Chapter 028
"What's the problem...?" asked Mordred, noticing Leon staring down at the bird she had injured, silent and unmoving.
Following Leon's gaze, meeting the resentment-filled eyes of the Pidgey, Mordred further asked, "Do you have something against killing birds? You didn't seem to mind when we brought back those chickens I discovered in the north."
"I recognize this creature..." explained Leon. "It's called a Pidgey, and back in my world, they're one of a variety of monsters you can catch and train in a series of games intended for children but enjoyed by people of all age groups. They're not usually something that's hunted or killed..."
"So, what, we just leave it alone after it attacked us...?" asked Mordred. "And what if other, more powerful creatures attack? We ignore them as well...?"
"Pokemon are intelligent creatures..." said Leon, taking a knee and extending a hand to the injured Pidgey as he explained, "But to capture them in the games, you must first defeat and weaken them in battle. In other words, they're combative by nature, but they also tend to respect those who have bested or helped them..."
Though he was making a lot of assumptions, Leon chose to believe he was right as he brought out a tiny, emerald-colored seed that resembled a gum tree seed from his Storage, presenting it to the Pidgey's beak. It initially pecked and bit at his fingers, but when he didn't react, it looked between him and the seed, a relatively rare consumable item known as a Yggdrasil Seed, and ate it.
Feeling a surge of warmth and adrenaline fill its body, the Pidgey bounced to its feet, spread its wings, and issued a loud cry, the wound on its chest completely healed. Mordred smacked and massaged her head in disbelief, feeling that he had wasted a precious item, but Leon felt it was worth it as the Pidgey looked up at him for several seconds before flapping its wings and landing atop his outstretched hand.
Rising to his feet, Leon presented the proof of his assertion to Mordred, an imaginary smile adorning his face as he gently scratched the underside of the Pidgey's chin and said, "See, what did I tell you? I can't say that all Pokemon would react this way, but they're meant to be tamed, not killed."
Crossing her arms, Mordred asked, "Then how do they survive...? Porings are one thing, as they're apparently plants that need nothing but sunlight and water, but birds mainly eat insects, right?"
"We could always try asking," said Leon, staring down at the Pidgey as it looked up at them, ostensibly following their conversation as it spread its wings, issued a cry, and flew to the branch of a nearby tree before turning around and issuing another, presumably indicating for them to follow.
Though the former exhaled an exasperated sigh and shook her head, Mordred and Presea followed along as Leon led the way in pursuit of the Pidgey. It was pretty obvious that it was leading them somewhere, but if there was one thing Mordred had learned in her time as a Knight, it was to 'never' underestimate animals with human levels of intelligence. Thus, as they moved deeper into the lush forest that likely served as the Pidgey's home, she remained on high alert, ready to act.
After roughly two minutes of following the Pidgey, Leon, Mordred, and Presea paused as it abruptly flew higher, circled around overhead, and then dive-bombed into a bush, causing loud, pained shrieking sounds to sound throughout the forest. Then, once the shrieking ceased, the Pidgey reappeared, issuing several triumphant cries as it flew in tight circles over the bush, clearly wanting them to come and investigate.
"Yeah, I thought as much..." said Mordred, grinning but appearing slightly disgusted as they peered beyond the bush to find what Leon recognized as a Caterpie, its bulbous green body ripped to shreds and head removed by the Pidgey's razor-sharp talons.
Reinforcing Mordred's point, the Pidgey landed next to the eviscerated Caterpie and started pecking at it, tearing away chunks of its leaf-green insides and swallowing them whole. It didn't need to eat much, so once it was done, it picked up the y-shaped antennae that previously decorated the Caterpie's head in its beak, flying it up to Leon's faceplate as if to say, 'You should eat too.'
"I appreciate the offer, but I can't eat with this body..." excused Leon, an imaginary, awkward smile adorning his face. To his surprise, Mordred then stuck out her right hand, saying, "I'll give it a try," as scavenging for insect larvae in the woods was one of the basics of survival training.
Demonstrating that it hadn't forgiven Mordred for injuring and wanting to kill it, the Pidgey promptly arched its body and pointed its tail feathers in her direction, angling its cloaca to shoot a predominately white-and-black stream of liquid poop directly at her. She managed to dodge, but the smile on her face became murderous as she motioned to reach out and strangle the Pidgey, only for it to use Leon as a shield, keeping him between itself and its would-be assailant while producing a sound remarkably similar to laughter...
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Returning to the portal with the Pidgey resting on his left arm like a hawk, having expressed its desire to return with them, Leon expected the portal to take them back to the First Floor, but when he touched it with his right hand, a notification window appeared before him, presenting the options of returning the previous Floor or leaving the Tower directly.
"Do either of you see this...?" asked Leon.
"What are you referring to...?" asked Mordred.
"I got a window allowing me to choose whether I want to return to the previous Floor or leave the Tower," explained Leon, prompting Mordred to raise her right brow before slipping past him and placing her hand into the portal. However, instead of receiving a pop-up, she immediately vanished, returning a few seconds later to affirm, "I got nothing."
