Kanto. Mount Tensei. Winter.
Snow fell without end on the freezing days outside, and time inside the cave seemed to slow to a crawl.
Amid the swirling white, it felt as though only Fuyuki and Entei remained between heaven and earth.
On this vast, lonely land, they hid away in a small cave, leaning against one another, keeping each other company.
Entei had never lived like this before.
Ever since Ho-Oh revived it a hundred years ago, it had carried a heavy responsibility.
For centuries, Ho-Oh's Guard had been in constant motion, racing across the land without rest.
"..."
Entei's face lay half-shrouded in shadow as it lowered its head to look at the Little One beside it. Its expression remained calm, but its heart was impossibly soft.
Like the love countless fathers feel for their children, deep and silent, yet overwhelming.
With the soul of an adult, Fuyuki saw all of Entei's quiet efforts clearly.
What shocked him most was that a Legendary Pokemon like Entei would go this far for him.
Searching for food outside, grooming him with careful licks, warming him with its own body heat…
All of it made one thing clear. Entei truly was raising him as its own child.
It was impossible not to be moved. With no way to repay that devotion, Fuyuki could only throw himself into learning the Pokemon language as diligently as he could.
All winter long, almost every day after waking up, he practiced speaking with Entei.
Even Entei was surprised by the Little One's extraordinary learning ability.
From time to time, it even earned Fuyuki a few or sometimes more than ten Shock Points.
He kept saving them, spending nothing, only using five Shock Points now and then to buy a bottle of Moomoo Milk when he wanted a change of taste.
Three months slipped by quietly, most of them spent with Fuyuki sleeping in Entei's arms.
Humans didn't hibernate, but a life of eating when full and sleeping afterward inside a cave was hardly any different.
Under Entei's protection, Fuyuki finally made it through the harshest winter.
He didn't fall sick, didn't freeze, and didn't starve.
Fuyuki let out a quiet sigh of relief. Entei did the same.
At last, the Little One had survived the winter.
The old father's heart finally relaxed.
When Fuyuki stepped out of the cave again, the world outside had changed completely.
The snow had melted, rivers thawed, and life awakened once more. The forest put on a fresh coat of green, brimming with vitality.
After three months, Fuyuki was now one year and four months old.
Gifted as he was, he could already stand up from the ground and start walking on his own two feet, slowly and unsteadily.
He just couldn't go very far.
Entei watched silently from behind, eyes fixed on the Little One's wobbling steps.
Its posture was rigid, muscles tense, ready at any moment to rush forward and break a fall.
But Fuyuki didn't fall. After taking a few steps, he turned back excitedly.
"Entei, spring is here!"
Though he still couldn't speak long sentences, he could already clearly express himself in the Pokemon language.
Hearing how the Little One addressed it, Entei felt a trace of disappointment. He still wasn't willing to call it father?
Forget it. As long as the child was happy, that was enough.
Entei sighed softly to itself, then stepped forward to stand beside him, gazing out at Mount Tensei in spring.
The massive, fluffy head nodded gently. "Yes. The weather is warming up."
From above, Entei looked out over the land below. With spring's arrival, the Pokemon living here were beginning to leave their nests and move about again.
"I want to go to the forest!" Fuyuki stared at the woods below, eyes shining.
He wanted to see whether he could really communicate with other wild Pokemon using what Entei had taught him.
Entei nodded in agreement. It was a good time anyway. The Berries stored in the cave had almost all been eaten by the Little One.
They could head down the mountain and gather more.
With that thought, Entei instinctively grabbed the back of Fuyuki's neck, planning to lift him onto its back.
The moment it bit down, the Little One cried out in pain.
After a whole winter, Fuyuki had grown a lot. The clothes from before no longer fit, so with Entei's help, he had taken them off long ago. Now he was only wrapped in a large leaf.
That bite landed directly on his neck.
"Ow!"
Fuyuki looked at Entei with tear-filled eyes, accusing it.
Almost forgot… Entei lowered its head and licked the spot it had bitten, then crouched down and said in a low voice, "Climb up."
Fuyuki skillfully climbed onto Entei's back. Once he was settled, Entei rose and sprinted down the mountain.
Before long, the human child and the Pokemon arrived at the forest they had visited before.
Entei quickly found a Berry tree, set Fuyuki down, and began harvesting Berries with its power.
Fuyuki, meanwhile, scanned the surrounding grass, hoping to find a wild Pokemon to test his grasp of the Pokemon language.
Unfortunately, the Pokemon here were clearly terrified of Entei. The moment it appeared, they fled elsewhere, watching only from afar and refusing to come close.
Fuyuki locked onto a Nidoran♀ in the distance. While Entei was busy picking Berries, he stood up shakily and toddled toward it.
The Nidoran♀ saw him coming and panicked, darting into the grass and disappearing.
Fuyuki stared blankly. Was he really that scary?
He looked around, then quickly set his sights on a wild Beedrill nearby.
Fine then. Beedrill it is.
He turned and tried to approach it, hoping to communicate.
Beedrill was extremely alert and noticed his intentions almost immediately.
Even though this was the edge of its territory, a Pokemon with such a strong sense of territory saw the human's actions as an intrusion.
A sharp buzzing rang out as its wings vibrated at high speed.
Then, in the very next second, Beedrill noticed a terrifying presence behind the human intruder.
Entei stared silently.
Beedrill's pupils shrank. Without a second thought, it fled.
Fuyuki blinked.
"?"