Chapter 574: Fellow Sufferers Relying on Each Other
Will stepped forward.
First, he gave his little brother a slap, knocking him flat on the ground to prevent him from moving around anymore.
Then he pounced on the eggshell and ground his yet-to-be-fully-grown milk teeth on it for a while.
Crack— A horizontal crack appeared in the center of the eggshell.
The Charmander inside the egg pushed upward with its hands.
The eggshell directly split into two.
The little guy finally saw the light of day!
"Char-ha!"
Charmander looked at the brother who rescued it, and hurriedly pounced to give a forceful hug.
Originally, it was supposed to be the older brother.
But because of its own actions, it ended up becoming the younger brother.
"Go away."
Will pushed away this little brother with some disgust.
Scrutinizing him with a strange expression.
And then looked at himself.
"Char-ha?"
The younger brother tilted his head in confusion.
Not understanding why his older brother was looking at him with this kind of expression.
Will remained silent, his mind in a mess.
He couldn't even be sure now if this guy and himself were born from the same parents.
Perhaps they were half-brothers?
His own parents were Charizards.
And his little brother's parents were a Charizard and a Blastoise.
But these two have reproductive isolation... (Wait, Charizard and Blastoise are in the Monster and Water 1 egg groups respectively. They actually are in the same Monster egg group! The author might be making a joke or is mistaken about game mechanics).
Could it be a simple genetic mutation?
Whatever.
Will didn't want to waste time on this.
Because he noticed something very wrong.
From just now.
This mountain had been shaking non-stop, and the magma around them gradually started bubbling continuously and heating up like a boiling hotpot.
Although Will's Aura Power was weak now and couldn't sense the situation outside.
But his past experiences told him.
There might be very powerful Pokémon fighting outside.
One of the sides was a Fire-type Pokémon.
Highly likely his and his little brother's parents.
As for the identity of the other side and what they came for, that couldn't be guessed for the time being.
"Char-ha..."
Charmander also felt the danger at this time, hurriedly running over to lean against his older brother.
Half an eggshell was still hanging on his butt, just like a loincloth worn by a little baby.
Rumble rumble— The volcano trembled violently again.
A large boulder broke off from the rock wall above, falling into the magma below and stirring up a few sparks.
"Char-ha..."
Charmander blinked, not knowing what to do.
"There is a risk of collapse here at any time. It's not suitable to stay for long. We have to find a way to leave."
Will walked to the edge of the nest.
Bent down and poked the magma with one finger.
"Awoo~"
This touch burned a wolf howl out of Will.
He withdrew his finger and hurriedly shook it, backing away from the magma.
Their parents gave birth to them here, aren't they afraid the two brothers would dive headfirst into the magma?
"Char-ha?"
Charmander ran over and hugged Will's arm.
"The temperature of this magma is still continuously rising. If we don't leave now, the outcome is basically certain death."
Will's face darkened.
This initial crisis still hasn't passed. He turned his head and scanned his surroundings.
There was absolutely nothing usable in this nest.
It was hard to imagine.
His Charizard parents actually didn't have the habit of hoarding things in the nest.
Finally.
Will's gaze focused on the half eggshell his little brother had shed.
Don't say it.
This half eggshell is quite big; fitting him and his little brother is not a problem.
Will turned his head and cast his gaze to the other side of the magma. There happened to be a place to stand, and there was also a tunnel leading to who knows where.
This is the only way out.
Thus.
Will placed his little brother's eggshell into the magma.
Hey, don't say it.
The eggshell of a Charizard cub, its high-temperature resistance effect is just strong.
Floating in the magma, it was actually completely unaffected.
Will even stepped into it personally to feel it.
The soles of his feet completely didn't feel any burning sensation.
It was just very warm.
"Little bro, let's go!"
Will beckoned to Charmander.
"Char-ha!"
Charmander hurriedly bounced over.
Truly don't know whether to call this kid bold or a reckless hothead.
With this bounce, it was a close call that the little eggshell boat didn't flip over.
However.
Also thanks to the little brother's bounce.
The little eggshell boat received force and started to float forward.
In the end, it actually floated smoothly to the other side.
Will originally planned to use the eggshell on Charmander's butt as a paddle, but looking at it now, it wasn't necessary.
"Ashore."
Will climbed onto the ground first.
And then pulled Charmander up.
Then, holding hands, they drilled into the huge cave in front of them together.
Two newly born little babies.
Just left home unauthorized like this.
Starting their cub survival journey.
And half an hour later.
Facts proved.
Will's choice was completely correct.
The volcano they were originally in, because of frequent and strong stimulation, caused the magma inside to erupt violently.
Scorching magma covered the entire land, naturally also submerging the nest in the magma lake.
When the Alpha Charizard returned victoriously at night.
Seeing the nest and eggshells swallowed by magma, and the missing cubs.
He couldn't help but look up to the sky and let out an agonizing, heart-wrenching howl.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Will pulled his little brother and stealthily poked his head out from the other side of the tunnel.