Following Mordred's example, Presea also made a quick trip to the First Floor and back, confirming, "Nothing..." in a neutral tone.
"Then it must be a perk of my console," contended Leon, returning his hand to the portal's interior as he said, "Let's head back to the previous Floor," before vanishing, causing the Pidgey to disappear alongside him. They had previously confirmed that monsters could be removed from the Tower when Presea exited with her now pet Poring, Papaya, so Leon had no issues moving to the previous Floor with his pilfered Pidgey.
"What the—where the heck did you get a bird...?" asked Ed, staring at Leon's group with a look of disbelief as they returned to the Baphomet's chamber.
"It kind of looks like a cross between a pigeon and a hawk..." said Gakuto, approaching with the others and crossing his arms as he attempted to get a better look at the Pidgey.
"It's called a Pidgey, and its evolved form is large enough to fly on," said Leon, surprising everyone present, even if Presea's expression remained unchanged.
"What do you mean, evolved form...?" asked Mordred.
"Most Pokemon have between two and three stages," explained Leon. "Pidgey is the fledgling stage of a Pidgeotto, which then evolves into a Pidgeot. And the way to evolve them, as a general rule, is to have them battle and defeat other Pokemon."
"Oh! It's the same as Yokaimon!" exclaimed Gakuto, his face lighting up as he added, "I used to love that game as a kid!"
Though he had no idea what Yokaimon was, the name suggested it was a very similar concept to Pokemon, causing Leon to nod and affirm, "That's right. More to the point, the Field Monsters of the next Floor appear to be Pokemon. Unlike Porings and those from the First Floor, however, they're a lot more aggressive. We'll talk about the specifics once we return to the manor."
"Can I try petting it...?" asked Shino, catching Leon by surprise as she was usually more guarded around him. Now, however, she was standing right next to him, her hazel-brown eyes practically shimmering as she stared at the Pidgey perched atop his left forearm.
"Do you like birds...?" asked Leon.
Seemingly realizing how she was behaving, Shino blinked a few times and adopted a more neutral expression as she replied, "I wouldn't go as far as to say I 'like' them, but my maternal Grandfather used to raise Japanese Wood Pigeons as messenger birds. I used to feed and play with them as a kid."
"Then, can I entrust this little one to you...?" asked Leon, surprising both Shino and the Pidgey. Before it could protest, however, he gently stroked its head with his finger, stating, "She'll be able to care for you a lot better than me. She also lives in the barracks attached to my manor, so you can always visit when you're not hunting or training to evolve."
Rubbing its head against Leon's finger, the Pidgey issued an affirming coo before startling Shino as it flapped its wings and flew over to her, landing atop her head when she failed to raise her arm and provide a perch...
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"Go! Pidgey! Use Gust...!" exclaimed Shino, blushing up to her ears as she followed Leon's suggestion and instructed the Pidgey to assail a raccoon-like monster known as a Smokie. Fortunately, Leon hadn't been playing a prank on her as she believed he might be as, the moment she shouted her order, the Pidgey immediately flew forward, hovered in place, and began beating its wings powerfully, producing almost typhoon-force winds. The Smokie huddled close to the ground to resist, but amid the powerful gust of wind were several high-pressure 'blades.' They weren't strong enough to cause any serious harm, but they sent the Smokie reeling when one hit, sending it flying several meters.
"Try Quick Attack next," said Leon, liberating Shino from her slackjawed state and causing her to point and shout, "Y-You heard him, Pidgey! Use Quick Attack...!"
Responding with an affirming cry, the Pidgey performed a quick loop to build up speed, a hazy white aura veiling its body as it accelerated much faster than any ordinary bird, ramming into the Smokie's chest. If the laws of physics applied normally, the Pidgey would have suffered considerable damage impacting something with such velocity, but all the force of the Quick Attack seemed to be transferred to the Smokie. As a result, it was sent crashing and bouncing across the terrain while the Pidgey remained in place, flapping its wings triumphantly.
"Okay, I'm starting to see the value in these Pokemon..." said Mordred, impressed by the Pidgey's power. It couldn't have weighed more than 2kg, but the wind produced by its wings was strong enough to get trees to sway while the force of its Quick Attack wasn't much weaker than her regular punch.
"But they also seem dangerous..." said Al, sporting a slightly anxious expression as he imagined what the flock could have done to Mordred and Presea if they hadn't been scared off.
"You're not wrong," admitted Leon, crossing his arms. The fact that he was in a world with living, breathing Pokemon filled him with nearly as much excitement as when he summoned Mordred. But if the Pokemon that had attacked them was something like a swarm of Beedrill, they may have had no choice but to fight back and slaughter them all. Thus, while the thought of killing Pokemon felt wrong, he was resolved to authorize it in self-defense. He felt giddy at the prospect of befriending a Charizard or riding a Lapras across the sea, but the safety and well-being of his friends and allies, especially those who ventured into the Tower, had to be his top priority, always...
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