The Pokémon fighting with the Rock Dog in the woods had very simple colors, long ears, short tails, and long incisors. At first glance, it was clear it was a rabbit. Looking at the moves the rabbit used to fight the Rock Dog, it was a Normal-type rabbit.
However, Xia Huanao sighed because this Normal-type rabbit, as described, had nothing to do with Buneary. Buneary's ears were curled, not long. Upon closer inspection, this rabbit was the basic form of that rather ugly uncle from the sixth generation.
"Rock Dog, I told you to find Buneary, what's the point of you fighting this Diglett here so fiercely!"
Although Xia Huanao's teeth itched with anger, since the fight had already started, he didn't plan to interfere. He'd let the Rock Dog play first and then scold him later.
The battle between the Rock Dog and the Diglett quickly saw the Rock Dog gain the upper hand. After defeating the Diglett, the Rock Dog began to dig in front of the Diglett and unearthed a carrot. Xia Huanao, clenching his fist, walked out of the woods, "Rock Dog, did you fight the Diglett just for this carrot? Even if you were stealing someone's beloved, I'd be proud. You did it for food? And for a carrot!"
Zhang Hong agreed, "Yeah, if you fought the Diglett for a bone, I'd understand. Fighting a rabbit for a carrot is just embarrassing!"
The four of them looked at Zhang Hong with disdain. Xia Huanao turned around, "No, when I'm educating Rock Dog, can you please not show such a low IQ? It makes humans look really stupid in front of Pokémon."
Yu Longdu nodded, "Exactly, how can you be my brother-in-law? Have you ever seen a rabbit bury bones?"
Seeing the humans criticizing the Rock Dog that had just defeated it, the Diglett was about to leave when it saw Xia Huanao take its carrot from the Rock Dog's paws and return it. "Alright, you can go now. I'll educate this little guy."
Watching the Diglett leave, Xia Huanao grabbed the Rock Dog's front legs. "What's wrong with you, little guy? Are you that greedy? You won't even let go of a rabbit's carrot?"
The Rock Dog lowered its head, expressing its hunger. Xia Huanao took out a few Poké Puffs. "You eat this for now. I won't eat lunch until we find Buneary."
The Rock Dog swallowed the Poké Puffs and continued searching for Buneary's traces in the woods. Xia Huanao and the others continued their search for Buneary.
After wandering in the forest for not long, Xia Huanao and the others saw a Fennekin hiding motionlessly in the grass, seemingly occupied with something. Shen Yu quietly called the Fennekin back and asked what it was doing. The Fennekin chirped softly, and Shen Yu turned to Xia Huanao, "What is Fennekin saying?"
"Fennekin says she found Buneary and was about to pounce and catch him."
Upon hearing this, the five people quietly surrounded the area where Buneary was. Xia Huanao looked at Buneary from afar and felt something was off.
Xia Huanao took a closer look and had just realized where the discrepancy was when Shen Yu ordered Fennekin to attack.
"Fennekin, use Ember!"
Fennekin jumped out of the grass and shot an Ember towards Buneary. Buneary nimbly leaped backward and dodged it. Buneary looked towards Fennekin, but before it could do anything, Fennekin pounced, knocking Buneary down and rolling on the ground.
Xia Huanao quickly stood up, "Stop, stop, stop, don't fight anymore. This isn't Buneary, it's Zoroark."
Hearing Xia Huanao's words, everyone was stunned. Fennekin also stopped its movements and looked at the Buneary it had tackled. The Buneary then shifted, indeed transforming into the form of Zoroark. Shen Yu pouted and crouched down, "Zoroark, why did you transform into Buneary? You made me happy for nothing."
"A mischievous brat is still a mischievous brat, always coming up with schemes. You actually wanted to lure Buneary out by impersonating it. You were just unlucky to be seen by Fennekin, that silly girl."
Fennekin, still indignant, rushed over and bit Xia Huanao's trouser leg. Xia Huanao quickly took out a Poké Puff from his pocket. "Alright, alright, don't be angry."
Yu Tingyun looked at Zoroark and asked Xia Huanao, "How did you recognize that Buneary was actually the mischievous Zoroark?"
Xia Huanao petted Zoroark's head. "This mischievous brat wanted to impersonate a female Buneary, but he couldn't imitate the female form at all. His movements looked very awkward, especially when he walked forward."
Although it was a false alarm, Shen Yu was still happy that Zoroark had such intelligence and intentions. Leaving Fennekin and Zoroark to continue searching for Buneary, Xia Huanao and the others headed deeper into the forest.
After wandering aimlessly for over an hour, Xia Huanao and the others saw Oshawott standing on a tree for the second time. Xia Huanao called out softly, "Oshawott, come here."
