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Chikorita looked up at the sky. Though it was still leaden gray, she could feel that night was approaching.
The closer it got to nightfall, the colder the wind became, making Chikorita shiver continuously.
Gritting her teeth, she trudged forward with a cloth bag strapped to her back. Her Vine Whip kept the bag balanced as she shrank into herself, enduring the cold.
After Luther and Mai had left, Chikorita had finally finished sorting through her Berries.
She had seen many travelers pass through the forest she called home, but all she could ever do was shrink back, poke her head out cautiously, and wait for them to leave.
Sometimes, she was forced to abandon her tree hollow and find a safe little den elsewhere to hide out in for a few days. But whenever she returned, her home was always a mess.
She had cleaned up her plundered Berry stash many times.
"There's always something left for me to eat," She would console herself.
Her wishes weren't extravagant, just enough to eat and a dry, windproof place to stay.
Yesterday had probably been the most dangerous day of her life. Two Pokémon Trainers had followed her tracks and cornered her at the mouth of her tree hollow. Their blue, round Pokémon had even stolen her Berries. She had prepared herself for the worst…
Yet nothing bad happened.
Instead, they gave her something delicious to drink, gifted her a rare Lum Berry, and didn't take anything in return.
"Such weird people…"
She had tossed out the nearly spoiled Berries, the bad-tasting ones too. The fresh, beautiful, and especially delicious ones she had packed all into a cloth bag she had found.
Carrying the bag on her back, she followed the direction Luther and Mai had left. At first, she thought that if she just ran as fast as she could, she'd catch up quickly. But all she saw along the way were a few busy Pokémon darting around the forest, no sign of the humans.
At the edge of the canyon, she hesitated, pacing nervously in circles, wondering if she'd gone the wrong way.
In the end, she clenched her jaw and dove into the canyon.
She had thought about why she was carrying her best Berries just to chase after those two people. She tried to come up with a logical reason… but in the end, she couldn't find the words to describe it.
Maybe it was because the juice that the human gave her was really tasty. Maybe it was because it felt nice when he petted her. Maybe it was because the blanket the girl gave her was so warm and smelled so nice.
And so, she naturally wanted to share her best things with them too.
These carefully stashed Berries had been collected since the start of autumn. In Chikorita's eyes, they were the best treasures in the whole world.
But how do you describe that kind of feeling? She was distressed. She had never been the smart type.
Her body understood the emotion better than her brain. Though her head drooped under the cold wind, her legs never stopped moving.
When she emerged from the canyon, the lights on the plain before her shimmered brilliantly in her eyes. She opened them wide, completely forgetting about the bag on her back, it slipped off and dropped to the ground.
She had never seen a sight like this.
Dark fields stretching out endlessly. Rows of lights. Sharp-edged buildings. From time to time, fireworks burst into the air above the rooftops.
A bright orange firework bloomed in the sky like a massive flower exploding across the night. Its dazzling petals glittered in Chikorita's eyes. She reached out her paw instinctively, wanting to touch this beautiful sight.
She had lived in the forest her entire life. The outside world had only ever existed in the stories of other Pokémon.
"It's huge, way bigger than our forest, like ten times bigger!"
That's what a Dunsparce had once told her, waving its claws excitedly.
Is this the view of a world ten times bigger than my forest?
Dazed, Chikorita snapped out of it, shook her head hard, and hurried to pick up her bag again.
No, no, keep going!
The ground beneath her feet was no longer the rough mountain path or the muddy forest trails she was used to. When she stepped onto the cement, she stomped a little in confusion, utterly disoriented.
The farther she went, the more uneasy she became. Looking around nervously, she felt as if something in the darkness was watching her.
Trying to act indifferent, she timidly walked toward the light in the distance.
Suddenly, she heard a fluttering sound.
Startled, Chikorita dropped to the ground, spinning the leaf on her head furiously while whipping at the air with her Vine Whips in wild panic.
A Noctowl and Hoothoot eating in the dark, a Pidgeot and Pidgey pecking at scattered Berries, and a Fearow with its group of Spearow all stared dumbfounded at the Chikorita shadowboxing the air.
Even the food the townspeople had prepared for them was forgotten.
Pidgeot looked at Noctowl, Noctowl glanced at Fearow, and Fearow, unsure of who to look at, could only stare at the nearby Spearow.
