Time slipped by, the days flowing like water.
Fuyuki and Entei lived a leisurely, carefree life on Mount Tensei.
Sometimes they would run through the mountain forests together. Sometimes they would climb to the peak of Mount Tensei and watch the sunrise and sunset. Sometimes they would share their leftover berries with the Pokemon living in the forest.
Under Entei's deeply loving, fatherly gaze, Fuyuki ran freely across this land.
As he ran, the scenery around him slowly changed.
The tender buds that had sprouted in early spring gradually deepened in color. The sunlight grew stronger, temperatures climbed, and the sweltering heat combined with the cicadas chirping from the forest seemed to announce the arrival of summer.
He ran through spring, through summer, through autumn, through winter.
As the sun and moon turned and the seasons cycled, Fuyuki's small body continued to grow taller.
Yellowed leaves spiraled down through the autumn breeze. Fuyuki ran to Entei's side and threw himself into its thick fur.
This year, Fuyuki turned six.
The Little One who once couldn't even walk had now grown into a healthy, sturdy boy, like a little cannonball of energy.
"Entei, I shared all the berries with everyone in the forest!"
A happy smile spread across Fuyuki's face.
Over the years of living on Mount Tensei, every wild Pokemon in the area knew him. Fuyuki's favorite thing to do was share the berries he couldn't finish eating with these Pokemon and watch them light up with joy.
"Mm." Entei nodded, glancing up at the sky before speaking through telepathy: "It's getting dark. Let's head home."
"Okay!"
Fuyuki trotted along behind Entei, chattering away about everything that had happened in the forest today.
"Electivire and Magmar got into another fight over berries, but luckily I got there just in time and shared mine with them!"
"Cubone accidentally lost its bone club today. I thought it dropped it in some bushes somewhere, but it turned out Arcanine had snatched it away. If we'd been a step later, that bone would've been chewed to pieces!"
"Oh, and also, I ran into Nidoking and Nidoqueen today. They looked really panicked. I didn't know what was going on at first, but when I asked, it turned out their kid Nidoran had run off and gotten lost."
Entei walked along, listening to Fuyuki's stories.
"Did you find Nidoran?"
Fuyuki beamed with pride: "Of course! That little troublemaker chased a Butterfree and accidentally fell off a cliff, got wedged between some rocks and couldn't get out!"
As he spoke, Fuyuki pulled a beautiful gem shard glowing with red light from his pocket.
"This Star Piece is the gift Nidoking and Nidoqueen gave me for saving Nidoran!"
By the time he finished talking, the father and son had already made it home.
Fuyuki skillfully conjured three portions of food and set them on the table.
Seeing this, Entei couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.
It was the one who had adopted Little One, who had become Little One's father. Yet in the end, it had always been Little One finding ways to prepare food for them.
Whenever it thought about this, Entei felt deeply indebted.
Fuyuki hadn't noticed what was going through Entei's mind. He looked at his own shadow and called out:
"Marshadow, come out and eat!"
As his voice fell, Marshadow's ghostly figure emerged from the shadow.
Seeing Marshadow, Fuyuki excitedly rushed over and wrapped it in a hug, rubbing his face against its.
"Marshadow, I'm taller than you now!"
Marshadow wore a helpless expression: "Mar-sha..."
But it didn't push the human child away, simply letting him cling on.
After all, it had watched Fuyuki grow up with its own eyes.
"Alright, come eat." Entei sat by the table, watching Fuyuki and Marshadow interact before speaking in its deep voice.
"Mm!"
Fuyuki pulled out a chair and sat down, then began enjoying the meal before him.
"Once I'm a little older, I'll be able to cook on my own. Marshadow, Entei, I'll cook for you guys then!" Fuyuki declared.
"I'll look forward to that," Entei replied, a hint of warmth beneath its majestic tone.
"Mar-sha~"
"But speaking of which, when are Ho-Oh, Raikou, and Suicune coming back?"
Fuyuki carefully calculated the time. It had been several months since he'd last seen them, and he missed them quite a bit.
"When the snow falls, Ho-Oh should be back," Entei answered.
After all, this was an unspoken understanding the group had developed over the years.
When winter came, no matter where they were, they would return to Mount Tensei to spend the season with Little One.
"Alright then." Fuyuki sighed helplessly. Busy, everyone was busy. Busy was good, he supposed!
Still, thanks to Ho-Oh, over these four years he'd managed to raise Marshadow, Entei, and Ho-Oh all to Lv100.
Only Raikou and Suicune remained. Once they were done, Ho-Oh's entire family would be maxed out.
At this rate, before he turned ten, he could achieve the "all three Legendary Beasts at max level" milestone!
It was just that Ho-Oh was so busy, only coming back two or three times a year. Otherwise, Raikou and Suicune would already be maxed out too.
After finishing breakfast, Fuyuki pulled Entei and Marshadow along to the bathroom, where they soaked comfortably in the large bathtub.
Through the steam and mist, a crack of thunder rumbled from outside.
Then, a torrential downpour came crashing down.
"It's raining!" Fuyuki immediately noticed the change in weather outside.
"Mm." Entei nodded.
Fuyuki quickly finished his bath, had Entei use its warm breath to dry his body and hair, then scampered upstairs, pressing himself against the window to gaze out at Mount Tensei in the rainy night.
"What a heavy rain!" Fuyuki murmured.
But this kind of weather was perfect for curling up in warm blankets with Entei and sleeping!
Fuyuki lay down on the soft blanket. Entei carried over a quilt in its mouth and draped it over him, then settled down beside him.
Listening to the sound of rain outside, with Marshadow and Entei by his side, Fuyuki quickly fell into a deep sleep.
The night passed in silence.
The next morning, Fuyuki was jolted awake by urgent knocking at the door.
He opened his eyes and saw that dawn had broken, but the rain still hadn't stopped.
"I'll get the door!"
Over the years, Fuyuki had long grown accustomed to Pokemon visitors. He quickly got dressed and ran downstairs to open the door.
Sure enough, just as he'd expected, the visitor was Cubone, who lived with its mother in the mountain forest.
Cubone's face was full of panic. It looked at Fuyuki, on the verge of tears.
"Cu-bone!"
"What?" Fuyuki was startled. "Your mom is missing?"
Cubone nodded. When it woke up this morning, its mother was gone. No matter how much it called out, she never came back.
Fuyuki immediately grasped the severity of the situation.
That Marowak mother loved her child Cubone dearly. There was no way she would just disappear without reason.
"Don't worry, Cubone." He turned to look at Entei. "Entei, I want to go check!"
Entei glanced outside, then spoke in a low voice: "I'll go with you."
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You can read up to chapter 87 and more soon on patreon.com/NiaXD.