Exclusion

Muddy and teary-eyed, Hoothoot flew back to the Ecopark. However, when it tried to enter the Ecopark, it found itself blocked.

Hoothoot felt as though it had been struck by lightning. "My parents don't love me anymore!"

Yuga watched the disheveled Hoothoot fly back out of the Ecopark and felt a bit sorry for it. He wondered if Chatot's way of teaching was too harsh.

When Yuga mentioned this to Chatot, he was accused of being "overindulgent." Yuga touched his nose and decided not to comment further.

The child's parents didn't seem to mind, so Yuga didn't interfere.

When Hoothoot returned to the small Ecopark, it felt that it whole body was sore from its battle with the Nuzelaf. It touched its empty stomach and felt disheartened.

Hungry, Hoothoot perched on a branch, lost in thought. Just then, a small Spinarak approached, hesitated for a moment, and then offered a cherished small Berry shyly.

Hoothoot looked at Spinarak in surprise, then at the Berry offered to it, and suddenly grew furious. "Are you here to mock me?"

It believed that Spinarak and the Nuzelaf were in cahoots.

In a way, this perception was correct. Spinarak was indeed friends with the Nuzelaf, but it had a softer heart and couldn't bear to see Hoothoot hungry, having experienced hunger itself in the past.

An angry Hoothoot kicked the Berry away and pecked at Spinarak, causing it to fall from the tree.

Fortunately, Spinarak was a Spinarak and used its silk to hang in mid-air.

Hoothoot's bullying of Spinarak was witnessed by the Nuzelaf hopping around in the tree, and they were furious.

These stray Pokémon usually stuck together for protection, fearing being bullied. While they might appear guarded and have a somewhat hostile attitude towards outsiders, they were quite loyal to their little friends. Seeing Spinarak being bullied was too much for them to tolerate.

The agile Nuzelaf leaped from the tree to surround Hoothoot.

Faced with their fierce demeanor, Hoothoot trembled in fear. It regretted not training seriously in the past, as it now had to endure being beaten by the stronger Nuzelaf.

It wasn't just the Nuzelaf; even the other Pokémon below the tree glared at Hoothoot.

Spinarak was still very young, having recently hatched, so everyone had been looking after it, unable to stand by when it was being mistreated.

Just when the Nuzelaf were about to teach Hoothoot a lesson, Spinarak, hanging from its silk, crawled back up and intervened.

Although the Nuzelaf stopped at Spinarak's request, they still gave Hoothoot a fierce glare.

In their view, Spinarak was too soft-hearted, and someone like Hoothoot, who didn't know better, needed to be taught a lesson.

Manectric observed the entire scene but chose not to intervene.

As a result, Hoothoot was ostracized.

While the stray Pokémon had previously ignored it, they hadn't bullied it. However, after Hoothoot's mistreatment of Spinarak, their attitudes changed, and they all gave it hostile looks.

Hoothoot felt very wronged.

This situation continued into the evening, and Hoothoot erupted.

Because of the tree berry Aunt Aoba had sent in the evening, Hoothoot's share was once again taken by the Nuzleaf.

If during the noon incident, the Nuzleaf just thought Hoothoot was wasting food, this time it was intentional.

They were taking it out on Spinarak.

A battle ensued between the enraged Hoothoot and the Nuzleaf.

As they say, even a rabbit will bite when it's cornered.

Enraged Hoothoot still had some fighting ability, after all, its mother was an Elite level Pokémon. Even though it usually played around a lot, it had still picked up a few tricks.

After the Nuzleaf used their Fake Out, Hoothoot, endured the flinching and used Supersonic. While the Nuzleaf were disoriented by the Supersonic and couldn't tell which way was which, Hoothoot managed to clumsily use a not-so-proficient Heat Wave.

Although Hoothoot's Heat Wave was not very skilled, it was enough to send the Nuzleaf running with burnt bottoms.

Heat Wave was the only advanced attack skill that Hoothoot knew, and it was inherited from its Chatot father.

Although the Nuzleaf suffered a bit due to this Heat Wave, in the end, they successfully reprimanded Hoothoot.

In the end, compared to using the stuttering Heat Wave move, the Hoothoot that trained with its mother mainly excelled in Psychic-type abilities. However, when Psychic-type abilities met a Grass-type Pokémon like Nuzleaf, they would be at a disadvantage.

