Chapter 41 The Crow Boss

[Good grief, do these cats have no dignity at all? Just a little food and they get this affectionate.]
[Such adorable meow-meows, I'm so envious of the streamer.]
[Don't be fooled by how close they are now. The moment Qian Lin runs out of food, they'll turn their backs and leave. You mark my words.]
[I believe it. The stray cats downstairs at my place are just like that. They meow until your heart melts when you feed them, and they won't even spare you a glance when you have nothing.]
[Cats are all like that.]
[Wait, is it just me, or is the boss cat terrifying?]
[I think the boss cat is a bit intimidating too. Honestly, if I encountered a cat of that size in the wild, I'd turn and run without a second thought.]
[Can you outrun a feline?]

The style of the bullet comments shifted once again, but Qian Lin paid it no mind. After giving every injured meow-meow a Pecha Berry, along with a few other tree berries for the rest, those meow-meows finally went wild.

They hung all over Qian Lin one by one, their meows rising and falling in a chorus.

Growlithe hung its tongue out, watching the scene with not the slightest intention of coming up to intervene.

Swablu perched atop Qian Lin's head, defending its exclusive territory with pure dignity. Any meow-meow that dared to approach got pecked immediately. Two meow-meows that had been pecked too hard started a war with Swablu right there on Qian Lin's shoulders.

In the end, Qian Lin had to reach out and pull the two meow-meows down, then shield Swablu as he told them, "This is Swablu's spot. You can't steal it."

Perhaps Qian Lin's serious tone made the meow-meows realize the gap in status between themselves and Swablu, as they did nothing more out of line. Instead, they simply clung to Qian Lin to beg for treats, while Swablu sat like an emperor in the highest position, looking down upon the crowd of meow-meows from on high.

After playing to their hearts' content, the sky outside grew dark, and Qian Lin finally remembered his main objective.

He put down the two newborn meow-meows in his arms and walked over to the boss cat. "Boss, I have a few things I'd like to ask you all."

Meow~

The boss cat and the meow-meows responded in a very friendly manner.

"Have you ever been to the neighboring village? And taken a golden necklace from one of the rooms in that village?" Qian Lin asked.

"Meow?" The boss cat tilted its head, then shook it.

It had never been to the neighboring village. Whatever it ate was usually brought to it by the meow-meows; its only job was to guard the territory.

As for the rest of the meow-meows, about half of them claimed they had been to that village, but hadn't found anything resembling a necklace.

Just as Qian Lin was thinking of changing his approach, that single meow-meow lacking a coin approached him and tugged at his trousers.

Qian Lin was stunned at first, then picked it up with a pleasant surprise. "Did you take that necklace?"

The meow-meow nodded, its eyes clear and bright.

[Good grief, they found it in just a few days.]
[Five days is a pretty long time.]
[I thought it was like finding a needle in a haystack, never expected it to be found so easily.]
[What do you mean five days is long? I'd say not finding it at all in a situation like this is completely normal.]
[True, I once dropped a hundred-yuan bill on a mountain hike and I still haven't found it to this day.]

Qian Lin couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from curling up, his eyes full of hope. "Meow-meow, can you give me that necklace? I can trade you some tree berries for it."

The meow-meow being held in Qian Lin's arms didn't show much reaction, but the boss cat and the other meow-meows started yowling excitedly, as if accepting on the meow-meow's behalf.

However, the next second, the meow-meow shook its head. It pointed to the empty spot on its forehead where the coin used to be, its expression turning dejected.

Meow~
(｡•́︿•̀｡)
It's not that I won't give it to you, meow, but my necklace and coin were snatched away by those guys, meow.

Qian Lin understood.

However, for a flock of Murkrow to be able to fight a meow-meow clan led by a boss cat—needless to say, there had to be a Honchkrow among those Murkrow.

With that thought, Qian Lin glanced at Swablu and Growlithe... They couldn't win. Absolutely no way they could beat them.

Growlithe tilted its head in confusion.

