"Did you do this?"
The moment the question left its mouth, Raikou already knew the answer.
Fuyuki replied with a single word.
"Home!"
Simple and direct.
Raikou immediately understood. In this human infant's eyes, this cave was the home he shared with Entei.
So he had used that innate, miraculous power of his to create all of this, turning a cave that had once felt rough, bare, cold, and unwelcoming into something fit to live in. A place that could be called a home.
Raikou froze.
As far as it knew, not all humans possessed such mysterious abilities. Very few did.
For no clear reason, a sentence Entei had said before suddenly surfaced in its mind.
[The Little One is different!]
The act of creating a floor out of thin air clearly shocked Raikou as well. Seeing another 20 Shock Points come in, Fuyuki grinned and went back to browsing the system shop.
The renovation wasn't done yet.
1065 - 500 + 20 = 585.
Next, should he buy a crib? Or maybe a door? Or a set of tableware for meals?
Fuyuki tilted his head up toward the ceiling of the cave.
Lighting was important too.
As a human, he didn't have night vision like Entei, Raikou, or Marshadow. Once night fell, he really couldn't see a thing.
[Chandelier: Indoor hanging light fixture. Requires a generator to function. Cost: 500 Shock Points.]
[Generator: Power supply device. Requires an Electric-type Pokemon to charge. Can store up to one year of electricity. Cost: 1000 Shock Points.]
Fuyuki: "…"
Way too expensive.
He scrolled further down, and soon another item caught his eye.
[Mushroom Night Light: Illuminates up to 40 square meters. Rechargeable lighting fixture. Must be charged by an Electric-type Pokemon before use. A full charge lasts three months. Cost: 300 Shock Points.]
His eyes lit up. This was good stuff.
He bought it immediately.
The next second, a mushroom-shaped night light about twenty centimeters tall appeared in his hands.
Its shape reminded him of a Pokemon called Shiinotic.
"That leaves 285 Shock Points."
A crib was out of the question, but a thick carpet could work just fine.
[Wool Carpet: Warm, soft, and comfortable wool carpet made from the fleece of Galar-region Pokemon Wooloo. Designed for floor use. Cost: 200 Shock Points.]
Buy it!
Two hundred Shock Points were deducted automatically, and a 4-by-4-meter wool carpet appeared beneath Fuyuki.
It was thick, soft, and warm. Sitting on it felt like sitting on the softest cloud in the world.
Totally worth it.
Once Entei came back, they could sleep together on this big, cozy carpet.
The only problem was that the mushroom night light still needed to be charged by an Electric-type Pokemon.
As for Electric-types, there happened to be one right in front of him.
Fuyuki couldn't help glancing toward Raikou in the distance.
Raikou had been silently observing everything from the start.
"Raikou~" Fuyuki called out.
Raikou immediately lifted its head, its gaze shifting from the carpet to the child.
For the sake of making their home more comfortable, Fuyuki shamelessly started acting cute.
A moment later, Raikou watched as the human infant toddled over, clutching that strange mushroom-like object, and looked up at it with a soft, babyish voice.
"Help me, please!"
Raikou paused. "…What is it?"
Fuyuki raised the mushroom night light. "This needs electricity!"
That was easy enough.
Raikou silently extended a paw and released a stream of electricity into the mushroom.
The next second, something magical happened.
The once ordinary-looking mushroom hummed and lit up with a warm, amber glow.
The light flooded the entire cave, draping everything in a soft veil. In an instant, the cold, barren cave felt warm.
At least, it looked like a home now.
"Thank you, Raikou!"
The human infant said happily.
Raikou watched as the child placed the mushroom beside the carpet, then pulled out a piece of candy from a large leaf and offered it as a gift.
Under normal circumstances, Raikou might have felt pleased.
But the moment it remembered that those candies originally belonged to Entei, an inexplicable irritation stirred in its chest.
Fuyuki, of course, had no idea what Raikou was thinking.
Up close, he studied it carefully. The smooth golden fur, the powerful limbs, the sharp fangs.
Unlike Entei's regal presence, Raikou, with its saber-toothed tiger-like appearance, gave off an aura that warned others to keep their distance. Fierce. Cold.
But up close…
It was just a big tiger.
If a real baby were here, what would they do?
After a brief moment of thought, Fuyuki leaned in and hugged Raikou's massive head, then planted a loud kiss on it. Just like how a pet owner couldn't resist kissing their cat's head when it looked especially cute.
Raikou's pupils shook violently.
Before it could react, it heard the child chirp sweetly, "Thanks!"
"…"
Raikou's emotions were a mess.
It watched the human infant scamper off to play with the giant mushroom, and it understood perfectly well.
That action had been a way humans expressed closeness.
This… this human infant had already grown that close to it?
Raikou's heart was anything but calm.
By all rights, it should have bristled, fur standing on end, tail lashing as crackling electricity burst forth, powerful enough to stir the sky itself.
It should have leapt back, scolded the child, and issued a warning.
That was what it should have done.
But instead, another memory surfaced. That night, when this human infant had noticed its injuries and helped treat them without hesitation.
At that moment, Raikou's thoughts fell into complete chaos.
Meanwhile, in Pallet Town.
Entei passed through the quiet rural town, intending to move on, when its attention was suddenly drawn to a human mother and child in the distance.
The young mother was playing with her one-year-old in the backyard.
She held a Pikachu plush toy, playing together with the child.
Her face was gentle, her whole body radiating a natural maternal warmth. Her red lips moved as she spoke softly to the infant.
Entei's hearing was sharp.
Even from far away, it could clearly make out her words.
"Ash, you have to grow up healthy, okay?"
Entei's attention lingered instead on the Pikachu plush in the child's hands.
"Maybe the Little One would like something like that," it thought.
Once everything here was taken care of, it would bring one back for the Little One to play with.
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200 powerstones for extra chapter today
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You can read up to chapter 38 and more soon on patreon.com/NiaXD.