At dawn, when the first ray of sunlight cut through the darkness and a pale fish-belly white spread across the horizon, Peter's consciousness slowly surfaced from deep sleep.
A firm believer in early nights and early mornings, his body woke almost automatically.
Out of habit, he rolled over and reached into the sleeping bag, groping around a few times.
The familiar fluffy warmth didn't respond.
"…Huh?!"
Peter jolted upright.
Buneary and Smoliv were gone.
Before he could even climb out of the sleeping bag, a furious roar echoed from nearby.
"ROAAAR—!!"
Peter's expression changed instantly. Not even bothering to put on his jacket, he grabbed Miltank's Poké Ball and sprinted out of the tent.
In the forest clearing ahead, three Pokémon stood in a tense standoff.
Two of them—badly injured—were unmistakably Buneary and Smoliv.
Opposite them loomed a ferocious, almost deranged Gyarados.
On closer inspection, several of Gyarados's scales were shattered, its left eye was heavily injured and forced shut, and both its tail and crest were wrapped in Leech Seed, constantly draining its stamina.
"Buneary! Smoliv—!"
Peter rushed over, taking in the scene, his brow knitting tightly.
"Buneary! Smoliv!"
The two little ones lit up when they saw him, smiling proudly—almost as if they were showing off their achievements.
There was still frost clinging to Buneary's arms.
Smoliv's body bore deep, horrifying bite marks.
Both of their eyes were bloodshot.
Peter froze.
In that single moment, a powerful realization surged through him.
They hadn't slept all night.
They had fought through the darkness, again and again, pushing themselves to the brink—
All so that he wouldn't have to worry about today's Gym battle.
Their actions, their expressions, their feelings—
Like burning charcoal in the snow.
Like the winter sun hanging high above.
Like a flickering lamp in the dead of night.
He saw it.
He heard it.
He felt it.
Warm. Scorching. Overwhelming.
The calm lake in his chest seemed to boil.
A sudden blur clouded his vision. Maybe the morning breeze had kicked up dust.
Peter lowered his head, rubbed his eyes, then slowly crouched down and pulled the two Pokémon into his arms, carefully touching their wounds.
"…Don't ever do this again," he said softly.
"Do you understand?"
"Buneary~"
"Smoliv~"
They smiled, eyes narrowed into crescents, sparkling brightly.
"ROAAAR—!!"
The warmth was abruptly shattered.
Gyarados roared again, jaws opening wide as it fired a massive Water Pulse straight at them.
Peter was about to throw Miltank's Poké Ball—
—but Buneary and Smoliv stepped forward, blocking him.
"Buneary! (Trainer, let us do this!)"
"Smoliv! (We can handle it!)"
Seeing the certainty in their eyes, Peter looked up and shouted:
"Alright! Buneary—Quick Attack, carry Smoliv and dodge!"
BOOM!
The water sphere exploded against the ground as the two had already darted to the side.
Peter seized the moment to assess their opponent:
[Gyarados Lv. 35 — Advanced]
A wild-area apex predator.
And yet… his two Pokémon had chosen to challenge it.
Peter's clenched fist trembled, then steadied.
"Smoliv, use Strength Sap!
Buneary, use Copycat on Smoliv!"
"Buneary!"
"Smoliv!"
Dense green light surged from Gyarados's body and flowed into the two of them.
In double battles, Copycat could create unbelievable effects.
Two flashes of light marked Gyarados's Attack sharply dropping, while Buneary and Smoliv recovered a portion of their stamina.
"ROAR—!"
Enraged, Gyarados slammed its tail into the ground, splitting the grass apart, then leapt high into the air and lunged at them.
It was completely unhinged now.
Thrash.
A Normal-type powerhouse—
120 base power, relentless consecutive attacks, followed by self-inflicted confusion.
Peter narrowed his eyes.
"Smoliv, fall back and use Sweet Scent!
Buneary—Quick Attack in, run across its body and disrupt its balance!"
Sweet Scent in the real world didn't just lower evasion—it also slowed movement.
Enveloped in the heavy fragrance, Gyarados's attacks lost some sharpness.
Buneary leapt again and again, stepping across the massive dragon's body and reaching its head.
"Now!
Buneary—aim for the eye! Power-Up Punch, then Double Kick!
Smoliv—Mega Drain!"
Rabbit ears clenched like fists slammed into Gyarados's only remaining eye.
The dragon howled in agony.
The follow-up Double Kick and Mega Drain landed simultaneously.
With a thunderous crash, Gyarados collapsed.
Battle over.
"Buneary!"
"Smoliv~!"
The two cheered and leapt straight into Peter's arms, rubbing against him happily.
Peter held them tightly.
They felt… heavier.
Back at camp, just as Peter was about to prepare breakfast, he realized—
They were already asleep in his arms.
He gazed at their peaceful faces for a long time before smiling softly.
"…Yeah," he murmured.
"What I love most… really is Pokémon."
Resting his forehead gently against theirs, he finally understood that old saying.
"All life will eventually meet other life, and something is born from that encounter."
"…This," Peter whispered,
"…this must be what they call a bond."
Warmth—dense, sweet, overflowing—filled his heart.
[Ding! Cross-tier victory achieved. Universal Talent Points ×15 obtained!]
After applying burn medicine and ointment to the two, the system's notification finally arrived.
Then Peter noticed something shocking.
Universal Talent Points: 17
Attack +3
Special Attack +2
Defense +3
Special Defense +4
Speed +1
"…What exactly did you two do all night…?" Peter muttered, twitching slightly.
He found out soon enough.
Because outside his tent stood a crowd of wild Pokémon parents.
Every single one of them had one or two battered youngsters behind them.
"…Ahem," Peter said awkwardly, standing in front of the tent.
"Everyone, could you perhaps let me… explain?"
No response.
A Crobat fired Sludge Bomb.
A Golduck followed with Water Pulse.
A Staraptor unleashed Air Slash.
An Kricketune leapt in with X-Scissor.
"OH COME ON—!
Miltank, Blizzard!"
Peter threw the Poké Ball, recalled Buneary and Smoliv, jumped on his bike, and bolted.
Miltank rolled after him using Rollout, buying precious seconds.
He didn't stop running until nearly half an hour later.
"Haaah… haaah…"
Peter wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Grinding talents like this is fast… but it's also ridiculously dangerous."
Looking up, he realized he had already reached the outskirts of Oreburgh City.
"…Well," he muttered,
"On the bright side, travel speed increased by several magnitudes."
He nodded solemnly.
"Everything has two sides. Marx truly wasn't lying."
As for the tent—
Yeah. Forget it.
With how enthusiastic those Pokémon were, going back would probably just mean holding a funeral for it.
Peter sighed and walked toward the city.
Ahead of him, the first Gym battle awaited.