Over fifty years ago, Skeledirge was not yet the king of the Allearth Forest, and the Allearth Forest was not even called the Allearth Forest back then.
One day, Skeledirge was foraging for berries by the river when it suddenly spotted something drifting from afar in the current.
Once the object drifted closer, it realized the figure was a human, specifically a young boy in his early teens.
Acting out of kindness, Skeledirge fished him out of the river and brought him home.
Upon inspection, Skeledirge discovered that the boy had suffered severe injuries and was running a high fever, making his condition critical.
Consequently, Skeledirge summoned the elder of the forest, an elderly Venusaur.
Venusaur was the longest-living Pokémon in the forest and was well-versed in medicinal herbs. With its assistance, the boy's injuries eased, and his fever gradually subsided.
Skeledirge cared for the boy for an entire day and night before he slowly regained consciousness.
At first, the boy was extremely surprised upon seeing Skeledirge and even showed fear, but after learning that Skeledirge had saved him, he gradually let down his guard.
Because his injuries had not fully healed, the boy did not leave immediately after waking up. Skeledirge did not chase him away either, choosing instead to meticulously look after him.
Every day, Skeledirge went out to gather the medicinal herbs needed to treat the boy's injuries and brought back delicious food for him as well.
The primary reason Skeledirge treated the boy with such care was that she was currently expecting a baby, placing her in a phase overflowing with maternal instincts.
As they spent more time together, the bond between Skeledirge and the boy grew increasingly deep, to the point where she began viewing him as her own child.
Thus, the boy remained in the forest for nearly half a year. Although his injuries had completely healed, he showed no intention of leaving.
Since he chose to stay, Skeledirge allowed him to live alongside her.
Every day, the boy went out with Skeledirge to search for food, ate and slept together with her, and played throughout the forest, seemingly becoming a part of the woodland community.
Introduced by Skeledirge, he also met Venusaur. Upon learning that it was Venusaur's herbal knowledge that had saved him, he immediately expressed profound gratitude to Venusaur.
In the days that followed, apart from keeping Skeledirge company, he frequently visited Venusaur, never forgetting to bring small gifts each time, sometimes a berry, sometimes a bouquet of flowers...
Gradually, Venusaur came to trust the boy completely.
During lunch one day, the boy suddenly asked Skeledirge if she would be willing to go with him to the human world.
Naturally unwilling, Skeledirge shook her head in refusal, explaining that she loved her forest home and had no desire to go anywhere else.
Kolei~ kolei~ Are you leaving this place?
Skeledirge asked with reluctance.
Although the boy could not understand Skeledirge's cry, he guessed what she meant and immediately shook his head with a smile.
"How could I? Since you don't want to come with me to the human world, I'll stay in the forest and keep you company forever!"
Kolei~ kolei~ Skeledirge felt overjoyed upon hearing this, doubting his words not even a fraction.
A month later, with Venusaur's assistance, Skeledirge successfully gave birth to a healthy Pokémon egg.
Exhausted from the childbirth, Skeledirge fell soundly asleep, while Venusaur stayed behind to look after her.
Skeledirge had no mate; she and the father of her child shared a relationship where they parted ways immediately after completing the reproductive task, meaning the father's whereabouts had long been unknown.
Skeledirge had no idea how long she slept. When she woke up and wanted to find the boy, she discovered he was completely gone.
Vanishing alongside the boy was Skeledirge's newborn child.
Dragging her unrecovered body, Skeledirge anxiously searched for the boy and her child, still unaware of what had transpired.
She searched until she reached Venusaur's home, only to find Venusaur collapsed on the ground.
Venusaur's home was in complete disarray, and all the medicinal herbs it had meticulously cultivated were missing.
Venusaur possessed a high level and a long lifespan, but having lived for so long, it had long since reached the end of its vitality, relying daily on absorbing the energy within medicinal herbs to sustain its life.
Now that the herbs were entirely gone, Venusaur had lost the energy source sustaining its life.
At that moment, Skeledirge finally understood that the boy was behind everything; he had stolen her child and also plundered Venusaur's precious medicinal herbs.
Skeledirge suddenly recalled that the very first time the boy saw Venusaur's herbs, he had remarked that such herbs would surely fetch a high price in the human world.
Therefore...
Realizing the boy had betrayed her, Skeledirge snapped, beginning a frantic search for him everywhere.
