Chapter 79: The First Encounter

Chapter 79: The First Encounter

Rio sat in the corner, bored, watching the young girl sighing dramatically, until he saw that Pokémon appear.

"Hmm, this Pokémon, is it a Ralts?"

Seeing this Pokémon that he was quite interested in, Rio couldn't help but open his panel to check.

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[Pokédex]

Encounter Progress: 48/50

Battle Progress: 30/50

[Real-time Analysis]

Pokémon: Elite - Ralts (Female)

Level: lv10

Type: Psychic + Fairy

Trainer: Ming Rizhao

Ability: Synchronize (If this Pokémon becomes poisoned, paralyzed, or burned, so does the opponent)

Special: Perception (Can use psychic power to sense the hearts of living beings)

Moves: Confusion (lv2), Double Team (lv1), Disarming Voice (lv0), Hypnosis (lv0)

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"That girl trainer is named Ming Rizhao..."

Rio saw that the panel now included information about the Pokémon's trainer and was lost in thought.

The girl's appearance and attire gave him a rather familiar feeling, but the name didn't match.

"Forget it, it's probably just a coincidence."

Rio gave up on thinking too deeply. His mind, full of cake, only wanted to satisfy his stomach right now.

"Here you go, little customer. A cup of milk tea, on the house."

The old lady with a gentle smile, holding a tray, placed a steaming cup of fragrant milk tea in front of Ming Rizhao.

"Oh my, how are there two more cute little ones?"

The old lady only just noticed Ralts and Rio, who was sitting on the other side. She turned around, took two small cups from the cupboard, also poured fragrant milk tea into them, and then placed a cup in front of each of the two Pokémon.

"Enjoy yourselves. I'll go to the kitchen to get your cakes."

The old lady smiled and walked back into the kitchen.

Only then did Ming Rizhao and Ralts notice the unfamiliar Pokémon sitting in the corner.

In that instant, Ming Rizhao's eyes lit up. As a Pokémon trainer, she had loved Pokémon very much since she was a child. For all the Pokémon in the Middel Region, she wouldn't dare say she knew them all, but knowing most of them was not an issue. Yet the handsome Pokémon before her, with its slender limbs but a kind of restrained explosive power—she searched her entire memory and found absolutely no information about this Pokémon. This greatly piqued her curiosity.

"Where is this Pokémon's trainer? I don't see them..."

Ming Rizhao looked left and right but didn't find Rio's human trainer.

"Could it be a wild Pokémon? Then does that mean I..."

Thinking of this, Ming Rizhao couldn't help but want to take out her Poké Ball.

However, the Ralts sitting opposite her couldn't watch any longer and quickly pressed down on her trainer's hand. "(Pokémon Language) Xiao Zhao, that's enough! Don't cause trouble for the shop owner here!"

"…"

Only then did Ming Rizhao reluctantly give up her idea, sipping her milk tea while staring at Rio with a burning gaze.

"...Hey, young lady, although you're quite cute, we really don't know each other. Please don't look at me with such eyes."

Rio complained inwardly, quickly lowering his head to drink his milk tea, pretending not to see the girl's fiery gaze.

"Speaking of which, this milk tea is really delicious, much better than those famous brands from my previous life."

Feeling the rich aroma of tea and milk lingering between his lips and teeth, Rio couldn't help but look forward to the cake even more.

After another moment of waiting in a daze, the old lady finally walked out from the back kitchen under the eager gazes of the one person and two Pokémon.

"Here, this is yours, little customer. Chocolate Lava Cake."

A cake piled high, with thick chocolate syrup slowly flowing down from a chocolate ball on top, was placed in front of Ming Rizhao.

"Here, this is for you, little cutie. Colorful Fruit Medley Cake."

A cake piled high with various fruits, with a generous layer of cream spread on top, and a few familiar Berries placed in the very center, was placed in front of Rio.

"This is my old man's new creation, you know. Please enjoy it."

The old lady chuckled as she looked at Rio.

Ming Rizhao, Ralts, and Rio drooled.

"I'm digging in!" x3

The moment the cake entered his mouth, the fragrance of the fruits, the perfectly balanced sweetness of the cream, and the fluffy, soft texture of the cake itself—three different layers of texture exploded in Rio's mouth like a delicious storm, directly maxing out his happiness meter.

