Chapter 25: The Cause of the Beast Tide

Leon arrived at the rest room. As soon as he entered, he saw Ursaring devouring Pokémon food.

It was using both paws to shovel food into its mouth at such speed that afterimages formed.

"Damn, how long has it been starving?" Leon muttered.

Ursaring noticed Leon and gradually slowed its movements.

"Hey there, how's the rest going?"

Leon raised his hand to greet Ursaring.

But Ursaring immediately covered its head with its paws upon seeing him raise his hand, whimpering softly.

"Uh, am I that scary?"

Leon awkwardly lowered his hand.

It seemed the previous battle had left Ursaring with psychological trauma.

When it saw Leon raise his hand, it thought he was about to throw those strange items again.

But this also meant Ursaring still retained its past memories, which was convenient for Leon to ask some questions.

He walked forward slowly while comforting Ursaring.

"Don't be nervous. The battle is over. I won't hurt you."

Hearing Leon's words, Ursaring lowered its paws and cautiously looked at him.

Seeing Leon's friendly smile, it felt less afraid.

It then pointed at the Pokémon food on the ground. After Leon nodded, it immediately grabbed the food and started eating.

Leon waited patiently, watching quietly.

Honestly, Ursaring ate so heartily that it made Leon feel hungry too.

After Ursaring finished all the food and let out a satisfied burp, Leon asked,

"Had enough? Want some more?"

Ursaring shook its head and patted its round belly, signaling it was full.

"Can I ask you some questions? Did you participate in the beast tide a few days ago? Who put this Black Crystal on you? Did you become frenzied because of it?"

This barrage of questions short-circuited Ursaring's brain. It scratched its head, unsure how to answer.

Seeing Ursaring's confusion, Leon realized he had been too impatient. He steadied himself and said,

"Just tell me about your experiences these past few days. The more details, the better. Don't worry about me not understanding."

"Roto, translate for me." Leon turned to the Rotom Drone behind him.

"Understood, Young Master Leon."

After Leon repeatedly refused, Roto finally stopped calling him "Master" and instead referred to him as "Young Master," like the servants in the castle.

Previously, Leon could only guess what Pokémon were trying to express. But now, with Rotom Drone, he could accurately understand every word they said.

Through Ursaring's account and Roto's translation, Leon learned the truth.

Ursaring's frenzy was indeed caused by the Black Crystal, and this crystal also triggered the recent beast tide!

According to Ursaring, the Pokémon had been living normally in the forest. Though food was scarce, they could still manage and had no intention of forming a beast tide.

But a few days ago, several humans in black robes arrived. Their leader used a Pokémon with a large nose to control them.

They attached Black Crystals to the stronger Pokémon and sprinkled black powder on the weaker ones before leaving.

After the black-robed humans left, Ursaring and the others suddenly felt an intense urge to destroy. They became extremely aggressive.

Their hearts were also filled with hatred toward humans, believing humans had stolen their homes and food.

Thus, these Pokémon formed the beast tide and began attacking human territories.

Along the way, they encountered human resistance. During the battles, many Pokémon entered a frenzied state.

Ursaring was among them. It described entering frenzy after taking heavy damage.

Though its power increased in this state, it lost all rationality and only wanted to destroy everything in sight.

After fighting for a while, it exited frenzy but was left extremely weak. Instinct drove it to flee the battlefield.

Yet it was still affected by the Black Crystal, remaining aggressive and hostile toward humans.

That was why it immediately attacked when it smelled Honey and chased the players relentlessly.

Only after being defeated by Leon did it finally calm down.

At the end, Ursaring glanced fearfully at Leon. In its memory, it had smashed a human into nothingness.

It feared Leon would hold a grudge or even kill it for this.

Leon saw the panic in Ursaring's eyes.

"Don't be afraid. I know what you did before wasn't your true intention. Besides, that human didn't die. They're perfectly fine. You don't need to feel guilty."

He patted Ursaring's paw reassuringly.

"Now that I understand the situation, what do you plan to do next? Return to the forest or stay with me?"

Though Leon had already caught Ursaring, he didn't want to force it to fight for him. He sought like-minded partners, not tools for battle.

Ursaring hesitated for a moment before pointing at the empty bowl and growling softly.

"It's asking if it can eat food like this every day if it stays with you," Roto translated.

"Of course you can. I have plenty of Pokémon food. You can eat as much as you want."

Leon waved his hand grandly, making the promise.

The Pokémon food in the system store wasn't expensive. He could afford to feed even a Snorlax, let alone an Ursaring.

"And there'll be occasional treats too~"

Leon took out a jar of Honey and waved it in front of Ursaring.

Ursaring's eyes lit up at the sight. It nodded eagerly, expressing its willingness to follow Leon.

"Great, another glutton. This jar of Honey is yours to recover. Rest well here. From now on, we're partners!"

"Roar!"

Ursaring roared happily and hugged Leon, rubbing against him.

"Stop rubbing. You're getting drool all over me. Just eat."

Watching Ursaring blissfully enjoy the Honey, Leon smiled helplessly.

Aside from Scyther, he had caught three Pokémon. Two of them stayed with him solely because he provided food.

Truly, Pokémon are never slaves, unless you offer food and shelter!

"At least my Bounsweet is different. It was purely attracted by my looks. Not as shallow as these guys, only caring about food."

"Speaking of which, where is Bounsweet?"

"Bounsweet is practicing 'Grassy Terrain' in the courtyard. It felt it didn't help you enough in the last battle, so it's working hard to improve," Roto answered.

"That little one is just too lovable."

Leon was deeply moved, itching to hug Bounsweet right away.

"Never mind, I won't disturb it now. Please call Walter over. Tell him I need to discuss something."

"Understood. I'll inform him right away."

After Roto flew off, Leon took out the Black Crystal and examined it carefully.

"Black-robed humans, huh? A bunch of pretentious bastards. I will catch you!"

Leon clenched the crystal tightly, his eyes filled with determination.

(End of Chapter)