Additionally, he needed to buy a Poké Ball first.
Because of Agumon’s unique nature, it was best not to let it wander openly in complex human settlements like towns until he had enough strength to protect it.
Staying inside a Poké Ball was the safest option.
And buying a Poké Ball required money.
Watching Agumon head off to pick berries, Sinshi stood up and began searching the surroundings for suitable trees.
There were too many Oran Berries and they didn’t have a backpack, so he had to find some soft tree bark to craft a makeshift one.
Amidst the dull, rhythmic thuds of ramming into the trunk, Agumon knocked down all the ripe, loose berries.
Sinshi also found a tree with relatively soft bark and had Agumon peel off a large chunk.
After some simple prep work, he had the Digimon carefully control the temperature of its Baby Flame to roast the edges of the bark until they were soft enough to fuse together.
Finally, he used Agumon’s claws to poke four holes near the corners and tied woven grass ropes through them to serve as straps.
After letting it cool naturally, a simple bark backpack was complete.
“Excluding the two in Agumon’s hands, we have a total of fifty Oran Berries.
If we can sell them all, it should be enough to buy a Poké Ball and some necessities,” Sinshi said.
After packing all the Oran Berries, Sinshi slung the bag over his back and set off toward the west.
Agumon followed closely beside him, strongly insisting that it should carry the load.
Ultimately, Sinshi decided that the human and the Digimon would take turns carrying it, which Agumon finally agreed to.
…
Just like when they left the ruins, they traveled through the sea of trees.
Faint rays of sunlight pierced through the leafy canopy, and the ground beneath their feet was soft as they pressed forward without stopping.
However, unlike his cautious demeanor when he first crossed over into this world, having Agumon by his side meant he no longer needed to be overly careful.
The weaker wild Pokémon living in the forest would actively choose to avoid them upon seeing Agumon and sensing its intimidating aura.
This naturally saved them quite a bit of time.
As for the powerful, high-level Pokémon, Sinshi, who constantly used his system panel to scan their surroundings, would spot them in advance and actively detour around them.
Maintaining this efficient pace, after walking for most of the afternoon, they finally spotted the faint outlines of human architecture in the distance near a river.
“Phew~”
Sinshi let out a long breath.
After surveying their surroundings, he sat down on a nearby rock.
“Agumon, put the backpack down.
We’ll rest here for the night.”
Agumon, who was currently carrying the bark backpack, paused in surprise.
“We can already see the town.
Shouldn’t we hurry over before it gets dark?”
Sinshi shook his head.
“Even if we speed up, it will definitely be dark by the time we reach the town, and we might not be able to find a place to stay.
Plus, many nocturnal Pokémon come out at night.
If we run into troublesome Pokémon while exhausted from the journey, it’ll be dangerous.”
“Alright.”
Agumon nodded and gently set the backpack aside.
Since Sinshi had a plan, it just needed to follow along.
Along the way, Sinshi had done many things beyond its comprehension, and more importantly, he had been right every single time.
This made Agumon feel that since it wasn’t good at using its brain anyway, it might as well leave all the thinking to a smart person like Sinshi.
It would just stick to fighting and battling.
In Sinshi’s words, this was: a rational division of labor and a perfect partnership.
Just as Agumon was deeply impressed by its own brilliance, a somewhat muffled sound echoed from the nearby riverbank.
Agumon’s expression instantly turned serious.
It was far too familiar with this sound.
It was definitely a big one!
Having spent years catching and eating fish, it was well-versed in the ways of fish.
It judged that the splashing sound just now definitely didn’t belong to any other object or creature—it was a fish.
Moreover, it was absolutely a large, agile fish with abundant stamina and athletic ability.
Otherwise, its entry into the water wouldn’t have sounded so heavy; it would have been crisper.
This immediately reminded Agumon of the time in the Solaceon Ruins when Sinshi shared his food with it, and it had resolved to catch a fish to repay him.
It also thought about how, throughout their journey, Sinshi had made sure it was well-fed and hydrated, while he himself hadn’t eaten anything besides a few berries.
This was obviously unacceptable, but it had been powerless to help.
After all, it didn’t have many useful skills in the forest; just not getting lost was already a blessing.
But now, the opportunity to repay him had arrived!
Agumon carefully set down the backpack full of Oran Berries, then broke into a sprint, charging fiercely toward the river.
“Agumon, what are you doing?” Sinshi couldn’t help but ask, seeing his partner act so out of character.
“I’m going to catch a fish!
Wait for me!” Agumon didn’t even turn its head, simply opening its mouth wide and shouting back.
Catch a fish?
Sinshi frowned, looking at the river lying at the edge of the forest directly in front of Agumon.
‘Are there still ordinary fish in this world?
Or is it a fish-type Pokémon?’
Sinshi brought up his system panel and began scanning the river.
Soon, a fish leapt high out of the water, entering his field of vision.
It was a red fish.
Its appearance was very similar to a carp, but it had yellow barbels by its mouth that were longer than a catfish’s whiskers, and atop its head sat a glittering, crown-like fin.
Its information immediately appeared on the panel.
[Species] Magikarp [Category] Fish Pokémon [Type] Water [Ability] Swift Swim (Boosts the Pokémon’s Speed stat in rain) [Level] 5 [Exclusive Move] None [Learned Moves] Splash [Base Stats] 200 (HP 20, Attack 10, Defense 55, Sp.
Atk 15, Sp.
Def 20, Speed 80) [Friendship] 0 (Doesn’t know you, unfamiliar with you) [Status] Healthy [Information Summary] Lacking in both power and speed, it is completely useless outside of its breeding capabilities.
It is the weakest Pokémon in the world.
It is said that in the distant past, Magikarp were actually very strong, but for some unknown reason, they gradually became exceptionally weak.
However, thanks to their boundless energy and love for jumping, they actively or passively act as meat shields, allowing many other Pokémon to survive longer.
“So it’s a Magikarp.”
Seeing what it was, Sinshi was no longer surprised.
As the poster child for rapid reproduction, traces of Magikarp activity could be found in all known regions.
As long as there was water, it would be alive and kicking.
“But this thing definitely isn’t meant for eating,” he muttered.
Setting aside the ethics of eating Pokémon, in Sinshi’s memories of the Pokémon anime, more than one person had mentioned that Magikarp meat was incredibly unpalatable.
Furthermore, its entire body was practically just bones with barely any meat, leaving nothing to actually bite into.
In other words, catching it would be a complete waste of effort.
Thinking of this, Sinshi prepared to call Agumon back.
But before he could even open his mouth, he saw Agumon face the river, open its jaws, and directly unleash a Baby Flame.
And it didn’t stop at just one.
Immediately after came a second shot, a third, a fourth…
an endless barrage.