In the early morning, as they left the outer edge of Viridian Forest, the dew had not yet slipped from the tips of the leaves. Minato and Pidgeotto stood at the forest's edge, looking back at the vast green ocean that had put them through countless trials.
In the span of a single month, Pidgey had evolved into the majestic Pidgeotto. At the same time, Minato had transformed from an inexperienced Trainer into a far more composed partner.
After walking along the forest path for half a day, they finally arrived at the edge of Viridian Forest. The wooden house Minato had cleaned a month earlier stood quietly before them.
Although he had tidied it once, Minato had spent most of the past month living inside the forest and rarely returned. Dust had already begun to gather again, and last time he had only cleaned the place. This time, he needed to repair it.
From the outside, the problems were obvious. Some roof planks had warped, the paint on the walls was peeling, and the few cracked windowpanes that remained before had now completely fallen out.
---
The repair work began with a thorough inspection.
Minato and Pidgeotto carefully checked every corner of the house, marking down anything that needed fixing.
Pidgeotto quickly demonstrated the advantages of its evolution. It flew lightly onto the roof, using its sharp eyesight to inspect every tile. It squeezed into narrow spaces that were difficult for humans to reach, examining the condition of beams and support pillars. It even used Air Slash to precisely cut away rotting wooden strips without damaging the healthy parts.
By evening, Minato had written a full list of repairs:
Replace roof planks
Patch wall cracks
Reinforce the floor
Repair doors and windows
Repaint the exterior walls
It was a long list.
"Tomorrow we'll head to town to buy materials," Minato said to Pidgeotto.
A voice from the system suddenly spoke.
"Although I don't want to discourage you, Host, haven't you spent the past month either training Pidgeotto or studying berry knowledge? Do you even have any money?"
"Eh… well…" Minato scratched his head awkwardly before the system continued its criticism.
"More importantly, if your Aura Power hasn't awakened and you aren't even claiming your daily missions, how do you plan to make a name for yourself in this world? Are you really planning to rely only on yourself?"
Of course Minato understood what the system meant. He quickly tried to comfort it.
"Isn't that because I want to rely on my own strength? Relying only on you, Brother System, wouldn't really be my own power!"
The system fell silent for a moment.
"…Just hurry up and claim the rewards from the past few days. Looking at you like this is annoying."
Minato immediately opened the mission section of the system interface.
"Wow! Brother System, you're so smart! There's even a 'Claim All' button!"
Notifications instantly began appearing.
"Congratulations, Host. You have received Alliance Coins × 8,888."
"Congratulations, Host. You have received Points × 20."
"Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked a new function: System Shop."
After a series of notifications, Minato opened his backpack to check his inventory.
Alliance Coins × 1,965,738
Ultra Ball × 21
Luxury Ball × 5
Master Ball Shard × 21 (100 shards required to form one complete Master Ball)
Various healing sprays and supplies were piled up in large quantities.
But the most important item was:
Riolu Capture Ticket (After the Host's Aura awakens, Riolu will actively approach you.)
Minato rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"Alright, let's see what's in the shop. Oh my—there's even a Rayquaza Pokémon Egg! Let me check how many points I'm missing."
He began counting.
"Ten… hundred… thousand… ten thousand… hundred thousand… million… ten million…"
"…8,708,888 points."
Minato stared at his pathetic amount of points.
"…Yeah, this is definitely a scam. Let's pretend we didn't see it."
The system spoke again.
"Host, I also have a sign-in function. Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly."
Minato froze.
"…Why didn't you tell me earlier?! I've probably lost like a hundred million points!"
"Because you rarely check the system."
"Ding. Going offline."
---
The nearest town was about a two-hour walk away.
At the building materials market, Minato carefully selected suitable materials. His financial situation wasn't exactly comfortable, so he needed to calculate everything carefully.
"These tiles are good quality and reasonably priced," Minato said to Pidgeotto. "They'll be perfect for replacing the roof."
Pidgeotto gently tapped the tiles with its claws, judging their quality by the sound.
