Pandas are just called pandas; in essence, they're still bears. As long as they don't encounter terrifying upright apes wielding weapons, their status in the natural world is quite high.
And that's just for ordinary animals. Pangoro, as a Pokémon, takes it even further. Smashing a large dump truck into scrap with a single punch or snapping off telephone poles reinforced with rebar and concrete is easy for them.
So when people hear that a cat managed to shatter glass that even a bear couldn't break, it's naturally hard to believe if they don't know the whole story.
"But maybe that glass was…"
"Our manager will speak with you shortly about this matter. I'm not in a position to make any call, please wait a moment."
Rowan hadn't intended to pass the buck, but in the end, he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence before being interrupted by the staff member.
Judging by his reaction, it seemed like he'd been taken advantage of by tourists before.
In the end, Rowan didn't have to pay for the broken glass. The park classified it as a quality issue on their end.
But when reviewing the surveillance footage, all they could see was Pangoro and Nekomi hitting the glass at the same time. They couldn't be certain what exactly caused it to shatter.
And that initial strike had only created cracks. From the footage, it was still Pangoro who ultimately smashed it to pieces.
The park even offered some form of mental compensation.
The team members had already experienced beatings from Meowscarada firsthand and knew just how strong this team-clearing cat Pokémon was, so no one dared to ask for money. In the end, everyone just thought the other side was being too polite.
Shortly after Rowan and the others left, news spread that part of the center had been shut down.
"Well, I guess this means our visit has to end here for now."
"But we've already seen lots of adorable Pancham, so, where do you all want Iono to go next?"
Iono, who had spontaneously decided to come "catch" Meowscarada's Trainer, was already on site, though she didn't know she'd been only 200 meters away from Rowan just a short while ago.
Not knowing exactly where he was, Iono could only wait for the tournament to begin and then head to the venue to find him.
In the meantime, she fired up her travel livestream.
As a Gym Leader, she could afford to put Gym responsibilities on hold, but the side job couldn't be interrupted.
Closing the Gym for a few days wasn't a big deal; challengers would understand that the Gym Leader was just out working.
But if she stopped streaming for a few days, who knows what kind of rumors might start circulating?
Besides, she was from Paldea, worst case scenario, there was always Larry, the model worker.
"Go see the Suicune statue at Wuhou Shrine? Sounds great! Then it's decided!"
These past few days, Iono had been letting her viewers choose her destinations. Overall, it had been working out well, and the variety of attractions in the area had brought in plenty of new viewers.
After all, there are still relatively few people who have the time, energy, and financial means to travel across regions, so this kind of virtual travel via livestream ends up being more cost-effective.
Face-changing fire spitting performances, spicy hot pot; Iono had been all over the place these past two days. Upon seeing this information, the organizers of the Pangoro Academy Cup even invited her to livestream the event and guest-judge a few segments.
At the same time, Rowan and his group, who had just left the breeding center, were also headed to Wuhou Shrine.
"Brother Rowan, aren't you going to check it out?"
"Yeah, didn't you say you've never been there before? Supposedly, there's no Suicune statue as big as that one in all of Illumina….no, in the entire world."
"I'll pass, you guys go ahead. I'm heading back to the hotel to find Teacher Liu."
Rowan had also heard quite a few local legends recently, like how playing mahjong here with the North Wind tile gets you bonus points, because Suicune is said to be the embodiment of the North Wind.
As for why you'd ask the embodiment of the North Wind for help when borrowing the East Wind; first, it's because the wind borrowed that day was actually a northeast wind.
Second, well, wouldn't the security guard at the North Gate know the security guard at the East Gate? Their duties overlap a bit, after all.
Even though he was somewhat interested, Rowan could sense that Nekomi wasn't feeling happy, so he lost the desire to continue.
After Rowan explained the reason, Li Han simply told a few others who were also tired of walking to head back with Rowan.
In the Varsity Team, Pokémon are more important than the team members. If the team member gets sick, someone else can temporarily command their Pokémon.
That might affect performance a bit, but the overall strength is still there.
If a Pokémon is injured and can't compete, that's a much bigger problem.
Old Liu, who had been alone for most of the day, welcomed back the returning members in the afternoon. While the others were off sightseeing, he had already finished watching the supposedly year's most tear-jerking drama —"From Daughter-in-Law to Mother-in-Law".
Still, he remained alone. Barring special circumstances, these young people didn't really want to spend extended time alone with a middle-aged teacher.
The difference in status also made them feel uncomfortable.
"Nekomi, is something wrong? You don't look so good. It's just some broken glass, just be more careful next time."
"Meow... (It's nothing...)"
"Come on, your face says otherwise. What did that Pangoro say to you?"
"Meow... (It said something about getting abandoned, and that humans can't be trusted... that kind of stuff...)"
"That Pangoro probably got some psychological trauma, there's no need to take its words to heart. But... am I that unreliable in your eyes? You'd let some random Pokémon's words get to you?"
Nekomi didn't say everything, but Rowan could more or less figure it out. As a Pokémon species that's extremely attached to a Trainer they recognize, Meowscarada can go to extremes when it comes to certain matters.
Especially since Nekomi's actual age wasn't that high; by Meowscarda's standards, she could only be considered a teenager…..well, the overpowered kind.
"Meow! (No way!)"
"Then that's that. I'd never abandon a companion, any of them. And you're the most special one. If anything, I should be the one worrying. Who knows, maybe one day you'll be the one to abandon me."
This kind of talk even had some basis in the Pokémon world. The Pangoro they saw earlier in the morning had been abandoned.
But according to research, it's usually Pokémon like Snivy or Sprigatito, those with a bit of a tsundere streak, who abandon their Trainers.
These types of Pokémon are indeed deeply attached to their Trainers, but earning that attachment isn't easy.
"Meow! Meow! (I would never! That would never happen!)"
"I believe you. So don't worry anymore about things that could never happen."
He rubbed Nekomi's head. She wasn't a Pancham, but this gesture still worked just as well. Then Rowan held out his pinky.
It wasn't his first day here, he was certain that Nekomi's memories came from the game, including all the plotlines and cutscenes from that open-world game.
And back then, pinky swear were how they made promises.
Yep, that was part of an extra mod. Supposedly, there were even R-rated mods, though Rowan had never messed with those.
"Meow~"
Cats could be a bit emotional, but they were also easy to comfort. She wasn't the kind to say nothing and make people guess how she felt.
Their two fingers hooked together, and one human, one cat made a new promise in this world.
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