To avoid starving when winter arrived, Fuyuki started consciously stockpiling Berries from that day on.
Berries were naturally easy to store, and with the cold winter temperatures coming, they would last even longer.
At first, Entei thought the Little One simply couldn't finish eating them. But it didn't take long for it to realize something was off.
Taking into account the changing weather, and the fact that even it was finding it harder to locate Berries lately, it finally clicked.
The Little One was preparing for winter in advance.
He's smart. So smart.
Filled with quiet admiration, Entei began helping as well.
Human infants needed a lot of sleep to grow.
Because of that, Fuyuki spent more than half of each day asleep.
Whenever he was deeply asleep, Entei would leave the cave, head down the mountain, and search for more food, bringing everything back with it.
Gradually, more and more food piled up inside the cave.
Each time Fuyuki woke up, he would find a small mound of round Berries beside where he slept.
He was very satisfied with Entei's efforts, except for one thing.
Why was it always just Berries?
At this time of year, shouldn't the mountains be full of wild foods?
Chestnuts, nuts, mushrooms, all sorts of things.
Even without cooking tools, Entei was a fire-type Pokemon. Roasted chestnuts, roasted nuts, roasted mushrooms, all of that should be possible.
Fuyuki did not want to spend the entire winter eating nothing but Berries.
So, on a crisp autumn day, just as Entei was about to head out in search of more food, Fuyuki babbled loudly to stop it.
Entei paused and turned back in confusion, looking down at the Little One clinging to its foreleg.
"What is it?" it asked.
Did the child not want it to go out?
That wouldn't do. Entei knew very well that humans were different from Pokemon. They needed to eat every day to grow properly, otherwise they would slowly weaken and eventually starve.
With that in mind, it shook its head and said sternly through telepathy, "What we have isn't enough. Winter is coming. We need to find more food."
As soon as it finished speaking, it saw the Little One release its leg, lift his head, and blink up at it.
…Cute.
Entei's heart softened instantly.
Then, the child reached out both arms, clearly asking to be picked up.
At that moment, Entei finally understood.
The Little One wasn't trying to stop it from going out. He wanted to go with it.
Entei skillfully picked him up by the clothes and placed him on its back, then lowered its body and dashed out of the cave.
"Hold on tight."
Fuyuki quickly wrapped his arms around Entei's neck.
The bleak autumn wind carried a chill, but Entei's body was blazing with warmth. That heat formed a barrier around them, blocking out the cold entirely.
At the peak of Mount Tensei, atop a protruding slab of rock.
Marshadow stood silently, the smoky gray shadows that made up its body drifting slowly in the wind.
Its hollow gaze followed the figure weaving through the mountains below.
Entei was out gathering food for that human infant again.
The Raizen Mountains were rarely visited by humans, rich in natural resources, and home to countless wild Pokemon.
Mankey, Bellsprout, Cubone…
Fuyuki even spotted a Farfetch'd patrolling its territory with a leek slung over its shoulder.
When these Pokemon noticed Entei, they all retreated cautiously, peeking out from a distance.
Toward Entei, their feelings were a mix of reverence and fear.
As for Entei itself, it seemed long accustomed to it.
Its thick paw pads pressed against the forest floor, blanketed in dry yellow leaves, producing a soft rustling sound.
Before long, it stopped in front of a Berry tree standing alone among the trees.
It was a common Oran Berry tree, its branches heavy with fruit that resembled strawberries, except dyed a deep blue.
Entei set Fuyuki down on the fallen leaves nearby, then stepped forward and shook the tree with its paw. The next moment, ripe Oran Berries dropped down one after another.
This was its goal.
It picked up the Berries, preparing to head back with the Little One.
Naturally, Fuyuki had no intention of returning so easily. He turned his head, eyes darting around as he searched the area.
Soon, he spotted a cluster of plump, meaty wild mushrooms growing beneath a tree.
Those are… matsutake!
Back in his previous life, Fuyuki had loved mushrooms. He wasn't an expert, but he could recognize several types of wild fungi.
He quickly tugged at Entei's mane, pointing it toward them.
"What is it?"
Entei followed his gaze and soon saw the mushrooms.
"Ah-bah-bah!"
Fuyuki eagerly crawled over and picked every last one with his own hands.
"These are…"
Entei was puzzled. It had never eaten them and rarely saw other Pokemon do so.
Fuyuki hugged the mushrooms tightly to his chest.
Seeing that, Entei finally understood.
The Little One liked these.
Fine. If he liked them, Entei would bring them back too.
It found a large leaf to use as a bag, placed the Berries and mushrooms on it, then picked the leaf up with its mouth.
As a Pokemon, it had never felt inconvenienced by not having hands.
But now, it suddenly thought that having a pair might be useful.
"We should take these Berries back first," Entei said.
Fuyuki was not very willing.
He glanced around and soon found another cluster of fresh, tender mushrooms beneath a large tree.
Those are… hazel mushrooms!
He toddled over, picked them, and placed them into Entei's leaf bag.
Entei could only follow behind helplessly, holding the leaf while the Little One continued crawling around.
Looking at the clusters of thick, juicy mushrooms all around, Fuyuki nearly started drooling.
After days of nothing but Berries, his mouth felt painfully bland.