Spearow was drenched in cold sweat. Wasn't it you, boss, who flapped your wings just now to stretch?
Realizing there was no movement around her, Chikorita cautiously opened her eyes. Seeing Berries scattered all over the ground, she panicked and started searching frantically for them.
After a bit of scurrying, with a Berry in her mouth, she stuck her head into the bag, only to find that the number was still short.
Worried, she lowered her head and continued searching in the dark.
Several blurry oval shapes appeared ahead. Delighted, Chikorita rushed over, smiling as she placed the Berries into her bag.
Chomp. Munch. Crunch.
Cold sweat broke out across Chikorita's face. She looked up.
Noctowl, Pidgeot, and Fearow were chewing as they watched her with great interest.
Trembling, Chikorita tried to turn and flee, but stepped on the corner of her cloth bag and fell flat on her face.
The three Flying-type Pokémon froze, exchanged glances, and all acted like they hadn't done anything. Then, in perfect synchrony, they turned to look at the nearest culprit, Spearow.
Spearow shook his head desperately, terrified, and buried himself face-first in the Pokémon food like an ostrich.
Noctowl, unable to stand it anymore, walked over and gently patted Chikorita with a wing.
But Chikorita, who had been holding back sobs, now burst into full-on wailing, so loud that it made Noctowl flinch all over.
Pidgeot and Fearow looked at Noctowl with expressions full of disdain, clearly conveying:
"Bullying a kid? Shameful."
"Seriously? Are you for real?"
"Useless old bird."
Noctowl sighed and did his best to comfort Chikorita, assuring her they had no ill intent. He even called over Hoothoot to help pick up the scattered Berries.
After much coaxing, even Pidgeot and Fearow joined in, putting down their food to help console her, Chikorita finally felt reassured. She smiled through her tears and started gobbling up the Pokémon food.
She had never tasted anything like it. In her world, the best thing she'd ever eaten was Berries. The best thing she'd ever drunk was the sweet juice the young man had given her the night before.
Even though this was clearly meant for Flying-type Pokémon, Chikorita loved it.
After she finished eating, Noctowl asked her where she planned to go with that bag of Berries. From their experience, Chikorita was clearly a wild Pokémon, never caught or trained. But the direction she was heading in was toward Featherfall Town.
Chikorita opened the bag, took out her prized Berries, and explained with a smile that she was looking for two people, to give the Berries to them.
The three Flying Pokémon looked at one another in silence.
This Chikorita clearly had never been taught anything about how the world worked. They couldn't imagine how she had made it this far.
"Do you like those two people a lot?" Fearow asked.
"Like…?" Chikorita pondered the word. "Is this what liking is?"
Pidgeot sighed.
"Just like how we come to this town every year to enjoy a great feast and protect it, we deeply cherish the people and things here. That's why we're willing to stay here forever."
"We're old now, almost too tired to fly. But even so, we stay. One day, the Pidgey will inherit our will and continue soaring through the skies, protecting this town. That, to us, is what 'liking' means. Humans seem to call it… love."
"And you? What is the reason you like those two people? Is it strong enough that you'd be willing to stay by their side, forever?"
Pidgeot's question made Chikorita break into a sweat. Not being particularly clever, she thought long and hard before replying hesitantly:
"The young man is very gentle… the girl is really kind… I like that sweet-and-slightly-sour juice… and that fuzzy blanket, it was so warm."
The three Pokémon fell silent for a while before Noctowl stepped forward.
"Come on, I'll take you into the town."
Pidgeot and Fearow munched on food as they watched Chikorita leave. After a moment, Fearow knocked the Spearow, still face-planted in the food, back to his senses.
Pidgeot and Fearow plucked a few feathers from themselves, handed them to Spearow, and told him to fly them over to Chikorita.
"The townspeople always say that our fallen feathers bring them good luck," Fearow muttered. "These feathers came from me, so how come I've never seen them work?"
"No idea," Pidgeot replied. "But maybe those feathers really do have some magic, enough to make us willingly shed them and guard this land until our last breath."
"I want to believe it. After all, those feathers come from us."
"Then… may the magic of the falling feathers help this naïve little one find the right people."
"May the magic of the falling feathers help this naïve little one find the right people," Pidgeot echoed.
(End of Chapter)