Meeting, the Beginning of Everything

The tall trees stood like guardians, their branches intertwined to form a dense canopy of green. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the treetops, casting dappled shadows upon the ground.

The forest floor was covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves and moss, occasionally punctuated by low-lying shrubs and colorful little flowers.

This was an uninhabited forest, home to a vast number of wild Pokémon.

Hoothoot, Bopo, and other Pokémon were resting in the trees. As a breeze blew by, the leaves rustled softly, and various bird-type Pokémon chirped joyfully from the branches, as if performing a beautiful chorus.

In the distance, the sound of babbling water could be heard occasionally, where Magikarp, Lanternfish, and other water-type Pokémon played in the lake.

In the dense grass, Chikorita, Sentret, and other Pokémon darted back and forth, collectively displaying vitality and life.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last. A flash of lightning suddenly illuminated the sky, followed by a loud crack of thunder; a torrential downpour was about to arrive uninvited.

The Pokémon in the forest began to scramble for shelter, though some remained indifferent, as if unaware of what was about to happen.

When the rain finally fell, they began to panic, hurriedly searching for cover. However, after being drenched for a long time without finding any shelter, they couldn't help but wail in place.

At this moment, a strong gust of wind whipped up the surrounding leaves, accompanied by a scorching heat. A massive, lion-like Pokémon came sprinting through the rain.

Its entire body seemed covered in raging flames; the surrounding rainwater evaporated the moment it made contact, leaving no chance for the Pokémon to get wet.

With every step it took, the flames danced along, radiating a high temperature that made it difficult to approach.

This was Entei, one of the Legendary Beasts and a famous Legendary Pokémon of the Johto Region. Its gaze was firm and filled with power, as if it could see through everything.

It stopped, scanned its surroundings, and then let out a roar, the sound imbued with unquestionable majesty and strength.

The Pokémon in the rain stopped crying, and as if they had found a backbone, they followed Entei.

Entei began to lead this group of Pokémon away from the area, and the temperature of its body began to drop slowly, becoming less scorching and more warm.

After walking for a few minutes, the group of Pokémon arrived at a cave. This was where Entei rested in this region. The cave was very spacious, and the Pokémon that entered shook the rainwater off their bodies before letting out cries of gratitude toward Entei.

Entei's expression did not change; after all, this was its duty. Helping Pokémon in need was one of the responsibilities of being one of the Legendary Beasts.

Lying on the ground, Entei prepared to rest, waiting for the rain to stop so it could continue roaming to help other Pokémon in need.

"Waa, waa, waa..." A cry came from the distance. The sound was faint, likely traveling from quite far away, but Entei's hearing was excellent, and it heard it even through the heavy rain.

It immediately stood up, ignoring how hard the rain was falling outside, and plunged into the downpour to find the source of the sound.

"Waa..." The crying still echoed in its ears. Even though it was following the source of the sound, the noise was getting quieter, the implication of which was self-evident. Entei picked up its pace.

Soon, Entei arrived at a nearby river. The sky remained gloomy, as if shrouded by a gray curtain.

The once-calm river had become restless due to the heavy rain; its color turned murkier, the current sped up significantly, and ripples spread across the surface.

The scenery on both banks of the river appeared blurred in the rain, and the rushing water scoured the riverbed, making a splashing sound.

Entei's eyesight was also excellent. Through the curtain of rain, it quickly spotted a basket on the water, hooked by the branches of a fallen tree. It swayed precariously, as if it could be swept away by the turbulent river at any moment.

Entei knew clearly that the source of the sound was in that basket.

The roar of the river and the crying from the basket formed a stark contrast, like destruction and rebirth pulling at each other, though the outcome would soon be decided.

Entei quickly reached the tree, picked up the basket hooked by the branches in its mouth, and returned rapidly to the cave.

The Pokémon inside the cave saw Entei returning with the one who had helped them and were overjoyed, jumping around Entei. Then, their gazes focused on the basket in Entei's mouth, curious about what it was, as they had never seen such a thing before.

If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author; perhaps it just changed its name!

