The Abandoned Cabin

"The next boat won't arrive until tomorrow. Before then, let's get ready for the Indigo League tournament."

Xiao Yan took all his Pokémon deep into the mountains of Cinnabar Island.

"Let's train here!"

Xiao Yan asked Entei and Suicune to help coach the other Pokémon.

"Charizard, come with me for a moment."

Xiao Yan and Charizard went to a clearing off to the side.

"Mega Evolution!"

But the Mega Stone on Charizard's collar and the Key Stone on Xiao Yan's bracelet showed no reaction.

"Let's try again."

Charizard's form still didn't change.

"Even Umbreon can Mega Evolve, so why can't Charizard... Are we still missing something?"

Xiao Yan and Charizard kept trying to achieve Mega Evolution, and the sky gradually darkened.

"Xiao Yan, do we get paid for helping you train your Pokémon?"

Suicune and Entei trudged over to Xiao Yan, exhausted. By then, Xiao Yan and Charizard were already drenched in sweat.

"It got dark so quickly today... Let's head back! I'll buy you something tasty later to thank you for your hard work."

Xiao Yan recalled all his Pokémon, and Pikachu returned to his shoulder.

"Let's go, Pikachu!"

That's strange. Did I take a wrong turn? This doesn't look like the way we came.

Xiao Yan passed through the woods and reached a clearing. Deep in the mountains, there were no lights to illuminate the night, leaving everything pitch-black. He relied mostly on fireflies and moonlight to see the path ahead.

"What's a cabin doing here?"

"Pika?"

The cabin was rather dilapidated and looked as though no one had used it in a long time. Xiao Yan swallowed, gathered his courage, and pushed open the vine-covered wooden door.

Xiao Yan and Pikachu entered the cabin together. Having been shut up for so long, the place reeked of mildew, making them both pinch their noses.

"It's so dark... Pikachu, use Flash."

Light from Pikachu's body instantly illuminated the pitch-black room.

"It looks like someone used to live here."

There was a bed and a round table in the room, with a battered diary resting on the table. Xiao Yan picked up the diary and began leafing through it. Its pages had yellowed, perhaps from the passage of so much time.

"Is this a scientist's diary?"

"July 1. My team and I discovered a Pokémon we'd never seen before deep in Viridian Forest. We named him Mew and captured him for research."

"October 1. Mew gave birth to a Pokémon at the research institute. We named him Mewtwo."

"October 28. Mewtwo is growing abnormally fast, and his strength has already surpassed that of my Pokémon."

"November 10. It's no use! This newly born Pokémon is too powerful. We can't handle him. The entire research institute has been burned down."

Nothing else had been written after that...

"Was this diary written by one of the researchers involved...?"

After leaving the cabin, Xiao Yan climbed straight onto Charizard and flew into the sky, finally finding the way back.

Once he returned to the inn, Xiao Yan let his Pokémon out to eat dinner, while he collapsed onto the bed in exhaustion.

Mewtwo could take on multiple opponents at once in that diary. Can I really beat him as I am now?

Just then, Pikachu ran over and handed Xiao Yan a skewer of grilled meat.

"Thank you, Pikachu!"

Xiao Yan took the skewer from Pikachu and began eating.

"He gave me a fright. Who knew a glutton could forget to eat?"

"Xiao Yan must have something on his mind! He's been like this ever since he got back today."

Suicune and Entei also came over to Xiao Yan.

"Oh, right, aren't we leaving tomorrow? Before we go, let's visit the hot springs! The hot springs here are famous far and wide."

"Brother Suicune, that's a great idea. Xiao Yan, take us there!"

"Hmm... We don't have anything else to do later anyway, so let's go soak in the hot springs!"

The other Pokémon cheered when they heard that, then set off with Xiao Yan for the hot springs.

Xiao Yan didn't recall his Pokémon, letting them walk beside him along the main street. Almost everyone on the street stared at them, and some even took out their phones to snap pictures. After all, he had a Legendary Pokémon on either side of him, along with plenty of other powerful-looking Pokémon. Pikachu lay smugly on Xiao Yan's hat, striking all sorts of poses for the cameras.

"Xiao Yan, aren't we drawing a little too much attention?"

Suicune leaned close to Xiao Yan's ear as he spoke.

"It's nice to let everyone come out for a stroll together once in a while!"

The boy smiled gently at his thoughtful Pokémon as they walked side by side along the bustling street toward the hot springs.

"We're finally here. An open-air hot spring... Huh? Is this a mixed bath?"

The group arrived at the entrance, where the words "Mixed bathing" were written in large characters on the wooden door.

"Let's go! Let's go!"

Xiao Yan excitedly led everyone into the fabled mixed-bathing open-air hot spring.

At that hour, however, there were hardly any people inside.

"We came too late..." Xiao Yan looked a little disappointed.

"This is nice too! We've got the whole place to ourselves."

Xiao Yan's Pokémon jumped into the hot spring one after another, looking as though they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

"It's been so long since I last soaked in a hot spring."

Ever since I came to this world, I haven't soaked in a hot spring or done much of anything for fun. I've spent almost all my time training. Seeing how happy the Pokémon around me are, I realize we really do need to get out and unwind once in a while.

"Thank you... Entei, Suicune."

"Xiao Yan, did you just say something?" The two Legendary Pokémon tilted their heads at him.

"No, nothing. Let's soak a little longer this time. It's fine if we head back late."

The boy lowered himself into the hot spring too, savoring the moment.

It's because of you that I've made it this far. It's okay if I'm not strong enough yet. I just have to keep working hard and get stronger. As long as I'm with all of you, I have this feeling that I absolutely won't lose.