Entei didn't say anything else.
It gently licked the Little One's cheek, then lifted its head to watch the endless autumn rain outside.
More than a hundred years was enough for many things to change. It was no longer the naive, innocent Pokémon it once had been.
Over that long stretch of time, it had experienced countless events and met countless people.
Because of that, Entei understood very clearly that its Little One was nothing like an ordinary human child.
The Little One never wanted to call it Dad.
The Little One seemed to know far more than a child should.
At times, the Little One even acted like a tiny adult.
All of it pointed to the same truth.
This was not an ordinary human infant.
But so what?
The time they had spent together was real. The affection the Little One showed it was real too.
No matter what, this was its Little One. Its child.
It would protect him for a lifetime, no… forever.
In that moment, countless thoughts passed through Entei's mind.
Human lives had an end. As a parent, it would never allow the Little One to leave this world.
When Ho-Oh returned, it would beg Ho-Oh to grant its child eternal life, just like it, Raikou, and Suicune.
No matter the price, it would gladly pay it.
By afternoon, the rain stopped.
The air was thick with the scent of wet soil and fresh grass, and a brilliant rainbow hung across the sky.
When Fuyuki first saw it, he thought Ho-Oh, their so-called photographer, had come back. After a closer look, he realized it was just an ordinary rainbow.
The ground outside was soaked. One step out and his feet would be caked in mud.
He didn't want to get filthy, but he also wanted to harvest the Berries that had already ripened.
That way, in a couple of days, the trees would bear fruit again.
With no other choice, Entei let him ride on its back and carried him to the orchard. Together, they picked all the Berries from the trees, placed them into baskets, and stored them in the warehouse Fuyuki had dug out.
Looking at the piles of Berries stacked like small hills inside the Secret Base, Fuyuki broke into a wide grin.
With this much food, they wouldn't have to worry about going hungry this winter.
At the same time, at the foot of Mount Tensei.
An elegant blue figure stepped onto the land.
It lifted its head toward the peak hidden among the clouds, a faint frown forming.
Entei was there.
Suicune broke into a run along the mountain path, its ribbon-like tail swaying lightly as it moved.
As it advanced, it carefully observed its surroundings.
Mount Tensei hadn't changed.
At least, it looked the same as the last time it had been here.
Then what was it that kept Entei here, refusing to leave?
The scenery rushed past. As the embodiment of the north wind, Suicune moved at incredible speed.
Before long, it reached the mountainside.
There was still some distance to the summit.
Yet it could clearly sense Entei's presence here. More than that, Marshadow was here too.
No… not just them.
Suicune frowned slightly. It could faintly sense another presence, one different from Entei and Marshadow.
That presence was incredibly weak. It felt similar to what it sensed from Pokémon that had only just hatched from an egg.
A bold, almost unbelievable guess surfaced in Suicune's mind.
Had Entei, Marshadow, and Raikou secretly raised a Pokémon infant here on Mount Tensei?
That didn't make sense.
Neither Entei nor Raikou had the kind of personality that would do something like that.
And Marshadow even less so.
It stopped.
Lost in thought, Suicune suddenly halted and looked ahead at a cave.
It remembered this place. Long ago, while guiding the Rainbow Hero through trials, they would sometimes rest here.
But compared to its memory, the cave had changed drastically.
Beside it, a grove of Berry trees had appeared at some point.
The trees were neatly arranged, clearly planted by someone's hand.
Moving closer, Suicune peered into the cave.
The once uneven stone walls had been transformed into a neat, square room, like a human dwelling.
What shocked it even more was the wooden floor, rich with the scent of nature, laid across the cave ground.
"What is this?" Suicune's eyes widened.
Just then, a familiar figure walked out from inside.
Suicune looked up and saw Entei emerge from the cave, lifting its head to meet its gaze from afar.
"Entei…"
Suicune was about to speak through telepathy when, in the next instant, it noticed something behind Entei.
A human infant it had never seen before.
Suicune's pupils shrank sharply.
At the same time, the child noticed its arrival and froze on the spot.
After a brief pause, Suicune shifted its gaze back to Entei.
Its voice was gentle, like flowing water.
"Entei, what exactly is going on here?"
"As you can see, I took in this infant," Entei replied, its voice dignified. "Let me introduce him. Suicune, this is Fuyuki, my child."
Took in… child…
Suicune's pupils trembled violently.
How was this possible?
Why would Entei, a Pokémon, bring a human infant back to Mount Tensei and raise him as its own?
More importantly, it seemed to have forgotten its mission.
Suicune's tone grew serious.
"Entei, we need an explanation."
"The Little One's parents died protecting Pokémon. In the human world, he has no family left, so I brought him back to Mount Tensei and decided to raise him," Entei explained concisely. "Marshadow and Raikou are already aware of this."
Suicune fell silent.
So it was the only one left in the dark.
It had no right to interfere with Entei's choice, nor did it want to.
It spoke softly instead. "Entei, you have stayed on Mount Tensei for far too long. You and I both have our missions. We do not have the time to care for a human child."
Entei remained silent.
Because it had already made its choice.
Between fulfilling its mission and caring for the Little One, it chose the latter.
"If Ho-Oh places blame, I will bear it alone," Entei said solemnly.
"Ho-Oh will be returning soon," Suicune replied.
Among the Legendary Beasts, it was closer to Ho-Oh than the others. It knew far more about Ho-Oh's movements than Entei or Raikou.
They hadn't hidden the conversation from Fuyuki.
He reached out and grabbed a tuft of Entei's fur.
Ho-Oh was coming back?
No, with Ho-Oh's personality, it probably wouldn't blame Entei… probably.
Fuyuki looked at Entei with worry, thoughts racing through his mind.
Soon, one idea rose above the rest.
If things really went south, they could just run.
Travel the whole world, shock everyone, rack up enough Shock Points, then exchange them for a hundred Rare Candy and push Entei straight to level 100.
Then they wouldn't have to be afraid of Ho-Oh at all.
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You can read up to chapter 56 and more soon on patreon.com/NiaXD.