I caught a Pokémon

Makomo stopped in her tracks, adjusted her glasses, and scanned her surroundings.

“Something’s not right,” she said. “There isn’t a single wild Pokémon around here.”

When she said that, Hikari and Yami realized that they hadn't seen any Pokémon since some time ago.

No bird Pokémon hovered overhead, no beast Pokémon darted through the bushes, no bug-type Pokémon crawled through the grass, and there wasn't even a trace of nibbling on the berries.

"Is it because of the name of this place?" Yami said softly, "Because it's called the Fantasy Forest, everything here is... fantastical?"

Makomo shook her head: "Even the most fantastical things need a scientific basis, but here..."

Despite their doubts, the group continued walking until the sun was high in the sky. At noon, they found an open space by the river and stopped to cook their lunch.

After putting down their backpacks, Yami, Makomo, and Hikari went to prepare lunch. Since Xia You didn't need to help, he released Umbreon, Greninja, Lucario, and Zoroark to practice battles on the side.

Leaving Xia You aside, let's talk about Xiao Guang and Bo Jiaman. After leaving the camp, they walked deeper into the forest.

They came to pick tree fruit.

For their Pokémon, in addition to the rations and food prepared by Sparrow, berries are also an important food source for Pokémon, supplementing some nutrients that food cannot provide.

Therefore, when preparing meals, she often goes to the nearby forest or riverbank to pick fruits and vegetables, just like she does now.

However, things didn't seem to go well for her today.

She traveled to many places, but didn't see a single tree fruit.

She finally spotted a few tree fruits and picked them, but before she could even put them in her basket, the fruits vanished into thin air!

"What's going on!?"

Xiao Guang was taken aback. He and Bo Jiaman exchanged a glance and saw the bewilderment and shock on each other's faces.

"Where are the fruits? How did they disappear?"

Xiao Guang blinked, and then, still not believing it, took the second fruit. But just like before, the fruit disappeared again as soon as he got it!

Without lingering, she grabbed Bogaman and ran towards the camp!

"Brother Xia You, we..."

When they ran back to the camp and saw Xia You in the distance, Xiao Guang was about to call out to him when suddenly a dark figure darted out from the forest!

The dark figure was extremely fast and had a clear target—it rushed straight at Xi Cui Zoroark, who was standing next to Xia You!

Xia You reacted even faster.

He didn't even look up, but simply said in a deep voice, "Left side."

Zoroark, who was in the middle of a training battle, immediately took action.

Just as the shadow was about to touch it, it shifted half a step to the side, perfectly avoiding the attack. The shadow missed its target, flipped in mid-air, and landed steadily on the edge of the open space.

It's another Zoroark!

However, unlike Xia You's Emerald Form Zoroark, this Zoroark is a common form.

At this moment, it stared at Shizzolloak and let out a low, threatening growl.

Xia You's Washing Green Zoroark looked at it and also assumed an attack stance.

Seeing the two Pokémon poised to fight, Dawn's eyes widened: "Why did it suddenly attack us?"

“Perhaps we’ve entered its territory.” Makomo pushed up her glasses. “After all, they’re all Zoroark. Although they have different forms, they should all have a strong sense of territory.”

As they were talking, the Zoroark launched another attack.

This time it wasn't a sneak attack, but a frontal assault.

It was even faster than before, its claws wrapped in shadow power, aiming straight for Zoroark's throat!

Soroyak also moved.

Its figure vanished from the spot, not by teleportation, but by a high-speed movement too fast for the naked eye to detect. The next second, it appeared behind the Zoroark, its silvery-white claws rising gently and grabbing the Zoroark hard.

boom!

Grabbed by two claws, the wild Zoroark took a step back.

After adjusting its body, it suddenly turned around, but instead of continuing its attack, it stood there, stared at Shizzolooak for a few seconds, and then turned and ran into the woods.

He ran a few steps, then stopped, turned around and glanced at Shizzolloak again, his eyes full of provocation.

"Looks like you've met your match this time." Xia You glanced at his Zoroark. "Go on, since it's already provoked you, let it see what you're capable of."

Zoroark nodded, took off running, and caught up at lightning speed. In the blink of an eye, the two Pokémon disappeared into the forest, one after the other.

After such an incident, none of them were in the mood for food.

Leaving Yami behind to continue processing the ingredients, and having the other Pokémon protect her, Xia You, Xiao Guang, and Makomo followed in the direction the two Zoroarks had gone.

The group walked through a dense thicket of bushes and ran for an unknown amount of time in the forest, bypassing clumps of grass and large trees, until suddenly the view opened up before them.

Ahead was a clearing in the woods.

At that moment, a motorhome was parked in the open space. It had a white body, green decorative stripes, and a world map on the door, making it look like a traveler's temporary accommodation.

Moreover, the vehicle was brand new, so it couldn't have been abandoned there by someone.

"How come there's someone here?" Hikari stopped in her tracks, somewhat surprised. "Could that Zoroark from earlier be related to the people here?"

Just as she finished speaking, the car door opened.

A woman got out of the car.

She looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with long, deep red hair loosely draped over her shoulders. She wore a simple white shirt and jeans, had delicate features, and a gentle demeanor. When she saw the group of people, she paused slightly, then smiled.

"Hello," the woman said softly. "Would you like to come in and have a seat?"

Chapter 1412 Courtship

Upon seeing this woman, Hikaru and Makomo didn't think much of it and instinctively took two steps closer to her.

Xia You stood there, looking at the woman's face, and suddenly smiled.

“No need to sit down,” he said, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather. “But I have to remind you of something.”

The woman looked somewhat puzzled.

"what's up?"

Xia You raised her hand and waved it lightly: "Zoroark, Shadow Sneak Attack."

As Xia You finished speaking, his Zorroark sprang out from the nearby forest, its claws containing terrifying ghostly energy. It approached the woman from behind at an extremely fast speed, aiming straight for the back of her head!

The smile on the woman's face vanished instantly, replaced by a sharp scream.

The moment the Shadow Claw touched her, her body twisted and deformed; her white shirt turned into black fur, her jeans into long limbs, and her delicate human face transformed into a fox-like one.

It's that Zoroark that just disappeared!

After regaining its original appearance, it dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.

It was only then that Hikaru and Makomo came to their senses.

It turns out that this woman was actually Zoroark in disguise!

So realistic!

They were actually fooled!

Xia You looked at Zoroark in front of her and raised an eyebrow.

“So,” he said slowly, “you first ambushed my Zoroark, and then tried to use illusions to bewitch my companions. What exactly are you trying to do?”

Zoroark didn't say anything, but turned around and fought with Shimmering Zoroark. The two Pokémon fought at close range and rolled together in the blink of an eye.

Having followed me for a long time, although it hasn't experienced any major battles yet, it's still not something this wild Zoroark can contend with.

However, after a few rounds of fighting, the wild Zoroark was at a disadvantage and was pinned down by his Green Zoroark.

But at that moment, this wild Zoroark did something Xia You hadn't expected.

It let out a soft cry to its Zoroark, a sound with an indescribable meaning, and then spread its paws, revealing a submissive attitude.

Turning to look at its own Zoroark, it saw that Zoroark had also stopped moving and was still standing there, its expression under the mask unchanged, but it had slightly turned its head, as if it was sizing up the Zoroark.

The atmosphere seems a bit off...

Hikaru and Makomo glanced at the Zoroark, then at Natsume's Zoroark, their eyes scanning back and forth.

Xia You also looked at the Zoroark and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"Are you female?"

Zoroark's ears twitched, then he nodded.

"You've taken a fancy to one of my dogs?"

Zoroark's ears twitched again, then it shyly covered its face with its paws.

Xia You turned to look at Xi Cui Zoroark.

The Scirocco remained standing there, motionless, its expression unchanged. But its tail—its large, fluffy, silvery-white tail—swayed slightly.

"What do you think?" Xia You asked.

Shizzizoroark did not answer, but simply turned and walked toward the woods.

After taking a few steps, he stopped again and looked back at the Zoroark.

Then continue walking forward.

The Zoroark paused for a moment, then jumped down from the RV door and quickly followed.

As it passed by Xia You, it stopped, looked up at him, and let out a soft call.

It's like saying thank you.

It's like they're saying sorry.

Then it took a step, following the retreating figure of Shizzrosoloak, and disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

Xiao Guang stared wide-eyed at the two figures disappearing one after the other.

"So...it's here to find a mate?"

"Mm." Xia You nodded.

"And then...it just followed?"

"It seems so."

What did they go to do?

Xia You remained silent for a moment, hesitated for a moment before finally not uttering the word "mating."

Xiao Guang hadn't thought of that; she was just curious: "Brother Xia You, your Pokémon got kidnapped, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

Xia You smiled, turned around and walked out of the woods.

"Don't worry, it will come back."

Xiao Guang wanted to ask something more, but then she saw Makomo tug at her sleeve, shake her head, and follow Xia You's footsteps.

Xiao Guang hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

I just found it very strange.

The Zoroark was clearly there to provoke us, so how come both Pokémon left together after the fight?

The group walked back along the path they had come from. The forest was still quiet, and there was still no trace of Pokémon, but the unsettling sense of oppression had disappeared.

It was only then that Hikaru realized, "Could this forest have been created by that Zoroark as well?"

She then told the two of them about picking the tree fruit.

“That’s very possible.” Makomo nodded after hearing this. “Since it has such an ability, it was probably created by it. It probably turned this place into its territory and launched the attack when it saw us break in.”

When Xia You reached the edge of the woods, she suddenly stopped and looked back at the dark forest.

Although he couldn't see anything, he guessed that the two Zoroarks were probably doing something naughty by now.

Shaking her head, Xia You withdrew her gaze and returned to the temporary camp.

Back at the camp, Yami was a little surprised to see the group return so quickly. She had just finished cooking.