In the end, Manectric decided it was best not to escalate the situation further and separated them.

Hoothoot, who had been beaten up, found itself hungry again that night.

In the middle of the night, unable to sleep due to hunger, Hoothoot quietly got up and took a couple of sips of water. It felt the water sloshing in its stomach, but it still felt hungry, so it left the small ecological park and flew to the rooftop to gaze at the moon.

Drinking water didn't really curb its hunger, and before long, Hoothoot's stomach rumbled once again.

Just at that moment, it felt a poke on its back, which startled it on this late night.

When it turned around and saw by the moonlight, it realized it was Spinarak.

"Hoothoot..."

What are you doing? Making fun of me?

This time, Hoothoot didn't get too worked up; it just had a somewhat unfriendly tone.

Spinarak hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a berry and placed it in front of Hoothoot.

Hoothoot didn't initially want to show any gratitude, but as it gazed at the tree berry illuminated by the moonlight, the berry's skin reflecting a sparkling color, it couldn't help but swallow its saliva.

It seemed to be a delicious tree berry.

If someone had told Hoothoot before that tree berry was very tasty, it would have scoffed: "Can tree berry be tastier than highenergy Pokéblock?"

But now, Hoothoot would definitely answer: "Yes, tree berry does seem really delicious."

Hoothoot, who had never experienced hunger before, today got a taste of what it means to be hungry.

Finally, under the expectant gaze of Spinarak, Hoothoot devoured the tree berry in no time.

It felt like the tastiest tree berry it had ever eaten.

People might change their minds, and after eating Spinarak's tree berry, Hoothoot no longer treated it with hostility; its attitude improved significantly.

The next day, Hoothoot still faced exclusion from the stray Pokémon, but this time they didn't snatch its breakfast.

Although they didn't like Hoothoot, they understood that they couldn't go too far with their actions.

But despite everyone's dislike for Hoothoot, the kind-hearted orb-weaver Spinarak never excluded it and sometimes even went over to chat with it.

Although everyone advised Spinarak to ignore Hoothoot, it still believed Hoothoot wasn't a bad person and didn't change its attitude toward Hoothoot.

Seeing that they couldn't convince Spinarak, everyone gave up.

The stray Pokémon wouldn't stay in the small Ecopark forever. During the day, they sometimes went out for a walk, inspected the progress of their new home's construction, or reminisced about their hard past. This included Spinarak as well.

Yuga didn't restrict the freedom of these Pokémon; they could come and go from the small Ecopark and the Verdanturf Gym as they pleased.

Today, when everyone was out, Spinarak also left.

Hoothoot watched as the Spinarak walked out of the small Ecopark's gate and decided to follow it.

The Spinarak strolled around aimlessly, sometimes crawling on the roofs of neighboring houses and occasionally stopping to look at the garbage cans by the street. In the past, the Nuzleaf, along with Shroomish, Zigzagoon and others, used to scavenge for food in the trash cans on the streets. Sometimes they would even go to the human areas to steal or snatch some food for them.

Survival for these weaker and less powerful Pokémon like them would be extremely difficult without the protection of the Nuzleaf or Manectric.

Despite the Nuzleaf' somewhat bad temperament and tendency to bully others, they were genuinely caring towards Spinaraks, Shroomishs, and Zigzagoons. Sometimes, they would even sacrifice their own meals to feed them.

As Spinarak stared blankly at the trash can by the roadside, a Spearow suddenly appeared not far away.

This Spearow had malicious intentions and was fixated on Spinarak.

In the Verdanturf Town, the stray Pokémon weren't just limited to Pokémon like Spinarak that roamed the ground; there were also many "wanderers" like the Taillow, Murkrow, and the Spearow that soared in the sky.

Those that soared in the sky and those that roamed the ground were generally competitors.

However, these avian stray Pokémon have a much better life than the ground-walking stray Pokémon like Spinarak. Even when they can't find food in town, sometimes they venture into the forests outside of town to find some wild berry to satisfy their hunger, especially during the autumn and winter seasons when their days are tougher.

Just like right now.

Wild Pokémon in the wilderness have a habit of storing food for the winter, but the stray Pokémon in town don't, because even without wild berry, they can find scraps and leftovers left behind by humans.

Different living environments lead to significant differences in the habits of these Pokémon.

Taking advantage of Spinarak's distraction, Spearow swooped down and grabbed it.

