"Whew... we finally escaped safely. Let's rest here for a while."
After confirming the Mankey weren't chasing them anymore, Leon stopped running and prepared to take a break.
Truthfully, neither he nor Ursaring felt tired, but the Yungoos were struggling to keep up.
These Yungoos were already injured, and after running all this way, they simply had no energy left to continue.
Seeing Leon stop, the Yungoos also halted, collapsing onto the ground while panting heavily.
Leon dismounted Ursaring and took out potions to treat their injuries. He also purchased some Pokémon food and Pokéblocks from the system shop to replenish their energy and nutrition.
The Yungoos caught the scent of the food. They raised their heads, staring eagerly at the food in Leon's hands, their mouths watering uncontrollably.
As soon as Leon set the food down, the Yungoos immediately pounced on it, devouring the Pokémon food ravenously.
They had been starving these past few days. Back in human territory, all they had to do was guard the fields, and Rattata would come running straight into their clutches.
When the fields were fallow, they could still hunt Rattata in the town.
Even if the Yungoos failed to catch any Rattata, the humans would still feed them. They had never gone a single day hungry.
This gave them the illusion that obtaining food was easy, which was why they had the confidence to leave the territory.
But after leaving, they quickly realized how difficult it truly was to secure enough food.
Though the forest was full of Rattata, without crops to attract them, these Rattata wouldn't just walk into their traps. At the slightest disturbance, they would flee.
The Yungoos had to take the initiative, hunting by patrolling back and forth, but this consumed too much energy and was highly inefficient. They only managed to catch a few Rattata, barely enough to fill their stomachs.
Keep in mind, most of a Yungoos's body consists of its stomach, meaning their appetite is enormous. They require large amounts of food daily.
Without enough food to replenish their energy, they lacked the strength to patrol. Without patrolling, they couldn't catch food. Without food...
They had fallen into a vicious cycle, starving constantly these past few days.
And to make matters worse, they weren't just starving—they were also getting beaten up by Mankey!
"Yungoos..."
Tears welled up in the Yungoos's eyes as they recalled their miserable experiences.
They wanted to return to their territory now. They didn't know if the new owner would accept them back.
Probably not. After all, they had left decisively back then, not even looking back. The new owner must be furious.
Where would they go from here?
Just as the Yungoos were worrying about their future, they suddenly heard the human who had saved them invite them to return to the territory.
"Yungoos?"
"They're asking which territory you mean," Roto translated.
"What other territory could it be? Ember Town, of course. You didn't recognize me?"
Leon crouched down as he spoke. He had assumed the Yungoos recognized him, which was why they followed him. Turns out, he was just overthinking it.
Hearing this, the Yungoos immediately stared at Leon's face with excitement.
This human did look familiar... like that boy in the territory who used to run away at the sight of them.
Could this human be the new owner of the territory?
Leon noticed their confusion and continued explaining,
"You might not remember me. I'm now the lord of Ember Town."
"Oh, right—you probably don't know what a 'lord' is. Simply put, I'm the boss of everyone in Ember Town. They all listen to me, so I have the authority to invite you back. So, what do you say? Are you willing to return with me?"
The Yungoos exchanged glances before focusing on the largest one among them.
This Yungoos was their new leader, the child of the late Gumshoos.
Back then, upon learning of its father's death, it didn't want to stay in Ember Town any longer, so it led the Yungoos away.
Though the others were tempted and eager to return with Leon, they still obeyed their leader's command.
The Yungoos leader could clearly see the longing in their eyes. It also knew how much suffering they had endured these past days, how much they missed their old lives in the territory.
By all reason, it should agree. But there was a thorn in its heart.
It couldn't shake the feeling that its father's death was tied to the territory. If not for protecting the territory, its father wouldn't have died.
But this was its own issue. It couldn't hold the others back from returning.
With that thought, the Yungoos leader stood up and growled at Leon twice.
"It says it wants to challenge you. If you win, you'll be the new leader of the Yungoos, and naturally, you can take them back to the territory," Roto translated.
"You're sure you want to challenge me? You're still injured," Leon asked, puzzled.
"Yungoos!"
The Yungoos leader assumed a battle stance, making its stance clear.
"Fine, I accept your challenge! Go, Aron!"
Seeing the determination in its eyes, Leon nodded and sent out Aron, whose strength was on par with the Yungoos leader.
"Aron, use Headbutt!"
Aron gathered energy in its head, then charged straight at the Yungoos leader.
Instead of dodging, the Yungoos leader also rushed forward to collide with Aron.
The moment the two Pokémon clashed, the Yungoos leader was sent flying, collapsing onto the ground, unable to battle.
"Aron?"
Aron looked at the fallen Yungoos leader in confusion. That was it? Was it faking?
It turned to Leon, unsure what to do next.
Leon was equally baffled by the Yungoos leader's actions. Even if it didn't know about type matchups, why use the most basic Tackle instead of, say, Bite?
He recalled Aron and hurried forward to treat the Yungoos leader again. That full-power Headbutt had worsened its injuries, and Leon worried it might not hold up.
But before he could get close, the Yungoos leader stood up on its own. It growled at Leon a few times, then cast a reluctant glance at the other Yungoos before turning to leave.
"Why is it leaving? Roto, translate!"
"It says: 'You won. You're the Yungoos's leader now. I hope you'll treat them as well as the previous owner did.'"
"That's it?"
"That's all it said."
Even after Roto's translation, Leon still didn't understand why the Yungoos leader was leaving.
"I remember Walter mentioning that this leader left because it didn't want to stay in a place filled with painful memories. And this Yungoos is Gumshoos's child, right? So maybe..."
"Hey, just leaving like that? Don't you want to know the truth about your father's death?"
Leon called out loudly to the Yungoos leader.
This successfully stopped it in its tracks.
It whipped its head around and sprinted back to Leon, its gaze filled with questions.
Leon didn't beat around the bush. He directly explained how the Shadow Church had triggered the beast wave and then spoke earnestly:
"Your father died defending against the beast wave. Mine also went missing during it. The beast wave was caused by those robed figures—they're our common enemy."
"They're powerful. Alone, none of us stand a chance against them. Only by uniting can we gather enough strength for revenge."
"Besides, both our fathers fought to protect the territory. Now that they're gone, we must inherit their will and continue guarding it. I've already done my part. What about you? Are you just going to keep running away?"
"I refuse to believe you're a coward who only knows how to flee. Come back with me. Let's take revenge together. Let's protect the territory together!"
Upon hearing about the beast wave's origins, the Yungoos leader burned with rage, wishing it could tear the robed figures apart right then.
Then came Leon's next words. They struck a chord—it couldn't achieve revenge alone, and it did want to inherit its father's will.
"Yungoos..."
The Yungoos leader let out a low growl and extended a paw toward Leon.
Leon paused, then chuckled and shook its paw.
"Welcome home!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the Yungoos leader's body began glowing with a brilliant blue light.
"This is... evolution?"
(Chapter End)