Yet how could she possibly find him, with only the heavens knowing where the boy had fled!
Returning empty-handed, Skeledirge plunged into deep self-blame and endless hatred.
Had she never brought the boy back, none of this would have ever happened.
All those promises about staying in the forest to keep her company, being friends, partners, or family, were sheer lies, nothing more than deceptions spun by that fellow to fool her!
Six months later, Venusaur passed away due to the loss of its energy sustenance.
Venusaur commanded high respect in the forest and was a Pokémon beloved by all. Upon its death, every single Pokémon in the forest harbored deep resentment toward the boy, and by extension, toward humanity!
This explained why the Pokémon of the Allearth Forest flew into a frenzy and attacked Ange upon sight, and why hardly any humans had managed to enter the Allearth Forest for decades.
Following Venusaur's death, fueled by hatred and remorse, Skeledirge pushed herself to train relentlessly, ultimately growing powerful enough to become the king of this forest!
After listening to Skeledirge's account, Ange felt a profound sense of emotional resonance.
"That person was indeed utterly despicable!"
Kolei~ kolei~ Finishing her story, Skeledirge wore a face full of fury, even venting her anger onto Ange simply because he was human.
Addressing this, Ange stated, "I now understand why you hate humans, but that doesn't mean every human is bad! Take me, for instance, I'm a remarkably handsome and kind-hearted good guy."
Kolei~ kolei~ Skeledirge responded with an angry roar at those words. You? A good guy? Would a good guy threaten me?
Knowing that given Skeledirge's past, altering her perception of humans overnight would be immensely difficult, Ange shifted the topic instead.
"Skeledirge, do you happen to know that person's name?"
"His name is Xiaochen!" Skeledirge said through gritted teeth, as though she wanted to grind the very name to dust with her jaws.
"Xiaochen..." Ange muttered the name to himself. Finding a target using such a common name would not be easy, prompting him to ask further, "Did he have any distinct physical features?"
Pondering for a moment, Skeledirge began describing Xiaochen's appearance, leaving Ange utterly speechless.
According to Skeledirge's description, Xiaochen possessed a nose, a mouth, and two eyes... but... the crucial point was that virtually everyone looked like that!
"Nothing else? Anything more specific?" Ange inquired.
As if suddenly recalling something, Skeledirge added, "Right, he had a long scar stretching from his forehead to the corner of his eyebrow!"
That very scar was left behind from the injury he sustained back then.
Only now did Skeledirge realize that until today, she had never known how Xiaochen had been injured in the first place or how he ended up drifting into the Allearth Forest.
"That makes his features distinct enough!" Ange nodded, saying, "I'll do my best to help you look for him!"
Kolei~~ Skeledirge nodded, though her gaze toward Ange still carried clear distrust. Had Ange not threatened her, she never would have compromised using this opportunity.
At that moment, Floette suddenly flew to the front and declared, "I want to go to the human world with him!"
Ange and the surrounding Pokémon froze in surprise.
Skeledirge asked, "Why are you going to the human world?"
Floette replied, "I'm going to monitor this human to make sure he doesn't break his promise. Besides, I want to help the king find the child. Humans aren't reliable, so I'll search myself!"
Hearing this, the three Flabébé immediately flew over to Floette's side and chorused at Skeledirge:
Labei~ labei~ We're going too, we want to help as well!
Skeledirge shouted angrily, "Be quiet, all of you, nobody is going! Do you even know what the human world is like? Do you realize how terrifying humans are?"
Hula~ But...
Floette attempted to argue further, glancing at Ange and deciding humans weren't nearly as terrifying as the king claimed.
Look at how handsome this human was!
Unfortunately, before it could finish speaking, Skeledirge cut it off.
Kolei~ kolei~ I said no, and that's final!
Seeing that Skeledirge was angry, Floette instantly fell silent out of fear.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Ange quickly intervened, "Skeledirge, I've already agreed to your request. Can you hand over the Red Butterfly Grass to me now?"
Skeledirge glanced sideways at Ange. "Follow me!"
With that, the small fireball on her snout suddenly floated upward, transforming into a massive fire bird.
Skeledirge leaped onto the fire bird's back, letting the bird carry her into the sky.
Promptly reacting, Ange climbed onto Latios's back and gave chase, riding Latios right behind her.
Following Skeledirge, he flew forward across half of the Allearth Forest, finally arriving in front of a steep cliff!
