A Rockruff trotted into the woods with its precious bone, and Xia Hunaodao and Mu Zhishui followed at a distance, wanting to see what important creature would make a Rockruff give up its bone.
The Rockruff advanced through the woods, sniffing the air, and soon arrived beneath a large tree. Xia Hunaodao glanced from afar; beneath the tree was a small furball, though it was hard to make out.
The Rockruff shook its head, tossing the bone over. The furball jumped up, and it turned out to be another Rockruff.
The two Rockruffs immediately started fighting upon meeting. The two little ones were tearing at each other, which made Mu Zhishui very excited. "Another Rockruff! It's so cute, I've decided, I'm going to catch it!"
Saying that, Mu Zhishui emerged from the woods. "Alright Rockruff, you come back now. I'll handle this Rockruff."
The Rockruff paused, and was then bitten by the other Rockruff. Enraged, the Rockruff swung its claws and continued to tussle with the other Rockruff. Mu Zhishui got angry. "Gardevoir, use Shadow Ball!"
Gardevoir fired a Shadow Ball, hitting both Rockruffs and forcibly separating them. It then embraced the wild Rockruff. "How could you two do this? You're both cute Rockruffs, no fighting!"
The Rockruff belonging to Xia Hunaodao whimpered and lowered its head. The Rockruff held in Xia Hunaodao's arms, however, struggled continuously, seemingly wanting to escape. Xia Hunaodao also emerged from the bushes, holding a bag of five-spice beef jerky. "Here, Rockruff, let's try this."
The Rockruff, smelling the meat, stopped staring at its opponent and ran to Xia Hunaodao's side, staring intently at Xia Hunaodao's hand. Xia Hunaodao didn't tease him, picking up a piece of jerky. "Go, Rockruff!"
The Rockruff used a nearby tree as a springboard and leaped up. Mid-air, it ate Xia Hunaodao's five-spice beef jerky, looking smugly at the other Rockruff, as if to say, "See, you don't have this."
The Rockruff held by Mu Zhishui couldn't stand this. It bit Mu Zhishui's hand and jumped out, resuming its fight with the other Rockruff. Xia Hunaodao glanced at Froakie, who had followed, and gave him a look: "Go, establish your authority."
Froakie seized the brief moment the two Pokémon were apart and charged into the fray, using Water Pulse in its left hand and Dark Pulse in its right to separate the two Rockruffs. The wild Rockruff, about to let out a cry, was immediately subdued by Froakie's glare.
Xia Hunaodao gave Froakie a thumbs-up. "Froakie, cool, incredibly cool. If you were in Greninja form, you'd be even cooler with that look."
Mu Zhishui nodded. "Indeed, Greninja is definitely cooler. But how could you scare my Rockruff?"
Saying that, Mu Zhishui held the wild Rockruff. "Are you okay, Rockruff?"
The Rockruff nodded. Mu Zhishui smiled. "How about it, come with me?"
The wild Rockruff glanced at Xia Hunaodao's Rockruff. The Rockruff nodded, and only then did the wild Rockruff willingly allow itself to be caught by Mu Zhishui. After all the commotion, Xia Hunaodao walked out of the woods again, asking his Rockruff, "Do you two have a story?"
The Rockruff briefly told Xia Hunaodao its story. Mu Zhishui's Rockruff, hearing the cries, became agitated as if about to fight again. Mu Zhishui quickly tightened his grip. "No, no fighting. You are all good friends. Xia Hunaodao, what is Rockruff saying?"
Xia Hunaodao explained, "Rockruff was living happily in the forest. One day, when he went out to eat, he found his bone was missing. While searching, he found the one in your arms, thought he was a thief, and started fighting."
"Woo woo (I'm not a thief)."
Xia Hunaodao reached out and patted Rockruff's head. "Okay, I know you're not a thief. Don't be so temperamental."
"So that's how it is. But where did Rockruff keep his bone?"
Xia Hunaodao paused. "Right, Rockruff, where did you keep your bone? How did you know it was missing?"
Rockruff ran a few playful steps back to the road and barked twice near the large pit. Xia Hunaodao looked at the pit that had swallowed him. "You mean, you buried your bone in this pit?"
"Ao (That's right, I'm amazing)."
Xia Hunaodao acted as if he had discovered a new continent. "Amazing, Rockruff, you actually dug such a big pit."
Mu Zhishui walked out with her Rockruff. "Really? You dug this pit?"
