At the highest peak of Mount Tensei, Marshadow stared blankly at the glass bottle in its hand, the one that the human infant had given to it.
In the past, it had come into contact with many humans.
Through their dreams and memories, it had seen countless things about their kind.
For example, the liquid inside this glass bottle was a kind of food called MooMoo Milk.
It contained extremely high nutritional value and was very beneficial to both humans and Pokémon.
Among them, human infants needed this kind of nourishment more than anyone else.
Because as far as Marshadow knew, human infants were not like Pokémon.
They were weak and fragile.
If they encountered something bad, they would shatter like glass.
More importantly, from the memories of the Rainbow Hero candidates who had once come to take part in Ho-Oh’s trial, Marshadow had learned that human infants must drink milk from Miltank during their early years.
Only in this way could they grow stronger and have healthier bodies.
And now, something so important to that human infant had been placed into its hands.
Even though it did not need it at all.
“Marsha…” Marshadow could not help but murmur softly.
In its mind surfaced the memories it had seen within the dreams of the human infant that Entei had brought back.
…Was this what humans called sincerity?
…
The thirty five shock points that Atlas possessed felt utterly insignificant in the dazzling system shop.
He had thought for a long time about ways to earn more shock points at present, but in the end he realized that either his age made it unsuitable, or the idea was simply impossible to carry out.
After all, he was still an infant who had not even reached one year old.
He could not walk, could not speak, and spent most of the day sleeping.
Eventually, Atlas felt completely deflated.
Sigh… forget it.
I will just take it one day at a time.
Lying on the “leaf bed” that Entei had carefully prepared for him, Atlas thought in a thoroughly resigned manner.
Seeing the little one suddenly let out a very human like sigh, Entei could not help but feel puzzled.
What was its little one worrying about?
What was troubling him?
Food?
Entei’s gaze shifted toward the pile of berries stacked nearby like a small mountain.
As a Legendary Pokémon, it did not need to eat.
All of that food had been specially gathered for the little one, enough to last until next spring.
Or was he worried about safety?
Entei wanted to say that this was Mount Tensei, the territory of Lord Ho-Oh and the Ho-Oh Guard.
No human and no Pokémon would dare to cause trouble here.
Entei thought for a long time but could not figure out why the little one had sighed.
It said nothing, only silently walked to his side and lay down.
Hmm?
…
Atlas sensed Entei’s presence.
He turned his head to look at Entei, at this Pokémon that so clearly sheltered him.
Atlas had never imagined that he would one day be adopted by a Pokémon.
Nor had he ever imagined that this Pokémon would care for him as if he were its own child.
And now, had Entei noticed him sighing and come over simply to keep him company?
To say he was not moved would be impossible.
Along the way, this Entei had treated him far, far too well.
Atlas turned and hugged Entei’s large paw.
Entei… how should I treat you?
As a father?
That was impossible.
Asking him to call a Pokémon dad would be far too strange.
As a Pokémon?
But the relationship between him and Entei was clearly not the traditional trainer and Pokémon relationship.
“Sigh…”
Atlas could not help but sigh again.
Forget it.
There was still plenty of time.
If nothing unexpected happened, he would live with Entei for a long, long while.
There was no point thinking about such things now.
Since he was here, he might as well make peace with it.
Instead of dwelling on this, it would be better to check how many shock points it would cost to buy a Rare Candy for Entei.
If it was not too expensive, he could just exchange for dozens of them and see if he could directly feed Entei up to level one hundred.
Then the two of them could walk sideways across this world in the future.
Rare Candy was a very special item.
Unlike other goods, it could not be directly exchanged.
One had to select a Pokémon nearby before the specific price would be displayed.
Atlas thought of “Entei” in his mind.
Very quickly, a price appeared behind the Rare Candy.
Atlas: “…”
Entei felt that perhaps the little one had been staying in the cave and sleeping for too long.
Maybe he was bored, which was why he kept sighing.
Although it was a Pokémon, Entei also knew that human infants were beings that required careful care and protection.
Thus, that very afternoon, during a relatively warm autumn day, Entei gently picked up the little one in its mouth and carried him into the forest for a walk.
It was already late autumn.
The entire mountain forest had grown increasingly desolate.
When the north wind blew, those dressed too lightly could not help but shiver.
Under normal circumstances, such weather was not suitable for taking an infant outside, as it might cause them to catch a cold.
But with Entei present, such concerns were not a big problem.
The sacred fire within its body roared like molten lava, continuously releasing a scorching aura from head to toe.
That warmth enveloped Atlas, protecting him and keeping him comfortable.
Riding on Entei’s back, Atlas rarely had the chance to go out for a stroll, and his attention was immediately captured by the wild Pokémon inhabiting the forest.
Mankey swung back and forth between trees using vines.
Cubone and Marowak, alert and cautious, revealed expressions of reverence when they saw Entei.
Kangaskhan moved in groups through the forest, each carrying its baby in its pouch.
These Pokémon walked busily through the forest, looking as if they all had something important to do.
Atlas observed them curiously.
Soon, he realized something.
Were these Pokémon wandering through the forest to search for food?
That was probably the case.
Pokémon were very mysterious creatures.
They could sense the coming of winter.
As far as Atlas knew, many Pokémon had the habit of gathering food and storing it before winter arrived.
He saw the group of Kangaskhan stop beneath a berry tree.
The large Kangaskhan mother, gentle in expression despite her imposing size, reached up with her claws to pluck berries from the tree, then handed them to the baby Kangaskhan nestled safely in her pouch.
The baby happily devoured the berries.
The Kangaskhan mother smiled, watching her child eat with tender eyes.
There were several Kangaskhan in the group.
In no time at all, the berries on the tree were picked until only a few scattered ones remained.
Only after filling their stomachs did the Kangaskhan turn and leave.
Seeing this scene, Atlas could not help but think of the small mountain of berries that Entei had gathered over the past few days.
(End of Chapter)