Not Being a Trainer This Time-Chapter 574 - 322: Second Contact (Part 2)

A dozen minutes later, Naoki was once again at the entrance of Oni’s Maw.

Moving further ahead, passing through the narrow suspended mountain path, he would reach the cave where the mysterious Pokémon resided yesterday.

Recalling yesterday’s events, Naoki felt that the Pokémon probably fled in terror because it feared Koraidon.

After all, Koraidon, summoned from ancient times, indeed looked ferocious enough.

To modern Pokémon, its existence is akin to dinosaurs from the Jurassic era in comparison to present-day chickens.

"Wait for me here. I’ll go verify alone." Naoki settled Koraidon in the large bushy area nearby.

Koraidon obediently agreed and crouched honestly behind the bush, only revealing half of its head, pitifully watching Naoki’s back.

After confirming Koraidon wouldn’t be discovered, Naoki then proceeded towards the cave.

Upon approaching, he spotted the Pokémon from yesterday.

It seemed to hear some noise from outside, immediately turning towards him in distress.

In the next second, the gaze of the human and the Pokémon met in mid-air.

Naoki tried hard to express his goodwill: "Hello, do you remember me? I came here yesterday."

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than the Pokémon’s face showed a panicked expression, desperately pulling out its last Teal Mask from under its cloak to wear on its face.

With the mask on, all the Pokémon’s emotions were hidden behind it.

Naoki was quite taken aback by this scene because he found that mask surprisingly suited this Pokémon!

Based on past experiences, a guess quickly came to his mind—"Could this mask be like Dialga’s Adamant Orb, a special item for this Pokémon?"

Naoki locked eyes with the masked mysterious Pokémon. Thankfully, this time, it didn’t run away upon seeing him as it did yesterday.

Naoki was very pleased, thinking his guess was correct, this Pokémon feared Koraidon!

"Don’t worry, I mean no harm, and I won’t hurt you."

To avoid frightening the Pokémon, he lowered his voice while observing the mask. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

For some unknown reason, the mask had several damages on it, looking quite aged, as if it had been made a long time ago.

As Naoki observed the Pokémon, it was also secretly watching him.

However, its face was entirely covered by the mask, leaving its emotions unreadable.

Naoki shifted his gaze to the stone table, noticing that some Berries had visibly been eaten, evidently by this Pokémon.

The Pokémon also noticed what he was looking at, and its actions became somewhat flustered and cautious.

Naoki keenly noticed this, shaking his head and saying:

"No need to be nervous; those are gifts from me and Pawmot for you. Do you remember Pawmot? The pink Pokémon from yesterday."

The mysterious Pokémon hesitated for a while and then nodded softly.

"That’s good." Naoki showed a slight smile, his mind filled with thoughts.

Is this the Masked Ghost described in the town legends?

He didn’t speak further, and the atmosphere in the air suddenly fell silent.

Naoki suddenly remembered the stone bed and table in the cave and asked: "Have you always lived here alone?"

But unexpectedly, upon hearing these words, the Pokémon emitted a strong feeling of sadness.

Naoki was slightly stunned.

In that moment, various thoughts emerged in his mind.

Could it be that someone else, or other Pokémon, once lived here with this Pokémon?

But this topic seemed to sadden the Pokémon, so Naoki didn’t delve deeper.

Having met the purpose of this visit, he suddenly stood up, and the Pokémon visibly tensed, watching him through the mask.

Naoki was slightly taken aback, quickly explaining: "No need to be nervous, I’m just heading back and won’t disturb you any longer."

With that, he took off his backpack, pulling out a bottle of special ranch milk and some Poffins to place on the stone table: "These are gifts for you, goodbye!"

After doing this, Naoki turned and left the secluded cave.

He found Koraidon hidden behind the bush, patted its head, and said: "Let’s go!"

Koraidon glanced at the direction behind Naoki, then carried him away from Oni’s Maw back to Mossui Town.

Unknowingly, it was already midday.

The more Naoki thought about it, the more he felt something was amiss. The legends about Mossui Town seemed problematic, but he couldn’t figure out what.

Without any other choice, he decided to have lunch first and deal with the specifics later.

Today, the lunch at the civic center was quite lavish, making Naoki feel like he had experienced a country feast.

Both the food and the environment were full of rural character and charm.

After lunch, Naoki planned to take a rest with his Pokémon, maybe a nap.

However, as soon as he returned to the room, released his Pokémon from their Poke Balls, and fed them Poffins, there was a knock on the door.