It has been another three or four months, according to my estimation.
After a lot of effort, I managed to convince another Pokémon, an Archen.
Archen is a small, bipedal Pokémon that is both Rock-type and Flying-type. It has a bright yellow head and belly and orange wings and feet. Its most prominent features would have to be the large, three-clawed hands on the tips of its wings, which, as I observed, it uses to grab onto branches and climb.
Archen is not a strong flier and is clumsy on the ground, but its nimble climbing skills make it a very fast and energetic Pokémon.
It was weird at first, because I thought that both Archen and its evolved form, Archeops, were fossil Pokémon.
But then, again, I have no idea of the outside world, maybe it is prehistoric times, or maybe the world is so advanced that archen/archeops were brought back from extinction. Or, it could also be that in this world, they never went extinct in the first place.
Anyways, although Archen is not a good flying type now, Archeops would be a good addition to the team.
Moreover, I couldn't find any wild Pokémon who were willing to come with me. Most of them consider this place their paradise, and have no motivation to travel whatsoever, so it would be a complete waste of time and effort.
While I was thinking about the perfect team and Pokémon who could perfectly fit into the roles, the little Zeraora seemed to be quite focused on getting stronger. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him practicing his thunder-type moves with his mother.
After seeing me practise my martial arts, the little Zeraora also started practicing with me. I was also in dire need of a training partner, so I started teaching him the best to the best of my ability.
A few weeks ago, he learned close combat, and this was because of me. This time, I jumped along with him to celebrate.
To be honest, I wanted Zeraora to come with me on my journey, but it wasn't possible. Although, I know nothing of the outside world, Zeraora is supposed to be a mythical Pokémon, and it will probably land me and Zeraora in danger. Moreover, I am sure Zeraora would not want to leave his mother behind. So, all things considered, it's best not to involve the little Zeraora in this. That said, Zeraora has surely grown a lot in these last few months. It is almost four feet tall now, paling to the two and a half feet little monster I first met in the woods.
Also, for the past few months, since Shinx agreed to come with me, I have been training it to use its thunder-type moves and its X-Ray vision more effectively, as it would be the most important point to not get involved in unknown territory.
The mother Zeraora also pinched in a few times whenever she was nearby. But, these days, it seems that all the edible and delicious fruits and berries in the trees near the abandoned maintenance shaft and the outskirts of the forest have already been consumed, so she now has to go a bit deeper in the forest, which, in her words, is filled with powerful Pokémon.
Although I was a bit worried for her, for some reason, I always got the feeling that she is clearly vastly powerful than she showed herself to be, so I wasn't that worried. But this gave me, Zeraora, Shinx, and the newly added Archen a lot of unsupervised time.
Zeraora, Shinx, and Archen would often follow me on little excursions near the outskirts, as I was determined to find myself a few other Pokémon to come with on my journey. But the task proved difficult. The main issue was to always return home before the mother would arrive; otherwise, we would be in big trouble.
It was just another hot afternoon in the shaft. I was busy doing my daily push-ups,
"45...",
"46....",
"47........",
"Looks like it will still take some time to reach 50.. Huh!!!"
Meanwhile, Zeraora and Shinx were busy, competing for the most powerful thunderwave attack, while Archen was attacking as the referee.
"Zera Zera,"
"Shi Shin,"
"Archen Archen Arch Archen!"
Suddenly, we heard a loud bang, similar to that of a bomb going off in the distance.
"BOOOMMMMM "
Hundreds of flying-type Pokémon in the region started flying in the opposite direction of the blast.
As I was thinking of what we should do, a yellow and black silhouette with little blue sparks came flying down from a distance. The projectile took down all the branches and the trees in its path along with it. I was still trying to comprehend what could have caused such a devastating attack. However, Zeraora beside me suddenly shouted in anger,
"ZERAAA !!!"
I looked at where Zeraora was staring and started rushing. As soon as I turned my eyes to the fallen object, I realized what it was. I was petrified. I could swear there were chills all over my back. It was the mother Zeraora, badly injured, with her left arm cut deeply. It was as if the only reason the arm was still attached was due to the outside skin and fur; the bones were broken the blood gushed out from the injury. Not only that, but there are clearly other signs of her being poisoned. That's when I turned my head in the direction she came from, fearing what could have caused this. That's when I saw them for the first time in this world,
"HUMANS!"