Arriving at the World's Highest Peak, Ho-Oh's Old Home!

The highest peak of the Yunying Mountain Range, Heavenly Green Mountain.

This was the dwelling of the legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh, and also the territory of the Ho-Oh Guard.

Most of the time, however, they roamed abroad, only gathering at Heavenly Green Mountain under special circumstances.

Of course, one particular Pokémon was an exception.

Fire Emperor carried Dongshu on its back, slowly climbing up the rugged, jagged mountain path.

It looked up above, sensing no trace of Lord Ho-Oh's presence nearby.

That meant Lord Ho-Oh wasn't at Heavenly Green Mountain right now—likely off on another journey again.

Fire Emperor withdrew its gaze and glanced back, finding the little one already asleep on its back.

This was probably a trait of human young—needing plenty of sleep to grow during infancy, Fire Emperor thought.

It walked slowly and steadily, and before long, it reached the mountainside of Heavenly Green Mountain. There, an empty cave sat uninhabited, perfect for sheltering the little one from wind and rain.

The cave wasn't too big or too small—dry and warm inside, very comfortable.

Fire Emperor found a suitable spot, then gently lowered itself, intending to let the little one slide off its back.

Its movements were light, as if unwilling to wake Dongshu, but despite Fire Emperor's care, Dongshu still stirred awake.

Home already?

He rubbed his sleepy eyes, turned his head to look around, and found that Fire Emperor had brought him into a cave.

The cave was quite empty, with nothing inside except a few scattered rocks.

Was this Fire Emperor's home?

Dongshu looked around, curiosity stirring in his heart.

"Little one, this is where we'll live from now on."

As if sensing his mood, Fire Emperor's voice echoed in Dongshu's mind the next moment.

Dongshu immediately turned to look at it.

Fire Emperor continued through telepathy: "This is Heavenly Green Mountain, the base for me, Lord Ho-Oh, and the others. From now on, this is your home too."

Though the little one couldn't speak yet, Fire Emperor could feel that its little one understood the meaning of its words.

Sure enough, as these words fell, a look of shock spread across the little one's face.

Heavenly Green Mountain! This was actually Heavenly Green Mountain!

The main stage of the movie I Choose You!—where Ash and Pikachu would undergo the trial to become the Rainbow Hero!

In that moment, realization dawned on Dongshu.

No wonder he'd run into Raikou before—this was the territory of the Legendary Beasts and Ho-Oh!

Didn't that mean he might still have a chance to meet Suicune, Marshadow, or even Ho-Oh?

Seeing that Dongshu was awake, Fire Emperor, based on their days of getting along, figured the little one must be hungry by now.

So it rose abruptly and said to Dongshu:

"I'll go find you some food. Stay here and don't wander off."

Heavenly Green Mountain was their turf—safe, with no danger.

With that, Fire Emperor turned and swiftly left the cave.

Dongshu's heart was complicated.

A Pokémon wanting to be his father or something—that sounded way too strange... even if Fire Emperor had been good to him.

But from where things stood, it seemed like Fire Emperor was all he could rely on.

No, not just Fire Emperor.

Dongshu's mind stirred, and a panel slowly opened before him.

On the panel was a dazzling array of items he could exchange with Shock Value.

From basic food and water, to clothes and bedding, to Trainer supplies like Poké Balls and potions, and even Rare Candy—items that could boost a Pokémon's strength—were just the basics.

What drew Dongshu the most was the Dream Renovator function.

If he had enough Shock Value, he could turn this cave into a livable "home" in an instant.

For example, first exchange for [Secret Power] to carve into the mountain and transform the cave into a Secret Base.

Then, use [Spatial Technology] to compress space and expand the interior area of the Secret Base.

Finally, based on his preferences, exchange for wallpaper and furniture to decorate.

The shop even had black tech like [Large Space Ecological Park].

[Large Space Ecological Park: Developed using Palkia's spatial power, an independent space equipped with artificial sun, climate simulation, terrain adjustment, seasonal changes, and other functions—enough to meet all daily needs of any Pokémon.]

Dongshu's heart raced with temptation.

If he had this, wouldn't he be able to bring all his favorite Pokémon home to raise?

Unfortunately, exchanging for these functions required a massive amount of Shock Value.

And right now, he only had a paltry 10 Shock Points on him—barely enough to exchange for two bottles of Moomoo Milk.

Sigh... until he grew up, he still had to rely on the Fire Emperor!

Still, as a baby with an adult soul, Dongshu really couldn't bring himself to see the Fire Emperor as his father.

"..."

Forget it, he'd just take things one step at a time!

Just then, the Fire Emperor walked in from outside, carrying a few round Berries in its mouth.

It came up to Dongshu, set the Berries down in front of him, then circled around behind him on its own to serve as his backrest, using its body heat to keep him warm.

Dongshu had been eating Berries for almost a week straight, and he was completely sick of them.

Thankfully, humans in the Pokémon world had special constitutions, and Berries contained the nutrients needed for daily survival—otherwise, the Fire Emperor would have already starved him to death.

Staring at the dazzling array of delicacies in the System Store, Dongshu, who'd been eating Berries for a whole week, couldn't take the craving anymore. He gritted his teeth and spent five Shock Points to exchange for a bottle of Moomoo Milk.

The next second, a bottle of Moomoo Milk materialized out of thin air in front of him.

Seeing this sudden sight, the Fire Emperor froze for a moment, then quickly grew alert.

[The Fire Emperor is utterly shocked by the Moomoo Milk that appeared out of nowhere—where did this come from?]

[Is this... the little one's power? Shock Points from the Fire Emperor +10!]

Oh? An unexpected bonus? Dongshu had just picked up the Milk Bottle when he received the notification, and his eyes lit up.

Seeing the little one already chugging from the Milk Bottle with a thoroughly satisfied expression on his face, the Fire Emperor slowly relaxed its tense demeanor.

Sure enough, this thing was connected to its little one.

But... what the Fire Emperor hadn't expected was that the little one possessed such power.

For a moment, it didn't know how to react.

And just then, the Fire Emperor suddenly saw another bottle of milky-white liquid appear beside the little one.

The little one held up the Milk Bottle with both hands, looking at it with eager anticipation, as if it had been prepared especially for it.

The Fire Emperor was momentarily stunned.

It shook its head and said telepathically, "I don't need it. Keep it for yourself!"

If this thing was so precious, wouldn't it be a waste to give it to him?

Besides, it was so valuable—it couldn't bear to drink it.