It had learned this skill while living in the forest—tapping trees to determine whether they were hollow or rotten inside.
---
The repair work began with the roof, the most urgent task since the weather forecast predicted rain within a few days.
Minato carried the materials up onto the roof while Pidgeotto passed tools and tiles to him with precise movements of its claws.
After evolving, Pidgeotto's strength had increased significantly. It could easily carry objects that would normally require both of Minato's hands.
Replacing tiles required removing the damaged wooden planks first.
Minato worked cautiously while Pidgeotto assisted him. It used Air Slash to precisely cut away rusted nails and flapped its wings to clear away dust and fallen leaves.
---
Around noon, however, an accident occurred.
Minato stepped on a loose plank while moving across the roof.
His foot slipped.
He slid toward the edge of the eaves.
"Oh no!"
At that critical moment, Pidgeotto swooped down like lightning.
It didn't use Extreme Speed, knowing the sudden force might accidentally knock Minato off the roof.
Instead, it carefully grabbed Minato's collar with its claws. Its broad wings beat powerfully as it pulled him back to safety through sheer strength.
Minato sat there, breathing heavily.
"Thank you, Pidgeotto."
"Pidge!"
Pidgeotto let out a low cry that sounded almost like a scolding, clearly reminding him to be more careful.
---
The afternoon's work continued with much greater caution.
By sunset, the roof repairs were finally complete.
The newly laid tiles glowed warm red under the evening sunlight, blending perfectly with the older tiles.
Minato looked up at the refreshed roof with shining eyes.
"Now I won't have to fill the house with pots and pans every time it rains."
---
Repairing the walls required more skill.
Minato first reinforced the internal structure with wooden boards before filling the cracks using a special filler.
Once again, Pidgeotto displayed astonishing precision.
It used Air Slash to trim the edges of the filler so they aligned perfectly with the wall. It even held a brush with its claws to apply primer to the repaired sections. For the upper walls Minato couldn't reach, it simply flew up and handled them itself.
"Your control over Air Slash is getting better and better," Minato praised.
After a month of special training, Pidgeotto's mastery of the move had improved dramatically. It could now adjust the strength of the air blade with incredible precision.
---
Repairing the floor was the most physically demanding task.
First, all the furniture had to be moved aside. Then the loose or rotten planks had to be pried out and replaced with new ones.
Once again, Pidgeotto's strength proved invaluable.
It helped lift heavy furniture, held planks firmly in place while Minato hammered nails, and even tapped the floor with its claws to determine whether there were hollow spaces underneath.
While replacing a plank in one corner, they discovered a hidden compartment beneath the floor.
Inside was a small iron box.
Within the box were several old photographs—images of the house's former owner together with Pokémon from the forest.
---
The remaining tasks were much easier.
Minato replaced the broken window glass and repaired the frames. Meanwhile, Pidgeotto used its finely controlled Air Slash to trim the edges of doors and windows so they could close tightly.
Painting the exterior walls turned out to be the most enjoyable job.
Minato handled the lower sections while Pidgeotto flew overhead to paint the higher areas.
It gripped a specially made roller brush with its claws and rolled it back and forth along the walls with movements so smooth it looked like a professional painter.
Occasionally, a bit of paint splashed onto its feathers.
Whenever that happened, Pidgeotto would immediately fly to the nearby stream to carefully wash itself clean.
Watching it, Minato couldn't help but laugh.
Even back when it was a Pidgey, it had always been extremely particular about keeping its feathers tidy.
"Whether you're a Pidgey or a Pidgeotto," Minato said with a smile, "you're still the same."
---
By dusk, the painting was complete.
Under the golden glow of the setting sun, the refreshed wooden house stood beside the stream.
Its white walls, dark brown roof, and sparkling glass windows blended perfectly with the surrounding natural landscape.
Pidgeotto circled the house three times in the air.
Then it let out a long, proud cry that echoed across the clouds—
As if declaring to the entire forest:
This place was now its home.