The next day, Entei went out to the wild to forage for food as usual.
Raising Little One had become Entei's most important responsibility. Winter was approaching, and if they didn't prepare enough food, Little One would likely starve to death.
Entei wouldn't allow that to happen, so before winter arrived, it had to bring back as much food as possible from outside and stockpile it in the cave.
After eating and drinking its fill, Fuyuki's energy would be abundant. Feeling very bored left alone in the cave, it insisted on going out to forage with Entei.
Entei naturally didn't refuse.
The two wandered through the forest, and under Fuyuki's deliberate guidance, Entei brought back more mountain produce than just berries to the cave.
Berry, chestnut, nuts, mushrooms…
In just one month, all sorts of mountain produce piled up in the cave, creating small mountains, a vast and satisfying sight.
"That's good. With this food, at least I won't starve this winter," Fuyuki murmured to himself.
Although he still had 15 Shock Points, they were only enough to buy three bottles of MooMoo Milk, hardly of any use.
Seeing that the food reserves were nearly complete, Entei stopped venturing out as frequently as before.
Recently, the outside temperature had plummeted. As a Pokémon, Entei could clearly sense that autumn was coming to an end and winter was about to engulf the land.
Looking at its cave, it felt like something was missing.
What was it?
With food, Little One wouldn't have to worry about going hungry for a while.
With it around, Little One wouldn't have to worry about the cold.
Entei's gaze shifted downwards, quickly landing on the pile of fallen leaves that it and Little One had flattened.
"Yes, there aren't enough fallen leaves here. The little one might be uncomfortable sleeping in them. I need to collect more leaves and bring them back."
Having made this decision, Entei got busy again.
It placed Fuyuki in the cave, then went out alone to the forest to find more leaves, bringing them back to the cave to make a soft, comfortable bed.
With Entei gone, Fuyuki was left alone in the cave again.
His body was too young to do anything.
But this didn't stop him from fully exploring his thoughts.
"It's been almost two months since I returned to Mt. Tensei. It seems that besides Entei and some ordinary Pokémon, I haven't seen any other Pokémon." Ho-Oh's Guard has three legendary Pokémon: Entei, Suicune, and Raikou.
It's said that long ago they were just ordinary Pokémon, but they perished in the fire at the Burnt Tower in Ecruteak City. Only after being revived by Ho-Oh did they become the Entei, Suicune, and Raikou they are today.
It's understandable that he can't see Ho-Oh; given Ho-Oh's personality, it's probably somewhere taking photos right now.
The same goes for not seeing Suicune and Raikou; these two Pokémon also have their own missions.
But… why haven't he seen Marshadow yet?
Logically, Marshadow inhabits Mt. Tensei. Unlike Entei and the others, it spends almost all its time on Mt. Tensei, except when testing the Rainbow Heroes chosen by Ho-Oh.
Perhaps it's because of its personality?
He remembers the Pokédex saying that Marshadow is timid and weak, never showing itself to humans, and in some places, its existence is even considered a figment of imagination.
"Never mind!" It doesn't matter if he sees Marshadow or not; he has Entei, that's enough!
Having eaten berries for several days, he's getting hungry again.
He then opened the system shop and browsed the dazzling array of food.
Considering his current physical condition, he ultimately only exchanged for a bottle of Moo Moo Milk.
With 5 points of shock deducted, a bottle of Moo Moo Milk appeared out of thin air in his hand.
Just as Fuyuki was about to gulp it down, a message flashed on his screen.
[Where did this come from? What did this human just do?]
[Shock points from Marshadow +10!]
What? Marshadow?
Fuyuki paused slightly, holding the milk bottle, his expression shifting with suspicion.
Marshadow's shock points had appeared, meaning Marshadow was currently watching him closely nearby!
Sure enough, Marshadow couldn't possibly be unaware that Entei had brought him back to Mount Tensei…
But where was it now?
Fuyuki cautiously turned and looked around. Marshadow's power originated from shadows, and most of the time, it hid within them.
Therefore, Fuyuki paid particular attention to the dark corners of the cave.
As his gaze swept across a shadowy spot, he suddenly spotted a small figure shrouded in gray mist in a well-hidden corner.
It was a Pokémon as ethereal as a shadow, standing silently within the shadows, quietly observing them.
Marshadow! There it was!
Fuyuki froze.
[Discovered? How did this human do that?!]
[Shock points from Marshadow +15!]
Marshadow's eyes showed obvious shock.
Marshadow was extremely proud of its ability to hide; unless it wanted to, ordinary humans and Pokémon would have no chance of discovering its presence.
But now… how did this human discover it?
Both the human and the Pokémon stood frozen in place.
However, Marshadow quickly recovered.
Logically, it should have immediately slipped into the shadows, concealing itself and disappearing from the human's sight.
But looking at the human cub, Marshadow's mind inexplicably flashed back to the scenes it had witnessed in its dreams.
His parents had indeed died protecting Pokémon.
And they had lost their lives protecting Pokémon they had never met before.
Even with its hatred and disapproval of humans, Marshadow couldn't deny the actions of those two "foolish" humans at this moment.
"Marshadow..." At this moment, Marshadow understood Entei's actions to some extent.
Just then, Entei returned from outside.
It brought back more, softer, golden leaves and spread them in a sheltered spot inside the cave, then carried the little one there.
After doing all this, Entei turned to look at Marshadow.
"What are you doing here?" Entei communicated silently with Marshadow using telepathy.
Before Marshadow could answer, the little one offered it a half-finished glass of milk, seemingly wanting to share.
Seeing this, Entei frowned slightly, his eyes revealing disapproval.
The little one had used his magical power again.
۞۞۞۞
You can read up to chapter 38 and more soon on [email protected]/PokeficLord.