Marshadow: Perverted Plushie Fan! (Two Chapters Combined)

To avoid starving to death when winter food grew scarce, Dongshu had started hoarding Berries, almost without thinking, ever since that day.

Berries were naturally good for long-term storage, and with the cold winter temperatures, they could last even longer.

At first, when the Fire Emperor noticed the little one's behavior, it thought he just couldn't finish his food. But soon, it caught on.

Combined with the changing weather outside and the fact that even it was finding it harder and harder to locate Berries these days, the Fire Emperor finally understood—the little one was preparing for winter in advance!

His little one was so clever! Admiration swelling in its heart, the Fire Emperor began to help.

Human infants needed plenty of sleep to grow properly.

So Dongshu spent nearly half of every day asleep.

Whenever he dozed off, the Fire Emperor would leave the cave, head down the mountain to find more food, and bring it back.

Gradually, the cave filled with more and more supplies.

Every time Dongshu woke up, he'd see a fresh little pile of round Berries beside where he slept.

He was quite satisfied with the Fire Emperor's efforts—but why only Berries?

Shouldn't the mountains be packed with all kinds of wild delicacies this season?

Things like chestnuts, nuts, mushrooms, and the like.

They didn't have cookware, but as a Fire-type Pokémon, the Fire Emperor could use flames to roast chestnuts, nuts, mushrooms—anything.

Dongshu had no intention of surviving the whole winter on nothing but Berries.

So, on a crisp autumn day, just as the Fire Emperor was about to head out for more foraging, Dongshu babbled and called out to stop it.

The Fire Emperor paused mid-step, turning back with a puzzled look at the little one crawling over to hug its foreleg.

"What's wrong?" it asked.

Did the little one not want it to go out?

But that wouldn't do. The Fire Emperor knew humans were different from them—they needed to eat every day to grow up healthy, or they'd slowly weaken and starve.

With that thought, the Fire Emperor shook its head and spoke with dignified telepathy:

"There's still not enough food. Winter is coming. We need to find more."

As soon as it said that, the Fire Emperor saw the little one let go of its leg, look up, and blink at it.

...So cute. The Fire Emperor's heart softened instantly.

But the next second, the little one reached out a hand toward it, as if asking for a hug.

Seeing this, the Fire Emperor finally understood.

The little one didn't want it to stay—he wanted to come along!

The Fire Emperor expertly picked up the little one by his clothes, set him on its back, then crouched and bolted out of the cave.

"Hold tight!"

Dongshu quickly wrapped his arms around the Fire Emperor's neck.

The chilly autumn wind carried a bite of cold, but the Fire Emperor's body blazed with warmth, forming a barrier around them that kept the chill completely at bay.

Atop Heavenly Green Mountain, on a jutting rock.

Marshadow stood silently, its smoky gray form rippling gently in the wind.

Its hollow gaze followed the figure darting through the mountain.

The Fire Emperor was out foraging for that human infant again.

The Yunying Mountain Range—untouched by humans, rich in natural resources, and home to countless Wild Pokémon.

Mankey, Bellsprout, Krabby... Dongshu even spotted a Farfetch'd carrying a leek as it patrolled its territory.

These Pokémon all shrank back at the sight of the Fire Emperor, watching from a distance.

They seemed to hold both reverence and fear for it.

And the Fire Emperor, long used to this, paid them no mind.

Its thick paw pads crunched over the fallen yellow leaves carpeting the ground.

Before long, the Fire Emperor carried Dongshu to a Berry tree standing in the forest.

It was a common Berry Berry Tree, laden with blue, strawberry-shaped Berries.

The Fire Emperor set Dongshu down on a pile of leaves, walked to the tree, and shook its trunk with a claw. In seconds, ripe Berries plopped down one after another.

These were the prize of this trip.

It picked up the Berries in its mouth, ready to head back with the little one.

But Dongshu had no intention of returning to the cave so easily. He turned his head, eyes darting around the surroundings.

Soon, he spotted a cluster of plump, thick-fleshed wild mountain mushrooms beneath a tree.

Those were... Matsutake Mushrooms!

