Chen Ou looked puzzled.

“You’re saying the fireworks I set off before were beautiful? When did I set off fireworks?”

He glanced at Charmander and Rotom, who both shook their heads—they had no idea either.

“Arf! Arf arf!! Arf arf!!” (“Back at my former owner’s house, you set off a huge firework inside the house—the whole place caught fire!”)

Chen Ou sucked in a sharp breath.

Well, well—this dog used to belong to Mayor Bell’s family, too…

Mayor Bell—what a good man! Truly an angel investor! First gifting Charmander, then sending Growlithe for an encore!

Splendid work!

Chen Ou made a mental note to visit Mayor Bell’s mansion and apologize in person, and maybe… ahem, discover another overlooked Pokémon gem.

He turned to the captured hunters and the Pokéballs taken from their persons.

Thankfully, he and Charmander had moved quickly and decisively. The shock had barely registered before they’d subdued the hunters.

Each of the four men carried six Pokéballs.

Luckily, none of the Pokémon had been set to self-release. Otherwise, Chen Ou would have had no choice but to run.

Why hadn’t the hunters allowed auto-release? Not everyone could fully trust their own Pokémon—especially when said Pokémon’s origins were questionable. For poachers like these, keeping auto-release off was standard practice.

The more you see, the warier you become.

Chen Ou was quite interested in the hunters’ origins and motives.

From their earlier words, they weren’t local to Kanto, so where were they from? What were they doing here?

“Gentlemen, where have you come from, and where are you bound?” Chen Ou asked, palms together, bowing with a gentle smile.

The four hunters noticed his monk-like gesture but couldn’t fathom why he imitated a monk—surely he wasn’t a real one? He had hair, after all… But with their lives in his hands, even if this guy and the dog seemed silly, they dared not take him lightly.

“Master, we’re from Kalos. We came here to catch some rare Pokémon and make a bit of extra cash,” one of the men replied with a fawning smile.

At the mention of Kalos, Chen Ou immediately thought of a certain comedian—no, a certain hunter.

These four were from Kalos too? What a coincidence.

Kanto and Johto aren’t easy places. With Dragon Master Lance around, the odds of getting caught are much higher than elsewhere. Besides, Kanto Pokémon aren’t as popular as those from other regions.

“Do you know someone named Lei?” Chen Ou asked again.

“No, Master, why do you ask?” the man responded, a bit too quickly.

Chen Ou narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the man’s expression.

“Your smile is quite natural. If not for your answer, I wouldn’t have suspected a thing,” Chen Ou said coldly.

“Master, I don’t understand what you’re saying,” the man replied, his grin growing stiffer by the second.

Chen Ou thought, so I’ve smoked him out after all.

Lei’s words were always a blend of truth and lies, which was why Chen Ou hadn’t released him immediately but handed him over to Officer Jenny.

It seemed Lei’s purpose here might finally be revealed.

Frowning, Chen Ou clicked his tongue. “Pity I don’t have a Psychic-type. Otherwise, I’d just hypnotize you and save myself the trouble.”

Now the man was sweating bullets.

“Charmander, we have four prisoners. If this one doesn’t tell the truth, take him out. Growlithe, stand next to another one. If you see Charmander act, take out the one beside you.”

“Rrr!” (“Got it!”)

“Arf!” (“Roger!”)

Charmander walked over to the man who’d just spoken, resting a claw on his neck. Growlithe chose the smallest of the remaining three, ignoring the desperate, “Don’t come any closer!” in the man’s eyes, and sat by his side, looking cheerful. If it weren’t for the sparks occasionally flickering from its mouth, the hunter might have thought the dog was just being playful.

Chen Ou smiled gently at the man, “What’s your relationship with Lei? Why are you in Kanto? To be clear, whether or not you answer doesn’t matter much to me. If you don’t, I’ll just kill you and call it justice. As for your plans, they have little to do with a rookie Trainer like me. I’m just curious. But I never force anyone.”

He turned to the man beside Growlithe, “If he lies and you expose him, only he dies and you live. Of course, you can gamble—maybe I can’t tell when you’re lying. After all, I’m not interrogating you separately, and you can communicate with your eyes.”

Chen Ou’s smile was warm; the man’s was hopeless.

He didn’t know if Chen Ou was truly uninterested, but he couldn’t afford to risk it. The plan belonged to the boss, but his life was his own. Hunters like them only followed the money—loyalty was scarce. To have kept silent this long was already commendable.

Reality isn’t a movie; you can never count on a desperado’s bottom line.

“We received a mission from the Kalos Poachers’ League to come to Kanto and help the local poachers raid the starter Pokémon breeding facility near Pewter City. Lei is a famous hunter in Kalos and our deputy leader. He apparently had another mission, some kind of escort, but we don’t know what he was transporting. It probably has something to do with that valley incident in the Poachers’ League a while back.”

Chen Ou nodded. This didn’t sound like a lie. Lei’s mission had indeed been an escort. As for whether that was the whole truth… he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t intend to dwell on it. He’d just call Officer Jenny in Pewter to have her take the hunters off his hands. Maybe hitch a ride to save himself more trekking—after catching Growlithe, he had no desire to stumble around the woods.

Honestly, he had no wish to get involved. He already had enough trouble—he’d been scolded enough for burning down a house. If he got tangled up in some cross-regional poacher plot, he feared Nanami would drag him back to be a proper researcher.

Chen Ou smiled, “Well, you’re in luck—you don’t have to die.”

The men heaved a sigh of relief, as if they’d just skirted the edge of death.

“Rotom, call the Pewter City police, have them come pick these guys up.”

“Roger! Roto! And I’m not a phone, Roto!”

“Okay, phone. Got it, phone.”

“Beep beep. Does not compute. Roto!”

Chen Ou joked with the Rotom Pokédex, listening to the patter of rain outside. The tension in his heart finally eased.

Sitting on the ground, Charmander and Growlithe came back to his side—one watching him quietly, the other sitting with its tongue lolling.

Chen Ou couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to stroke both their heads.

He hadn’t known Charmander long, and had only just met Growlithe, yet under the bond between Trainer and Pokémon, such mutual trust was rare indeed.

But Chen Ou’s reflection was short-lived.

Charmander and Growlithe’s expressions suddenly turned fierce. They were staring at the cave entrance, ready to attack.

Chen Ou was puzzled, but then saw a billow of white steam drift in from outside. A Pokémon entered, its orange-red fur gleaming, strong limbs encircled by iron bands. Its mane floated behind it like white smoke, beneath which bristled blade-like brown fur. Red six-pointed stars adorned its cheeks, and on its brow was a golden shell shaped like a clover.

Chen Ou swallowed hard as he watched the Pokémon stride in.

“Hey, hey, this kind of protagonist treatment is a bit much for me.”

“Entei… why are you here?”

ps1. Four thousand words—achieved.

ps2. Thanks to Question Mark for the 100 book coin reward—that’s a comrade from QQ Reading.