‘Just as I thought.’
Seeing Snover’s expression, Sinshi felt even more certain.
It was a Pokémon that should be living in the northern snowy mountains, yet it had appeared in the warm central region.
Moreover, it didn’t show the slightest characteristic of a wild Pokémon.
After all, no matter how gentle a Pokémon’s nature was, the harsh conditions of the wild would unknowingly taint it with a trace of wildness.
Having wandered around the Solaceon Ruins for a week and encountered quite a few Pokémon, he had every right to say so.
In contrast, this Snover was well-developed, highly energetic, and didn’t have a single scratch on its body.
It clearly wasn’t a Pokémon that had lived in the wild for long.
‘Then, there are only two possibilities left.’
‘One, it got separated from its Trainer.’
‘Two, it was abandoned by its Trainer.’
‘If it’s the former, that’s fine.
But if it’s the latter, wouldn’t asking further be rubbing salt in its wounds?’
‘But if it were the former, both it and its Trainer should be desperately trying to find each other.’
‘Hmm…
Snover doesn’t seem to be in a hurry at all.’
“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.
Here, have some grilled fish.”
Sinshi pulled a skewer of grilled fish from the ground and handed it to Snover.
“Sno-ver?”
This time, even without Agumon acting as a translator, Sinshi could roughly understand what Snover meant.
“After all, you helped Agumon and me.
It’s not my place to pry into your private matters.
As for why I asked you just now, I was worried you might have gotten separated from your Trainer.
If that were the case, I could have helped you.”
Snover immediately lowered its head and remained silent.
Just as Sinshi watched its Friendship level jump from 20 to 40 and pondered what to do next, a faint shouting sound drifted over.
However, because the distance was too far, the voice was too muffled to hear clearly.
Agumon, who had better hearing and vision, swallowed a large mouthful of grilled fish without chewing and slowly said, “Sinshi, someone is looking for Snover.”
Hearing Agumon’s words, Snover jerked its head up.
It listened closely for a moment, stood up from the ground, looked around, and finally ran to hide behind a rock next to Sinshi.
This strange behavior left Sinshi somewhat confused.
“Is the person calling you your Trainer?” he asked.
Snover nodded, then immediately shook its head.
‘What does that mean?’
‘Yes, but not quite?’
‘Well, since I can confirm the newcomer has some relationship with Snover, I can at least ask about the general situation.’
The person shouting in the distance seemed to have spotted the campfire where Sinshi was and quickly ran toward them.
“Agumon, you should go hide behind the rock for a bit too.”
As long as there was food, Agumon had no objections—eating was eating, no matter where.
So, he rapidly devoured one grilled fish, grabbed another, and went to join Snover.
On the other side, as the distance closed, Sinshi got a clear look at the newcomer.
It was a young girl with her hair tied in braided twin-tails, a thin lock of hair falling over her forehead, wearing a school uniform.
Her upper body consisted of a white button-up shirt with a ribbon tied at the chest, paired with a pale yellow short skirt.
A jacket was tied around her waist, and her slender, smooth legs were clad in blue-and-white striped calf socks.
Her entire being radiated a youthful, uplifting vitality.
‘But why does this girl look a bit familiar, even though we’ve never met?’
‘An anime character?’
The girl jogged up to the campfire.
Without asking any questions, she raised her nose, sniffed the air, and muttered to herself.
“I knew I was in the right place.
Snover’s scent is here.”
Then, she began to look around on her own.
Her gaze completely bypassed Sinshi and landed on the nearby rock, a bright smile instantly blooming on her face.
“Snover, I found you!”
With that, she took a step forward, about to walk toward the rock, but Snover preemptively jumped out.
However, it didn’t throw itself into the girl’s embrace.
Instead, it ran straight toward Sinshi and hid behind him.
This took the girl quite by surprise.
“Snover, it’s me!
Your Trainer!”
Snover showed no reaction.
It even acted as if it didn’t want to pay any attention to the girl at all, simply shrinking behind Sinshi and refusing to come out.
The girl’s slender eyebrows immediately furrowed together.
Then, as if remembering something, she smiled, clasped her hands together, and said softly, “Snover, I promise I won’t go bothering other people randomly this time, and I won’t accidentally forget about you either.
Will you forgive me, please?”
But no matter what the girl said, Snover showed no intention of coming out.
It just stood stiffly behind Sinshi, neither making a sound nor responding.
This left the girl feeling quite helpless.
Glancing at the person and Pokémon locked in a stalemate, the completely ignored Sinshi finally spoke up.
“Are you Snover’s Trainer?”
The girl seemed to only just notice there was someone else nearby.
She realized that her previous behavior of ignoring him was incredibly rude, especially since the other party appeared to have been taking care of Snover.
So, she bowed slightly to express her apology, then straightened her back and declared with full confidence, “Yes, my name is Candice.
I’m Snover’s Trainer.
We are currently traveling with the goal of becoming the Gym Leader of Snowpoint Gym in Snowpoint City!”
Hearing her self-introduction, Sinshi finally remembered who the girl in front of him was.
Candice, the future Gym Leader of Snowpoint Gym in Snowpoint City, located in the northernmost part of the Sinnoh Region.
She was also the senior to Zoey, Dawn’s fierce rival in the Sinnoh Region’s Pokémon Contests.
However, in his memory, she was a Gym Leader with a strong, older-sister-like leadership aura.
Yet right now, she was still just a little girl, looking to be in her early teens at most.
‘Does that mean the timeline is a few years before Ash sets foot in the Sinnoh Region?’
‘That’s fine.
There’s still plenty of time.’
Then, Sinshi turned his head to glance behind him.
‘So…
is this Snover her future ace Pokémon, Abomasnow?’
To think that the exceptionally fierce-looking Abomasnow of the future—the one that would single-handedly sweep three of Ash’s Pokémon—actually didn’t get along too well with its Trainer when it was young.
Sinshi stood up, extending his right hand as he said, “Hello, my name is Sinshi.
I’m unemployed.”
“…”
Several question marks instantly popped up over Candice’s head, but she quickly recovered and shook Sinshi’s hand amicably.
“Hello!
Thank you so much for taking care of Snover for the time being.
We’ve been having a bit of friction lately, but don’t worry, we won’t bother you.
If it ate any of your food or anything, I’ll pay you back in full.”
As she spoke, Candice pulled a Poké Ball out of her pocket.
Sinshi shook his head, rejecting her offer.
“If there’s a conflict in your hearts, recalling it into its Poké Ball won’t help.
The problem won’t disappear; it will only worsen in silence.”
“But…”
Candice hesitated slightly but still lowered her hand.
“If you don’t mind, why don’t you tell me the general gist of your conflict?
I can offer my perspective from an objective standpoint for your reference,” Sinshi said.
“I don’t have a problem with that, but Snover…”
Candice pointed at Snover, who was hiding behind Sinshi and looking like it refused to communicate whatsoever.
Obviously, even if she was willing, there was nothing she could do if Snover didn’t cooperate.
“Let me give it a try.”
Sinshi turned around, crouched next to Snover, and whispered a few words to it.
Snover lifted its head and sized Candice up for a moment.
Then, under Candice’s shocked gaze, it slowly walked out from behind Sinshi and sat down on the grass nearby.
Candice: “???”