After seeing his first customer off, Victor returned to his chair and continued to study the book on herbal medicine.
Gengar sat nearby, watching the large television. The weather had turned a bit hot after lunch, so Victor had Dali and the others come inside to watch TV as well. As for the Petilil, it wasn't interested in television.
Closing the book and glancing outside, Victor guessed that there probably wouldn't be any more customers today. He stood up.
Gengar and the Machoke all turned to look at him.
"How about we go explore the forest today?" Victor asked with a smile.
The Pokémon nodded in agreement. Gengar turned off the TV, and Dali and the others stood up. Seeing this, Victor went outside, brought the wooden sign back in, and hung a "Temporarily Closed" sign on the door before heading to the backyard.
"Dali and Sanli, you two will come with me. Erli, you'll stay here and watch the house, okay?" Victor said, slinging a wicker basket onto his back.
One of the Machoke, presumably Erli, stepped forward and gave a crisp salute, looking every bit the qualified security guard.
"Machoke!"
"I'm counting on you!" Victor replied with an equally serious salute.
After arranging for the house-sitter, Victor went to the grassy area by the lake to ask the Petilil if it wanted to come along. Receiving an affirmative reply, he picked it up and headed towards the forest behind the Breeding House.
As they passed the area he had designated as an herb garden, Victor paused. He decided that when he got back, he would buy some herb seeds to plant, and some vegetable seeds to plant next to them.
"Dali, when we get back, I might need to trouble you to help me clear this land. We'll plant herbs and some of your favorite vegetables," Victor said to the Machoke.
Seeing the sincere expression on Victor's face, Dali and Sanli paused for a moment, then pounded their chests.
"Machoke."
"We already consider this place our home."
...
Standing at the entrance to the forest, Victor felt it was a bit gloomy inside, even though it was the middle of the day.
He patted the small head of the Petilil in his arms to steel his nerves, then turned to Gengar.
"Gengar, you guys will protect me, right?"
Hearing this, Gengar's wide grin vanished. It stared intently at the entrance, nodded seriously, and then melted into Victor's shadow, leaving only a pair of crimson eyes visible.
The surrounding temperature dropped by several degrees, and Victor shivered.
Why does it feel... even gloomier now?
Meanwhile, Dali and Sanli flanked him, with one standing beside him and the other taking the lead in front.
Seeing how they had surrounded him, Victor nodded in satisfaction. If they ran into any real danger, he'd have Gengar hit them with a point-blank Hypnosis, then let the Machoke put them to sleep for good.
As Victor nodded, the Petilil in his arms sensed a strange aura coming from him and let out a questioning cry:
"Lili?"
"Let's go!"
Victor patted the Petilil's head and entered the forest.
Unlike the concrete jungles of the city, the canopy of the forest here blotted out the sky. Sunlight could only filter through in scattered patches. The leaves were a vibrant green, looking like jade in the light. Every gust of wind made them dance, and the rustling sound, combined with the various Pokémon calls—sometimes loud, sometimes soft, sometimes near, sometimes far—was like a moving symphony.
The scent of nature filled the air, and Victor's tense mood began to relax. Even the Petilil in his arms seemed happier.
It doesn't seem so dangerous after all, Victor thought to himself as he and his Pokémon continued onward.
"A Bidoof? Up close, its teeth really are huge. Why does it look so dazed? I wonder if it's going to go... 'Ahhh'..."
"Is that a forest Burmy? It really is wrapped in leaves. So cool."
"What's that? A Bronzor and a Kricketune? Its cry really is beautiful."
Watching the red Kricketune cross its scythe-like forearms over its chest and produce a melodious sound, Victor was tempted to bring it back to the Breeding House.
As they ventured deeper, they saw more and more Pokémon, and the rustling in the surrounding bushes became more frequent.
See? No danger at all, Victor thought, looking around at the surrounding Pokémon like a curious child.
"What's that smell? It stinks!"
Suddenly, a foul odor wafted over, growing stronger and stronger. Victor covered his nose and looked around but saw nothing unusual.
"Could it be a Gloom?"
He was about to search for the Gloom's location when he saw Dali staring intently at the bushes in front of them.
After a rustle, a Skuntank appeared before them.
It glared at Victor, the stench emanating from its body intensifying. Just as it was about to make a move, it was sent flying out of sight by a standard uppercut from Dali.
"Machoke."
"It stank."
"!!!"
One punch... and it was gone?
The smell still lingered, so Victor quickly moved on from the area.
They arrived at a small, unusually quiet stream.
A bad feeling washed over Victor as he watched the constantly moving vines ahead.
"Don't tell me..."
The words had barely left his mouth when a giant Tangrowth stood up and reached its vine-like arms towards him.
Then, right before his eyes, it was lifted into the air.
"Gengar..."
Gengar's voice came from behind him. The next moment, the Tangrowth was thrown out of sight, disappearing without a trace.
Victor turned and gave Gengar a big thumbs-up.
"Gengar(￣^￣)"
"I'm super strong."
Seeing Gengar retreat back into his shadow, Victor happily continued forward.
After leaving the stream, the Pokémon sightings became frequent again.
There were Budew lazing in the sun, their round bodies looking like unopened flower buds.
The pink bodies of Cherubi attracted the attention of the Starly and Staravia in the trees.
Murkrow and Honchkrow perched on branches, watching Victor but not daring to make a move.
A few Aipom swung back and forth in the trees.
From time to time, Victor would find some high-quality herbs and berries. He left some behind and put the rest into his wicker basket without a second thought.
A few of the Aipom had been following Victor. Seeing the berries in his basket, one of them waited until he wasn't looking, hooked a tree branch with the hand on its tail, and hung upside down. It quickly grabbed a handful of berries and herbs, then righted itself, snickering.
The next second, a purple figure appeared right in front of it.
"Gengar?! (•́へ•́╬)"
"You dare steal my food?!"
Before the Aipom could react, it saw Gengar's eyes glow, and it began to sway before toppling over.
Gengar used its psychic powers to put everything back into Victor's basket. It looked at the basket full of food, then at the other Aipom.
It didn't trust Victor to carry it. It floated over to him and indicated that he should hand over the basket.
Unable to argue with Gengar, Victor had no choice but to give it the basket. After helping Gengar get it on its back, Gengar tested the weight—not bad. It then followed beside Victor, continuing to pick berries.
It was much faster than Victor. With the basket on its back, it floated everywhere—up trees, into bushes, and... well, it couldn't go in the water, which Gengar had to give up on with a tear in its eye.
Even Dali and the others, after ensuring Victor was within their line of sight, began their own "gold rush."