After crossing a stretch of grassland and a small stream, Yan Yang and the others arrived somewhere unfamiliar.
The forest was huge, and Yan Yang had not been everywhere. Looking at the unfamiliar scenery around him, he felt a slight lack of security. But with his companions by his side, that sense of security returned.
Pikachu led the way, explaining what he knew as they walked.
Before long, they reached a cave.
Unlike their home, this cave was much smaller. There were no other plants nearby, making it feel somewhat lifeless.
Their own cave was still prettier.
In truth, that cave was merely one of Entei's habitats in the Johto Region. But after Yan Yang came along, it became his fixed residence—the home they shared.
No, it should be said that it was now the home of three. Yan Bao was officially one of them too.
An Ursaring was sleeping inside the cave. Its thunderous snores showed just how deeply it was asleep, and its enormous body gave Yan Yang the feeling that waking it would lead to something unpleasant.
Beside it was a Cubone, likely the Ursaring's child. It lay atop a rock, playing quietly by itself, seemingly unwilling to wake the sleeping Ursaring.
The rock beneath it looked very much like the one Pidgey had described. Unless something unexpected had happened, it was the rock Pidgey had been searching for all this time.
Just as expected, Pidgey became excited the instant it saw the rock, flapping in the air. "Chirp! Yes, that's it! That's the rock I lost!"
Pidgey immediately wanted to retrieve the rock. It began gathering strength, preparing to rush over and snatch it away, but Yan Yang stopped it.
Yan Yang warned Pidgey not to act rashly. Ursaring's strength could not be underestimated. If they forcibly took the rock, they would likely anger it.
With Pidgey's tiny body, how could it possibly beat that huge bear?
Pidgey was not a one-track-minded Pokémon. After carefully examining the situation across from it and then looking at its own tiny body, it quickly reached the same conclusion: their group could not defeat the other side.
Pidgey felt dejected, but even more than that, it was angry. Its own belongings were with someone else, yet it could not openly take them back. That was simply too frustrating for a Pokémon.
Yan Yang quietly observed the two bear Pokémon in the cave:
Ursaring (Unfamiliar) Gender: Female Type: Normal Level: 40 Ability: Quick Feet (Speed increases when afflicted by a status condition) Item: None Moves: Omitted Status: Fast asleep Evaluation: A dangerous Pokémon. An Ursaring with a child is even more dangerous, though perhaps not dangerous at all. Cubone (Unfamiliar) Gender: Female Type: Normal Level: 5 Ability: Honey Gather (When not holding an item, it may gather Honey after a battle) Item: Pidgey's precious rock (No special effect other than giving off heat) Moves: Omitted Status: Awake, healthy Evaluation: An adorable little bear that loves honey more than anything. It would not outgrow that habit even when it grew up. With its Honey Gather Ability, it might be the happiest Cubone of all.
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A level-40 Ursaring!
Good thing they had not let Pidgey charge in like an idiot. If the other side was not willing to talk, would they not have just been walking into their deaths?
Wild Pokémon above level 40 were actually quite uncommon. Aside from Pokémon that had lived for a very long time, it was extremely difficult for wild Pokémon without the help of human Trainers to level up—at least in their region.
Take the older Pokémon Yan Yang knew, for example. Sentret's mother, Odistar, was only in her twenties.
So, if wild Pokémon did not receive guidance from other Pokémon or encounter some lucky opportunity, they could only accumulate experience through constant battles.
Without question, the Ursaring before them was the kind of Pokémon that had fought through countless battles.
Since it fought so much, its temper probably was not very good either. Bears looked rather simple and honest, but when they went berserk, even many fierce beasts could not defeat them.
Pokémon followed such natural laws to a certain extent as well.
So it would be better to start with the little one.
Since it was a bear Pokémon that loved honey more than anything, why not trade honey to Cubone?
Yan Yang happened to have some sweet honey chunks in the little backpack he carried. He had received them not long ago from a friendly Beedrill colony.
After hearing Yan Yang's plan, Pidgey still felt a little depressed. The rock was clearly its own, so why did it have to trade something else to get it back? Those honey chunks looked very sweet. Did they really need to use them for an exchange?
In the end, they had only known each other for a short while. It was truly touched that they were willing to help it like this.
Where Pidgey had originally lived, competition was intense. Food, shelter—everything had to be fought for by itself. Very few Pokémon would take the initiative to help others.
Pidgey thought, Would a personality like this not starve to death in the wild?
Whether they would starve to death or not was hard to say, but with a Legendary Pokémon at his side, Yan Yang truly might not understand the hardships other Pokémon faced in the wild. Besides, the Pokémon where they lived got along well with one another and often helped each other. Most of what they saw was harmony.
After learning of Pidgey's worries, Yan Yang did not say much. He knew that he seemed to be living in a warm Pokémon society built by Entei and the others, one where he had not witnessed much cruelty.
But now was not the time to talk about that. Yan Yang quietly approached the cave.
The fragrance of honey drifted gently with the breeze. It held the light elegance of flowers and the fresh sweetness of fruit, a rich and tempting sweetness with a faint mellow depth.
The scent slowly flowed through the air and soon reached Cubone's nose.
Cubone, which loved sweets as much as life itself, could not resist the temptation of honey. It glanced at the Ursaring still sleeping beside it and found no sign that it was about to wake.
Seemingly relieved, Cubone climbed down from the rock and slowly walked out of the cave.
The moment it came outside, it saw a child and several Pokémon standing before it, all of them looking somewhat suspicious.
Cubone was a little afraid, but the attraction of honey surpassed its fear. It still bravely walked toward the honey chunk in Yan Yang's hand.
Once it reached Yan Yang, Cubone did not know what to do. It rubbed its mouth, which was practically drooling, with its paw. It looked incredibly adorable.
"Grr... c-can you give me that honey? I really like eating it." Cubone's voice was still childish, and its soft tone made people want to hand over whatever they were holding.
But there was no way Yan Yang would simply give it away.
"Do you really want this honey?" Yan Yang raised the honey chunk, teasing it.
Cubone nodded wildly. Drool was already spilling from its mouth. It was a living, breathing little glutton.
"But I want to eat this honey too. I can't just give it to you for free, right? Shouldn't you give me something in exchange?"
Pikachu and Togepi watched Yan Yang, feeling that this human child seemed rather clever.
Cubone scratched its head. It did not have anything on it. What could it use to trade for such delicious honey?
If it could not offer something, it would not get any honey.
Watching Cubone think, Yan Yang felt the timing was about right and revealed his true goal. "How about this? I like pretty rocks. You can trade me a pretty rock for this."
Cubone understood. They needed a rock, and there happened to be one at home. Although that rock was pretty and fun, it was far inferior to delicious honey. In Cubone's eyes, food was much more important than toys.
After thinking for a moment, Cubone agreed to their exchange.
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