Hoothoot had intended to warn the Spinarak, but it was too late.

The Spearow grabbed the Spinarak and attempted to fly away with it. However, the Spinarak reacted swiftly. This was not its first encounter with such situations.

In the instant the Spearow grabbed it, the Spinarak spat out a strand of silk and tightly adhered itself to the roof. The Spearow, trying to carry the Spinarak away, was abruptly halted by the sticky silk thread.

Luckily, this particular Spearow didn't possess long range attack move, so once ensnared by the silk thread, it couldn't break free. This gave Hoothoot ample time to come to the rescue.

This Spearow wasn't strong at all, in fact, it was quite weak, certainly weaker than the Spinarak. So Hoothoot quickly took care of it with just three moves.

Just when Hoothoot felt proud of its skills and believed it could repay the Spinarak for its act of kindness, the Spinarak sensed impending danger. It was about to warn Hoothoot to flee when it heard the wounded Spearow screeching loudly.

Hoothoot was ready for sending another attack, wanting to silence the Spearow, but then it noticed seven or eight more Spearow flying towards them from a short distance away.

The Spinarak knew that Spearow usually lived in large groups, but Hoothoot, being somewhat ignorant about the society outside, was unaware of this.

Seeing their comrade being bullied, these Spearows aggressively swooped down on Hoothoot.

These Spearows not only liked to live in groups but also held grudges and enjoyed outnumbering their opponents.

These seven or eight Spearow, unlike the first one, were considerably stronger. Even three or four of them would have been more than Hoothoot could handle.

Seeing Hoothoot surrounded, the Spinarak became extremely anxious. However, due to its own limited abilities, all it could do was hinder the actions of the Spearow with its String Shot.

Knowing Hoothoot have jumped out and saved itself, the Spinarak felt touched. It didn't want to leave and abandon its savior.

These Spearow' primary weapon was their sharp beaks, and their preferred skill was to launch a flurry of rapid attacks, known as "Fury Attack."

Although Fury Attack were considered basic skills, they became quite formidable when performed by a group of Spearow. Hoothoot was soon covered in bruises from their pecks.

The Spinarak's String Shot were insignificant to the Spearow. Seeing Hoothoot unable to escape, the Spinarak felt deeply distressed.

Seeing this group of Spearow, Hoothoot was extremely angry. It remembered that back in the Ecopark, it was a respected figure (not really, but not just relying on connections). It couldn't believe that as soon as it came out, everyone was trying to bully it.

Hoothoot, filled with rage, squawked loudly, wanting to confront these Spearows, but they pinned it to the ground and rubbed it harshly.

With a series of Fury Attacks from the Spearow, Hoothoot became battered and bloody. It was immobilized, lying next to the Spinarak, feeling utterly hopeless.

Hoothoot thought bitterly that it wished it were as strong as its mother or even its father. It pondered that maybe it should have trained seriously in the past instead of being so carefree.

Just as the Spearows were about to launch a final attack on the Spinarak and Hoohoot, Razor Leaf suddenly shot through the air, blocking their advance.

It turned out that the Nuzleaf, who had been wandering nearby, noticed the situation and arrived just in time.

The Nuzleaf were much stronger than these Spearows and quickly drove them away.

After looking at the unconscious Hoohoot and the crying Spinarak, two Nuzleaf came forward, picked them up, and brought them back to the Ecopark.

After the incident where Hoohoot played the role of a hero, it was no longer ostracized by the stray Pokémon, and it even became good friends with the Spinarak.

After spending some time with the stray Pokémon, Hoohoot gradually learned about their past and the hardships they had endured in life. It realized that there were many Pokémon in the world living in such difficult conditions.

Compared to them, Hoothoot's life was incredibly fortunate, It had both parents, never worrying about food or shelter. Yet, it had never truly appreciated its good fortune, taking everything for granted.

Thingking about its childhood friend, Ninetales, who worked so diligently, Hoothoot felt ashamed of its own laziness.

Hoothoot also knew that its other companion, Gallade, was also undergoing intense training under Gardevoir's guidance. It became evident that the only one not putting in effort and striving for self-improvement was itself.

All these events in the small Ecopark were relayed in detail to Yuga by the Natus. After learning about Hoothoot's transformation, Yuga realized that Chatot still had its merit. He might not be reliable most of the time, but he could still get the job done when it counted.