Oshawott jumped down from the tree and stopped in front of Xia Huanao. Xia Huanao asked, "What is Rock Dog doing again?"
Oshawott explained, and Xia Huanao frowned, remaining silent. Zhang Hong asked, "Boss Xia, what's wrong with Rock Dog now?"
Xia Huanao spread his hands, "Rock Dog is fighting in there again, and wouldn't you know it, he's fighting that Diglett again."
Everyone: "..."
"How did it get into a fight with Diglett again? Could it be that Rock Dog is starving? Is it trying to snatch the carrot from Diglett's hand to eat?"
"It's unlikely. Although Rock Dog is quite greedy, it wouldn't go as far as to fight a rabbit for a carrot. Let's go take a look."
The group walked into the bushes and saw Rock Dog and Diglett fighting from a distance. After losing once, Diglett seemed to have become smarter. Its ears were constantly attacking Rock Dog, and although Rock Dog tried to bite Diglett's ears with its teeth, each time it was about to bite, it was met with an uppercut from Diglett's other ear.
The two Pokémon traded blows for several rounds. Diglett glanced at a large tree nearby, then retreated from the battle and jumped into the forest. Rock Dog, seeing Diglett flee, did not hesitate and was about to chase it into the forest. Xia Huanao clapped his hands, "Rock Dog, why are you fighting this rabbit again?"
After Rock Dog's explanation, everyone understood, "So, you saw a Buneary just now, and this rabbit rushed out to fight you?"
Xia Huanao shook his head. "The prophecy came true so quickly. I was just talking about stealing someone's beloved, and now you've truly become the Pokémon who steals someone's beloved."
Xia Huanao rubbed Rock Dog's head. "Alright, I'm telling you, I brought plenty of bones today. As long as you find that Buneary, I'll give you bones to eat, how about that..."
Before Xia Huanao could finish speaking, Rock Dog jumped out of his arms and darted into the woods to search for Buneary. Xia Huanao looked at Yu Longdu, who nodded. "Charizard, go find Zoroark and Fennekin."
Charizard took flight to find Zoroark and Fennekin, while Xia Huanao and his companions followed Rock Dog's footsteps into the woods to find Buneary.
All paths lead to the same destination. By the time Xia Huanao and the others found Buneary following Rock Dog's tracks, the scene was as follows:
Two Buneary were sitting under a tree. Not far from that large tree, a Fennekin and a Diglett were confronting each other, while in the sky, Charizard was looking down at the scene.
Xia Huanao and the others were somewhat speechless looking at the scene. They hadn't expected Zoroark's impersonation of Buneary to actually lure the real Buneary. However, could Fennekin's combat strength defeat Diglett?
Yu Longdu saw that they had found Buneary and raised his hand to recall Charizard in the sky. "Come back, Charizard."
Xia Huanao glanced at his Rock Dog, then tugged at Shen Yu's sleeve. Shen Yu understood. "Fennekin, come back. Someone will take over this battle for you."
Fennekin glanced towards Shen Yu and then obediently retreated to Zoroark's side. They stood on either side, guarding Buneary. Upon seeing Shen Yu arrive, Zoroark no longer maintained the Buneary form and reverted to its Zoroark appearance. Seeing Zoroark, Buneary was slightly displeased but did not attempt to escape. Diglett, upon seeing Zoroark, became excited and leaped towards Buneary.
Rock Dog, seeing Diglett leap up, did not hesitate. Using a large tree, it leaped up and slammed directly into Diglett's waist, knocking Diglett away.
After landing, Diglett looked at Rock Dog. Upon realizing it was the Rock Dog that always caused trouble for it, Diglett made a fierce expression to intimidate Rock Dog. Rock Dog also opened its mouth and barked, and the two threatened each other.
"Is this a battle for mating rights?"
Xia Huanao shook his head. "Impossible. Given Rock Dog's personality, it would absolutely not fight Diglett for a Buneary. I'd rather believe it's for revenge for Diglett's previous retaliation, or even more ridiculously, Rock Dog just wants Diglett's carrot."
As they were speaking, Rock Dog and Diglett had already begun fighting.
Yu Longdu watched the two Pokémon fighting fiercely and asked Xia Huanao, "Say, aren't you going to help your Rock Dog? It's hard to fight without commands, relying only on instinct."
Xia Huanao rubbed his chin. "No, I want to cultivate its wildness. What's the difference between a wolf and a dog without wildness? Rock Dog, beat him with all your might, for food, go!"
Yu Tingyun chuckled, "For food? This is the first time I've heard such a slogan."
As soon as she spoke, Rock Dog's two paws precisely struck Diglett's ears, clapping them together.