Mount Tensei, Secret Base.
Fuyuki crouched in front of the storage room cabinet, sorting through the things he would need for their journey.
First was the piece of black-tech every Trainer relied on, the Space Backpack.
From the outside, it looked no different from an ordinary backpack. Inside, though, was an enormous amount of space, enough to hold huge quantities of supplies. Even tables and chairs could fit inside.
In the anime, Brock was always pulling things like that out of his bag when camping with Ash and the others.
Next came food, drinking water, medicine, and similar necessities.
After placing some food into the travel bag, Fuyuki paused.
There really was not much they needed to bring. If they were missing anything, they could just exchange Shock Points in the system shop.
While he packed, Entei stood nearby, quietly keeping watch.
All of a sudden, as if sensing something, Entei turned its head toward the outside.
Its expression grew serious.
"What's wrong?" Fuyuki noticed the change at once.
"Ho-Oh has returned," Entei said in a low voice.
"Huh?" Fuyuki froze. Hadn't Ho-Oh just left not long ago? Why was it suddenly back?
Before they could figure it out, Ho-Oh flew in from outside and landed right in front of him.
At the sight of this, Entei's heart tightened.
Could it be… that Ho-Oh had come back to take Fuyuki traveling?
"Ho-Oh? Why did you come back?" Fuyuki could not help asking.
"I suddenly remembered something," Ho-Oh said softly.
As it spoke, power gathered around it. A brilliant rainbow glow flashed, and one Rainbow Feather after another formed in the air before Ho-Oh.
The feathers, brimming with immense vitality, drifted down slowly, piling up on the floor until they formed a dazzling little mountain of feathers.
Fuyuki stared in shock. "Th-This is…?!"
Ho-Oh's voice was gentle, carrying a trace of warmth.
"From my observations over the years, when human Trainers travel, they carry many kinds of medicine to treat their Pokemon's injuries. I will not be by your side for a time, and I cannot use regeneration to heal your Pokemon."
"These Rainbow Feathers contain my power. If you are injured while traveling, or if your Pokemon are hurt in battle, you can use these Rainbow Feathers to treat them."
"As for how to use them…" Ho-Oh looked toward Entei. "Entei carries my Sacred Fire within it. When needed, have Entei burn them with Sacred Fire, and you will obtain Sacred Ash. That is what humans call my power."
Hearing this, warmth flooded Fuyuki's chest.
"Ho-Oh…"
He buried himself in the soft feathers on Ho-Oh's chest and gave it a tight hug.
A hint of a smile shone in Ho-Oh's eyes as it continued.
"If this is not enough, you may call to me through the Rainbow Feathers. I will come and replenish them for you. Go now, my child."
Fuyuki was so moved he was on the verge of tears. What did it matter that they were Pokemon?
Not just Entei. Even Ho-Oh and the others were treating him as their own child.
Entei was like a stern father, always silently guarding him. It rarely spoke, but no matter what he wanted to do, Entei never refused.
Raikou always claimed humans could not be trusted, yet it secretly remembered that he liked Moomoo Milk, and brought some back every time it returned from outside.
Marshadow rarely showed itself in front of him, but Fuyuki knew perfectly well that it had always been watching over him from his shadow.
Even Suicune cared for him in its own way.
It had created a "Clean Lake" at home, with water that purified itself, just for him to play in. It would also use Rain Dance to gently tend to the Berry trees he planted.
Everyone… being able to meet these Pokemon was truly wonderful.
Looking at Ho-Oh, Fuyuki wiped at his damp eyes and nodded hard. "Yeah. I'll remember."
Ho-Oh nodded lightly, then turned and left Mount Tensei once more.
Only then did Entei finally relax.
Good. Ho-Oh had not come to compete with it for Fuyuki.
…No. How could it think such a thing about Ho-Oh? Entei silently reflected on itself.
Staring at the pile of Rainbow Feathers, Fuyuki could not help thinking of his mother from his previous life.
Every time he traveled far from home, she worried that he would not eat well or stay warm on his own, and would always prepare all kinds of homemade food for him.
What Ho-Oh had done now was no different from a mother.
Fuyuki slowly let out a breath, then crouched down and packed the Rainbow Feathers, filled with immense vitality, into the travel backpack.
When he was done, he stood up and said to Entei beside him, "Father, we're ready to go!"
"Mm." Entei gave a small nod.
After taking a few steps, Fuyuki suddenly thought of something and quickly stopped.
"We haven't told everyone in the forest yet!"
They would not be coming back to Mount Tensei anytime soon. If the Pokemon from the mountain came looking for him, they might not find him.
To avoid any misunderstandings, he felt it was necessary to let everyone know.
Entei naturally had no objections.
"Then let's stop by the forest and tell everyone on the way!" Fuyuki called out, "Marshadow, are you there?"
Before long, Marshadow slowly emerged from the shadows.
"Marsha?"
Fuyuki smiled at it. "Marshadow, Father and I are going traveling. We probably won't be back for a long time. If you miss me, you can use the video phone at home to contact me!"
"Marsha…"
"But don't worry. When the New Year comes, on the day it snows heavily, Father and I will come back to Mount Tensei to celebrate!" Fuyuki grinned.
"Marsha." Marshadow nodded gently.
"Alright, we're heading out!" Fuyuki swung himself onto Entei's back and waved goodbye to Marshadow.
Entei glanced at Marshadow, then dashed down the mountain.
Marshadow watched their retreating figures in silence. After a moment, it sank into the shadows and, through the shadow world, quickly appeared beneath Fuyuki's feet, hiding in his shadow.
Fuyuki knew nothing of this.
Riding on Entei's back, he traveled through the forest.
He raised his voice and shouted, "Everyone, come out! I have something to tell you!"
The wild Pokemon living in the mountains heard his voice and poked their heads out one after another, curiosity written all over their faces as they gathered around.
A Nidoking and Nidoqueen family, Electivire, Magmar, Oddish, Butterfree…
Once most of them had arrived, Fuyuki spoke.
"Father and I are going traveling. While we're gone, if you get hungry, you can go to the Berry orchard on the mountain and pick some fruit to eat!"
"Fwee?!" The Pokemon were shocked by the news of him leaving.
Butterfree in particular was distressed. Cubone had already left, and now even Fuyuki was going too. Who would play with it from now on?
Its eyes filled with tears, and it looked like it was about to cry. Fuyuki hurried to comfort it.
"Don't worry. We're not leaving for good. We're just going out for a while. When we're done having fun, we'll come back!"
Hearing that, Butterfree finally relaxed.
"Fwee~!" That's good!
"Alright, everyone, it's time for us to go!" Fuyuki looked around at the group of Pokemon, his childhood companions.
"Woo~!"
The Pokemon cried out, seeing them off.
Under the gazes of so many Pokemon, Fuyuki rode on Entei and left Mount Tensei, the place he had lived for ten years, setting out on his own journey.