"Anna!"
The mountain path at night was already difficult to navigate. Draconis and the others spent a great deal of effort before finally reaching the bottom of the cliff.
Below the cliff was a flat, open snowfield, with a few hardy trees growing in clusters not far away.
Several figures were sitting around a large tree, leaning against it, seemingly asleep.
But Draconis's shouts woke them up, and the light from the torch was extremely conspicuous in the snowy night.
The Pokémon immediately looked in that direction.
"It's a monster! Prince Draconis, please be careful!"
Ryan placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, shielding Draconis behind him, and watched the 'monsters' warily.
They were small, unknown creatures that looked like short, stubby palm trees wearing snow-white hats.
Their bodies were predominantly snow-white and tawny, with a snow-white hat on their heads, looking at first glance like a short, stout fir tree.
Is that... Snover?!
Draconis recognized the names of those Pokémon at a glance.
The three Snover sat on the snow, blinking, looking at Draconis and the others, and the burning torch, their eyes full of intense curiosity.
Draconis was certain that they weren't curious about the torch in their hands, but rather about these unfamiliar humans who had suddenly appeared here!
"Ugh gu?"
Under the wary gaze of Draconis and the others, the three Snover moved.
They stood up from the snow and slowly gathered around.
"Watch out!"
Seeing the monsters approach, Ryan's expression tensed, and he instinctively reached for his sword.
However, the next second, a hand pressed down on him.
"Don't attack!" Draconis said.
"Prince Draconis!" Ryan was somewhat puzzled. Monsters were very dangerous beings!
Draconis, however, looked directly at the Snover's movements and shook his head, saying, "They mean no harm."
Snover are Pokémon that are very friendly to humans.
They live deep in the mountains with thick snow. The Pokédex clearly states that because they rarely see humans, Snover are very interested in them.
Whenever they find footprints in the snowy mountains, they gather around them, and if they see humans, they approach out of curiosity.
Just like now.
The three Snover stopped about three meters away from them. They stayed put, their eyes wide with curiosity, observing Draconis and the others.
The imagined attack did not come; these 'monsters' instead looked rather silly... Ryan couldn't help but be surprised.
W-what exactly is going on?
"They are curious," Draconis's voice suddenly rang out.
Ryan and the others looked over, stunned.
Draconis continued, "Because they've never seen creatures like us before."
So when they appeared, this group of Snover would gather around out of curiosity.
Just as humans can't help but take a few glances when they see something they've never seen before.
Hearing these words, Ryan's face showed a surprised expression.
T-there are even such monsters!
"So, they won't attack us?" Ryan asked hesitantly.
"Provided we don't attack them." Draconis pulled three dried almonds from his pocket.
—These were originally prepared for Dratini, but seeing these Snover, who were relatively friendly to humans, he couldn't help but find them very cute, so he gave the almonds to the three Snover.
After doing this, Draconis then turned around and said to everyone, "Let's go!"
"Yes! Prince Draconis!" Ryan and the others withdrew their gaze from the Snover and turned to follow.
The group continued forward, while the Snover stood Sillyly watching their retreating figures.
It wasn't until they could no longer see them that they lowered their heads and looked at the Berries in their hands.
One of the Snover tasted it.
"Ugh gu ~!"
The other two Snover followed suit and ate the dried almonds.
In the snowy night, the three Snover looked at the footprints left by those strange creatures on the snow, then turned their gaze towards the direction they had left, their curiosity even more intense.
*
"Anna!"
The shouts echoed far and wide in the snowy night.
Behind a sheltered hillside, Anna, clutching Zorua, shivered from the cold.
"It's so cold... Little monster, are we going to die here tonight?" Anna murmured.
After all, she was just a little girl who had just turned ten. As soon as she thought of never seeing her mother again, tears couldn't help but stream from Anna's eyes.
If she wasn't there, her mother would be worried, wouldn't she?
"Woo..."
The Zorua in her arms looked at the girl in front of him, somewhat at a loss.
And just then, his ears suddenly caught a sound from the distant snowfield.
Zorua immediately perked up his ears and looked in that direction.
"What's wrong?" Seeing Zorua's actions, Anna instantly panicked.
Could it be that terrifying monster was chasing them?
She followed Zorua's gaze and saw several faint firelights appearing in the distant snowfield.
The firelight approached from afar. Although she didn't clearly see who those people were, Anna was incredibly surprised at this moment.
She quickly stood up and shouted loudly:
"Hey! I'm over here!"
Those people seemed to have heard her voice and indeed walked towards them.
In the hazy moonlight, Anna finally saw what those people looked like.
It's Prince Draconis!
Prince Draconis had actually come to find her in person!
Anna's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"We found her, Prince Draconis!" Ryan shouted loudly, his voice full of excitement.
Draconis also couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was about to say something, but the next second, he caught a glimpse in his peripheral vision of the Pokémon hiding behind the girl, only half his face showing, nervously observing everyone.
Is that... Zorua?!
Draconis's pupils contracted.
"It's a monster!" Ryan and the others also discovered the Pokémon at this moment, and they immediately became tense.
Seeing this, Anna quickly stopped them, saying, "He's not a bad monster; he saved me!"
Ryan and the others exchanged glances.
Draconis was a little surprised. He looked at the Zorua and then asked, "What happened?"
Anna recounted her experiences on this trip in detail.
From searching for herbs, to encountering this monster, to being chased by another monster and accidentally falling off the cliff, and how this little monster found an Energy Root to help her heal.
"W-what's going on?!"
"Is it real or fake?"
"Monsters actually voluntarily rescue humans?"
The surrounding knights exclaimed in surprise.
Anna quickly explained, "I'm telling the truth!"
She hugged Zorua tightly in her arms, then looked at Draconis, pleading:
"Prince Draconis, this monster isn't a bad monster. He, like me, has no family. Can I take him back to the camp? I'm worried he'll encounter danger if he stays here alone..."
Bringing an uncontrollable, unknown monster back to the camp?
For Ryan and the others, who had always feared monsters and had even witnessed friends die at the hands of monsters, this act was tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house!
"Please, Your Highness!" Anna pleaded.
"Ryan, do you remember what I told you before?" Ryan heard Prince Draconis suddenly ask.
He was slightly stunned.
The words Prince Draconis had said that night immediately came to mind.
"Monsters are not uncontrollable beings. They are intelligent, possess wisdom, and can even understand human language."
If this girl named Anna wasn't lying, then the behavior of this monster completely confirmed Prince Draconis's words.
"In any case, let's go back first!" Draconis said, "Anna, take good care of him."
Anna's eyes instantly filled with light, and she quickly responded, "Yes! Prince Draconis!"
Now that Anna had been found, it was time to return.
Since Anna had injured her leg, she could only be carried on a knight's back.
After confirming the direction, the group left the area.
Not long after everyone left.
Three round figures suddenly appeared on this desolate snowfield.
They stood in the snow, looking at the footprints that stretched into the distance, then slowly followed them.