Skeledirge directed the fire bird down to the ground, with Ange landing closely behind, revealing a cliff face densely covered in lush green vines.
Skeledirge parted a section of the vines to uncover a hidden cave entrance tucked behind them before stepping inside.
Accompanied by Latias and Latios, Ange followed right after.
The cave interior was quite dim, prompting Latios to immediately emit a gentle glow to illuminate the path for Ange.
Passing through the narrow tunnel, the view ahead suddenly opened up into a breathtaking valley filled with swaying Red Butterfly Grass.
The vivid red butterfly grass draped across the entire valley like a crimson carpet. Among the grass, numerous Vivillon of varying colors and patterns fluttered gracefully, resembling a living landscape painting of peerless beauty.
Kolei~ kolei~ Hurry up and harvest them! Leave immediately once you're done!
Skeledirge urged impatiently.
Taking out his shears and basket, Ange handed the basket to Latias to hold before beginning to clip the red butterfly blossoms at the tips of the Red Butterfly Grass.
The basket filled up rapidly, and judging that the quantity was sufficient, Ange stopped right away.
Suddenly, an idea struck him: why not dig up a few Red Butterfly Grass plants to cultivate at home?
Red Butterfly Grass was extremely rare, making such an abundant encounter quite a luxury.
More importantly, Red Butterfly Grass was genuinely stunning. Although not technically flowers, they surpassed the beauty of most ordinary flowers by a wide margin.
"May I dig up a few Red Butterfly Grass plants to take with me?" Ange asked, looking toward Skeledirge.
Hesitation flickered across Skeledirge's expression upon hearing this, but remembering how Ange had earlier protected Flabébé, Floette, and Lurantis from collateral damage, she ultimately gave a slight nod.
After all, they were just a few plants.
"That's wonderful, thank you, Skeledirge!"
Happily taking out a small shovel, Ange began digging. He showed restraint by stopping after unearthing just three plants.
Red Butterfly Grass propagated through roots and stems, meaning as long as a single specimen survived, it could quickly multiply to form an entire patch.
If he managed to kill all three plants through poor cultivation, Ange would simply accept his fate, concluding that he was not meant to have Red Butterfly Grass and seeing no need to continue exploiting such precious flora.
Though Red Butterfly Grass lacked extensive medical applications, Nurse Joy had noted that surviving populations of the plant were dwindling rapidly.
Stowing the potted Red Butterfly Grass securely inside his spatial backpack, Ange bid farewell to Skeledirge.
Eager to see Ange depart as quickly as possible, Skeledirge urged, "Kolei~ kolei~ Hurry up and leave! Go on!"
Emerging from the earlier cave, Ange mounted Latios once more and flew toward the outer perimeter of the Allearth Forest.
Whether because Skeledirge had issued prior instructions or not, no Pokémon attacked him this time; even passing flying Pokémon simply ignored his presence.
Just as Ange reached the edge of the forest, four figures blocked his path ahead.
"You..." Ange's expression turned to one of surprise upon recognizing them.
The four Pokémon were each carrying a small leaf-made bundle on their backs, staring solemnly at Ange—none other than Floette and the three Flabébé?!
Stepping forward, Floette declared, "We're coming with you to monitor you, so don't even think about tricking the king!"
Ange asked, "Does Skeledirge know about you leaving?"
Hula... O... of course she... she knows!
Labei... Yes, exactly, the king... l... let us come!
Floette and the Flabébé stammered nervously.
Guessing instantly that they had run away from home, Ange grabbed Floette firmly by the back of the neck without hesitation and said, "Come on, I'm taking you back!"
If he truly smuggled Floette and the Flabébé away in secret, Skeledirge's hostility toward humans would likely worsen tenfold, avoiding any unnecessary complications was best.
Hula~ hula~ Let me go, let me go! I won't go back, I refuse!
The Flabébé struggled violently, while the others swarmed forward, patting Ange repeatedly with their tiny hands.
Unfortunately, far from hurting, the gestures merely highlighted how playful and endearing the Flabébé truly were.
Such delightful creatures!
Thus, amidst the protests of Floette and the Flabébé, Ange brought the four Pokémon right back to Skeledirge!
Learning that Floette and the others still harbored such "stubborn intentions," Skeledirge grew furious and prepared to scold them on the spot.
Stubbornly sticking her chin out, Floette retorted: Go ahead and scold me, yell all you want, do whatever you like!