As a mushroom enthusiast, Dongshu had loved fungi in his past life. While he couldn't claim to be an expert, he could still identify some wild mountain mushroom species and their names.

He quickly tugged at Fire Emperor's mane, signaling him to look over there.

"What's wrong?"

Fire Emperor followed Dongshu's gaze and soon spotted a cluster of mushrooms under a tree.

"Eee-yaa-yaa!" Dongshu couldn't wait to crawl toward those matsutake mushrooms, plucking them all by hand.

"These are..."

Fire Emperor was puzzled. He had never eaten this before and rarely saw other Pokémon eating them either.

Dongshu hugged the matsutake mushrooms to his chest.

Seeing this, Fire Emperor finally understood—the little one had taken a liking to these mushrooms!

Well, since the little one liked them, he might as well bring these mushrooms back to the cave too.

Fire Emperor picked up a large leaf to use as a pouch, placed the Berries and mushrooms on it, then picked up the leaf by the edge.

As a Pokémon, Fire Emperor had never thought having no hands was a problem before. But now, he suddenly felt that having hands might make things a lot easier.

"We should take these Berries back now," Fire Emperor said.

But Dongshu wasn't too willing.

He looked around and soon spotted another cluster of tender, plump mushrooms under a big tree.

Those were... Hazel Mushrooms!

Dongshu pattered over, picked the Hazel Mushrooms, and placed them into Fire Emperor's leaf pouch.

Fire Emperor sighed helplessly but could only obediently carry the leaf pouch and follow behind the little one.

Seeing the clusters of thick, meaty mushrooms all around, Dongshu couldn't help but drool.

These past few days, eating nothing but Berries had left his mouth feeling utterly bland.

He could almost imagine how tender and delicious these mushrooms would taste once cooked, how thick and satisfying their flesh would be, how juicy and full of flavor.

Matsutake Mushroom, Hazel Mushroom, Termite Mushroom, Boletus Mushroom, Morel Mushroom, Shiitake Mushroom...

In no time at all, Fire Emperor's leaf pouch was stuffed to the brim.

"Alright, little one, any more and it won't fit," Fire Emperor said helplessly. "We'll come pick more next time!"

Dongshu still felt a bit unsatisfied, but after crawling for so long, he was indeed tired, so he obediently climbed onto Fire Emperor's back.

The one human and one Pokémon returned to the cave. Fire Emperor set down the leaf pouch and piled the Berries and mushrooms to one side, forming little mounds.

Dongshu sat on the soft leaf bed Fire Emperor had gathered for him, looking at all the food, feeling deeply content.

But this body was still far too young, and Dongshu couldn't help getting drowsy.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

Seeing this, Fire Emperor came back to his side, lay down, and curled up.

Dongshu was indeed sleepy. He lay down against Fire Emperor's arm, burrowed into the warm, fluffy fur on his chest, and fell asleep peacefully.

Fire Emperor began to rest with his eyes closed as well.

After an unknown amount of time, a small figure silently emerged from the shadows of the cave, quietly observing the scene.

No one noticed Marshadow's arrival.

An orange-red ghostly flame flickered in Marshadow's eyes.

Life on Heavenly Green Mountain was dull and boring. Lord Ho-Oh was not here, and Fire Emperor, Suicune, and Raikou were often away fulfilling their duties elsewhere.

And on days when no Rainbow Hero appeared, Marshadow would stay behind to guard Heavenly Green Mountain.

Over these past few days, though Marshadow hadn't shown itself, it had been secretly watching Fire Emperor and that human child.

It still couldn't understand why Fire Emperor had brought a human child back to Heavenly Green Mountain.

But watching how Fire Emperor interacted with him these past few days, and knowing Fire Emperor's nature, Marshadow felt it might have figured it out.

Fire Emperor was an extremely responsible Pokémon.

This human child's parents had died protecting Pokémon, and as a Pokémon and a member of the Ho-Oh Guard, Fire Emperor had taken on the responsibility of caring for him.

That was why he had brought him back to Heavenly Green Mountain.

Because Fire Emperor had already come to see this human child as his responsibility.

