The next day, Entei went out as usual to search for food in the wild.
Raising the little one had already become the most important responsibility in Entei’s heart.
Winter was fast approaching.
If they did not prepare enough food, the little one might starve.
Entei would never allow such a thing to happen.
Therefore, before winter arrived, it had to bring back as much food as possible and store it inside the cave.
After eating his fill, Atlas’s energy would become exceptionally abundant.
Left alone in the cave, he would feel unbearably bored, so he fussed and insisted on going out with Entei to gather food.
Naturally, Entei would not refuse him.
One human and one Pokémon wandered through the forest.
With Atlas’s deliberate guidance, Entei began bringing back more mountain goods in addition to berries.
Berries, chestnuts, nuts, mushrooms.
In just a single month, all kinds of forest produce had piled up inside the cave into small hills.
They filled a large area, and the sight of them was deeply satisfying.
With this, there should be no problem.
At the very least, we will not have to worry about starving this winter, Atlas thought to himself.
Although he still had 15 shock points remaining, that was only enough to exchange for three bottles of MooMoo Milk.
It would not be of much use.
Seeing that their food supply was nearly sufficient, Entei no longer went out as frequently as before.
Recently, the temperature outside had plummeted.
As a Pokémon, Entei could clearly sense that autumn had reached its end, and the harsh winter would soon envelop the land.
It looked around the cave where it resided and felt that something was missing.
What was it?
There was food.
The little one would not have to worry about hunger for the time being.
With it around, the little one would not have to fear the cold.
Entei’s gaze lowered and soon landed on the flattened pile of fallen leaves that it and the little one had been using.
That was it.
There were too few leaves here.
The little one might feel uncomfortable while sleeping.
More fallen leaves needed to be gathered to make a thicker bed.
Having made this decision, Entei became busy once more.
It settled Atlas safely inside the cave, then went out alone to collect fallen leaves from the forest, bringing them back to spread into a soft and comfortable leaf bed.
Once Entei left, Atlas was alone in the cave again.
His body was still far too young.
There was almost nothing he could do.
It has been almost two months since coming to Mount Tensei.
Aside from Entei and some ordinary Pokémon, he has not seen any other Pokémon.
Ho-Oh’s guard consisted of three Legendary Pokémon: Entei, Suicune, and Raikou.
It was said that long ago they had only been ordinary Pokémon, until they perished in the great fire at the Burned Tower in Ecruteak City.
Revived by Ho-Oh, they became the Entei, Suicune, and Raikou of today.
Not seeing Ho-Oh was understandable.
Given Ho-Oh’s personality, it was probably somewhere acting as a photographer again.
Not seeing Suicune and Raikou was also understandable.
They each carried their own missions.
But why had he not seen Marshadow at all?
Logically speaking, Marshadow resided on Mount Tensei.
Unlike Entei and the others, it rarely left except to test those chosen by Ho-Oh as Rainbow Heroes.
Perhaps it was due to its personality.
Atlas remembered that the Pokédex described Marshadow as timid and reclusive, unwilling to reveal itself before humans.
In some regions, people even believed its existence to be nothing more than a fantasy.
Forget it.
It does not matter.
Whether he saw Marshadow or not was irrelevant.
Having Entei was enough.
…
After eating berries for many days in a row, Atlas began craving something else again.
He opened the system shop and looked through the dazzling array of foods available.
But considering his current physical condition, he ultimately exchanged only one bottle of MooMoo Milk.
With the deduction of 5 shock points, a bottle of MooMoo Milk materialized in his hand out of thin air.
Atlas was just about to drink it eagerly when he suddenly noticed a line of information flash across his panel.
[Where did that thing come from? What did this human just do?]
[Shock Points from Marshadow +10.]
What?
Marshadow?
Atlas froze mid motion while holding the bottle.
His heart immediately became unsettled.
Marshadow’s shock points had appeared.
That meant Marshadow was nearby, secretly watching him.
But where was it?
Atlas cautiously turned his head and scanned his surroundings.
Marshadow’s power came from shadows.
Most of the time, it concealed itself within them.
Therefore, Atlas paid special attention to the darker corners of the cave.
When his gaze swept across one particularly concealed shadow, he suddenly spotted a small figure composed entirely of gray mist.
It was a shadowlike Pokémon, standing silently within the darkness, watching this side without a sound.
Marshadow.
Right there.
Atlas was stunned.
[Discovered? How did this human manage that?]
[Shock Points from Marshadow +15.]
Clear astonishment appeared in Marshadow’s eyes.
It had always been proud of its ability to hide.
Unless it wished otherwise, ordinary humans and Pokémon would never detect its presence.
And yet now, this human had discovered it.
Both the human and the Pokémon froze in place.
Soon, however, Marshadow recovered.
By all logic, it should immediately sink back into the shadows, conceal itself once more, and disappear from the human’s sight.
Yet as it looked at the infant, unbidden images surfaced in its mind, scenes it had witnessed in his dreams.
His parents had indeed died protecting Pokémon.
They had sacrificed their lives for Pokémon they had never even met.
No matter how much it disliked humans or refused to acknowledge them, Marshadow could not deny the actions of those two foolish humans.
“Marshaa…”
At that moment, Marshadow found itself understanding Entei’s choice, at least somewhat.
Just then, Entei returned from outside.
It brought back more golden fallen leaves, softer than before, and carefully spread them in a place within the cave sheltered from the wind.
Then it gently carried the little one over and set him atop the new leaf bed.
After finishing, Entei turned its gaze toward Marshadow.
“Why are you here?”
Using telepathy, it communicated silently.
Before Marshadow could respond, however, the little one held up the half finished bottle of milk toward it, as if wanting to share.
Seeing this, Entei frowned slightly, its eyes revealing disapproval.
The little one had used that strange power of his again.
(End of Chapter)