Rockruff didn't hide anything. It ran directly to the middle of the road and frantically dug with its two paws. Before long, it had dug a pit. Seeing that Rockruff was about to enlarge the pit, Xia Hunaodao held up his hand. "Alright Rockruff, stop digging. If you dig any more, you'll go hungry. I don't have any more meat for you."
Rockruff stopped its movements and looked at Xia Hunaodao's empty right hand. Xia Hunaodao said no more, directly picking up two pieces of jerky and throwing them out.
Rockruff leaped up to eat them, but the other one, seizing the opportunity, jumped out of Mu Zhishui's arms, used Rockruff's head as a springboard for a double jump, intercepted the jerky mid-air, and ate both pieces.
This was incredibly infuriating. The smug look on Mu Zhishui's Rockruff after eating the jerky made Rockruff even more annoyed. Rockruff crouched down, wagged its tail, and bit the opponent's tail.
The bite was accurate. The bitten Rockruff thrashed wildly on the ground, while Rockruff held on tight. Xia Hunaodao and Mu Zhishui quickly stepped in to separate them. Xia Hunaodao sighed. "What can I say? It seems we need to resolve their issues before we set off. How can they keep fighting like this?"
Mu Zhishui agreed. Although the two little ones seemed peaceful and well-behaved, they always had minor conflicts every now and then, which wouldn't do. They couldn't possibly have them eat separately all the time, that wouldn't make sense.
Xia Hunaodao picked up his Rockruff. "Rockruff, why do you always fight with him?"
Rockruff's front legs were held by Xia Hunaodao, and its hind legs flailed in the air, whimpering. Xia Hunaodao placed Rockruff's hind legs on the ground and tapped its nose with his right hand. "Tell me the truth, or you won't get any more beef jerky."
Rockruff whimpered, and Xia Hunaodao nodded. Mu Zhishui watched the scene. "What are you two talking about?"
"Rockruff is explaining why they always fight. Actually, it's not a big problem; it's just a way to strengthen their relationship. We're just being too sensitive."
Mu Zhishui looked at her Rockruff. "Really? Is that so?"
Rockruff nodded. Mu Zhishui rubbed its head. "Alright, you two, you really are something. You fight without any regard for decency."
Saying that, Mu Zhishui asked again, "Then, in the beginning, why did you throw your bone at him?"
"I was about to leave, so I had to say goodbye to a friend. I didn't expect them to be completely taken by us."
"What a peculiar way to say goodbye..."
Xia Hunaodao placed the two Rockruffs together, then took out a new Pokémon bowl and poured the beef jerky into it. "Come on, you two, how about we celebrate your new journey with this beef jerky?"
The two little ones looked at each other and divided it up, one for each. Mu Zhishui looked at the harmonious scene. "This is nice."
Yes, it was nice, but unfortunately, the small bowl of beef jerky had an odd number of pieces. The two little ones were left with one, and neither knew who it should go to. Both little ones and both trainers were stunned. However, Xia Hunaodao reacted quickly and commanded, "Rockruff, knock him down, chase him aside! The beef jerky is ours!"
Mu Zhishui and her Rockruff: ?
"No, Rockruff, counterattack! Don't just give him the beef jerky!"
The two trainers directed their two Rockruffs to fight. At that moment, Froakie, who had been standing by, stood up, looking around as if facing a formidable enemy. Seeing Froakie so tense, Xia Hunaodao stopped the battle. "Froakie, what's wrong? Is something amiss?"
Mu Zhishui and Rockruff also looked at Froakie. In terms of combat power alone, Froakie was the strongest Pokémon the two trainers had. Even Mega Diancie and Gardevoir might not be able to handle Froakie. If Froakie was so tense now, it meant the incoming Pokémon must be no small fry.
However, to their surprise, Froakie made no strange moves after standing up. It simply leaped over the battlefield between the two Rockruffs and landed beside the plate of beef jerky. Xia Hunaodao looked over, and Froakie picked up the last piece of beef jerky from the bowl and ate it.
The two Rockruffs were stunned. The two trainers were also stunned. They thought something big was about to happen, but it turned out all Froakie wanted was a piece of beef jerky!
Seeing the beef jerky taken, the two Rockruffs "desperately" charged at Froakie. Froakie didn't fight back, simply using its physical prowess to play a rough game with the two Rockruffs. The three Pokémon ended up in a chaotic brawl, while Mu Zhishui and Xia Hunaodao covered their faces. "What is this all about?"
"Xia Xia, Froakie has definitely learned from you, stealing Rockruff's beef jerky."
"Can you blame me? Froakie is just smart. Tell them to stop fighting. If they keep fighting like this, who knows if we'll get any main course supplements before dinner."