Thank You for the Gift, Graveler's Gratitude, and Fire Emperor's Plans (Two Chapters Combined)

[Though you're just a little one, you used your tiny strength to save Cubone from nearly choking to death on a Berry seed. Shock Points from Graveler +10!]

[Little One is so clever! Just as expected of my Little One! Shock Points from Fire Emperor +5!]

[This human child... actually went out of his way to help a Pokémon? Shock Points from Marshadow +10!]

As dusk fell, Dongshu returned to the cave and immediately checked the messages that had just appeared on his panel.

Lying against the fluffy Fire Emperor, he sucked on the soft flesh and juice of a Berry with his not-yet-fully-developed baby teeth. Dongshu looked at the messages in surprise.

So... he could earn Shock Points this way, too?

No, it must have been his taking the initiative to help that had shocked Fire Emperor and that Graveler.

Still, Dongshu didn't understand where Marshadow's Shock Points had come from.

Hadn't it already left?

Recalling how Marshadow had secretly hidden in Ash's shadow to observe and test him in the anime, Dongshu's eyes widened.

Could it be that Marshadow had never left at all, and was secretly hiding in his shadow, spying on him?

Realizing this, Dongshu immediately looked at his own shadow.

But night had already fallen, and the cave was dim, full of shadows.

"..."

Never mind. If Marshadow wanted to watch, then it could watch!

With this unexpected windfall added to the 35 Shock Points he had already saved, Dongshu's balance had shot up to 60.

What a treat!

Dongshu browsed the shop. Looking at the dazzling array of food, he drooled uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, in the forest, beneath a large tree laden with Berries,

the cool moonlight fell across the land. Though night had come, Graveler and its child, Cubone, were still awake.

Watching its child knock Berries from the tree with a bone club, Graveler felt immensely relieved.

The events of the day were still fresh in its mind, and its child was alive and well beside it.

It all was thanks to that Pokémon and the human child it was raising.

Graveler was deeply grateful and wanted to do something for them, but it didn't know what.

Then Graveler remembered that those two had also been looking for food in the forest a few days ago. Surely they were preparing for winter, too.

So, to thank them, Graveler took its child, Cubone, to a large tree laden with fruit.

They planned to pick some Berries from the tree and give them to the pair as a token of their gratitude.

The next day, when the first rays of morning sunlight shone into the cave, Dongshu woke up early.

But with winter approaching, the morning air was still bitterly cold before the sun had fully risen.

Outside, the world was already covered in a thick layer of frost.

Dongshu was still wearing the clothes he'd had on when the accident happened. They were no protection against the cold. If he left Fire Emperor's side, he'd soon be shivering and sniffling.

Dongshu burrowed deeper into Fire Emperor's embrace.

Seeing that Little One didn't want to get up, Fire Emperor stayed right where it was, occasionally licking its fur.

Its gaze, however, was fixed on the cave entrance. It could sense a familiar presence out there.

By ten in the morning, the temperature had gradually warmed.

Only then did Dongshu slowly make his way outside, clinging to Fire Emperor.

As soon as they emerged, Dongshu spotted a pile of Berries at the cave entrance.

Huh? Where had these Berries come from?

Fire Emperor seemed to have expected this.

Its dignified voice sounded in Dongshu's mind.

"Those two Pokémon you helped yesterday brought them over this morning to thank you."

It was Graveler and Cubone, the mother and child! Dongshu immediately figured it out.

He hurriedly looked around and, sure enough, spotted Cubone peeking at them from a short distance away.

"Wah!"

Anyone would be happy to receive a gift for doing a good deed. Dongshu grinned and waved his little hand toward Cubone.

"Ka-ka!"

Cubone waved the bone club in its hand, too, then happily turned and ran off.

"?"

Why had it run away?

But looking at the pile of Berries on the ground, Dongshu soon thought of a possibility.

Cubone had seen that its gift had reached them safely, and only then had it left in peace.

Dongshu couldn't help but chuckle.

This Pokémon really was adorable!

