Clang!
Crack... crack...
With the sound of cracking echoing through the air, cracks began to spread from the spot Nekomi had just struck.
The glass that the staff had just claimed was absolutely unbreakable now showed signs of shattering.
Inside, the Pangoro stared in disbelief at the cracking spot it had just hit.
[Am I... really that strong now?]
That was the thought running through Pangoro's mind. This wasn't the first time it had slammed into that glass, yet it had never managed to break it before.
It mostly did it to intimidate the people on the other side of the glass, because it believed that humans couldn't be trusted.
Those people could smile warmly while saying things they didn't mean. When things didn't unfold the way they hoped, their expressions would change in no time.
That one human back then had promised to take it out to play, but ended up abandoning it in the deep mountains.
Ever since then, it had come to hate humans, and also hated those Pokémon who couldn't see reality and still acted all friendly with them.
Thud! Crash—
The glass had originally been a single whole. Any impact would be dispersed across the surface and gradually absorbed. But once a weak point emerged, everything changed.
The cracks quickly spread across the entire glass pane. With one more strike from Pangoro, the entire glass shattered into pieces.
Countless shards fell to the floor, and the barrier between people and Pangoro was now completely gone.
Bzzz—Bzzz—!
As the glass broke, the alarm system in that part of the area blared to life. Emergency personnel, sensing something was wrong, rushed toward the scene.
"Don't panic! This way! Follow me to the emergency exit!"
"Mr. Mime, block Pangoro! Build a temporary wall!"
The leader of the staff members reacted swiftly, immediately throwing a Poké Ball from his belt, releasing a Pokémon that looked quite similar to a human, though its appearance was closer to that of a clown.
"Mr. Mime~ Mr. Mime!"
Mr. Mime's body lit up with a faint blue glow. Then it used Confusion, manipulating soil and plants to restrain Pangoro just as it was about to make its next move.
As a Pokémon capable of using psychic powers, Confusion was the most basic move in its arsenal.
With the power of Confusion, these kinds of Pokémon could perform all sorts of incredible feats; controlling the bodies of other Pokémon or objects was a simple task.
However, there was more than one Pangoro living in this area. As the first Pangoro was forced back, the others, now aware of the situation, began approaching the breach one by one.
"Mr. Mime~"
Mr. Mime split off part of its power, but as its strength was divided, the power of Confusion was also weakened, and a few of the stronger Pangoro began breaking free from the restraints Mr. Mime had created.
"This is bad, we won't make it out in time at this distance... Everyone, please have your Pokémon help hold them back. Just three minutes, the emergency team will be here by then!"
The staff member looked conflicted. Battles between Pokémon were a common occurrence, but this shelter had been built specifically to help these Pangoro gradually let go of the resentment caused by abandonment.
Having others command their Pokémon to attack them at a time like this could easily have the opposite effect.
Letting visitors tour the facility was meant to remind aspiring Trainers to have some sense of responsibility, but no one expected the glass would shatter at a time like this.
Safety came first. At this point, the staff member couldn't worry about anything else. If he remembered correctly, this group was the Varsity Team here for a study tour, so they should have decent skills.
"No need to complicate things. Nekomi, snatch all the bamboo leaves from their mouths!"
"Meow... (Got it...)"
In truth, Nekomi was feeling a little guilty too. She had only slapped the glass because a staff member over there had confidently said that it was unbreakable.
Also, that Pangoro had been following them and cursing non-stop. Humans might not understand the meaning of the insults, but Nekomi could, and they were nasty.
Not only were the curses nasty, but the Pangoro also told Nekomi that she, too, would be abandoned sooner or later.
Putting herself in that situation, it was like telling someone in a passionate relationship—or at least one-sidedly believing they're in one—that they'll definitely be dumped once they're old and washed up.
That was what really made Nekomi lose her temper.
And then, glass that even those bulky Pokémon couldn't break had cracked just from her single slap. Uh... maybe she was a bit too strong now.
Nekomi moved quickly. As soon as she received the command, she darted out and snatched the bamboo leaves from the mouths of several Pangoro who were nearby.
The Pangoro who had just been showing off their strength moments ago instantly went limp like noodles the moment they lost their bamboo leaves, collapsing weakly to the ground.
Unlike Pancham, who bites on bamboo leaves just to look cool, the bamboo leaves in Pangoro's mouths had actually become sensory organs. Losing them directly impacted their ability to move.
What's more, Pangoro were incredibly picky about their bamboo leaves. If the leaves weren't just right, even biting down on them wouldn't do any good.
So targeting the bamboo leaf was the quickest way to defeat a Pangoro without injuring them.
Likewise, Pangoro were very protective of their bamboo leaves. Mr. Mime had tried to use Confusion to take them, but hadn't succeeded.
"Meow. (Here are all the bamboo leaves. About that glass...)"
"It's fine. Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
Others might not understand what happened with the glass, but Nekomi and Rowan both knew the truth. Like they'd said before, responsibility.
Pokémon are your own responsibility. Living here and enjoying the conveniences they bring naturally means you have to take responsibility for some of the actions your Pokémon may cause.
But as things stood now, it didn't seem like there were any serious consequences, aside from the broken piece of glass, all potential threats had been suppressed.
Once the Pangoro were all restrained, Mr. Mime began its next move.
It raised both hands and made sweeping motions over the spot where the glass had shattered. A pale, semi-transparent brick-like structure began to form there. As Mr. Mime moved its hands, a wall materialized out of thin air, sealing off the breach completely.
This wasn't a move; it was a special ability unique to Mr. Mime. The suction cups at Mr. Mime's fingertips could emit a special kind of wave that caused the molecules in the air to stop moving, forming an invisible wall.
This wall had extremely strong defense, so much so that not even a point-blank shot from a grenade launcher could damage it. That's why Mr. Mime was considered an ideal Pokémon for emergency response teams.
You could find Mr. Mime in all sorts of high-risk emergency task forces.
"Here, these are the bamboo leaves that were in the Pangoro's mouths. Once you've finished repairing the glass wall, return them to the Pangoro."
Once the breach was sealed, the emergency team had already taken their positions. After guiding them outside, a staff member arrived, and Rowan brought the bamboo leaves over to him.
"Also, about that glass…"
"We're terribly sorry!"
"Truly, our apologies…"
Just as Rowan was about to apologize for the glass and ask how they planned to deal with it, the staff members beat him to it and apologized first.
Even though during training they were told that Pangoro absolutely wouldn't be able to break the glass, there was no reason to think a Meowscarada could.
From their point of view, this had to be a product defect.
No matter how the incident actually occurred, the staff member decided it was best to apologize first. That way, regardless of the real cause, it wouldn't reflect poorly on him.
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