Given Fire Emperor's nature, he would likely never abandon this human child from now on.

As a member of the Ho-Oh Guard, Marshadow felt it necessary to look deeper into this human on behalf of its companion Fire Emperor.

If this child turned out like those humans it had encountered before who failed the Rainbow Hero trial—full of desires, greed, and evil thoughts—then it would never allow him to stay on Heavenly Green Mountain, the sacred land of Lord Ho-Oh.

Marshadow's body slipped back into the shadows like a phantom. It moved slowly through the Shadow World and, before long, shifted into the shadow of that human child.

The next moment, its power activated!

Dongshu had a dream for the first time in a long while.

This was the tenth month since he had transmigrated into the Pokémon world.

His parents in this life were driving a small sedan, planning to take him to nearby Mt. Moon for a picnic.

But unexpectedly, they encountered two Pokémon Hunters illegally capturing Pokémon along the way.

His father got out of the car to stop them but was attacked and brutally killed.

His mother, panicked, tried to flee by car, but the Pokémon Hunters' Pokémon caught up and attacked her, causing a crash that took her life.

Dongshu lay in the back seat, watching it all unfold, watching the two Pokémon Hunters approach.

Helplessness, panic, and despair engulfed his heart.

Dongshu didn't cry out. When the Pokémon Hunters checked on him, he played dead and escaped disaster.

The Pokémon Hunters left with their prey, leaving Dongshu alone. Time seemed to crawl. Just as Dongshu, filled with despair, thought he would die there too, Fire Emperor appeared.

Fire Emperor saved and adopted him, treating him like a child and bringing him back to Heavenly Green Mountain.

In the cave, that human child clung tightly to Fire Emperor's embrace.

There was no malice in him, no greed—only deep reliance and trust toward Fire Emperor... and a strange fondness.

Marshadow stared blankly at this scene.

Then, with a flicker of its will, it activated its power, trying to create a dream based on the deepest, truest desires of this human child's heart.

The next second, the dream before it shifted.

But it didn't change to another place—still this cave, still only Fire Emperor and the human child.

At that moment, Fire Emperor lay prone on the ground as usual.

The human child crawled all over him, sometimes touching Fire Emperor's cloud-like mane, sometimes burying his face in the fur on Fire Emperor's belly to sniff wildly, sometimes poking and pinching Fire Emperor's snout.

Marshadow: "?"

A huge question mark popped up over Marshadow's head.

What was going on?

The deepest, truest desire of this human child's heart... was to play with Fire Emperor?

At that moment, Marshadow was completely baffled.

It wondered if something was wrong with its power, but after a thorough check, it found—

The problem wasn't it, but this human child!

Strange, too strange!

Marshadow had never encountered a human like this before.

In the past, Lord Ho-Oh had chosen many humans to become Rainbow Heroes, but none had passed the trial—all had fallen in its dreams.

Some indulged in their desires; others enjoyed the dream world so much they forgot their Pokémon partners entirely.

Without a doubt, these were unqualified.

Those lost in desire would one day forget their duties as Rainbow Heroes because of it.

Those who forgot their Pokémon partners while enjoying the dream world lacked the bond that it and Lord Ho-Oh recognized.

And because Marshadow had seen so many such humans, it had come to despise them from the bottom of its heart.

Sometimes, it couldn't help but doubt Lord Ho-Oh's judgment in choosing Rainbow Heroes...

Still, given Lord Ho-Oh's habit of flying all over the world, picking a human and tossing them a Rainbow Feather, it was only natural that things like this happened.

At this moment, faced with this scene beyond reason, Marshadow didn't know how to react.

It cast a deep, lingering glance at the human child, then withdrew from the dream, silently slipped back into the shadows, and left the cave.

The moment it left, Dongshu shivered and jolted awake from his dream.

As he woke, Fire Emperor also opened his eyes and looked over at him.

So it was just a nightmare! Dongshu gradually calmed down. He looked at Fire Emperor and spoke with eager anticipation:

"Ah-ah-ah!" Tomorrow, he wanted to eat roasted mushrooms!