After finishing their desserts, Liam left Nuvema Town with his little tagalong.
He took out the tracker and checked it again, only to find that Mewtwo was still outside its search range. Internally, Liam sighed at how ridiculously good Mewtwo was at running around. Since there was no sign of it anywhere, he simply continued on his journey with N.
This time, Liam chose not to have Garchomp fly them around. There was no point rushing when Mewtwo's whereabouts were completely unknown, and besides, he now had little N with him. A child's body probably wouldn't be able to handle the cold temperatures and high speeds of aerial travel.
So Liam and N leisurely departed from Nuvema Town and followed the direction indicated by the tracker, strolling along Route 2 of the Unova region.
One day later, on the broad roadway—
"Hey, Big Bad Guy~ Do you only have that white friend? Hehehe~ You have so few friends. That's really pathetic, you know~"
N ran back and forth along the road, excited and curious about everything around him. But after playing for a while, he eventually grew tired. Returning to Liam's side, he grabbed the hem of Liam's coat and looked up at him with a teasing grin.
"Hah. You little brat. Didn't I already tell you my name? Why are you still calling me Big Bad Guy? Come on, call me 'big brother' like you did when we first met."
Liam smiled and looked down at him before placing a hand on N's head and vigorously ruffling his hair.
"Ahhh! Stop it! Bad guy! Bad guy! Big Bad Guy!"
His hair instantly becoming a complete mess, N jumped away angrily and stuck out his tongue.
Chuckling at the sight, Liam said, "I have plenty of partners, actually. Come on out, Zorua."
Pop~
"Chi chi chi~"
A flash of white light appeared, and Zorua emerged onto Liam's shoulder.
The moment she appeared, she immediately rubbed her fluffy little face affectionately against Liam's cheek.
"Wow! So cute! Big Bad Guy, is she your friend too? Let me hold her!"
Zorua's cuteness was devastatingly effective. The angry expression on N's face vanished instantly. He rushed over excitedly and reached out toward her.
"Chi chi! Chi chi chi!"
Unfortunately, Zorua clearly wasn't interested.
The moment she saw N eagerly reaching for her, she gave him a look of blatant disgust and hurried from Liam's right shoulder to his left in an attempt to avoid him.
But N immediately followed.
"Chi chi chi!"
So Zorua ran back to the right shoulder.
N followed again.
Back and forth they went, the two little troublemakers repeatedly darting around Liam, turning his shoulders into the site of an absurd high-speed chase.
"Enough! My eyes are getting dizzy from watching you two!"
Unable to endure it any longer, Liam grabbed the excited N with one hand and turned toward Zorua.
"Zorua, can't you just let him hold you once?"
"Chi!"
Zorua's only response was a proud snort.
Then, to Liam's surprise, she jumped down from his shoulder, ran along his arm to his hand, and stretched out a tiny red paw.
Click.
With a crisp sound from the PokeBall—
Zorua recalled herself.
"Uh..."
Liam stared at the PokeBall in speechless disbelief.
Meanwhile, N lowered his head sadly.
"...Waaah... was I hated?"
"Uh..."
Liam could only smile helplessly. He wasn't about to force Zorua to like someone if she didn't want to.
Just then—
"Meow!"
A sharp cry suddenly came from a nearby patch of grass.
Both Liam and N immediately turned toward the sound.
The next moment—
Rustle! Rustle rustle!
Several figures burst out of the bushes.
"Meow!"
"Woof!!" ×2
As soon as they emerged, the three Pokémon resumed their confrontation.
"Hm? A Purrloin? And two Herdiers?"
Liam immediately recognized them.
The Purrloin was clearly injured. It was having difficulty even standing steadily, but its fighting spirit remained strong. Its sharp eyes remained fixed on the two Herdiers standing opposite it.
"Grrr! Woof!"
After a brief standoff, one of the Herdiers suddenly lunged forward.
"Meow!"
A cold light flashed in Purrloin's eyes.
Ignoring the pain from its injuries, it quickly leapt aside and avoided the attack. At the same time, it launched a counterattack.
Its claws began glowing.
The nails extended sharply… and then it slashed forward like lightning. But just as the attack was about to connect—
"Woof!!"
The second Herdier, which had been waiting for an opportunity, suddenly moved.
Wrapped in white light, it charged forward and slammed directly into Purrloin.
"Meow!!"
Caught off guard, Purrloin cried out in pain and was sent flying.
Its small body rolled across the ground before collapsing. It could no longer get back up.
"Woof! Woof!"
Seeing their attack succeed, the two Herdiers exchanged glances before simultaneously pouncing toward the helpless Purrloin.
But at that exact moment—
"You're not allowed to hurt it!!"
With an angry shout, N suddenly dashed forward without hesitation.
Throwing himself in front of Purrloin, he spread his arms wide and stood directly in the path of the charging Herdiers.
"Empoleon! Metal Claw!"
"Pody!!"
BANG!
"Woooof—!!" ×2
Just as the Herdiers were about to collide with N, a beam of white light shot out from behind Liam.
Empoleon appeared in front of N.
Then—
Empoleon swung his wings, now coated in metallic light.
With a loud impact, both Herdiers were launched into the air, yelping as they disappeared back into the forest.
"...S-so strong!"
N stared wide-eyed at Empoleon's tall figure standing protectively before him.
His face was filled with amazement.
"Meow..."
But his attention was quickly drawn away by a weak cry behind him.
Hearing Purrloin's feeble voice, N immediately ran over and carefully picked it up.
Its body was covered in injuries. Its eyes were barely able to stay open.
Looking at the battered little Pokémon, N felt completely helpless.
His eyes gradually began to fill with tears.
"N, here."
Liam walked over and crouched beside him.
"These are healing sprays. Use them on Purrloin. Don't worry—it'll be fine."
N first looked at the bottles in his hands.
Then he looked up at Liam.
Seeing the confident smile on Liam's face and realizing he wasn't lying, N immediately nodded.
"Okay!"
Carefully opening one of the bottles, N began gently treating Purrloin's wounds. His movements were slow and cautious, as though he were afraid of causing the injured Pokémon even the slightest bit of pain.