At that moment, the Pidgeot pair noticed the commotion. After spotting Wen Qi and his group, one of the Pidgeot let out a loud cry toward the sky, as if issuing a command to assemble. Instantly, all the Pidgey and Pidgeotto gathered quickly and, led by the Pidgeot, flew to a spot not far in front of Wen Qi. Uncertain of the situation, the Pidgeot only brought a few Pidgeotto down to land, while the rest, under the lead of the other Pidgeot, either perched in the trees or circled in the sky. Their flight formation seemed to gradually encircle Wen Qi and his companions.
Wen Qi never expected to stir up such a big fuss, especially since he hadn’t done anything at all. In truth, Wen Qi didn’t know that recently, the Pidgey had been ambushed several times, with many of them falling victim. If not for the fact that all the Pidgey eggs were stored in the leader’s nest, they might have been stolen too. The culprit was the Arbok Wen Qi had encountered earlier. The Pidgey had been on edge lately due to the Arbok’s attacks, and upon seeing the unfamiliar Wen Qi and his group, they mistakenly believed that the recent turmoil was their doing. That’s why they made such a grand show upon spotting Wen Qi.
Seeing the Pidgeot’s actions, Wen Qi immediately became alert. He then addressed the Pidgeot, saying, “Hello, Pidgeot. My friends and I mean no harm. We’re just passing through this area and have no intention of hurting you.” As he spoke, he fully unleashed his Viridian Forest power, trying to calm the Pidgeot before him. Hearing Wen Qi’s words and sensing the reassuring aura emanating from him, the Pidgeot’s initial urge to pick a fight faded considerably. Still, it didn’t let its guard down, keeping its eyes fixed on Wen Qi as it said, “Our flock has been repeatedly attacked by strange Pokémon lately, so strangers like you suddenly showing up here make us cautious.”
Wen Qi finally understood the situation and replied, “We only arrived here today, and there’s really no reason for us to attack you. If we had attacked you before, the scene would have been left with our scent, but we just got here today. So there’s definitely no trace of us at the previous attack sites. Please believe us—we’re definitely not the ones who attacked you.” The Pidgeot thought it over and found Wen Qi’s logic sound; the scent left at the earlier attack sites was completely different from what Wen Qi and his group carried now. However, even knowing that Wen Qi wasn’t responsible, the Pidgeot still harbored doubts about the purpose of these strangers and their Pokémon. To be honest, in the wild Pokémon world, might makes right. If not for the fact that the Gogoat beside Wen Qi exuded a far stronger aura than itself, the Pidgeot wouldn’t have bothered to converse with him at all. If they were weak, even if they weren’t the attackers, they’d likely have been bombarded by all the Pidgey and Pidgeotto by now.
The Pidgeot continued, “Since you’re not the attacker, please leave. You’re not welcome here.” Hearing this, Wen Qi realized that the Pidgeot was on high alert due to the recent attacks. Trying to discuss capture at this point would probably be very difficult. So he said, “How about this, Pidgeot? I can help you catch the Pokémon that’s been attacking you. But after dealing with it, I’d like to discuss something with you. It’s not urgent—I can help you take care of the attacker first. What do you think?” The Pidgeot pondered his words for a moment. Helping catch the attacker with no reward, only asking to talk afterward—it seemed like a clear advantage with no downside. The Pidgeot agreed but set conditions: Wen Qi must not disturb the Pidgey flock, couldn’t approach the eggs in the nest, and most importantly, had to provide his own food—they wouldn’t feed him.
Wen Qi hadn’t expected the Pidgeot’s biggest concern to be about meals. It seemed that in the wild, Pokémon finding enough to eat every day was no easy task. Wen Qi accepted the Pidgeot’s terms and explained his plan for catching the attacker. Since the attacker targeted the Pidgey, it was likely after food. The Pokémon that hunt Pidgey for food were few, with Ekans and Arbok being the most common. The Pidgey flock here was fairly strong on the forest’s edge, so the only one capable of hunting here was probably an Arbok, and a formidable one at that, given its repeated success. Since it was after food, Wen Qi and the Pidgeot devised a plan: place specially prepared all-type energy cubes—edible by any Pokémon, though not as effective as type-specific ones—in the nests around the trees near the Pidgeot.
Wen Qi said, “The food I’ll put out has a very strong aroma. I’ll place it in the nests and have my Pokémon keep watch. But you need to make sure your Pidgey and Pidgeotto don’t sneak over to eat it.” Hearing this, the Pidgeot immediately took offense and squawked, “What do you mean, tell my flock not to sneak over? Do you think we Pidgey and Pidgeotto are birds that can’t resist food? You underestimate us! Besides, what food could you have that’s so tempting we can’t hold back? Impossible, absolutely impossible!”
Wen Qi watched the Pidgeot’s righteous declaration with a silent smile, then simply pulled out the all-type energy cubes he’d made earlier. He’d crafted these cubes specifically to lure Pokémon, so he’d made the aroma especially rich and easy to spread in the air, perfect for attracting greedy Pokémon. The Pidgeot had just sworn it wouldn’t touch Wen Qi’s food, but when the cubes were revealed, the scent hit it, and it froze. The words “absolutely impossible” got stuck in its throat, and it didn’t know whether to speak or stay silent. The Pidgeot could barely restrain itself, but the Pidgeotto behind it couldn’t. Neither could the Pidgey in the trees; if not for the distance, they’d have flown over already. The Pidgeotto stared at Wen Qi’s food, not knowing what it was, but the enticing aroma made them drool with greed. If not for their leader putting on a front, forbidding them from losing face, they’d have charged over to snatch it.
At this point, the Pidgeot realized it had spoken too soon. Now, even if it wanted to back out, it was too late—words spoken were like water spilled, impossible to take back. Seeing the Pidgeot’s awkward expression, Wen Qi thought it over. He still wanted to convince this flock to come with him later, so it wouldn’t do to embarrass them now. After all, there were only about forty or fifty of them. So Wen Qi took out fifty energy cubes and handed them to the Pidgeot, saying, “Consider this rent for using your territory. Thanks for letting us stay.” The Pidgeot looked at the cubes, heard Wen Qi’s reason for lodging, and perhaps sensing his goodwill—or simply unable to resist the food’s allure—nodded in agreement. With that, the Pidgeot took the food and led the Pidgeotto away, returning to divvy up the spoils with all the Pidgey: one cube per Pidgey, one per Pidgeotto, and the rest for itself.
Wen Qi watched the Pidgeot leave and set up camp there. Though it was still early, he’d already found the Pidgey he wanted, so there was no need to continue the journey.