While Sinshi was deep in thought, the Aipom became visibly antsy when it saw he had no intention of taking the grilled fish.
This impatience became even more obvious after it glanced at the expressionless Snover beside it.
It waved its two hands wildly, its tail holding the branch skewering the grilled fish, offering it to a position where Sinshi could take it with a slight raise of his hand, all while continuously chattering.
Although he couldn’t understand what it meant, he could guess the gist of it from its expression.
At this moment, Agumon spoke up from the side.
“It says it was wrong, it will absolutely never steal again, and it’s begging us to let it go.”
“?”
A question mark practically popped up over Sinshi’s head.
“You can understand what other Pokémon are saying?”
Agumon nodded blankly.
“Why didn’t you say so before?”
“You never asked me.”
“…”
If he didn’t know Agumon was usually dense, Sinshi would have thought his partner was deliberately targeting him.
But on second thought, since his identity had switched to a Pokémon, it was quite normal for him to understand other Pokémon.
“But back in the ruins, when we encountered those Unown, why didn’t you try communicating with them?
Also, the wild ones we met on the road, and those Magikarp in the river that you almost decimated.”
“Because I couldn’t understand what the Unown were saying, they were just babbling a bunch of nonsense.
The ones we met later, there was absolutely no need to talk to them.
As for the Magikarp…
I don’t think I heard them say anything.”
“…”
Hearing Agumon say this, Sinshi fell into a brief silence.
Either he couldn’t understand or there was no need to listen.
And the Magikarp…
with those eyes that looked so full of wisdom and stories, they indeed didn’t seem like Pokémon capable of speaking up for themselves.
However, Agumon being able to understand Pokémon language was indeed a useful ability.
That Meowth from the Team Rocket trio provided Jessie and James with a lot of help, both openly and secretly, just because it could speak human language.
“Since you can understand them, find out what the situation is right now.
Remember to ask them separately.”
Agumon felt a bit confused but still honestly followed Sinshi’s instructions and asked.
Subsequently, they learned the general course of events from the mouths of the two Pokémon.
The Aipom had been living nearby and always liked to sneak out from the trees to snatch travelers’ food, hats, and similar items.
When it went out today, it happened to run into Agumon and Sinshi catching fish, and it also smelled the aroma of the grilled fish.
Having never eaten grilled fish before, the Aipom’s appetite was whetted.
It sneaked nearby and finally, taking advantage of the moment Sinshi called Agumon to eat, secretly went up and stole a fish.
But before it had time to enjoy it, it was stopped by the Snover.
At that time, the Snover happened to be taking a walk nearby and bumped into the Aipom in the act of stealing.
So, it took a shortcut and blocked the Aipom.
After a brief “friendly exchange,” the Aipom “very proactively” proposed returning the grilled fish to Sinshi.
Thus, the scene before them occurred.
Learning the truth about the missing grilled fish, Sinshi breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
Fortunately, it wasn’t the worst-case scenario he had imagined.
As for the rest, it wasn’t that important.
“There better not be a next time, otherwise you’ll eventually run into someone ruthless.
When that happens, it won’t be as simple as just returning the food.”
The Aipom didn’t speak.
After nodding rapidly, it slipped through the gaps of the loosened Leech Seed and ran non-stop into the forest, looking as if it didn’t want to stay a second longer.
Only the Snover remained standing in place, motionless.
To be honest, Sinshi was very interested in this Snover.
Just because it saw the Aipom stealing, it specifically ran over to stop it.
Not to mention that he and it were strangers.
Such behavior and actions were very noble.
“Thank you very much for your help,” Sinshi bowed slightly and expressed his gratitude.
The Snover was startled by Sinshi’s slightly serious thanks and hurriedly waved its stump-like arms to indicate it was nothing.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll give you this grilled fish as a token of my gratitude.”
Sinshi handed the grilled fish that the Aipom had just returned to the Snover.
Smelling the fresh aroma on it, the Snover looked very curious.
It examined the grilled fish back and forth but didn’t reach out to take it directly.
Instead, it first plucked two ping-pong ball-sized round spheres from an almost indistinguishable part of its body.
“Sno~ Snover~”
Sinshi looked at his translator.
“It says it wants to treat the two of us to the things in its hands.”
The Agumon-brand translator quickly went to work.
“Alright, let’s trade.”
Handing the grilled fish to the Snover, Sinshi found two small, faintly cool ice pellets in his hand.
“Is this thing edible?” Agumon asked, examining the small ice pellet pinched between his two claws.
“It’s good stuff, try it.”
Sinshi tossed the small ice pellet into his mouth in one bite.
Almost instantly, a cool and refreshing sensation exploded in his mouth, as if he wasn’t eating an ice pellet, but a top-tier popsicle.
Agumon chose to swallow it whole, tossing it directly into his mouth, and his eyes immediately filled with a savoring expression.
“Delicious!” Agumon couldn’t help but praise.
Seeing Sinshi and Agumon’s reactions, the Snover opposite them smiled somewhat shyly.
Then, it picked up the grilled fish in its hand and took a gentle bite.
The sensation of this thing, which had never appeared in its diet before, flooding its taste buds made its mood visibly soar.
“Snover, Snover!”
The Snover’s eyes narrowed as it ate, and it occasionally raised its hand, posturing as if to give a thumbs-up to praise the grilled fish.
However, because it had no distinct fingers on its palms, it looked a bit clumsy, and it finally scratched its head in slight embarrassment.
Seeing it like this, Sinshi increasingly felt that this Snover had a very high IQ.
Its behavior and actions were very natural, and he couldn’t see a single trace of the wildness typical of wild Pokémon in it.
So, after eating half a grilled fish and slightly driving away the hunger in his stomach, Sinshi looked at the Snover, who was gradually becoming familiar with Agumon, and asked slowly.
“Snover, I remember your kind usually lives on the snowy mountains with lower temperatures near the northern part of the Sinnoh Region, right?
The temperature there should be just right for you.
But this is the central area, where the temperature is higher, so it shouldn’t be very comfortable for you.
Can you tell me how you ended up here?”
As he spoke, Sinshi lowered his gaze, paying attention to the Snover’s expression.
Sure enough, upon hearing Sinshi’s question, the Snover’s face, which had been smiling a second ago, instantly froze.