Striaton City was the first town after leaving Nuvema Town, and also the town where Liam had decided to stop for a while.
At this moment, inside a family restaurant in Striaton City, Liam and young N sat by a window. Liam watched as N enthusiastically devoured the children's meal in front of him. After getting cleaned up, N looked much more neat and adorable than before, and a faint smile unconsciously appeared on Liam's face.
Before long, N finished every bite of his meal. Wiping his mouth neatly, he stood up and politely thanked Liam.
"I'm done eating. Thanks for the meal. Goodbye, Mr. Bad Guy."
Then he turned and started to leave.
A moment later—
"Help! Somebody save me! Let go of me! Kidnapping! I've been kidnapped!"
N desperately tried to pry away Liam's hand, which was firmly resting on top of his head. When he realized struggling wasn't working, his eyes darted around and he immediately started shouting at the top of his lungs.
The entire restaurant turned to stare at them.
Liam's face darkened.
"Alright, stop yelling. I'll buy you a parfait."
"Oh. In that case, make it extra chocolate."
The instant he heard the word parfait, N stopped making a scene and obediently sat back down, swinging his legs while waiting for dessert.
"Excuse me, two parfaits please. Extra chocolate."
"Certainly, sir."
Liam ordered with a helpless expression. Only then did the surrounding customers lose interest and return to their own meals.
"Hey, Mr. Bad Guy, why are you keeping me around? Do you have some kind of secret you don't want anyone to know?"
While waiting for dessert, the bored N began questioning him.
"When did I ever keep you around? Weren't you the one who refused to go back with your sisters? I'm helping you, actually."
Liam smiled and played dumb.
"Hmph! Who asked for your help? Even without you, I could have escaped on my own. And even if I couldn't, all that would've happened is that I'd be taken home!"
N puffed out his cheeks and protested.
"Oh? Home, you say? Can a place like that really be called a home?"
A faint cold smile appeared on Liam's lips.
The moment those words landed, N's expression changed. His face stiffened, and surprise flickered in his eyes.
"You... what do you know? Earlier you even mentioned Ghetsis by name. Who exactly are you?"
Liam chuckled.
"I've never met Ghetsis, and I'm certainly not familiar with him. But I do know a little about you. Just like Anthea and Concordia, you're one of Ghetsis's adopted children. The difference is that he seems to have special plans for you."
"The Ghetsis I know is one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma. Alongside the other sages, he helps lead the organization. Their philosophy is that humans and Pokémon should be equal and that Pokémon deserve freedom. It's the same thing you were telling me before—that Pokémon are friends, and friends should be treated equally instead of being locked inside PokeBalls."
"I don't know what Ghetsis's true goals are. But I do know that what you said came from the heart. You genuinely want to be friends with Pokémon. That's a good thing, N. You're a smart kid. There's still a long road ahead of you, so I hope you'll always remember that original intention and never stray down the wrong path."
Thinking about what N would eventually become in the future, Liam couldn't help slipping into lecture mode.
N simply lowered his head and remained silent.
At that moment, the waitress arrived carrying two parfaits.
"Excuse me, your desserts are here. Please enjoy."
She placed the parfaits on the table with a smile and then left.
"Alright, enough serious talk. Eat before it melts."
Seeing that N remained quiet, Liam pushed one of the parfaits toward him and smiled.
N looked up at Liam briefly before lowering his head again and silently eating his dessert.
Liam simply smiled and began eating his own.
Quite some time passed. When N had finished more than half of his parfait, he suddenly stopped and looked at Liam.
"Mr. Bad Guy, what exactly are you doing in Unova? You're not from here, are you? And don't tell me you're just traveling. I heard what you said back in the forest. You mentioned that something had escaped again. Are you chasing something?"
Although N was still very young, he was exceptionally intelligent. From a few casual remarks, he had already pieced together quite a lot.
Liam nodded.
"That's right. I came all the way from Kanto to Unova chasing a Pokémon. Once I find it, I'll be able to go home."
"What did that Pokémon do wrong? Why are you trying to catch it?"
N asked with genuine confusion.
Liam paused for a moment.
"It didn't do anything wrong. The ones who were wrong were humans. But it's an extremely dangerous Pokémon. I want to bring it back before it ends up hurting innocent people."
As he spoke, Liam couldn't help feeling a mixture of helplessness and guilt toward Mewtwo.
N fell silent for a moment.
"Pokémon are friends. Friends don't do bad things. The ones at fault are humans. Humans are the reason our friends become aggressive. This is all humanity's fault!"
His voice suddenly rose.
The shout was loud enough that nearby customers turned to look at them once again.
This time, Liam found himself unable to respond.
N's words made sense. So much sense that Liam couldn't think of a rebuttal. And at the same time, he couldn't help being amazed. It was difficult to believe that such a thought-provoking statement had come from the mouth of a child only a few years old.
After calming down slightly, N spoke again.
"Mr. Bad Guy, you're going to take me with you from now on, aren't you?"
Liam thought for a moment before answering.
"Yeah. There are some things I want to discuss with Ghetsis, so you'll be staying with me for a while. Of course, if I finish my mission quickly and it's time for me to return home, you're free to leave whenever you want."
N nodded.
"Alright, I understand. Then I'll travel with you for now. I want to see this friend you're chasing and find out what kind of Pokémon it is. But if you try to hurt my friend, I'll stop you."
His expression was completely serious.
Liam burst out laughing.
"A little tagalong, huh? Looks like I've picked up a small troublemaker. Stop me? With that tiny body of yours? You should focus on eating more and growing taller first."
As he laughed, Liam reached out and ruffled N's hair.
...…..
At the same time, in a private castle not far from Striaton City, Anthea and Concordia had already returned home.
Through tears, they recounted their encounter with Liam to a man dressed in flowing priestly robes.
After listening to their story, the robed man slowly frowned and muttered to himself,
"Who is he? Someone who knows about me... could it be an old acquaintance? Still, it seems he bears no ill will toward N. For now, I'll simply observe a little longer."
The man was none other than Ghetsis, deep in thought.