...

"Let's take a closer look!"

Rosa said excitedly and went running towards the river, leaving them behind.

"Wait for us!"

Edward and Falkner chased after Rosa while the other Pokemon quickly followed suit.

They hid behind a rock located a few meters away from the figure and popped their heads out to get a glimpse of its appearance.

...

In front of them stood a brown, rodent-like Pokemon with four short legs sitting on a small rock by the riverside.

It has a short, dark brown snout and a small, red nose. Cream-colored markings cover its underside and surround its face with round tufts of fur on its face, ears, and tail.

In addition, it has large incisors protruding from its upper jaw, which you wouldn't want anywhere near your body parts upon looking at the state of the gnawed logs and rocks scattered around it.

"It's a rat!" Falkner exclaimed after seeing Bidoof's appearance.

"No, it's a mouse! Well, a large, plump, and fat mouse, but still a mouse!"

Rosa argued loudly.

"It is still a rat to me," Falkner muttered under his breath.

"Hey, I heard that! And it's a mouse!"

The two argued back and forth until finally, Edward couldn't bear it anymore and put his on their mouth, attempting to shut them up.

"Stop! It is looking at us!" Edward motioned his head toward the other direction.

The two people slowly moved their heads toward the river and were met with the unsophisticated face of Bidoof staring at them.

Apparently, it noticed the ruckus caused by Falkner and Rosa when the two were bickering between each other.

It stared at the three strange creatures never before seen that had intruded its domain unfazed.

"Hello...," Edward raised his hand and waved, appearing to be friendly.

"Wow!"

The other Pokemons also gave friendly cries imitating Edward's awkward greeting.

After staring for a few more minutes, it determined that Edward's group wasn't hostile and proceeded to gnaw on the log again.

It appears to be carving something on the log without caring about anything else.

...

[Man, those teeth tho. So big!]

[Hahaha. Its face is basically saying, 'I don't give a f***'. Leave me alone!]

[That expression... I surrender to the lord.]

( AN: Just some meme to make this quite interesting, moving on.)

Everyone in the live stream joked after seeing the rodent-like creature.

...

"It looks like it didn't mind our presence here," Rosa said while sketching the picture of the Pokemon on her small notebook.

She had been doing this for all the Pokemon they had seen on the island. Notably, she finds the physiology of the island's inhabitants unique and magical.

Besides, she might get further recognition in the academic circle if she succeeds in her new research about them.

"Yeah, let's stop here to rest for a while," Edward said while moving towards the riverbanks a few meters away from Bidoof's location.

After setting up a fire camp, Edward and Falkner moved towards the nearby forest to find some fresh fruits or edible plants with Torchic and Pidgey in tow.

Meanwhile, Timburr and Beautifly stayed with Rosa back at the camp to keep an eye on their belongings.

...

Edward and Falkner are walking through the woods while carrying some of their harvests in their hands.

They are quite lucky today. After a few minutes of searching, they found some maitake mushroom and oyster mushroom among the trees.

And, they found many berries growing in the woods, such as oran berry and sitrus berry, nicely filling up their fruit stock.

Suddenly, Edward noticed a few Pokemon running by their side, trying to surround them through his sense.

Raising his hand as a sign to stop Falkner from moving further, he pointed his finger at the nearby bush, where he sensed the strongest was hiding.

Falkner recognized Edward's signal, and then, he whistled at Pidgey, who was flying above them to be aware of any hostilities.

"Come out! We know you're there!" Edward shouted at their surroundings.

"Chee!"

"Chee!"

After a few moments, many voices can be heard from the bush. It sounds as if they are discussing something among themselves. That was when a Pokemon that resembles a chipmunk walked out of their hiding spot, followed by a few others.

'Ten Patrat. Hmm. We might be in trouble.' Edward thought to himself.

Patrat is mostly brown with a tan stomach. It has a large pointed tooth that sticks out of its mouth.

In addition, it uses its cheek pouches to store food. Its head has a black band covering the eyes, red irises with a yellow ring, and black pupils.

Its feet are small and black with three toes and a long tail with a scruffy white tip standing up straight.

"Chee!" A Patrat, who apparently is the leader, pointed its fingers at the food Edward and Falkner are holding in their hands.

"Edward, do you think we may have intruded on their territory?" Falkner whispered in his ear.

"There's no doubt about that. Wait for a second. I have an idea!"

A light-bulb appeared in his mind.

Next, he took out a bag of Pokemon food from his backpack and threw a few pieces in front of Patrat's leader.

Although Edward can escape from this predicament by himself, Falkner might be left behind. And, he only had Torchic with him right now, so he is stuck in this embarrassing situation.

The leader looked curiously at the food on the ground, then he picked it up and carefully sniffed it. After that, it swallowed the whole piece in a mouthful while humming cheerfully.

"Chee!" The leader gave a cry in approval.

Noticing its affirmation, Edward threw the whole bag of food towards the Patrat leader.

"Chee!"

Then, it picked up the bag and was getting ready to leave the area with its group after the intruders had paid the toll for crossing their territory.

"Wait!" But, before they could leave, Edward stopped them.

Halting their tracks, the Patrats turned their heard in confusion after hearing Edward's cry.

"Chee?"

After that, Edward whispered a few words into Torchic's ear to translate for him.

Torchic nodded and went towards them, delivering Edward's message.

"Edward? Aren't they leaving just now? Why are you stopping them?" Falkner asked, confused about Edward's behavior.

"Didn't you ask me how to command a beast to fight yesterday? Well, there's no time like now," Edward replied smilingly.

"But.." Before Falkner could utter another word, Torchic's loud cry attracted their attention.

"Chic!" Torchic called out to Edward.

Knowing what his Pokemon had said, Edward took two more Pokemon food bags and showed them to the Patrat group.

"Chee!" The leader ordered his subordinates to clear the surrounding area. Then it called out one of its underlings and told it to fight on their behalf.

"Be calm and confident. You are on your own now. Good luck!" Edward pushed Falkner's figure towards the clearing while he stood beside Torchic, who was rooting for them.

'Looks like a fair match,' Edward thought in his heart, seeing their stats.

...

[Pidgey]

Level: 6

Gender: Male

Type: Normal/Flying

Ability: Keen Eye

Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack

~

[Patrat]

Level: 5

Gender: Male

Type: Normal

Ability: Run Away

Moves: Tackle, Leer

...

"Chic!"

"Trat!"

Sounds of cheering can be heard throughout the clearing, albeit Torchic's cry was dampened by the other Patrat's cheers.

'Huu.. I can do this! Come on!' Falkner took a deep breath and shouted at the figure of Pidgey standing in front of him.

"Let's fight together, Pidgey!"

Seeing that its partner had calmed down, Pidgey gave an affirmation in response to his soaring spirit.

"Pek!"