By the time the Crybaby Charcadet woke up, it was already noon.
The Oinkologne and the others had found a safe spot and spread a picnic cloth on the ground. Laid out on the cloth was the food Munchlax had prepared for them before they set off, including buns, mantou, and Grass Nanny Milk.
"Chaka chaka," You're awake, how do you feel?
Seeing the Crybaby Charcadet open its eyes, the Goody-two-shoes Charcadet quickly asked with concern. At this moment, the Crybaby Charcadet was lying across its lap.
Although it had been injured by the Mankey earlier, they carried Potions prepared by Ange. Not long after the Oinkologne administered the medicine, it had regained consciousness.
"Chaka chaka," Is everyone okay?
The Crybaby Charcadet asked.
"Chaka chaka," We're fine, don't worry, it was all thanks to you.
Goody-two-shoes Charcadet patted the Crybaby Charcadet's forehead. Although it hadn't personally witnessed the display of divine might, the Oinkologne had already described the scene.
Goody-two-shoes Charcadet never expected its best friend to possess such power.
Hearing the reply, the Crybaby Charcadet breathed a sigh of relief. It propped itself up to sit, and its stomach suddenly let out a loud growl.
The previous exertion had drained its strength, and now that its stomach was empty, it naturally felt hungry!
Goody-two-shoes Charcadet took a bun and a bottle of Grass Nanny Milk and handed them to the Crybaby Charcadet. The Crybaby Charcadet took them, took a bite of the bun, followed by a large gulp of milk, and narrowed its eyes in happiness.
Seeing its friend staring, the Crybaby Charcadet held up the bun in its hand.
"Chaka," Eat!
Goody-two-shoes Charcadet shook its head. "Chaka chaka," You eat it, I've already eaten.
Hearing this, the Crybaby Charcadet didn't insist. It pulled back the bun and continued to eat heartily.
The lunch hour soon ended, and the four Pokémon packed up their things to continue their adventure.
As they walked, the Crybaby Charcadet suddenly discovered a tree hole. It excitedly called the Goody-two-shoes Charcadet and the two Oinkologne over.
The three Pokémon gathered around and saw the hole was filled with various nuts. Just as the four Pokémon were feeling excited about this discovery, a Furret suddenly appeared and spat a green seed at them.
The two Oinkologne reacted quickly to dodge, and the Goody-two-shoes Charcadet also pulled the Crybaby Charcadet away.
The seed hit the ground and exploded, blasting a pit in the spot where the four Pokémon had just been standing.
"Oh oh oh,"
The Furret angrily accused the four Pokémon of being thieves. It turned out these nuts already had an owner.
Goody-two-shoes Charcadet hurried forward to apologize, stating that they didn't know the nuts belonged to anyone.
However, the Furret was furious and unwilling to believe its words.
Just as the Furret was about to attack again, the female Oinkologne stepped forward. Her tail emitted a thick aroma as fragrant as flowers. The originally enraged Furret gradually calmed down after smelling the scent.
Finally, the Goody-two-shoes Charcadet managed to explain the misunderstanding. The Furret also expressed its apologies for attacking blindly without clarifying the situation and gave each of the four Pokémon a nut as a gift.
Carrying the nuts gifted by the Furret, the four Pokémon set off once more.
While passing a cliff, they suddenly heard a roar. Following that, an Ursaring came sprinting toward them, seemingly holding something in its paws.
Upon closer inspection, they saw it was a beehive, with honey still dripping from it.
As for the reason the Ursaring was running for its life, a swarm of Beedrill was in hot pursuit behind it!
Wait, Beedrill?
The Charcadet and Oinkologne's eyes widened because that Ursaring was heading straight toward them.
Run!
The two Oinkologne didn't hesitate for a second. They picked up the two Charcadet with their mouths, tossed them onto their backs, and took off at full speed to get away from the Ursaring.
But after running for a distance, they found the Ursaring had turned a corner and was still following them, with the Beedrill still chasing relentlessly.
"Honk,"
"Honk,"
The two Oinkologne shouted at the Ursaring, but the Ursaring played dumb and kept following them.
Finally, the Beedrill caught up and launched a Pin Missile at them. In desperation, the male Oinkologne released pheromone scents from his tail.
