As Itsuki descended the laboratory steps alongside Chloe, he glanced back.
Professor Cerise's Yamper had also come running out of the building.
Wagging its tail enthusiastically, it followed closely behind Chloe.
Seeing this, Itsuki couldn't help smiling.
"Looks like it really likes you."
"Does it?"
Chloe glanced down at Yamper, her tone showing little change.
"I haven't really noticed. It follows my mom and dad around the house all the time, too. I think it's probably like that with everyone."
From their brief interactions, Itsuki had realized that Chloe wasn't particularly talkative.
Although she was still a minor, she possessed a calm and composed personality.
She gave off the impression of being a sensible, well-behaved girl.
Crouching down, Itsuki gently stroked Yamper's forehead.
The little Pokémon narrowed its eyes in pleasure and even stuck out its long tongue toward him.
'It likes being scratched, huh?'
'Looking at it this way, it's really no different from an ordinary dog.'
"All right, you don't need to see me off any farther. Well then, Chloe, hopefully we'll meet again!"
Itsuki waved goodbye to Chloe.
However, he didn't immediately set off in search of the Mysterious Garden.
Instead, he first visited an outdoor equipment store in Vermilion City.
There, he purchased a baseball cap, a sleeping bag, a water bottle, binoculars, portable food supplies, and a simple cooking set.
He packed everything into a large backpack.
After all, if he was going to venture into the wilderness, proper preparation was essential.
Otherwise, if night fell before he could reach another town, he would have no choice but to rely on this equipment to camp outdoors.
...
After leaving Vermilion City, Itsuki and Ralts headed north.
They traveled for quite some time, eventually leaving the urban area behind and climbing over a small hill before finally arriving at a dense forest.
Compared to the surrounding woodlands, the vegetation here was noticeably thicker and more robust.
Once they entered the forest, the distance from the city quickly caused Itsuki's phone to lose its signal.
With his navigation no longer functioning, he had no choice but to rely on his instincts as he made his way through the trees.
Everything within sight was green.
Only when surrounded by nature like this could one truly appreciate just how small they were.
Although Itsuki had explored plenty of forests before, this was his first time entering such an immense sea of trees.
His surroundings were completely silent.
Fortunately, Ralts was accompanying him, making the journey feel considerably less lonely.
As they continued onward, Itsuki discovered that the forest was indeed remarkably untouched.
Towering trees with thick trunks and sprawling branches stood everywhere.
At first, there were still a few narrow paths left behind by previous travelers.
However, the deeper they ventured, the more those paths gradually disappeared.
Eventually, progressing any farther required Ralts to use Confusion to move the obstructing branches aside.
Only then could they continue forward.
The surrounding forest remained eerily quiet.
Not a single Caterpie, Weedle, Oddish, or Bellsprout could be seen.
These were all Pokémon commonly found in forests, yet there wasn't even one in sight!
Strangely enough, the more unusual the situation became, the more convinced Itsuki was that he had come to the right place.
After all, such a phenomenon would only occur in the habitat of a particular Pokémon species.
Because of their territorial instincts, they would drive away other Pokémon that entered their territory.
That would explain why the entire area seemed so deserted!
Within this enormous, maze-like forest, Itsuki continued walking, occasionally stopping to check his surroundings.
More than two hours passed.
Finally, as dusk approached, he faintly heard the cries of numerous Pokémon coming from somewhere ahead.
However, the path before him was blocked by a series of thick vines.
The vines formed something resembling a massive wall.
Not only were they incredibly tough, but they were also covered in sharp thorns, preventing any creature from approaching.
'These definitely didn't grow here naturally!'
'In that case, the Mysterious Garden should be right behind this wall of vines!'
Itsuki gave Ralts a meaningful glance.
Understanding his intentions, Ralts nodded and immediately activated its psychic powers.
An invisible wave of energy surged from its hand and struck the vines.
In an instant, a small opening appeared in the thick wall!
Although the gap wasn't particularly large, it was wide enough for them to pass through.
Using both his hands and feet, Itsuki carefully squeezed through the opening.
Then he lightened his footsteps and continued forward.
When he finally pushed aside the branches obstructing his view, the scenery before him suddenly opened up!
In the middle of this seemingly endless forest, there was actually an enormous basin!
Looking into the distance, he spotted a gigantic withered tree standing at the center.
And surrounding that tree were countless Bulbasaur, happily playing and frolicking together.
'The Mysterious Garden!'
Although it was hidden in the very heart of the forest and protected by a wall of vines, he had finally managed to find it!
Thinking about it carefully, though, it wasn't all that surprising.
After all, the basin occupied an enormous area.
Even with the protective vines surrounding it, a place this large couldn't remain completely hidden from anyone determined to find it.
The real reason it remained mysterious was simply that very few people ever ventured this far.
Itsuki stopped walking.
Gazing at the peaceful habitat before him, he decided against recklessly entering and disturbing its inhabitants.
Instead, he took out his binoculars.
Using the remaining light of the setting sun, he began carefully observing the Pokémon inside.
After scanning the area several times, he focused his binoculars on a particular Bulbasaur.
In terms of appearance, Bulbasaur was a quadrupedal Pokémon resembling a green frog.
It possessed bright red eyes and dark-green markings across its body.
However, its most distinctive feature was undoubtedly the large, garlic-shaped bulb growing on its back.
The Bulbasaur clearly hadn't noticed Itsuki's arrival.
Unfortunately, there were simply too many of them.
With so many Pokémon moving around, it was easy for his eyes to become overwhelmed.
Furthermore, judging their individual personalities from appearance alone was extremely difficult.