Entei nodded at the Pokémon, then set the basket down beside the cave entrance.

The rainwater on its body had already been evaporated by its own temperature. Entei looked at the basket with some concern; this appeared to be a human object—would there be any danger?

The crying in the basket had stopped the moment it was picked up. With a serious expression, Entei opened the lid. There was nothing dangerous inside, just a baby fast asleep.

His cheeks were soft and pink, and beneath his closed eyelids, one could see his eyelashes trembling slightly. His small hands were clenched into fists, and his body was shivering, as if he were dreaming of something terrifying.

Beside the baby was a small milk bottle filled with milk.

"This is... a human cub?" Entei was incredulous. How could a human appear in this place, and such a small one at that? He looked to be at most a few months old.

Entei raised a paw and touched the baby's head. It was a bit hot; the child definitely had a fever. This likely wasn't sleep, but rather the child having fainted from the fever.

It made sense; with such heavy rain and a basket that wasn't waterproof, the rainwater had seeped in and soaked the baby's body. It would be a miracle if he didn't catch a fever.

The other Pokémon were very curious to see a baby in the basket, as they had never seen a human from the time they were born. Hearing that this was a human cub, they couldn't help but want a good look.

However, seeing that the cub seemed to be sick, they became nervous. Sentret, Bulbasaur, Bellsprout, and the others looked at each other, not knowing what to do. After all, regardless of whose cub it was, falling ill could easily be fatal.

However, Entei did not worry too much. It opened its massive jaws, and a surge of scorching energy condensed deep within its throat. In an instant, this energy transformed into streaks of white flame, shooting directly toward the unconscious baby.

Those who did not understand might witness this scene and think Entei was murdering an innocent infant, unaware that this flame was not a fire of destruction, but the Sacred Fire.

The Sacred Fire is the signature move of Ho-Oh and Entei. It is not just a flame used for attack, but also possesses healing properties, capable of driving away illness and evil spirits.

Sure enough, after being "burned" and healed by the Sacred Fire, the baby's body stopped shivering, and he slowly opened his eyes. He glanced at Entei, who had cured his fever, and seemed very reassured.

Then he closed his eyes again, and soon, soft snoring could be heard; he had fallen asleep.

Seeing that the cub was fine, the other Pokémon returned to their respective spots to sit down. As long as he was okay, everything was fine.

However, that brief eye contact had stirred something in Entei's heart. Even though it had never seen this cub before, it felt inexplicably familiar, though it didn't know why.

Perhaps it was an illusion, or perhaps all human cubs looked the same, and it had seen one before, which was why it felt familiar.

Still, how did this child end up in this uninhabited forest? The intelligent Entei guessed that this was likely a child abandoned by humans.

Thinking of this, Entei felt a surge of anger; just how heartless must parents be to steel themselves and abandon their child in a river, leaving them to fend for themselves or perish?

Oh, they had thoughtfully provided a bottle of milk, which meant they had a shred of conscience, but not much of one.

It was no wonder Lord Ho-Oh had lost faith in humanity; first, they had driven Pokémon away out of fear of their power, and now, there were even people who would discard their own children—it was truly disappointing.

Although not everyone would act this way, the fact that he had happened to encounter such a case made Entei's opinion of certain humans even worse.

If he hadn't met the Brave of the Rainbow and other kind-hearted humans, he would have gone to teach this child's parents a lesson himself.

Looking at the sleeping infant, Entei pondered how to deal with this unfortunate child.

Send them back to the humans? His current impression of them was abysmal; there was no guarantee anyone would adopt the baby, and they might even be abandoned a second time, so he absolutely would not send them back.

So, what should he do? The answer was already clear in Entei's heart: since the humans didn't want the child, he would raise them himself for now and see how things developed later.

He had no idea why he had made such an absurd decision, but it seemed he was following his heart's most genuine desire.

He also did not know that from this moment on, a human and a Pokémon would be bound together.

Just then, the heavy rain stopped, the sun dispersed the dark clouds, and warm sunlight shone into the cave, illuminating the slumbering infant.