The fresh breeze through the forest carried the damp scent of earth straight toward them.
Completely unlike the dry interior of Kanto, the Safari Zone was rich with aquatic plants and lush vegetation. Its ecology made it nothing less than a natural paradise for Pokémon.
Dongshu walked over to the Poliwag. The Poliwag, which had been leisurely basking in the sun, immediately opened their eyes upon noticing someone approaching.
"Hi, Poliwag!" Dongshu greeted them with a smile.
"Poliwag?" The Poliwag jumped in fright.
"Don't worry, we mean no harm. I just wanted to ask which Pokémon live around here," Dongshu explained.
"Poliwag—" Only then did the Poliwag relax, but a confused, puzzled expression soon appeared on their face.
"Poliwag?" (Strange... Am I dreaming? Why can a human speak our language?)
"Of course you're not dreaming. That's because I'm a Pokémon too!" Dongshu grinned.
"Poliwag?!" (A Pokémon? But you clearly look like a human!)
"Well, actually, I'm a human who was raised by Pokémon. I learned to speak Pokémon from them when I was little, so I can understand what you're saying," Dongshu explained.
!!!
A huge exclamation mark popped up above the Poliwag's head, their face filled with utter shock.
"Poliwag?!"
What?! A human raised by Pokémon?
The Poliwag was stunned.
This was far too strange. How could Pokémon raise a human?
The Poliwag was deeply puzzled, but they still honestly told Dongshu about the Pokémon living nearby.
"Poliwag—" (There are lots of Pokémon living around here! A big group of Psyduck lives over there. They're pretty silly, and they often get headaches.)
"Poliwag~" (A group of Doduo lives over there. They have two heads, and I often see those two heads arguing with each other!)
"Poliwag!" (Oh, right! A Kangaskhan mother and child live in the forest. Every day,