Appearing before his eyes was a primeval dense forest that looked quite exaggeratedly massive.
Will couldn't help swallowing his saliva seeing this scene.
The tallest trees on Mt. Silver, where he was in his second life, placed here would only be considered juvenile level.
The bushes seen everywhere around were two meters high.
"The Ancient Era, huh..."
Will was now certain of the era he was in. However, exactly how many years ago it was, was hard to say.
The span of the Ancient Era is too large.
From beginning to end, it's a full hundreds of millions of years.
He could have arrived tens of thousands of years ago, or hundreds of millions of years ago.
"Char-ha..."
Grumble rumble.
Charmander let out a pitiful cry.
He was hungry.
"Wait a moment."
Will reached out and touched his little brother's round head.
Fortunately.
All the way out from the tunnel.
They didn't encounter any other Pokémon.
Otherwise, they might have become someone else's rations.
"You wait here for me for a bit."
Will pressed his hand down.
This tunnel is temporarily safe.
Let the little brother wait here.
He will wander around nearby to see if there's anything edible.
Subsequently.
Will walked out alone.
Just after drilling into the bushes, preparing to secretly observe the surrounding situation, his eyes lit up sharply.
He found these bushes actually grew berries!
Berries of all colors were present.
All were berries never seen in the Era of Magical Beasts and the League Era.
The red berries look like cherry tomatoes.
Eating them is sweet and sour, and very crisp, with an excellent texture.
The blue berries look like raspberries.
Juicy, just a bit astringent, very good for quenching thirst.
The yellow berries look like green grapes.
Sickeningly sweet.
The purple berries look like peaches.
Slightly sweet, no other taste, extremely filling.
The white berries look like cherries.
Eating them is bitter, but this burst of bitterness can instantly refresh and awaken the mind.
The black berries look like purple grapes.
Eating them makes the mouth numb, and the head feels a burst of dizziness; simply a ready-made anesthetic.
"This can also be considered Shennong tasting a hundred herbs."
Will wiped his mouth.
His mouth being sweet one moment and bitter the next, it was truly numbing.
But understanding the effects of these commonly seen berries will definitely be of great use in the future.
Just like right now.
Will reserved the space in his arms mostly for the red berries and purple berries.
The former tastes good.
The latter satisfies hunger.
Mixed together, it's definitely enough for two cubs to eat.
When Will had picked enough berries and was ready to return along the original path.
Turning around, he found Charmander actually dared to follow behind him.
This little guy was holding a yellow berry and taking big bites.
Looking at the berry remains on the ground.
It turns out whatever Will ate just now, he ate as well, and ultimately took a fancy to the sweetest yellow berries.
"Don't run around blindly next time. Stay wherever I tell you to stay."
Will stretched out his short little hand and poked Charmander's head.
"Char-ha."
Charmander nodded obediently.
But his attention was all on the berry in his hand.
Who knows if he listened to Will's words.
Seeing him eating happily.
Will helplessly shook his head and didn't scold him further.
After all, he's just a little baby.
He himself picked up a purple berry and started eating.
These berries tasted pretty much the same in his mouth, anyway, none of them were particularly delicious, so eating anything was the same.
Eating purple berries actually had the highest cost-performance ratio.
Could fill the stomach in the shortest time.
Thereby poking his head out to observe the surrounding terrain.
This primeval dense forest is quite massive.
At a glance, it's full of tall trees, and figures of some Pokémon would flash through the trees from time to time.
And after seeing the figures of these Pokémon.
Will couldn't help but feel strange.
Sceptile.
Fearow.
Infernape.
Simisear.
Hawlucha.
Pokémon from various regions.
Can be seen here.
Moreover, the physique of each one is very exaggerated.
This is obviously quite bizarre.
Various regions are separated by oceans. With the transportation capabilities and Pokémon's living habits of this era, it's completely impossible to cross the ocean to travel to other regions.
Even if Sinnoh, Kanto, and Johto are connected together.
Then what is the deal with Simisear and Hawlucha?
Both of these are Pokémon that can only be seen in the southern hemisphere region (Unova/Kalos are based on NY/France, which are Northern Hemisphere, but maybe the author implies they are geographically distant).
"Could it be... arrived in the era before Regigigas towed the continents..."
Cold sweat ran down Will's forehead.
The thought of this possibility made his scalp tingle instantly.
If that is really the case...
Then what era is this right now?
Mid-Ancient Era or Early-Ancient Era?
Or perhaps.
Simply in the Chaos Era?
No.
The Chaos Era is still too exaggerated.
The Chaos Era is an era when the blue planet's ecosystem was not yet complete, and the gods hadn't even been born yet.
But judging from the current situation.
The ecosystem of this period is obviously quite mature.
"Sigh."
Feeling the survival difficulty was even greater, Will couldn't help but sigh.
Turning his head to look at his little brother who was still eating beside him.
He couldn't help feeling the future was bleak.
They, two Charmanders.
To what extent must they grow to safely survive in this era?
"Must find a relatively peaceful and safe central area to survive."
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter