The next day, Entei headed out as usual to forage in the wild.
Raising the Little One had become its top priority. Winter was approaching fast, and without enough food stored away, the child might not survive the cold months ahead.
That was something Entei would never allow.
Before winter arrived, it needed to bring back as much food as possible and stockpile everything inside the cave.
Once he was full, Fuyuki's energy always spiked. Being left alone in the cave quickly bored him, so he started pestering Entei to take him along on its foraging trips.
Entei didn't refuse.
One human and one Pokemon wandered through the mountains and forests together. With Fuyuki deliberately pointing things out along the way, Entei brought back far more than just Berry this time.
Berry, chestnuts, nuts, mushrooms…
In less than a month, piles of mountain goods filled the cave, stacking into little hills that spread across the floor. Just looking at them was deeply satisfying.
That should do it, Fuyuki thought to himself. With this much food, at least we won't starve this winter.
He still had fifteen Shock Points, but that was only enough to buy three bottles of Moomoo Milk, hardly useful in the long run.
Once the food stockpile was nearly complete, Entei stopped going out as often as before.
The temperature outside had dropped sharply. As a Pokemon, Entei could feel it clearly. Autumn was at its end, and a harsh winter was about to blanket the land.
It looked around the cave it lived in and felt that something was missing.
What was it?
There was plenty of food. The Little One wouldn't go hungry anytime soon.
And with Entei here, the child wouldn't have to fear the cold either.
Its gaze drifted downward, landing on the pile of crushed leaves the two of them had been sleeping on.
That was it.
There weren't nearly enough leaves. The Little One probably wouldn't sleep comfortably like this. It needed to gather more.
Decision made, Entei got busy again.
It settled Fuyuki inside the cave, then headed into the forest alone, collecting fallen leaves and carrying them back. In a sheltered corner where the wind couldn't reach, it laid them out into a soft, warm bed of golden leaves.
Once Entei left, the cave fell quiet again, with only Fuyuki inside.
His body was far too young to do much of anything.
That didn't stop his thoughts from racing.
It's been almost two months since we came back to Mount Tensei, he mused. Aside from Entei and some ordinary Pokemon, I haven't seen anyone else.
Ho-Oh's Guard consisted of three Legendary Pokemon: Entei, Suicune, and Raikou.
Long ago, they had supposedly been ordinary Pokemon. After perishing in a great fire at the Burned Tower in Ecruteak City, they were resurrected by Ho-Oh and reborn as the Legendary Beasts.
Not seeing Ho-Oh made sense. Given its personality, it was probably off somewhere playing photographer again.
Not seeing Suicune or Raikou was understandable too. Those two had their own missions to carry out.
But… why hadn't he seen Marshadow at all?
By all accounts, Marshadow lived on Mount Tensei. Unlike Entei and the others, it rarely left, except to test the Rainbow Hero chosen by Ho-Oh.
Was it because of its personality?
Fuyuki remembered the Pokedex describing Marshadow as timid and reclusive, never showing itself before humans. In some places, people even believed it was nothing more than a myth.
Whatever. It doesn't matter.
Whether he met Marshadow or not didn't really concern him. Having Entei was enough.
After days of eating nothing but Berry, Fuyuki started craving something else.
He opened the system shop and browsed through the dazzling array of food items. In the end, considering his current body, he only exchanged for a single bottle of Moomoo Milk.
Five points of Shock Points vanished, and the bottle appeared out of thin air in his hands.
Just as he was about to gulp it down, a message flashed across his panel.
[Where did that come from? What did this human just do?]
[Shock Points from Marshadow +10!]
What?
Marshadow?
Fuyuki froze mid-motion, clutching the bottle, his heart jumping.
Marshadow's Shock Points appeared. That could only mean one thing.
It was nearby, secretly watching him.
So of course Marshadow knew Entei had brought him back to Mount Tensei…
But where was it?
He turned his head cautiously, scanning the cave. Marshadow drew its power from shadows, often hiding within them.
His eyes lingered on every dark corner.
Then, in a deeply concealed spot, he saw it.
A small figure formed of gray mist stood silently within the shadows, watching from afar like a living silhouette.
Marshadow.
It was right there.
Fuyuki stared, stunned.
[I was spotted? How did this human do that?!]
[Shock Points from Marshadow +15!]
Shock was plain in Marshadow's eyes.
It took great pride in its ability to hide. Unless it wanted to be seen, neither humans nor Pokemon should have been able to detect it.
And yet… this human had found it.
For a moment, both human and Pokemon stood frozen.
Marshadow was the first to react.
Normally, it would have slipped straight back into the shadows, erasing its presence and vanishing from sight.
But as it looked at the human infant, images from the dreams it had once seen rose unbidden in its mind.
His parents really had died protecting Pokemon.
They had even given their lives for strangers they had never met.
No matter how much Marshadow disliked humans, no matter how little it trusted them, it couldn't deny the actions of those two "foolish" humans.
"Marsha…"
At that moment, it understood Entei's choice a little more.
Just then, Entei returned.
It brought back even more soft, golden leaves and spread them in a sheltered spot inside the cave. Then it gently picked up the Little One and placed him on the new bed.
Only after that did Entei turn its gaze toward Marshadow.
"Why are you here?" Entei's voice echoed through telepathy as it addressed the shadowed figure.
Before Marshadow could answer, the Little One held out the bottle of milk he had already drunk from, offering it as if to share.
Seeing that, Entei frowned, clear disapproval flickering in its eyes.
The Little One had used that strange power of his again.
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100 P.S for extra chapter
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