Chapter 131: Munchlax—Crying Is Your Right
Before Munchlax could respond, Gengar started making a ruckus. Charizard, Froakie, and Eevee also turned to look.
"Former trainer" was a sensitive and explosive word for them—especially for Charizard, whose expression darkened considerably at the mention of it.
Sensing their stares, Munchlax grew uncomfortable.
"Keep eating—if you’ve lost your appetite, I’ll put you back in your balls," Rio said, turning back to glare at Gengar first, then signaling Charizard and the others to look away and focus on their food.
When someone is hurting, the first thing they need isn’t attention—it’s space to be alone. Pokémon are no different. They are living, thinking beings who need time to process their emotional wounds.
And Rio had already gotten his answer from his question and Munchlax’s reaction. The person who had just walked out was undoubtedly Munchlax’s former trainer.
So what he needed to do now was quietly stay by its side. Wait until Munchlax had settled the reopened wound, then try to talk and offer it some psychological healing.
Munchlax sat quietly, motionless, after Rio diverted the others’ attention. Even as more food was brought out by the servers, it didn’t react. Rio quietly stood up, quietly asked the servers to pack up the leftovers, and quietly booked a presidential suite at a nearby hotel.
Once everything was arranged, Munchlax finally moved—not to eat, but to come over to Rio and point at the Luxury Ball on his belt.
"Ka~" It said expressionlessly. Rio understood and recalled it.
"What did Munchlax’s former trainer do to it? It seems like it took a huge hit," Gengar said, floating over like a gossiping busybody. "Need me to go teach that bastard a lesson? Making our little fatty lose its appetite just by looking at him—what a crime!"
Rio glanced at Gengar. "Do you know what that bastard looks like? Or where he is?"
"No."
"Then how are you going to teach him a lesson?"
"Uh... Can I just talk big?"
Rio scoffed, amused by Gengar’s shamelessness.
An hour later, Rio checked into the presidential suite. He did nothing but sit by the window, gazing at the night view of Saffron City below, holding Munchlax’s Luxury Ball in his hand.
After sitting quietly for over thirty minutes, the ball in his hand suddenly moved. Rio smiled—he was ready to offer Munchlax the psychological support it needed.
With a flash of light, Munchlax appeared, back to its usual cheerful self, grinning at Rio.
"Ka~"
"It says it’s fine now," Gengar translated. "That little fatty is tough—I thought it would be sad for a while. Is it really over already?"
"Munchlax—are you sure you’re okay?" Rio’s smile froze.
Munchlax shook its head cheerfully.
"Ka~"
"It says it’s really fine. Sure, it was shocked to see its former trainer at the restaurant, but now it’s over. It doesn’t feel anything for that person anymore—it’s realized it only has one trainer now, and that’s you. No point being sad over someone from the past."
"Ka~"
"The little fatty says it’s hungry and wants to eat."
Munchlax turned and ran toward the pile of packed food, grabbing bowl after bowl and tossing them into its mouth, eating with gusto.
"Not bad—this little fatty has incredible mental fortitude. I was about to go get revenge for it and scare that bastard trainer senseless," Gengar praised.
But seeing Munchlax like this, Rio’s eyes reddened. He felt a deep ache in his heart.
The great psychologist Freud once said: Unexpressed emotions will never disappear. They are buried alive and will later surface in uglier ways. Like a buried landmine, one day they’ll explode—hurting the person who buried them and everyone around them.
It was like children who grew up in dysfunctional homes. On the surface, they seem perfectly normal—smiling, caring, never relying on anyone, handling everything on their own, often praised by others. But only they know they’re not happy. Every day is a performance—pretending to be happy, pretending to be carefree, pretending to be strong, pretending not to cry.
Because their emotions were suppressed, ignored, and forbidden from expression, they learned to believe that hiding their pain was the right thing to do. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
First of all, you are a living being—a real, breathing life. You have every right to your emotions. That is your birthright.
You should be able to cry when you feel like crying, and laugh when you feel like laughing. And you can tell those who hurt you—whether intentionally or not, even your parents—that they owe you an apology. Because of what they did, you’ve lived in pain, sadness, and fear.
Munchlax was the same. It needed to know that its emotions were valid. It had the right to laugh—and to cry. That wasn’t being overly sensitive or unreasonable. It also had the right to let the trainer who abandoned it know just how much that abandonment had hurt. It had the right to demand an apology, to demand remorse, to demand forgiveness—because that trainer was the one who had wronged it. He needed to be held accountable for his actions, not just pretend nothing had happened.
So—
"Munchlax—look at me." Rio walked over and gently stopped Munchlax’s hand as it reached for more food.
Munchlax looked at him in confusion.
"Are you really okay?" Rio asked seriously, locking eyes with it.
"Ka~" Munchlax shook its head like nothing was wrong, as if to say I’m really, really fine—don’t worry, I just want to eat a good meal.
"It says it’s really, really fine. You don’t need to worry—it just wants to eat," Gengar, who had been eavesdropping from the ancient Poké Ball, translated.
Rio crouched down to Munchlax’s eye level and spoke slowly: "Munchlax—I’m your trainer. In front of me, you’re allowed to cry. You don’t have to pretend to be strong."
"Say whatever you want to say. You don’t have to hold back with me. I won’t think less of you, and neither will Charizard and the others. Because that’s your right—your right as a Pokémon."
"We help each other—share the joy and share the pain."
Munchlax’s eyes began to shift.
"Now—tell me all the hurt and sadness you’ve been carrying. I want to know. I don’t want you to keep it locked inside."
"Or you can cry first—let it all out—and then tell me. It’s not embarrassing. It’s normal."
The moment he finished, tears began streaming down Munchlax’s face. It let go of the food, buried itself in Rio’s arms, and sobbed freely.
Meanwhile, in each of the Poké Balls on Rio’s belt, Gengar, Charizard, Froakie, Eevee, Annihilape, and the Red Gyarados all pressed their ears tightly against the sound ports, listening in silence.