He could practically imagine how tender and rich these mushrooms would be once cooked, how full and juicy the flesh would be.
Matsutake, hazel mushrooms, termite mushrooms, porcini, morels, shiitake…
Before long, Entei's leaf bag was completely full.
"That's enough, Little One," Entei said helplessly. "Any more and it won't fit. We'll come back next time."
Fuyuki was still reluctant, but after crawling around for so long, he really was tired. He obediently climbed onto Entei's back.
Man and Pokemon returned to the cave together. Entei set the leaf down and piled the Berries and mushrooms into neat little mounds.
Sitting on the soft bed of leaves Entei had prepared, Fuyuki looked at all the food and felt deeply satisfied.
But this body was still too young. Drowsiness quickly crept in.
He yawned and rubbed his eyes.
Seeing this, Entei returned to his side and lay down.
Fuyuki nestled against its arm, burrowed into the warm, fluffy fur on its chest, and fell asleep peacefully.
Entei closed its eyes as well.
After some time, a small figure slowly emerged from the shadows within the cave, silently observing the scene.
No one noticed Marshadow's presence.
Orange-red ghostly flames flickered in its eyes.
Life on Mount Tensei was dull and monotonous. Ho-Oh was absent, and Entei, Suicune, and Raikou often left to fulfill their duties elsewhere.
When there was no Rainbow Hero, Marshadow remained behind, guarding Mount Tensei.
Over the past few days, though it never revealed itself, it had been quietly watching Entei and the human infant.
It still didn't fully understand why Entei had brought a human child back here.
But after watching their interactions, and considering Entei's personality, Marshadow thought it might understand.
Entei was an extremely responsible Pokemon.
The child's parents had died protecting Pokemon, and as a member of Ho-Oh's Guard, Entei had taken it upon itself to care for him.
That was why it brought him back to Mount Tensei.
Because Entei had already accepted this human infant as its responsibility.
With Entei's nature, it would never abandon the child.
As a member of Ho-Oh's Guard, Marshadow felt it necessary to understand this human more deeply.
If he were like the humans who had failed the Rainbow Hero trials before, filled with desire, greed, and malice, then Marshadow would never allow him to remain on Mount Tensei, on Ho-Oh's sacred ground.
Its body slipped back into the shadows, moving through the shadow world until it entered the child's shadow.
The next moment, its power activated.
Fuyuki had a long-forgotten dream.
This was the tenth month since he had arrived in the Pokemon world.
In this life, his parents were driving a small car, planning to take him camping at Mt. Moon.
On the way, they encountered two Pokemon Hunters illegally hunting Pokemon.
His father got out of the car to stop them and was brutally killed.
In panic, his mother tried to escape by car, but the Hunters' Pokemon caught up and attacked, causing a crash that took her life as well.
Lying in the back seat, Fuyuki watched everything unfold, helpless, as the two Pokemon Hunters approached.
Fear, despair, and hopelessness crushed him.
He didn't cry or scream. By playing dead during their inspection, he barely survived.
The Hunters left with their prey, leaving him alone as time dragged on endlessly.
Just as he believed he would die there too, Entei appeared.
Entei rescued him, took him in, treated him as a child, and brought him back to Mount Tensei.
In the cave, the human infant clung tightly to Entei's chest.
There was no malice, no greed.
Only deep dependence, trust, and an inexplicable fondness.
Marshadow stared at the scene, stunned.
Then, it shifted its focus, activating its power again, attempting to create a dream that reflected the deepest desires of the child's heart.
The dream changed.
But not the setting.
It was still the cave. Still just Entei and the child.
Entei lay on the ground as usual.
The human infant crawled all over it, sometimes stroking the smoky mane, sometimes burying his face in the fluffy fur on Entei's belly and rubbing against it, sometimes grabbing and squishing Entei's muzzle.
Marshadow: "?"
A huge question mark popped up in its mind.
What was this?
The deepest desire in this human infant's heart… was just to play with Entei?
Marshadow was completely dumbfounded.
It even wondered if something was wrong with its power, but after checking carefully, it realized the problem wasn't with itself.
It was this human infant.
Strange. Too strange.
Marshadow had never encountered a human like this.
Ho-Oh had chosen many humans as Rainbow Hero candidates before, yet every single one had failed, falling within its dreams.
Some indulged in desire. Others became lost in the dream world, forgetting their Pokemon companions entirely.
None of them were qualified.
Those who drowned in desire would one day forget their duties as a Rainbow Hero.
Those who abandoned their bonds with Pokemon for a dream world could never gain the approval of Ho-Oh or Marshadow.
Having seen far too many such humans, Marshadow had come to hate them from the bottom of its heart.
At times, it even doubted Ho-Oh's judgment.
But considering how Ho-Oh flew around the world, tossing Rainbow Feathers at anyone who caught its eye, that was hardly surprising.
Faced with something so utterly beyond expectation, Marshadow didn't know how to react.
It cast one last look at the human infant, withdrew from the dream, and silently faded back into the shadows, leaving the cave.
The moment it left, Fuyuki shivered and jolted awake.
At the same time, Entei opened its eyes and looked over.
So it was just a nightmare.
Fuyuki relaxed, looked at Entei with bright anticipation, and babbled eagerly,
"Da-da-da!"
Tomorrow, he wants roasted mushrooms!