Solving the Problem of Food and Clothing What Do You Call Me?

Johto Region, Hiwada Town—a town where humans and Pokémon coexisted in simple peace.

It nestled in the embrace of a dense forest, surrounded by all kinds of trees. Cobblestone paths crisscrossed the town, lined with houses of every shape and color.

At the edge of town stood a small market. On designated days each week, people from nearby villages came here to trade their own vegetables, fruit, and clothing.

It was not only a place to buy and sell goods, but also an important place for neighbors to exchange information and strengthen their relationships.

A woman arrived early, claiming a good spot for her stall. She planned to sell clothes she had sewn herself. She had heard that several families had recently had children, so she had specially made many outfits for babies.

There were large ones and small ones, all made by her own hands. She was very pleased with the results of her work.

There was no one around yet, though. Then again, she had come a little too early—it was not even six o'clock, and none of the other vendors had arrived.

The woman sat on a stool and waited, pulling out a book and reading it with great interest.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded. Thinking someone had arrived, the woman raised her head. Before her stood an orange-red Pokémon, over two meters tall, its body radiating an intimidating Pressure.

She was immediately frightened, because this orange Pokémon looked like it was not one to be trifled with.

The orange-red Pokémon was naturally Entei. He had gotten up that morning and headed straight for the human town, hoping to find clothes Little Sun could wear. By chance, he had come across someone selling clothes while no one else was around. What good luck.

Humans needed money to trade, but he had none. So he had brought a few other things, hoping to exchange them for what he wanted.

Entei gave his body a few shakes, scattering several Fire Stones onto the ground. Then he let out a soft roar and pointed at the clothes with his claw, conveying his meaning.

After recovering from her shock, the woman quickly understood what Entei meant. This Pokémon wanted to trade those Fire Stones for her clothes.

The woman swallowed and nodded. Understanding, Entei casually grabbed two or three baby outfits and left. He had come as swiftly as the wind and left just as quickly. If not for the stones still on the ground, the woman might have thought she was hallucinating.

After all, what Pokémon would trade things with her for clothes? And baby clothes, at that.

Before she could even recover, several people carrying loads of vegetables arrived. Seeing the stones in the woman's hands, they said enviously:

"Ma'am, where did you find so many Fire Stones?"

"Yeah, my kid's Eevee really needs those right now. He loves Fire-type Pokémon."

"These Fire Stones look like they're really high quality. Where did you pick them up? I want to go pick some up too."

"How would I know? A Pokémon gave them to me." The woman explained to them and described in detail what had just happened.

"An orange-red Pokémon that looked like a lion... could that have been Entei?"

"Oh my goodness! You actually saw a Legendary Pokémon? That's incredibly rare! You're so lucky!"

"And Entei hasn't appeared in a long time. You actually ran into him. Too bad you didn't take a picture, or it would definitely have made the headlines."

"Am I the only one wondering why Entei wanted to trade for baby clothes?"

Before long, news of Entei's appearance had spread throughout Hiwada Town. Everyone eagerly discussed why Entei had appeared.

Entei knew nothing about this. He had already swiftly returned to the cave.

Little Sun had woken up and was sucking on his fingers, staring blankly and adorably at the large Pokémon returning home while giggling foolishly.

Entei helped him put on the clothes, and it took an enormous amount of effort. Unlike humans, he did not have hands, only four paws, so dressing him left him clumsy and flustered.

But it would not be so troublesome in the future. Only after getting him dressed did he realize he could probably use Psychic Power to help, though his aptitude for psychic abilities was not particularly good.

I really am not very good at taking care of children.

How about finding a humanoid Pokémon to take care of him? That would be more convenient.

Forget it. I shouldn't trouble other Pokémon. I'll do it myself.

As Entei thought, he picked Little Sun up in his mouth and placed him on his back, then ran out of the cave to search for Miltank.

Though he ran with the wind beneath all four feet, his back remained steady. Little Sun did not jostle much on his back. Instead, he happily grabbed Entei's mane and occasionally took a bite.

His teeth had not grown in properly yet, so he could not bite through it at all. Yet Little Sun persisted, as though he would never give up until he tore off a clump of fur.

If you enjoy this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't have trouble finding it next time.

Entei knew what the child on his back was doing, but he paid him no mind and continued running. Before long, he arrived at a place where a herd of Miltank lived.

The Miltank were surprised by such an unusual combination and asked Entei what was going on.

Entei casually brushed them off with a few words, then told them his request.

Naturally, the Miltank would not refuse a Legendary Pokémon's request. Besides, they also liked this adorable human baby very much, so they immediately agreed.

After Entei put Little Sun down, the child seemed to smell the scent of milk. He clumsily crawled over to one Miltank and looked at the place in front where it produced milk. He seemed somewhat resistant, but his growling stomach won out. He pounced forward, latched on, and began to suckle.

Entei simply watched quietly, though no one knew what he was thinking.

Before long, Little Sun was full. He slowly crawled back to Entei's side and tugged on one of Entei's paws, seemingly wanting to go home.

The Miltank that had just fed Little Sun volunteered to return with them. Entei politely declined. He did not particularly want to live with other Pokémon.

However, Entei said that he would bring Little Sun here often, until he was weaned.

Entei took the child home. Little Sun seemed very happy, babbling something under his breath before suddenly letting out a loud cry.

Entei felt a stream of liquid running down his back and knew that Little Sun had wet himself again. He looked at him helplessly and ran to the river to wash up.

After cleaning up, they returned to the cave. Little Sun fell asleep on Entei again, sleeping soundly.

Entei lay there like that, his thoughts in turmoil.

One noon four months later, Entei went out as usual to take care of his own business while Little Sun was asleep.

Little Sun was very well-behaved. Though he often wet his pants, he never did anything else that would worry Entei.

When he woke up and found Entei gone, he would obediently wait at home. Whenever he was hungry, he could drink the milk Miltank had produced in the bottle. Once he was full, he would go back to sleep, not waking again until it was nearly dark.

By then, Entei would return and sleep beside him.

Little Sun could only fall asleep after dark if Entei was beside him. You could say he had become rather clingy.

It was already dark today, yet Entei still had not returned. Little Sun was so anxious he was on the verge of tears, but he held them back. He knew Entei did not like seeing him cry, so he had rarely cried lately.

Little Sun felt that waiting around was useless, so he crawled out of the cave to look for Entei.

Although Entei often took him out to play nearby, he still could not remember the paths around them. He could only crawl by instinct.

He soon reached the riverbank and stood up. He actually knew how to walk already, but he was not very steady yet and felt crawling was faster.

He stood up now because he wanted a wider view, so he could see more.

Before long, he spotted Entei hurrying over from the other side of the river and cried out happily.

Just then, a powerful gust swept past. Little Sun lost his footing and plunged headfirst into the water.

Entei dashed over at top speed, carrying the child who had accidentally fallen into the water back to shore in his jaws. The stern expression on his face was frightening.

"Roar! Why did you come out? Do you know how dangerous that was? If I had come back any later, do you know what would have happened?"

Entei was truly angry this time. If he really had not returned early, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Little Sun was frightened and somewhat aggrieved. It was the first time he had seen Entei this angry, and he did not know how to please him. He wanted to cry, yet did not want to cry, making him look pitiful.

Entei felt that his tone had indeed been too harsh. Forcing himself to calm down, he prepared to lecture him again in a gentler voice, so that something like this would not happen again.

But just as he was about to speak, he heard a childish voice.

"Pa... Papa... don't be mad..."

Entei froze, barely able to believe it as he asked in a trembling voice, "You... what did you just call me?"

"Pa... Papa..." Little Sun said with some difficulty, then looked at Entei with his watery eyes.

At that moment, time seemed to stand still. Only the stars and moon continued to shine in the night sky, as though witnessing this touching moment.