He knows Pokémon better than me.

Once things calm down, it's not impossible to communicate normally.

Of course, whether it was his nature or he was filled with resentment at the moment, Sarud still spoke in a cursing tone.

"Salut, Salut!!"

Ash looked to his side, where Mr. Mime was listening intently while taking out his phone, Rotom, and quickly typing to provide a real-time translation.

“I see. Sarud said it originally lived in a place called Okoya Forest, where there were other members of its kind, Bari.”

The Mr. Mime paused briefly to quickly search for information.

"The Okoya Forest is a primeval jungle located at the southernmost tip of the Galar region, across the sea, which is outside the main continent of Galar."

Xiao Zhi nodded. "Speaking of which, the southernmost point is the Crown Snowfield, a place of extreme cold, right?"
He hadn't considered what lay on the other side of the snowfield.

"Saru, Saru!"

Sarud's voice gradually became more agitated.

Okoya Forest is also home to many other types of Pokémon, but it and its kind are considered bullies there, and no one dares to mess with them.

Last month, a group of humans suddenly arrived and began to hunt the wild gorillas in the area.

Of course, this also includes the unevolved grouse and slap-slap monkey.

Okoya Forest is a rare place where a group of wild Grass-type starter Pokémon also live.

"Hunting and beating up gorillas?"

Xiao Zhi raised an eyebrow, as if he'd heard of this somewhere before.

So this guy is here to save the Thunder King Kong?
"Saru, Saru!"

However, Sarud looked disdainful; he didn't know those monkeys well, so he just grabbed them.

However, those illegal poachers also captured a young Sarud—

Like the Thunder King Kong, it has jet-black fur with some green accents, making it sometimes hard to tell them apart.

I don't know if it was a mistake or intentional.
It couldn't stand having its own kind captured, so it ran out of the Okoya Forest and tracked them down.

Then, they tracked them down to this place.

"???"

Xiao Zhi looked blank. So what does this have to do with his family?
"Bari, bari".

The Mr. Mime quickly raised questions as well—

Besides, this place is only so big, there's no way it can hide a second Zarude, right?
However, Zarud insisted that it was still very confident in its own perception.

Seeing this, Ash thought for a moment and could only say this:
"Okay, I can have the bear let you go. You can find your way here yourself, but you have to promise one thing: don't cause any trouble."

Sarud's eyes narrowed, showing no kindness towards the humans who had captured his own kind.

It was even prepared to deliver a powerful whipping blow the moment it broke free.

However, looking at the figures casting their gazes around them—

Magearna, Melmeta, Lucario, Urshifu... they all seem like formidable opponents.

Even behind them, there was a strange pink bear.

“Saruru.”

In the end, Sarud's expression softened, and he agreed to the suggestion.

The most urgent thing is to find our own people first. Once we've rescued them, we can start destroying this place!

So Ash raised his hand, signaling the bear to let go.

Once back on the ground, Zarud finally breathed a sigh of relief and stretched his arms.

Several dangerous Pokémon surrounded it; it was a vicious ape, not a silly one.

Sarud could only suppress his fighting spirit and look around.

“Saruru.”

He then closed his eyes, seemingly sensing something. Ash stood there with his arms crossed, watching curiously. He had already used his aura to check, and there was no aura from any new Pokémon in the manor.

He wanted to see what Zarud could come up with.

A moment later, Sarud opened his eyes, as if he had found his target.

He then strode quickly toward a corner of the castle, where Shemi’s plantation was located, and Zaroud plunged into the lush, leafy grass.

"Shaymi!!"

This made Shaymi widen his eyes and let out a fierce, albeit childish, shout.

Ash quickly cradled Shaymin and brought it closer, while Zarude slowly parted the grass in the corner and looked closely, where a broken vine came into view.

What does this mean?

Ash blinked, puzzled, but Shaymin in his arms was anything but calm.

"Shaymi?"

How come there are these vines here?

It recognizes all the plants planted here, including those around the watchtower and the surrounding wilderness.
But this vine in the corner doesn't belong here.

Or rather, this is not a natural plant, but comes from Pokémon!
"Saru, Saru!"

Sarud immediately put on a smug look, as if he had caught someone red-handed, and pointed to his own arm.

The thick, resilient dark green vines, even after falling off, still possess a vigorous vitality—

These are vines unique to the Sarud!
This proves that its captured kinsman monkey is right here!
Sarud crossed its arms over its chest, and this time it was its turn to raise its head.

This left Ash somewhat bewildered, and he subconsciously looked at the two Pokémon that had been guarding the house these past few days.

"Shaymi!"

Shaymi immediately shook its head vigorously, and when it faced Sarud's fierce gaze again, it became somewhat guilty.

After all, it was found in his own farmland.

"Luca."

Lucario shook its head blankly; it hadn't noticed anything unusual these past few days.

However, these two Pokémon aren't the only ones guarding the house.

Lucario understood immediately; the steel needles on the back of his hands touched, instantly producing a high-pitched metallic sound—

Buzzing sound—!
It's not a move that drastically lowers the target's special defense, but rather a method specifically designed to convey information, so much so that it's inaudible to human ears.

"Fox~!" "Fox~!"

"Meow!!" "Meow!!"

Before long, several lithe figures leaped onto the top of the city wall, shouts rising and falling as they stared intently at them.

It was precisely the pack of cunning foxes and the pack of pickpocket cats—

The two gatekeepers completely took over the outer side of the watchtower and patrolled the perimeter frequently, so they were sure to spot anything unusual.

So Ash looked at the two leading foxes, the cunning fox and the cool leopard, and told them what had happened, asking them questions.

The cunning fox and the cool leopard immediately frowned and racked their brains to recall.

This is a great opportunity to make a name for yourself!
Sure enough, the cunning fox, who seemed to be wearing sunglasses just like the one worn by the magua, suddenly remembered something.

It glanced smugly at the cool leopard, puffed out its chest proudly, and growled slowly:

"Fox, Fox~"

On the other side of the wall, Cool Leopard gritted his teeth, but could only watch angrily from the side.

Mr. Mime listened carefully, finding the language of canine Pokémon somewhat difficult to understand.

"Bari."

However, after listening to the cunning fox's explanation, the Mr. Mime's expression also became serious, and he quickly typed, translating in real time! (End of Chapter)