[A warm reminder from the Rustboro City Pokémon Care Center: This center does not accept adoption applications for Salamence. We welcome adoptions for other Pokémon.]
As expected, this was posted on the care center's gate.
At this moment, Big Bear was standing at the iron gate, blocking the way, staring at the crowd in front of him. Only when he noticed Edward did a hint of joy appear on his face.
"Big Bear, you're still on gate duty today?" Edward smiled and handed Big Bear a fried chicken leg he bought on the way. Big Bear gulped it down in one bite, scratching his head in a silly manner and grinning.
Q, who was in Edward's arms, wagged its tail and greeted Big Bear, while Blacky cawed loudly, flying around Edward before landing on his outstretched hand under Q's watchful eyes.
Satisfied, Q moved closer into Edward's arms.
"Here, yours." Edward took out a berry and tossed it to Blacky, who grabbed it with its mouth and happily flew around once before landing on the iron gate.
Edward chuckled and patted Big Bear's body. It had been some time since they last saw each other, and Big Bear had become even sturdier, though for some reason, he appeared even more silly.
Behind them, the crowd was still quietly murmuring, and their words began to sound more unpleasant. Edward furrowed his brow slightly and then took out his phone to send a message.
"You people and the things you raise! I'd curse your whole family's female relatives, are you dead or did you go to hell? You're all *%$#!." Just after Edward sent the message, a flood of heavily censored words suddenly rushed into his mind.
A massive figure suddenly flew out from the care center, with a Kirlia standing on top, and at that moment, Kirlia was firing at full power.
"How can you curse people? I just wanted to come and adopt a Pokémon!" a well-dressed man yelled angrily. His eyes showed a trace of possessiveness as he looked at the Salamence.
"I'll *%$# you!" Kirlia spoke rapidly, and a stream of censored words hit Edward's head, filling his ears with a "beep—" sound.
The man was no match for Kirlia and was bombarded by the insults. His face turned bright red, and he couldn't catch his breath, falling straight to the ground.
The surrounding crowd, witnessing this scene, was startled and quickly stepped back in unison.
"And you… ah, Mr. Edward?" Kirlia's gaze fell directly on Edward, who stood out in the crowd. Before she could say anything, she noticed Edward's face and immediately recognized him.
"Kirlia, are you getting along well at the care center?" Edward smiled and greeted Salamence, casually speaking with Kirlia.
"I'm fine," Kirlia stammered, and Salamence happily nudged Edward, growling at Q in defiance.
Kirlia felt a little uneasy. After regaining consciousness, she had seen Edward but only later realized that he was her savior. Without Edward, she might have been sold.
Edward patted Salamence's scarred head and glanced at his phone. The old butler had arrived with his team.
"Master Edward, are you alright?" The old butler quickly approached, followed by a group of legal department staff from the Devon Corporation, dealing with the troublemakers. If they continued to stir trouble or utter nonsense, they would soon face the company's renowned legal team, known as the most powerful in Hoenn. At the very least, they would have to visit the League Court.
"I'm fine, thank you, Grandpa Robert," Edward smiled. The message he sent earlier was to have the old butler handle the situation.
The old butler, relieved to see Edward was unharmed, looked at the uneasy Kirlia behind him and smiled before turning to deal with the troublemakers.
Once the iron gate was opened, Edward finally understood why Big Bear had blocked the gate. Behind the door was a group of angry Pokémon, with the leader being a Shroomish, its spores flying everywhere. Fortunately, a psychic barrier blocked the spores, or the Pokémon around Shroomish would have collapsed before even helping Headmistress Lilian vent her frustrations.
"Sorry, Edward, for making you see this." Headmistress Lilian smiled and walked over, glancing at the people outside who had stopped causing trouble. She snorted coldly.
If it weren't for the fear of these little guys being bullied, she would have gone out herself.
These people really had no shame.
Before, when Salamence was still a Shelgon, few people considered adopting it. Even if a few came to look, Salamence's scars would discourage them, so Salamence had remained unadopted.
But since Salamence evolved into a Salamence, a wave of adoption requests surged, with people desperately wanting to adopt it.
"What's so funny? These freeloaders are the joke." Edward looked disdainfully at the people behind him. Each one of them thought they could adopt a fully evolved Dragon-type Pokémon. It was a dream they were bound to chase.
After being rejected, they still had the audacity to murmur. Edward didn't know where they got the face to do so.
And Edward knew that some people, after adopting Pokémon, would either resell them or abandon them again. This wasn't uncommon in Headmistress Lilian's care center.
"Let's stop talking about these annoying people. Edward, what brings you here today?" Headmistress Lilian asked, clearly not wanting to discuss things that upset her.
"Headmistress Lilian, I would like to show everyone a short video and test the market," Edward said with a sunny smile.
"A short video? That's no problem." Headmistress Lilian agreed without thinking. After all, Edward had done so much for the care center and donated a lot of money. Without his support, the center would be in even more dire straits.
So now, watching a short video, was it even helping? Not really.
Kirlia shuddered. She suddenly had a bad premonition, as if something unpleasant was about to happen.
She secretly glanced at Edward and saw his bright, cheerful smile.
(End of this chapter)