Pokémon Devil King

Chapter 339 Temptation

While Heracross was shocked by the daily life of the white sea lion, Jiuji changed the subject and asked directly: "Heracross, do you want to come with us?"

"Hera?!" What?!

Heracross raised his head suddenly, forgetting to put down the half-eaten fruit in his hand, and froze in mid-air.

The proposal came so suddenly that it split its usual train of thought like a bolt of lightning.

Walking with humans?

Become a captured Pokémon?

This idea never appeared in its long wandering life plan in the name of freedom.

"Travel with us." Jiuji repeated clearly, his eyes open and sincere, "I will provide the treatment and recovery environment you need until you fully recover."

She paused, and spoke with a reassuring certainty: "You no longer need to worry about being attacked in your sleep, or facing poison or siege that you cannot handle alone. You will have reliable companions behind you."

"Hera?" With humans?

Heracross' voice was filled with disbelief and deep-seated instinctive resistance.

It has seen too many human trainers, who either feared its unusual shell and powerful strength and stayed away from it; or had greed in their eyes, wanting to capture it as a rare trophy to show off their strength.

Trust a human being?

The thought itself made it feel more dangerous than facing a whole group of vicious cross-bats alone.

"I know what you are worried about," Jiuji seemed to see through the turmoil in his heart, "This is just a suggestion, and I am not talking about conquering him."

She even said with a bit of calmness: "You can just treat it as a simple trip. It's totally fine if you want to leave after your injury heals."

In the past, I also wanted to form various tactical teams, eager to capture more powerful Pokémon.

But as time went by, her thoughts had quietly changed as she spent time with her partners.

After all, human energy is limited, and it is impossible to truly treat every partner equally.

Just like the white sea lions and giant jaw ants, most of them chose to follow her on their own initiative. After she accepted them, most of the training tasks were given to Huahua and Daidai.

Today, rather than actively trying to conquer others, it is more accurate to say that she does not want to, and does not have the heart to, reject those who actively approach her.

The decision to invite Heracross to join the trip was mainly due to the other party's physical condition and the drunkard's emotional problems.

"Hera?" Huh?

Heracross felt like his worldview was being madly rebuilt in the past few minutes.

Is there such a trainer? Pure dedication? Free food and lodging? No reward?

Seeing the slight hesitation under the other party's hard shell, Jiuji smiled and glanced at the proud white sea lion beside him: "There are actually quite a lot of different species in my team. Yes, there is also one that is about the same color as you."

"Ao Ao!" That's right!

The white sea lion seemed to have accurately grasped the key word "alien". It immediately puffed out its chest proudly and nodded vigorously, with a light of sympathy and pride flashing in its round eyes.

What's wrong with being an outlier? It has never felt inferior because of its unique snow-white fur!

Of course, it would be even more perfect if it could be pink, and it would also bring her closer to Dai Jietou.

"Hera?" Can I think about it again?

Heracross' voice deepened, but its long life in the wild prevented it from making a decision so quickly.

"Of course," Jiuji nodded in understanding, then stroked his chin apologetically, "But my schedule is pretty tight lately, so I have to leave tomorrow morning at the latest."

She thought for a moment and proposed a compromise plan: "How about this, let the drunkard and the white sea lion stay here with you tonight. If you decide to go together, come to my spaceship with them tomorrow."

"If you don't want to." She said calmly, without any reluctance, "I'll tell Miss Joy and book you a ward for one month. It should be enough time for you to recover from your injuries."

*

The night was dark and the moonlight flowed into the quiet ward like mercury.

Hercules was lying on the soft makeshift hospital bed, with the quiet night view of the town outside the window.

The only people left in the ward were it, a white sea lion curled up at the end of the bed and snoring softly, and a drunkard who was sleeping in the corner with his beloved bottle of wine in his arms and legs spread out, looking completely unpresentable.

The ward was quiet, but it was filled with emotion.

Jiuji's words were like a stone thrown into the lake of one's heart, causing ripples one after another.

"Food and lodging provided...no reward required...you can leave anytime you recover..."

"There will be reliable companions behind you..."

"There are quite a lot of outliers in the team..."

It chewed over these words in its mind almost paranoidly, trying to find any trace of hidden traps or deceptions.

After years of wandering, it has already engraved "beware of all gifts that are too good" into its bones and blood.

Which human trainer, especially those with good strength, does not approach powerful or rare Pokémon for the purpose of catching, fighting, or showing off? This has almost become an iron rule in its cognition.

However, this human girl named Jiuji, her words, actions, her eyes and attitude, all revealed an inexplicable abnormality in every aspect.

The white sea lion's self-righteous and even proud look does not seem fake at all. It is a sense of belonging and identity that comes from the heart.

The one called Little Drunkard was even more careless. He just fell asleep while holding the bottle of wine, without any awareness or fear of being a "petted" Pokémon.

"Hera..." It sighed softly, and its front legs subconsciously touched the wound on its chest that had been properly bandaged by Miss Joy.

There was still a dull pain there, but it was much better than the poisonous erosion and weakness that penetrated deep into the bone marrow and almost tore the soul apart when being besieged by the cross bats.

This kind of stable, clean and safe treatment environment is a luxury that it dares not even imagine in the danger-ridden wilderness.

Fragments of memory emerged uncontrollably:

Those long nights in cold caves or humid jungles, licking deep wounds alone; those tossing and turning in the cold or pain, unable to fall asleep; those helpless and sad times when the territory or food was coveted by other powerful wild Pokémon, and had to fight desperately with the wounded body...

Every time, it seems to remind it of the price of going alone.

Really... can you believe it?

Become a companion...

The word was both unfamiliar to it and carried with it a faint, long-suppressed desire.

It has long been accustomed to being alone and to relying solely on its own strength to solve all difficulties.

But this time, the cold reality dealt it a heavy blow.

If Jiuji and her Pokémon hadn't appeared in time, he would not have survived.

It absolutely, absolutely does not want to experience again that cold feeling of having its vitality drained away bit by bit by the poison, waiting for death in despair.

"Do you want to try it?" It asked itself silently again, its eyes slowly sweeping over the two guys sleeping soundly beside it.

The white sea lion seemed to be dreaming of something wonderful. It smacked its lips, snored even louder, and the tip of its tail swayed slightly unconsciously.

The little drunkard turned over and the bottle of wine in his arms almost fell out. In his dream, he unconsciously and cherishedly picked it up again and held it tightly in his arms, mumbling something in his sleep.

Their defenseless and completely relaxed posture is itself a silent but extremely powerful proof.

They have absolute trust in this trainer named Jiuji and the environment she created.

"Travel." It chewed on the word.

Not being locked up in a Poké Ball, not being forced to fight, but traveling together.

See different scenery, experience different things, and have a safe place to recuperate before you fully recover, without having to be on your toes all the time to guard against attacks from the dark...

This proposal was too tempting for this seriously injured wanderer.

The night outside the window faded quietly in his chaotic thoughts, and the deep dark blue was gradually replaced by the fish belly white rising in the eastern sky.

Dawn is approaching, and the cold morning light begins to outline the contours of the ward, which also means that the deadline given by Jiuji has arrived.

*

In the backyard of the Elf Center, the spaceship landed temporarily, emitting a low and steady humming sound.

At the gangway, Jiuji was making the final handover with Miss Joy.

"Ms. Joy, if Heracross doesn't come, please follow our previous agreement and let it rest here for a month. I have already deposited all the expenses."

"Okay, please leave it to me." Miss Joy smiled and nodded in agreement.

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