"It's fine." Qian Lin sighed helplessly, turning his gaze to the boss cat. "Boss, I want to make a deal with you."

(●—●) Meow?

...

Ha, do I need to hesitate to beat up some Murkrow? What talk of deals? I'm definitely helping out with this favor!

Originally, the boss cat wanted to say that, right up until it saw that box of tree berries. It decisively swallowed those previous words back down.

Business is business; how could one let sentiment get in the way of fairness?

The boss cat happily called its underlings to carry the box of tree berries into the house to store them properly. After that, the whole gang jumped into Qian Lin's car, with the boss cat sitting in the passenger seat to give directions. They were determined to wipe out the Murkrow flock tonight!

The meow-meows' morale was soaring.

Qian Lin's eye twitched. "I didn't say we were going to fight the Murkrow flock..."

"Meow!"
ヽ(^ω^)ﾉ

The boss cat let out a high cheer, and dozens of meow-meows raised their arms in unison!

"Fine, whatever." Qian Lin sighed.

He had originally wanted to close his live stream and simply pull a box of tree berries out of thin air, but the Pokémon Research Institute seemed to want to study the differences between the meow-meow Pokémon clan, the bird Pokémon clan, and ordinary cat and bird species. Therefore, the stream couldn't be shut down just yet.

There was no help for it. Pulling out one or two tree berries was fine, but hauling a whole box of them out of that backpack would be a bit too shocking to the world. So Qian Lin had chosen to drive back to Village 12, using the vehicle as cover to exchange for a box of tree berries.

Thinking of this, Qian Lin glanced at the rearview mirror. Pangoro's massive body occupied most of the back seat, sitting with arms crossed, squeezing Growlithe until only its head was poking out.

Pangoro noticed Qian Lin's expression. Meeting his gaze in the rearview mirror, it spoke in a cold tone, "Roar~"

Qian Lin didn't understand its exact meaning, but he knew Pangoro most likely wouldn't attack him. "So, Pangoro, why are you helping me?"

"Roar—" Pangoro clamped a bamboo stalk in its teeth and closed its eyes, offering no answer.

"After this matter is over... is that it?" Qian Lin roughly understood. He nodded. "I get it. No matter what it is, I'll do my best to help you."

Pangoro gave no reply.

The Murkrow flock's territory wasn't far from Village 11, located in a large tree right in front of the back mountain. Less than ten minutes of driving later, they arrived at the Murkrow's domain.

Accompanied by piercing cries of 'caw—caw—', black birds resembling those wearing hats appeared before their eyes.

[Are these Murkrow? They look so abstract.]
[They feel like some kind of exaggerated birds.]
[What's exaggerated about them? Aren't birds all like this?]
[Rub your eyes, whose bird looks like this?]
[They feel like 2D birds rather than 3D ones.]
[Right, right, exactly that exaggerated feeling, very 2D style.]
[Now that you mention it, meow-meows have that vibe too.]

Qian Lin amusedly looked at the bullet comments without explaining anything. After all, Pokémon were inherently 2D creatures to begin with; saying they had a 2D style wasn't wrong, and besides, it was hard to explain.

"Anyway, these are Murkrow, and their evolved form is called Honchkrow..." Before Qian Lin could finish speaking, a massive bird nearly a meter in size flew down from the tree.

A flamboyant fedora, crimson tail feathers, a patch of white plumage on its chest, and a proud, upright posture—it looked just like a haughty gentleman, vastly more pleasing to the eye than the ordinary Murkrow. This was the evolution of Murkrow, Honchkrow.

"Caw!" Honchkrow looked down at the vehicle from above. Ever since the boss cat stepped out of the car, a look of disdain curved the corner of its beak.

The boss cat lowered its body, staring fixedly at Honchkrow.

During their last territorial dispute, it had lost to the very Honchkrow before it. This time would not be so simple.

Qian Lin opened the door and stepped out of the car, his gaze sweeping over the constantly fluttering Murkrow in the sky before finally resting on Honchkrow.