The thick, alluring fragrance spread out. When the female Beedrill smelled it, they instantly became confused and actually started fighting with the male Beedrill.
"Honk honk, honk honk," Everyone, run!
The male Oinkologne shouted loudly. He then dragged the Goody-two-shoes Charcadet along as his legs blurred into a sprint. Hearing this, the female Oinkologne followed closely behind with the Crybaby Charcadet.
"Urs," Wait for me!
The Ursaring pursued the two Oinkologne without hesitation.
They ran and ran for an unknown amount of time, until even the Oinkologne, who always had abundant stamina, began to pant.
Suddenly, a wasteland appeared ahead of them. All the trees there were dead, and not a single blade of grass grew on the earth.
Although spring hadn't fully arrived yet, withered grass could still be found elsewhere, and while the trees were bare, they were still alive. As soon as spring arrived, they would sprout new leaves.
Unlike the area ahead, it looked like a land of death without a trace of life.
Just as they were about to approach that region, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Do not come any closer."
The voice was gentle and kind, like the mother of all things.
The two Oinkologne and the Ursaring slammed on their brakes.
"Chaka,"
The sharp-eyed Crybaby Charcadet suddenly pointed in a direction and shouted.
The Pokémon looked in the direction it was pointing and saw a beautiful Pokémon standing on a high ground not far away.
This Pokémon resembled a deer with blue and black fur. On its head were eight branches extending out like antlers, each with two smaller branches at the tips. Furthermore, each of the eight beige antlers was adorned with crystals of four colors—orange, red, purple, and azure—emitting a divine glow.
The Pokémon stood elegantly with its head held slightly high, looking down at the Oinkologne and the others.
The Pokémon were completely stunned by the beautiful and elegant creature before them.
"Do not go any further, there is danger."
The kind, gentle voice of this Pokémon rang out in their hearts once again.
"Honk,"
"Honk,"
The two Oinkologne nodded and promised the Pokémon they wouldn't go further. After a brief moment of daze, the Pokémon had already disappeared from before them.
A dream? Or a hallucination?
It took a long time for the Pokémon to snap back to reality. They looked behind them; the Beedrill hadn't followed. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Gurgle!
At that moment, the male Oinkologne's stomach suddenly growled.
"Honk,"
The male Oinkologne gave an embarrassed smile. Having sprinted for so long, he was so tired his stomach was hungry.
Gurgle!
Another stomach growl sounded. The male Oinkologne quickly denied it. "Honk," This time it wasn't me!
"Honk," This time it was me.
The female Oinkologne said softly.
"Chaka chaka,"
"Honk honk, honk honk,"
The four Pokémon looked at each other and burst into laughter.
"Chaka chaka," Let's find a place to eat something, then.
Goody-two-shoes Charcadet said.
The two Oinkologne agreed.
"Urs~,"
At this time, the Ursaring walked over and offered the honey in its paws to the Oinkologne. The two Oinkologne were first stunned, then sternly rejected the Ursaring.
The Oinkologne could guess that the Ursaring's honey was definitely stolen from the Beedrill, which was why they had been dragged into the chase.
If it were any other season, it might be fine, but in this season, there were no flowers for the Beedrill to gather nectar. They couldn't make new honey and could only survive on the honey stored before winter. But now, the Ursaring had stolen their honey just to satisfy its own appetite.
This meant that before spring arrived, the Beedrill and their children might go hungry due to insufficient food.
The Oinkologne indicated they would never eat such food! Ange had warned them never to touch food that had an owner!
Having its kindness rejected, the Ursaring also got angry. It pulled back the honey with a face full of rage.
The two Oinkologne turned away and took the two Charcadet to find a safe spot. They spread the picnic cloth and took the leftovers from lunch out of the backpack.
Because the two Charcadet had been riding the Oinkologne the whole time, they weren't very tired or hungry. After taking the food out, they focused on feeding the two Oinkologne.
The Oinkologne were eating so heartily that the Ursaring nearby couldn't stop its mouth from watering. It sneakily moved toward them and offered the honey again.
"Urs," That thing of yours looks delicious, I'll trade with you.
The two Oinkologne glared at it, silently turned around, and faced the Ursaring with their backs.
How frustrating!
