Slowking: "How's the taste?"
After watching Oranguru drink the juice it had made, Slowking noticed a flicker of shock in its eyes despite its otherwise calm expression, and the corners of its mouth curled up slightly.
Oranguru set the glass down on the counter and said lightly: "It's not bad, I guess."
This was a provocation.
Oranguru: "Compared to mine, it's still a bit lacking."
'Admitting yours tastes better than mine? Impossible.'
'This guy is clearly here to pick a fight. Damn it, good thing all the customers had already left—otherwise, where would I put my pride?'
Oranguru glared at Slowking.
Slowking: "Really just "not bad"?" (emphasizing)
Oranguru: "Yeah, not bad."
The two stared at each other, and when Julian walked into the small tavern, it was as if he could almost see sparks flying between them.
The two Pokémon noticed Julian’s arrival and immediately turned their sharp gazes toward him.
Julian forced a dry greeting and instinctively took a step back, regretting his decision to come in.
Thinking of this, Julian wanted to leave.
'I didn’t hear that… I definitely didn’t hear that.'
Julian tried to keep walking but suddenly found that he couldn't move his body.
Worse, he was now floating uncontrollably toward the counter.
'It's using Psychic?! Oh no, Slowking is really pissed this time…'
Slowking set Julian down and made him sit obediently at the counter, then slid over a glass of its specially made fruit juice.
Julian sat upright, looking very well-behaved.
He took a small sip, and before Slowking could say anything, Julian loudly declared: "Slowking, your juice tastes amazing! Way better than Oranguru's!"
Julian: 'I’m not close with Oranguru anyway, so of course I’m gonna praise Slowking’s drink.'
Slowking: "You lose."
Slowking was obviously quite satisfied with Julian's words, and looked at Oranguru with a hint of pride.
Oranguru: "This guy’s a bootlicker. You actually believe his words?"
'Oranguru’s insulting me now? Fine, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.'
Oranguru: "If you have the guts, let's compete (provocative look)"
Slowking: "Compete how?"
Oranguru: "Tomorrow, right here in this tavern, let's compete to see who can sell the most juice. From sunrise to sunset, how about it?"
The challenge was on.
Julian muttered under his breath: "A whole day... so many treasures could be found, and now it's wasted."
Slowking: "What did you just say?"
Julian shook his head and said earnestly: "I said, Slowking, you’re definitely going to win tomorrow!"
'Forget it, forget it, I can’t afford to mess with this guy. Better keep playing the invisible man.'
Under the treehouse, Julian’s other Pokémon were curiously looking at the tree. Arcanine, with its sharp hearing, had its ears perked up intently.
Everyone has a gossiping heart, and Pokémon were no exception.
Steelix, taking full advantage of its height, even leaned its head against the entrance of the tavern.
As soon as Julian opened the door, good grief, a huge iron head was right in front of him.
Steelix peeked inside the tavern.
'No fight? Disappointing.'
Julian gave it a light smack, and the giant serpent retracted its head. Julian then took the chance to jump onto Steelix's head and rode it down to the ground.
"Alright, disperse, disperse."
He waved his hand, telling everyone not to crowd around anymore.
Slowking soon followed him down.
Back at the lakeside camp, the rest of the team also found out that Slowking would be competing against Oranguru tomorrow to see whose juice was more popular.
They all expressed that Slowking would definitely win; Oranguru was basically throwing eggs at a rock.
But Oranguru was a strong opponent, and to ensure absolute victory, Slowking, for the first time ever, skipped cleaning up after dinner-even the prized hotpot leftovers!-saying it needed to preserve its energy, and directly went into its Pokéball to rest.
Which meant Julian had to handle cleanup duty.
With the help of his other Pokémon, the job was done quickly.
After locking Slowking’s Pokéball so it couldn’t hear the outside world, Julian gathered his team in a tight circle, sitting solemnly in the center.
Including Julian himself, all their expressions were grave.
"A crisis has appeared. To get through this crisis, we must give it our all," Julian looked around, his voice a little passionate.
The Pokémon all nodded in agreement.
Julian slightly pressed down with both hands, and the noise immediately stopped, then he continued: "Although I believe Slowking has a good chance of winning tomorrow..."
"But don’t forget, Oranguru is local.The tavern's regulars are its loyal customers. We have no home-field advantage here."
"Even if Pokémon think Slowking’s juice tastes better, they might still vote for Oranguru out of loyalty."
The advantage of being a local, outsiders like them couldn't compare.
Even just the network of connections was beyond them.
"You all should know, if Slowking loses, what our end will be."
He pointed at himself. "My food, clothing, shelter—Slowking handles it all. If it loses and decides to stop taking care of me… I’m doomed."
"And the same goes for all of you."
Slowking wasn’t just any team member—it was the 'de facto' steward of Julian’s little family. Sometimes, its word carried more weight than even Julian’s or Metagross’s, the team’s official leader.
"So we need a plan. We can’t let Oranguru win just because it’s got home-field advantage and plays dirty!"
Steelix: "What’s the plan, boss?!"
Julian gave Steelix an approving look—'good job playing along.'
"Everyone gather around."
All the Pokémon huddled in closer.
Julian: "First, we do this... then this... and finally, we do that—"
The team nodded in unison.
"This plan can’t fail. We’ve got eight hours until sunrise. Lucario, Dragonite—you two are on night shift. Go round up some wild Pokémon."
"Kartana, you go with them too. If any of them refuse to cooperate, show them the blade."
Diplomacy first, but if that didn’t work. Well, force it was.
The three Pokémon set off, and Julian reminded them not to go too far, just in case they ran into trouble.
Thanks to his Aura bond with Lucario. If they really encountered something they couldn’t handle, Julian would know right away.
Meanwhile, Gabite stood there, utterly confused.
He just went to the tavern to grab a drink, how did it turn into such a big deal?
Julian admitted it was his fault for not keeping his mouth shut and saying what he shouldn’t have.
Seriously, why were his Pokémon all so jealous and petty?
Within a 50-kilometer radius around the lake, every Pokémon group was visited by the three Pokémon that night.
The Three Enforcers: "Tomorrow, go to the tavern, and vote for the one wearing the hat, or else we’ll wipe out your whole family. Understood?"
Terrified Wild Pokémon: "UNDERSTOOD!!"
Upto 30 chapters ahead on :-