Chapter 1170: The Feud Between Persian and Lycanroc
After picking up Rockruff and Meowth from the Pokémon Center, Yuga found a small park and decided to let them have something to eat there.
The two little ones seemed timid, probably due to their long time wandering outside, and especially because of the harsh lesson they'd just received. So when Yuga took out food for them, they were too scared to come forward.
Yuga used his special ability to make himself appear more friendly. Only then did the two let down their guard and eagerly started devouring the food Yuga offered.
Once they had eaten their fill, Yuga gently asked, "Would you two like to come with me? If you do, you'll never have to go hungry again."
Meowth and Rockruff looked at each other, unsure how to respond to Yuga. In the end, Rockruff nudged Meowth forward, prompting it to tell Yuga about their situation.
As it turned out, they still had a mother. With her protection, even though they were stray Pokémon, they hadn't been doing too badly. However, not long ago, their mother returned badly injured, and she could no longer take care of them. That was when they began living by stealing here and there.
Despite one being a cat and the other a dog, Meowth and Rockruff were actually brothers because their mother was a Persian, and their father was a Lycanroc.
However, they had never met their father, and all the information they had about him came from their mother's stories.
Although they wanted to go with Yuga, they couldn't bear to leave their injured mother behind.
"That's easy enough! Take me to see your mother, and I can bring her to the Pokémon Center for treatment," Yuga said with a smile after listening to Meowth's story.
At Yuga's words, Meowth and Rockruff exchanged another uncertain glance. They looked quite troubled. Finally, it was Rockruff who made the decision, gritting its teeth and agreeing to lead Yuga to its mother; it didn't want her to die.
Following Rockruff and Meowth's lead, Yuga arrived at an abandoned little hut on the outskirts of Hau'oli City, where he found their severely injured mother.
Like Meowth, their mother was also in the unique Alolan form of Persian. Yuga was surprised to see that this Persian had a green aura and an exceptionally high level—almost at the pseudo-Elite level.
No wonder Meowth said their lives had been relatively good before. With a mother this powerful, even as stray Pokémon, they could live quite well; their competitive edge was just different.
When Yuga entered, the Persian, who had been lying down, immediately became very alert. Despite her injuries, she jumped up, baring her teeth at Yuga. Had her two children not been standing beside him, she probably would have attacked him right away.
Sensing the hostility radiating from Persian, Yuga finally understood why Rockruff and Meowth had been so hesitant about bringing him here—their mother didn't like humans.
Persian growled, threatening Yuga not to approach her, while calling for her children to stay away from him. Rockruff and Meowth reluctantly moved from Yuga's side to hide behind her.
"Calm down, I mean no harm; I just want to take a look at your injuries," Yuga said, trying to use a gentle tone.
"Roar!"
Don't come any closer!
Persian was unmoved by Yuga's kindness.
"If you keep pushing yourself like this, your body won't hold up much longer. If you fall, what will happen to your two children?" Yuga continued to try to persuade her, even telling her everything that had happened today. "Do you want your children to live a life where they're chased and hunted down?"
Yuga's final words seemed to touch Persian. She looked at her two children and, unable to hold herself up any longer, collapsed onto the ground with a thud.
Seeing their mother collapse, Meowth and Rockruff immediately ran to her in distress. Persian could only manage a weak smile to comfort them.
Yuga quickly walked over to check on Persian's condition. When his hand touched her body, she flinched, but seeing her children's anxious and worried faces, she gritted her teeth and endured it.
Persian's body bore numerous tears, with an especially large gash on her left flank, almost half the length of Yuga's arm. Though the wound had stopped bleeding, it was clearly rotten and infected, giving it a terrifying appearance.
This Persian had the Fur Coat ability, which reduces physical damage by half. Without this protective ability, she likely wouldn't have survived.
Yuga wanted to take her to the Pokémon Center right away, but she refused, so he had to treat the wound himself.
He first cleaned her wound, then used a sterilized knife to cut away the decayed flesh, and finally called upon Chimecho to assist in healing.
Fortunately, Yuga often traveled and kept necessary medicines and tools in his system backpack; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to handle Persian's injuries at this moment.
After more than half a day, Persian's wounds were mostly treated. However, because she had been injured for so long, she was extremely weak and unable to stand up.
"Would you, along with Meowth and Rockruff, consider coming with me? If you do, you'll never have to face such dangers again."
Yuga continued to "persuade" the Persian family.
Out of gratitude for Yuga's help, Persian's hostility toward him finally subsided a bit, though she still didn't feel warm toward him.
After looking at Yuga for a long moment, she finally said, "If you help me with one thing, I'll go with you."
"What is it? Just say it." Yuga wasn't afraid of her having a request; he was only worried if she didn't. If he could earn her trust, she'd willingly follow him.
Persian then told Yuga her story.
It turned out that back when Persian was a Meowth, she had been raised by a human. However, her trainer treated her poorly, constantly scolding and beating her and frequently commanding her to bully weaker wild Pokémon. Eventually, she stole her Poké Ball and ran away.
This experience was the reason Persian now harbored a deep distrust of humans.
Meowth had excellent potential and soon evolved into Persian, finding the freedom a stray Pokémon and life comfortingly.
Later, she met Rockruff and Meowth's father, a Lycanroc in its Midday Form.
Unlike Persian, a stray Pokémon in the city, Lycanroc was a wild Pokémon with his own clan, where he served as the leader. Persian had encountered him while foraging outside the city.
After meeting, Persian left Hau'oli City and joined Lycanroc to live in the wilderness. However, their happiness was short-lived, as their clan soon faced a dire situation.
Another clan led by a Midnight Form Lycanroc lived nearby and had always sought to conquer her mate's clan. In a territorial battle between the clans, Persian's mate was defeated and killed by the Midnight Form Lycanroc.