Fire Emperor didn't stay outside for long. After sitting in the sun with Dongshu for a while, it returned to the cave.

Time passed slowly, and the weather outside grew colder. At last, on an ordinary day, heavy snow blanketed Heavenly Green Mountain.

Snow fell thickly outside, and the wind howled. All of Heavenly Green Mountain was wrapped in white.

Winter had arrived.

At this time of year, even the usually lively forest fell silent.

The Pokémon living on this land had all taken shelter in their warm, comfortable nests. Together with their friends and families, they gazed out through cave entrances and tree hollows at the swirling snow.

A human child's body couldn't withstand this kind of cold, so Fire Emperor and Dongshu tried to avoid going outside as much as possible.

They stayed in the cave while icy winds raged outside and huge flakes of snow drifted down.

Inside the cave, the Sacred Fire on Fire Emperor's body burned like a furnace, radiating an orange-red glow. It kept the cold at bay and made the whole cave wonderfully warm.

Perhaps it was the season, or perhaps he was going through a growth spurt. On this cold winter day, Dongshu spent most of his time curled up in Fire Emperor's warm embrace, fast asleep.

Watching Little One sleep so peacefully, Fire Emperor's expression softened.

Nearly three months had passed since it had decided to take Little One in. After spending every day together for all that time, it had grown used to having him by its side.

As it watched the snow outside and listened to the child in its arms snoring softly, a warm feeling welled up inside Fire Emperor.

It turned its head and looked toward the depths of the cave.

That was where it had stored the Berries it and Little One had found together in the forest. With those, Little One could safely make it through the winter.

Fire Emperor's flames flickered, dispelling the cold and illuminating everything around them.

From the shadow of the sleeping Dongshu, Marshadow silently emerged.

It lowered its head and quietly watched the human child asleep in Fire Emperor's embrace.

Life on Heavenly Green Mountain was dull and lonely. Ever since Fire Emperor had brought the human child back, Marshadow had felt as though it had found a new source of amusement.

Though it was always saying that humans were the worst and couldn't be trusted, Marshadow still couldn't help hiding in Dongshu's shadow and secretly observing everything.

Over the past three months, it had watched the human child go with Fire Emperor to the summit of Heavenly Green Mountain to see the sun, sleep soundly beside Fire Emperor, and babble to it. Marshadow felt something in its heart quietly beginning to change.

[Fire Emperor, this is against the rules.]

Looking at Marshadow, Fire Emperor couldn't help recalling the words Marshadow had said when it had brought Little One back to Heavenly Green Mountain.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Fire Emperor slowly asked, "Has Lord Ho-Oh still not returned?"

Marshadow shifted its attention away from Dongshu and shook its head.

"I can't sense Lord Ho-Oh's presence. He must be very far away from us and Heavenly Green Mountain right now."

"Mm..." Fire Emperor nodded gravely. It wasn't too surprised; Lord Ho-Oh had always been like that.

Neither Pokémon spoke again. They quietly watched Dongshu sleep.

After a long while, Marshadow suddenly said, "He's grown."

Compared to when they had first met, the human child had gotten a little taller.

Fire Emperor was slightly taken aback. It looked at Little One. They had spent nearly every hour of every day together lately, so it hadn't really noticed any obvious changes.

"Humans grow up one day," Fire Emperor said in a low voice.

"Do you plan to raise him like this forever?" Marshadow asked.

Fire Emperor's voice was calm as still water, as if it were stating something perfectly ordinary. "He has no family left in the human world. If he wants, I'll stay by his side forever."

Marshadow suddenly looked up at Fire Emperor. "But Fire Emperor, there's a huge difference between humans and Pokémon."

"Human children need to learn all sorts of things: talking, walking, understanding the world... We're Pokémon. Neither you nor I can teach him human language."

These were things Marshadow had observed from the Rainbow Heroes who came to take the trials.

Hearing this, Fire Emperor fell silent.

It knew very well that Marshadow was raising important points.

