A blessing for this wonderful Pokémon World (please bookmark)

Golem's blood-red eyes took in the dark clouds outside the cave and the lightning and thunder raging through them.

Suddenly, a muffled rumble rang out.

"Roar!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three enormous rocks shot out in succession, sealing the cave entrance tightly. Countless smaller stones followed, filling in the remaining gaps.

"Was that Rock Throw?!!"

Dian sucked in a sharp breath, startled.

In the games, Rock Throw was just supposed to hurl stones to attack, but weren't these rocks a little too big? They were far larger than his entire body.

The cave had already grown dim, and as Golem filled in the gaps, it went completely dark.

"Roar."

Golem surveyed its handiwork with satisfaction, then turned and headed deeper into the cave.

The Pokémon nearby hurried to clear a path. None of them wanted to be crushed beneath rocks that big.

Even Liyin obediently stepped aside.

Most of the Pokémon she had encountered before had been gentle. This was her first time seeing such a blunt display of brute strength from a Pokémon like Golem. Saying it had turned her worldview upside down would hardly have been an exaggeration.

"This won't do..."

Dian felt the sealed entrance. They no longer had to worry about the twister, but the lack of ventilation was a problem too.

"Misdreavus, use Shadow Sneak to punch a few holes through here, off to the side. Be careful not to hit any load-bearing rocks."

He immediately gave the order to Misdreavus beside him.

It was time to show the results of their training.

"Mis!"

Misdreavus nodded, then focused with all her might.

Wisps of dark shadow overlapped and condensed until only a pitch-black, spear-like spike remained.

The spear wavered slightly, then thrust forward in one swift motion.

Shhk!

The spear bored a small hole into the rock wall at tremendous speed, but it still failed to reach the outside.

"Mis..."

Misdreavus was unhappy. Extremely unhappy.

She had thought she could pierce straight through.

Dian inspected it with a flashlight in hand and felt a surge of delight, but he suppressed it.

This was already exactly what he had hoped to achieve. It proved that his training method worked.

Just then, Beedrill silently flew over and swung its white stinger forward.

Shhk!!

Its entire arm plunged into the rock wall. When it pulled its white stinger back out, a cool breeze drifted in.

Every living creature in the cave took a deep breath.

"Roar."

Deep inside the cave, Golem was lying comfortably among a pile of rocks. It opened one eye to glance toward the entrance, seemed to smile, then rolled over and fell into a deep sleep.

After they punched three more narrow holes, Dian had Misdreavus and Beedrill stop.

That was enough. If they widened the openings any further, this stone barrier might not withstand the twister's force.

"Whew—"

Only after breathing a sigh of relief did Dian realize that his whole body felt weak. Apparently, he had missed mealtime, and his body had begun to protest.

He walked over to his bedding and sat right down.

"Where is it... here!"

Dian practically buried his head in his backpack.

With a sandwich between his teeth, he ate with relish and pulled out another sandwich and a jar of honey. "I've only got sweet stuff. If you don't like it, there's nothing I can do."

With that, he began preparing food for his three Pokémon.

Crunch, crunch, crunch...

The three Pokémon rapidly munched on their Pokéblocks.

"Mis!"

Misdreavus cried out happily. One shadow unscrewed the honey jar, while another scooped up a spoonful and drizzled it over her Pokéblocks.

"Hop, hop! Hop, hop!"

Hoppip nudged its little bowl forward, indicating that it wanted some too.

"Mis?"

Misdreavus turned to ask Beedrill beside her.

Beedrill nodded silently.

Misdreavus happily gave each of her two companions a spoonful as well, then began enjoying her meal.

Liyin accepted the sandwich and took a small bite.

Hmm. Ordinary. It tasted so ordinary.

She glanced at the rich honey. "What's this?"

"Honey made by Beedrill."

Dian gave a brief answer, then went back to stuffing food into his stomach.

He would have loved to savor his meal at a leisurely pace, but circumstances wouldn't allow it.

"Honey made by Beedrill?!"

Liyin looked at the tall, imposing Beedrill beside them, seeming a little surprised.

She scooped up a little with a small spoon and drizzled it over her sandwich.

"It's delicious!!"

Liyin stared at the sandwich in her hands in surprise. Just a little honey had changed the flavor so much.

The honey was sweet without being cloying, with a fruity flavor too. It was practically the perfect honey jam.

After finishing his meal, Dian gulped down some water and finally felt alive again.

He was just about to thank Liyin beside him. After all, she had risked danger to come and warn him.

"Ratta..."

A Rattata ran over, though it didn't dare get too close.

"Pidgey..."

Pidgey's eyes were fixed on him too.

And it wasn't just those two. Even the jittery Sentret nearby kept glancing at him.

No, these Pokémon weren't looking at him. They were looking at the food in his hands.

Dian opened his backpack, checked inside, and found that he still had plenty of Pokéblocks left.

It seemed the funds he had earned lately by robbing... educating children had been quite substantial.

Damn it... they were just kids. Why did they have more supplies than he did? Why were they richer than him, a proper working adult?

What was wrong with this world?!

A wave of desolation washed over Dian.

He set aside a portion of the Pokéblocks in his backpack, then poured all the rest onto the ground nearby.

Dian stepped back a few paces and left them to it.

These Pokémon might seem polite toward him, but that was only because he had three bodyguards at his side.

If he had dared to bring this much food here alone without offering them their share...

Heh heh!

These big shots would teach you exactly what it meant to have a death wish.

As for fighting back...

Any random Rattata could knock him out.

Never mind the Sentret and Pidgey nearby.

Dian sighed quietly, suddenly remembering Bruno, one of the Elite Four in the original story. That was a man who could subdue an Onix with his bare hands.

"Could Bruno actually be something other than a purebred human? Does he have some special bloodline?!"

In a flash of inspiration, an idea surfaced in his mind. How else could a human defeat an Onix without something like battle aura?

"I'm so jealous... marrying a Pokémon. That's seriously impressive!"

Dian let his imagination run wild, though it wasn't entirely impossible. He remembered that some Pokémon could take on human form. As for speech, even a Meowth could learn human language. What couldn't happen?

An age when humans and Pokémon lived together in harmony was truly wonderful. Yes, wonderful in every sense of the word.