On the other side, the girl's surprised exclamations were endless.

"Wow, wow, wow, so delicious! This chocolate, this cake!"

"(Pokémon Language) It really is delicious."

"Ruru, quick, try this chocolate ball."

"(Pokémon Language) Xiao Zhao, don't be so loud, you're disturbing others... Mmm, mmm, it really is delicious."

"Boohoohoo, although I got scammed and my wallet was stolen today, being able to eat such a delicious cake is really worth it."

"(Pokémon Language) No, those are two different things... I told you to be more careful usually..."

"Alright, Ruru, say no more. Let's eat quickly."

"…"

Rio held back his laughter as he listened to their conversation, thinking they were really interesting.

Suddenly, he discovered that the human girl could actually converse normally with her Pokémon!

In Newmoon Forest, some Pokémon that had once been captured by humans had told him that after being drawn into a Poké Ball, a bridge of mental communication would indeed be established between the Pokémon and its trainer. However, this mental communication was very vague. Only in two situations—when humans had special abilities, or when humans and Pokémon had established an incredibly deep bond—could they communicate without any barrier using this mental link.

This young lady before him, which situation did she fall into?

And the trainer he himself was looking for, what kind should they be?

As distracting thoughts arose, the cake in his mouth seemed to become less delicious.

"Forget it. The boat will find its way to the bridge when it gets there. If there's fate, we'll meet naturally. The most urgent task now is to finish this cake properly. After all, who knows when I'll get to eat it again..."

Even though Rio was reluctant to finish the cake quickly, he still slowly put the entire piece into his stomach.

"What a blissful experience."

After reluctantly drinking the last sip of milk tea, Rio slipped off the table and dashed out of the cake shop.

He left behind the girl and her Ralts, happily tasting the cake, one bite for you, one bite for me.

The old lady sat at a nearby table, staring somewhat blankly, lost in thought.

…

"Bang!"

Rio, who had just slipped out of the cake shop, was startled by a sudden loud noise and various dazzling lights.

Focusing his eyes, he saw splendid fireworks blooming one after another in the dark night sky.

Using his Aura perception to listen to the enthusiastic discussions of the surrounding humans, Rio learned that tonight was Verdant Leaf City's semi-annual "Fireworks Festival."

"So lively!"

Rio watched the bustling crowd squeeze into the large square in the town center. The noisy commotion added a few more degrees of festive excitement.

So, Rio also relaxed, found a good spot outside the crowd, and quietly enjoyed the magnificent performance.

"…"

Thinking about it carefully, it seemed like a long time since he had rested so quietly.

Rio's thoughts began to drift.

Ever since coming to the Pokémon world, there had always been a nameless sense of pressure, forcing him to constantly train and increase his energy. In Sunrise Valley, although he would play and frolic with Poliwag, Oddish, and the others, he still spent more time on his own improvement. Not to mention the series of events that happened later: the frenzied invasion of the forest Pokémon, the desperate battle with the Pokémon from the Toxic Swamp, and even the final duel with the legendary super divine beast Mewtwo—all of which required him to exert all his mental and physical strength to deal with.

Now that he had arrived in this new region, before he could find a way to contact his companions, perhaps he could live his own life in peace for a while...

Hmm?

Rio suddenly focused his attention, looking at the crowded group of people.

He saw a sneaky man weaving through the crowd, occasionally bumping into people. This was originally a rather common occurrence; after all, in such a dense crowd, a little bumping seemed perfectly normal. But Rio's keen eyesight saw clearly that after this sneaky man bumped into others, he would often, in the instant the other person wasn't paying attention, take out something like a wallet from their pocket or backpack with extremely fast hand movements.

"Sigh, I was just thinking of resting well and not getting involved in too many disputes, but now, it seems Arceus doesn't want me to be idle either."

Rio mocked himself. That sneaky man was obviously a pickpocket, specializing in operating in such crowded situations. Looking at his proficient methods, he must be a repeat offender.

Whether it was his personality from his previous life that hated evil, or the innate sense of justice of a Riolu in this life, neither allowed Rio to stand by and do nothing.

And so.

After stuffing his backpack full, the sneaky man left the crowd satisfied and walked towards the outskirts of Verdant Leaf City.

And behind him, quietly trailing along, was a small, little figure.