At that time, Persian had just become pregnant with the current Meowth.
Following the merge of the two clans, the Midnight Form Lycanroc naturally became the clan leader, and none of the other members objected. To them, it was perfectly reasonable.
Perhaps to the Lycanrocs, it truly was natural — survival of the fittest.
But Persian couldn't accept it. She didn't belong to any clan and couldn't understand or want to understand the Lycanrocs' philosophy of "survival of the species above all." She only wanted to avenge her husband!
So, she quietly left the clan with Rockruff and returned to Hau'oli City, where she later gave birth to her second child, Meowth. During her time in Hau'oli City, she never forgot her desire for revenge.
Not long ago, feeling that her strength had improved enough, Persian secretly returned to the wild, determined to eliminate that Midnight Form Lycanroc.
However, that Lycanroc was far stronger than she'd expected. Not only did she fail to defeat him, but she was also severely injured in the battle. It was clear that both she and her opponent were powerful.
After this failed attempt, Persian realized that without outside help, she might never be able to achieve her revenge.
"So, your request is for me to avenge your husband?"
Persian nodded.
"Alright, but can we go tomorrow? You could use a night's rest," Yuga agreed, curious about the Lycanroc who had inflicted such severe wounds on Persian. It had to be quite strong.
With that, Yuga took Persian, Meowth, and Rockruff back to a hotel in Paniola Town.
After a long day, Yuga reserved a private room in the hotel's restaurant, ordered a lavish dinner, and even let out his Oricorio for a spontaneous performance.
Each of the four Oricorio had a distinct style. The Baile Style Oricorio's dance was reminiscent of flamenco, the Pom-Pom Style Oricorio performed a cheerleader dance, the Pa'u Style Oricorio showcased hula dancing, and the Sensu Style Oricorio's movements resembled Japanese fan dances.
Halfway through dinner, Luna joined them. She was captivated by the Oricorios' performance and decided to stay for the meal.
After dinner, Luna said to Yuga, "Brother, I'm planning to head back tomorrow. Do you want to come along?"
Yuga was surprised. "Leaving so soon? Don't you have a few days left on your break?"
"I've been going wild these past few days, but now I suddenly feel like going home," Luna said sheepishly.
"Oh, so you know you've been wild, huh?" Yuga rolled his eyes. "You didn't even answer my calls! If you want to go, go ahead. I'll stay for a few more days."
"Alright," Luna agreed. Since she'd be returning with members of the Investigation Bureau, she didn't mind if Yuga stayed behind.
Later that night, Yuga knocked on Luna's door. When she saw him, she asked, "Brother, what's up this late?"
Yuga handed her a Pokémon egg and said, "Since you're leaving tomorrow, here's a gift."
Luna happily accepted the egg. "Thank you, Brother! What Pokémon is it?"
"Nihilego," Yuga answered.
"Nihilego?!" Luna quickly held the Pokémon egg high, a look of dread on her face. "Why would you give me this? I don't want it!"
The days when she'd been possessed and controlled by Nihilego were nothing short of a nightmare for Luna.
"How can you be so cowardly?" Yuga knocked her on the head, exasperated. "Nihilego is incredibly powerful; others would be thrilled to have it!"
If he hadn't brought back quite a few Nihilego eggs this time, he wouldn't have given one to Luna.
"Alright then." Luna reconsidered and found Yuga's words quite reasonable. "Once it hatches, I'll make sure to teach it properly — no attaching itself to others whenever it wants."
Yuga chuckled. "Now that's more like it. Work hard when you get back, and be more vigilant on missions. Don't make people worry about you anymore."
The next morning, after breakfast with Yuga, Luna left Paniola Town with Kaname Hirakawa. With the Investigation Bureau team accompanying her, Yuga didn't see her off and instead mounted his Dragonite. He took Persian and her cubs and flew towards the wilderness near Hau'oli City.
Lycanroc's territory was even farther than Yuga had imagined. Even with Dragonite's speed, it took them more than two hours to reach the destination.
Confident in his abilities, Yuga boldly entered Lycanroc's territory with Persian, Meowth, and Rockruff. This area, deep within the forest, was a rocky canyon contrasting sharply with the vibrant, lush forest surrounding it.
As the habitat of Rock-type Pokémon, the barren landscape fit perfectly.
Their arrival immediately drew the Lycanroc pack's attention; some observed Persian with indifference, while others glared at her with anger.
It was clear they recognized Persian.
The indifferent ones were originally members of Meowth and Rockruff's father's clan, while the angry ones were from the Midnight Form Lycanroc's clan. Originally, this canyon had belonged to Meowth and Rockruff's father.
"Awooo!"
A red figure leaped swiftly down from the cliffside, landing right in front of Yuga and Persian.
As soon as Persian saw the red figure, she began growling in fury. From her reaction, Yuga instantly identified the Lycanroc before him.
...
[ Lycanroc (Midnight Form) ]
Type: Rock
Ability: No Guard
Gender: Male
Potential: Green
Level: 64
Moves: Tackle, Howl, Rock Throw, Scary Face, Stone Edge, Crunch, Rock Climb, Brick Break, Snarl, Crush Claw, Swords Dance.
...
This was an Elite-level Pokémon — no wonder Persian couldn't match it.
The Lycanroc looked fierce, with scarlet eyes and long scars across its abdomen and arm, a clear mark of countless battles.
"Awooo!"
Lycanroc howled again. Yuga recognized it as the Howl move, not only bolstering its aura but also boosting its attack power.
It knew Persian was here with ill intentions!
As Lycanroc's howling echoed through the canyon, more howls followed, one after another, from the surrounding cliffs. The other Lycanrocs and Rockruffs were cheering on their leader!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone