Baimu snapped his fingers twice to catch his attention, "It doesn't matter what you say, ordinary people can't solve this. Knowing this changes nothing. The entrance to the Spirit Realm isn't a true 'doorway'."
"Even so..." Shanren still couldn't suppress his anger.
Though Baimu said lost souls couldn't interfere with the living, what if they could?
Seriously speaking.
If Shanren had known about this earlier, he might have considered relocating Pyrite Town elsewhere.
N shook his head at Baimu, "No need to excuse me, I didn't know the Spirit Realm entrance was blocked, but regarding the souls, I suppose I deliberately didn't mention it."
"Should, deliberately." Shanren repeated these words, his gaze shifting from anger to disappointment.
N, as if oblivious, slowly said, "Firstly, I truly have no way to solve the lost souls; even the Ghost-type Pokémon I know dare not approach underground. Secondly, Pyrite Town has too many sinful souls; being lost is their destiny."
"Many who died on this land were innocents! How many people can connect with Pokémon!?"
Shanren slammed the table, shouting loudly.
The resounding bang made the surrounding Pokémon all raise their heads.
N earnestly looked at him, "So I only let them remain lost, focusing my energy on more important matters. They can't affect the world of the living; the sharp decline in sudden death rates and disease cases in Pyrite Town over the past six months is proof."
"That's your excuse?" Shanren said coldly.
N shook his head again, "No, I'm simply explaining my reason for not telling you, my subconscious rejecting this... I certainly made a mistake, I'm sorry."
"Hmph, ha." Shanren seemed infuriated to the point of laughter, indifferently saying, "I thought the past six months would change your view of Pyrite Town, but I was wrong. From the start, you only intended to build an empty Pokémon Paradise, you have no regard for the people of this land."
After speaking.
He stormed off.
Alakazam and Meowstic exchanged a glance and quickly followed the Trainer's footsteps.
Baimu watched speechless N with a headache, then chased outside to stop the furious Shanren, whispering, "Why so angry? You know from the beginning N came to rescue Pokémon, you know that!"
"I know! How could I not know? But can his goal be achieved merely by planting trees to change the environment? The Ore land seems undeveloped, but in reality, every part is compartmentalized!"
Shanren complained incessantly, "You know how much effort I put into expanding the wild Pokémon's activity area? Many in the Rescue Organization don't want to allocate so many areas to wild Pokémon!
"And do you think he can just magically produce the daily rations for tens of thousands of Pokémon? He spends all day with Pokémon, barely interacts with others, and resists people adopting Pokémon; what benefit does he have from separating Pokémon and humans!"
N realized through Ash Ketchum and Pikachu that humans and Pokémon can form precious bonds, but that doesn't mean he changed his view on all humans.
Principally, he still maintains a distance between humans and Pokémon, at most not interfering with those Pokémon captured by humans.
Shanren hoped N would change his views, making him more pragmatic.
This would be more conducive to establishing a Pokémon Paradise.
But after six months, N's subconscious still harbored a rejection of Pyrite Town's people, making Shanren feel like he kept trying to warm a cold heart.
The most unacceptable to Shanren, however, was N's apology.
Because.
He only apologized for hiding important matters from Shanren, completely indifferent to how long those innocent souls remained lost, or whether the presence of lost souls posed harm.
In other words, N always treated humans the same except for a few acquaintances, whether they were innocent or not.
"Give him more time, you know what his past is like; he's given all his empathy towards humans to Pokémon, I wouldn't be surprised if one day he announced himself as a Pokémon."
Baimu lightly patted Shanren's shoulder, offering comfort.
Shanren vented, shook off his hand, saying, "Alright, stop being a peacemaker. Don't waste time on this, getting stronger should be your primary duty, send me the Spirit Realm entrance location via mobile later, and quickly go to Pyrite Arena. As for N, I can distinguish between public and private affairs."
"..."
Baimu silently watched him leave in haste.
Back in the villa.
N gently stroked Blissey's head, "It's wonderful that the psychological shadow has been lifted, you've always worked hard for Baimu."
"Happy~happy!"
Blissey, seeing the Trainer return, hurriedly ran to his side to ask if she should clear Shanren's dining plate.
Baimu signaled her to clear it, then said to the smiling N, "Why say such things, you know better than me what Shanren cares about, why bother?"
N withdrew his smile, speaking softly, "I simply didn't want to lie to him; on the land of Ore, aside from Pokémon and a few people, there's not much worth remembering."
"Even with countless instances in the past six months of humans and Pokémon working together to improve the environment?"
"..."
N's face, usually like a still pond, showed a slight ripple but soon returned to calm, "I no longer have extra emotions to share with humans."
Baimu sighed, "No one's asking you to care for humans, many are already doing that. What you need to do is accept reality. Humans and Pokémon can't live without each other."
"Indeed..." N didn't argue, fully aware of this, "Baimu, did you know the Rescue Organization has contacted me privately more than once?"
"Privately? Without Shanren?"
"Yes."
N quietly said, "They want me to move half of the Pokémon to the northwest, claiming the environment there can support a certain number of wild Pokémon."
"That's good news!"
Baimu couldn't help but feel happy for N; the northwest of Ore is one of the remaining green areas, more suitable for some Pokémon attributes than the wilderness.
But he quickly noticed that N's face showed no joy, instead revealing a faint sadness.
Why?
Baimu instinctively asked, "What are the terms?"
"That half of the Pokémon will be managed by the Rescue Organization, and I won't have any right to interfere." N's face lost all tenderness and smile.
Such terms—
He first thought the Rescue Organization couldn't be so shameless, but then it occurred to him, was the organization's proposal really shameless?
The goal of migrating Pokémon from N's care is essentially for the people of Ore to share in having Pokémon, allowing humans and Pokémon to develop together.
After the Rescue Organization defeated the Shadow Team, all the Pokémon they captured were theirs to decide how to handle.
However, N had persuaded many Pokémon to help the Rescue Organization at the time, and the organization, grateful to N, entrusted all the Pokémon to his care.
The Rescue Organization didn't forcibly reclaim the Pokémon and deliberately negotiated with N.
Ultimately.
N doesn't want those Pokémon who have been hurt by humans to fall into human hands again; he cares for and respects the wishes of all Pokémon.
The Rescue Organization believes that since Pokémon live on this land, it's essential to integrate with humans.
The ideas of both sides differ greatly.
What worries N even more is that even if he compromises this time, the Rescue Organization would come again until all Pokémon are taken away.
He wants to refuse, but he doesn't have the bargaining chips to do so.
With tens of thousands of Pokémon, each day requires enormous resources to sustain, and currently, only a small number can self-sustain.
"These days, I often doubt the meaning of my presence in the Ore Region, I keep wondering, did I truly save them?"
N murmured.
The Rescue Organization saved the people of Ore and wanted to save the Pokémon too, but regrettably...
Through human methods.
Baimu remained silent, he initially wanted to persuade N to agree to the Rescue Organization's proposal but upon careful reflection realized he was only considering from a human perspective for Ore's development.
The true thoughts of the Pokémon may be known only by N, who can understand Pokémon speech.
He asked, "Everyone, do they all refuse?"
"They've been deeply hurt by humans." N's answer was succinct and powerful.
No more words.