The Ursaring glared back at the Oinkologne. While licking the honey in its paws to satisfy its craving, it turned to leave, not forgetting to bare its teeth at the Oinkologne.
Suddenly, the Crybaby Charcadet gave a happy shout. The Pokémon that had warned them earlier had appeared again not far away, watching them.
Crybaby Charcadet held up a Milky Mantou and ran quickly to the Pokémon's side, lifting the mantou above its head.
"Chaka chaka,"
"Do you want to give it to me?" the Pokémon said lovingly. There was a hint of a smile in its voice.
"Chaka,"
Crybaby Charcadet nodded vigorously.
The Pokémon did not refuse. Under the Crybaby Charcadet's expectant gaze, it lowered its head, picked up the mantou, and swallowed it.
As it chewed slowly, a look of surprise appeared in its eyes.
This food was not only exceptionally delicious, it seemed to contain a special power—a power that could actually awaken the life energy within its body.
Once it finished eating, the Crybaby Charcadet gestured wildly, inviting it to join them and enjoy the food.
Seeing this, the Pokémon asked gently, "Do your companions agree?"
Crybaby Charcadet looked back and saw that the Goody-two-shoes Charcadet and the two Oinkologne were all jumping for joy, welcoming the Pokémon to join them.
"Then I shall graciously accept," the Pokémon said. It had become curious about that miraculous food.
With that, it walked onto the picnic cloth with the Crybaby Charcadet and lay down.
Goody-two-shoes Charcadet hurried to place buns, mantou, and Grass Nanny Milk before it. It lowered its head, picked up a bun, and chewed carefully. Indeed, that special power was still there.
Though faint, it was already very surprising; it had never encountered such a thing before.
Swallowing the bun, it spoke, "This is exceptionally delicious food. The person who made it must be very talented."
Hearing the Pokémon's praise, the faces of the two Charcadet and the two Oinkologne filled with pride.
"Chaka chaka,"
"Honk honk, honk honk,"
The four Pokémon chattered away, describing how amazing Ange was and how delicious his food was.
"It seems you like that person named Ange very much," the Pokémon said kindly.
"Chaka chaka," Crybaby Charcadet opened its arms wide, making a huge circle, expressing its love for Ange with exaggerated movements.
The two Oinkologne and the Goody-two-shoes Charcadet nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Is that so?" There was a hint of a smile in the Pokémon's voice, and a special energy wave rippled out from its body.
Feeling this energy wave, the four Pokémon squinted their eyes in pure comfort.
So comfortable! It feels so good! I feel full of strength! the four Pokémon thought in unison.
"Chaka chaka,"
At this time, Goody-two-shoes Charcadet issued an invitation to the Pokémon, telling it that if it had time, it could come to Ange's house for a meal, and even told it the location of Ange's home.
It was on the Nebel Plateau adjacent to the forest.
"If you invite me without permission, won't that person named Ange be angry?" the Pokémon asked.
"Chaka chaka," Ange won't be angry at all! He will definitely welcome you as a guest!
Goody-two-shoes Charcadet said with a face full of confidence.
The other three Pokémon also nodded in agreement.
Genuinely feeling the affection the four Pokémon had for Ange, the Pokémon squinted its eyes and agreed, "Very well, I will definitely visit when I have time."
At this moment, Ange had no idea that his employees out on a trip had made a pact with a deity.
"Since you are humans' Pokémon, why are you out here alone? Do you know what kind of place this is?" the Pokémon suddenly asked.
"Chaka chaka," What place? Are we not allowed to be here?
Goody-two-shoes Charcadet looked puzzled.
"It's not that you aren't allowed to be here," the Pokémon shook its head and said, "but this forest has long been known as the Forbidden Forest to the outside world. Aside from the Pokémon originally living here, very few humans or Pokémon from the outside ever come here."
"Chaka chaka," Can we still come back in the future?
Crybaby Charcadet asked. It was originally a very shy Pokémon, but in the presence of the creature before it, it felt only warmth.
"You can," the Pokémon replied, "but whatever you do, do not approach that place from earlier."
"Chaka," Why?
Goody-two-shoes Charcadet asked.
The Pokémon shook its head. "In short, just listen to me."
The four Pokémon nodded vigorously, promising to heed the advice of the Pokémon before them.