Humans were humans, and Pokémon were Pokémon.

Humans couldn't live like Pokémon forever. They belonged with other humans, in cities.

After raising Little One for so long, the thought of sending him back to a human town made even the selfless, dignified, and upright Fire Emperor feel selfish.

Little One depended on it so much and thought of it as his dad. If Fire Emperor sent him back, he would surely burst into tears, wouldn't he?

Fire Emperor gazed at Little One's face. It was silent for a long time, then finally made up its mind.

"Then I'll teach him to speak."

Not human language, but the language of Pokémon.

"From now on, Little One is my child, a child raised by us Pokémon."

Marshadow was slightly stunned.

Just then, the eyelids of the human child beside them twitched, as if he were about to wake.

Seeing this, Marshadow silently slipped back into the shadow.

The next second, Dongshu slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Fire Emperor's big, fluffy face, then contentedly yawned.

What time was it?

Dongshu turned toward the cave entrance and saw that it was still snowing heavily outside.

After a nap, Dongshu felt completely refreshed. He sat beside Fire Emperor, listlessly watching the snow outside.

If he were an ordinary baby, he probably wouldn't have thought much of this.

But with the soul of an adult, Dongshu could only sigh helplessly.

A child's life really was so boring...

"Little One," Fire Emperor's voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

"Mm?" Dongshu turned to look at Fire Emperor beside him.

"Starting today, I'll teach you to speak our Pokémon language," Fire Emperor said slowly.

Dongshu's eyes widened at once.

What? Fire Emperor was going to teach him to speak Pokémon?

But he was human!

Although he was now one year and one month old, and his developed vocal cords could support simple words like "Dad," "Mom," "Mm," "Want," and "No,"

still... learning to speak Pokémon was a little too surprising.

"Do you want to learn?" Fire Emperor looked at its child with gentle eyes.

After his initial shock, Dongshu quickly understood.

If he learned to speak Pokémon, wouldn't he be able to understand wild Pokémon directly from then on?

Apart from not being able to heal injuries, wouldn't this basically be a watered-down version of Viridian Force?

Realizing this, Dongshu hurriedly nodded.

"Good." Fire Emperor's voice sounded again. It looked at Little One and, instead of using telepathy, made a sound like a lion's roar, yet also like a tiger's.

"Roar-woo!"

"Roar... woo?" Dongshu repeated after it.

"Fire Emperor," Fire Emperor said slowly through telepathy. "That's my name."

"Fire... Emperor?" Dongshu tried to imitate the Pokémon word.

Fire Emperor nodded, then said again, "Roar-woo!"

Dongshu: "..." It didn't sound any different!

He looked into Fire Emperor's eyes and quickly realized what was going on.

No, there was a difference. The expression in Fire Emperor's eyes and the tone it used when it said the word were completely different!

"This means 'Dad.'" Fire Emperor looked at the confused Little One and explained slowly, "Roar-woo—Dad. I'm your dad, and you're my child."

Dongshu: "..."

So Fire Emperor really was raising him as its own child, wasn't it?

As an adult, Dongshu just couldn't bring himself to call a Pokémon "Dad."

He pretended not to understand. "Roar-woo?"

"Roar-woo," Fire Emperor corrected him.

"Roar-woo!" Dongshu imitated it.

But he still got the meaning wrong.

"Is it too difficult?" Fire Emperor wondered. Still, it didn't mind, and went on to teach him some other simple words.

For example, "I want," "I don't want," "I'm hungry," "poop," "water," "Berry," and "sleep."

As it turned out, one's surroundings played a decisive role in learning a language.

In just two short weeks, with Fire Emperor constantly teaching him, Dongshu could already understand its meaning from the tone of its growls and the emotions it displayed.

He even had a feeling that if he stayed in this environment long enough, one day he'd be able to talk to Fire Emperor like a human, without using telepathy.

So this was... the language of Pokémon?

Had N, who could understand Pokémon in the games, learned their language this way, too?

And if he used this language, could he communicate with other wild Pokémon?