Dawn of Pokémon

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April 27, early morning.

There are less than ten hours left before the agreed gathering time - the evening of the 27th.Xiaoye has completed three-quarters of her journey, and her current location is the northeastern edge of the giant forest.According to this pace of travel, it is more than enough to reach the shore of Xingchen Lake before evening.

Speaking of which...it seems like the first encounter with Riolu was on the opposite side of this forest, right?

Xiao Ye looked into the depths of the dense jungle and recalled the not-so-distant past.

That was the second day after Xiaoye set foot on the other side.Before Xiao Ye could enter the giant forest, Riolu appeared from the dense forest and attacked Xiao Ye.

Then, the Forest Lizard intercepted Riolu.Halfway through their battle, they were interrupted by the grass flute of Bulbasaur Green Forest - Xiaoye later learned that this huge Bulbasaur would use the grass flute to command the grass-type Pokémon in the entire forest to fight against foreign enemies. That's why the surrounding Pokémon were so nervous when they heard the sound of the grass flute - and the second half of the battle was completed after Xiaoye crossed the giant forest.

Unsurprisingly, the forest lizard defeated Riolu, and Riolu, who lived alone, began to chase the forest lizard, or Xiaoye's movement track, and constantly launched challenges to avenge his shame.

During the half-month journey, Riolu gradually became closer to this special "ethnic group".The initial vigilance has turned into trust - for Riolu, who is used to walking alone, this may also be an unprecedented and new experience.

but……

Xiaoye walked up to Riolu, squatted down, and slowly stretched out her hand.

Regarding Xiaoye's somewhat abnormal behavior, Riolu just tilted his head in confusion and had no intention of avoiding it.

The girl's fingers touched Riolu's head and stroked it twice.The gentle touch made Riolu narrow his eyes unconsciously and relax his body.

...so well-behaved.

Xiaoye suddenly felt like she was being cute.

Thinking about it, at first, treating it with wound medicine was ruthlessly slapped aside - a big change has indeed taken place.

"Riolu, I plan to rush to the Star Lake on the other side of the forest tonight, where my partner will be waiting for me."

Riolu nodded, his expression a little confused, as if he didn't quite understand why Xiaoye mentioned this.

"Although I've mentioned this before, it's better to explain it to you in more detail." Xiaoye smiled and sat next to Riolu, "I wonder if you still remember, when I conquered Snow Boy, I said But I come from far away."

Saying that, Xiaoye pointed far to the southwest.

"If you keep walking through the forest, you will see the sea. You must have been there too, right?"

Riolu thought for a moment and nodded.

"This sea is very vast, so vast that we can't even imagine it. Even birds that are good at flying can't easily cross it." Xiaoye narrated peacefully with a smile, "And on the other side of the sea, there is something more beautiful than the land under our feet. The vast continent—that’s where I come from.”

The puppy Pokémon's dark red eyes had already widened.

It did go to the seaside.However, the "ocean" is really an existence that is too broad and vast - when looking at the endless blue, little Riolu never imagined that there would be other continents and other lives on the other side of the sea.

"Although I'm here now, I can't stay for a long time." Xiaoye's expression was very calm. "Today is the last time I can stay here. I will leave here tomorrow - crossing the ocean is not easy. It wouldn’t be surprising if I couldn’t come back here again.”

"——So, maybe this is our last meeting."

Riolu saw the purple-haired girl turn her attention to him.

"What do you want to do?" Xiaoye asked softly.

How to do it?

Riolu didn't answer.

At this time it was almost impossible to think.Xiaoye's words replayed in circles in its mind, shattering its calmness like a giant hammer.

I won't come back. Is this the last time we meet?

The farewell declaration came so suddenly that Riolu was completely unprepared - just as sudden as Xiaoye breaking into his life.

After a long silence, Xiaoye spoke again.

"Sorry, I didn't tell you until now." She handed an object to Riolu, "This is an apology, please accept it."

Riolu took the thing from Xiaoye's hand in a daze.It was a very familiar prop - a small bottle with incredible healing power called "Injury Medicine".

"The wound medicine from before is almost used up, right? Just think of this as a spare." Xiaoye stood up and waved to Dabi Bird.

The golden bird rode the wind and landed in front of Xiaoye.The girl jumped onto the bird's back and smiled at Riolu.

"Goodbye."

====================

The edge of the giant forest is always very quiet.

Perhaps it's because the grass-type Pokémon living in the giant tree forest are too united and too exclusive, but few Pokémon settle on the edge of the forest with lush foliage and numerous fruits.Most of the wild Pokémon that do not belong to the giant forest will choose to stay away from here as much as possible to avoid accidentally provoking those terrifying green seas.

The sun moved slowly overhead, and only the breeze made the branches sway and make a slight sound.

In such a quiet place, Riolu stood still for a long time.

At this moment, it completely understood the meaning of what Xiaoye said to Yukidouzi, and also understood the reason why Xiaoye confirmed Yukidouzi's feelings again and again.

"I come from a place far away" - at first, Riolu simply understood this sentence to mean that Xiaoye came from near the giant tree forest where they met, which was indeed far enough away from the polar ice sheets.However, this is far from the case.

The sea, that endless blue shore—that was a concept that Riolu could not understand no matter what.Although it can easily climb mountains and cross plains, once it is in soft water, it loses the strong legs it needs to survive.

It couldn't imagine how it could cross that vast blue.

But that's where Saya comes from.Because of this, she cannot easily visit the Other Place again and again. "Maybe this is the last meeting." Riolu understood this sentence deeply.

——It’s understandable intellectually, but completely unacceptable emotionally.

Riolu quietly thought and recalled how his world had changed dramatically since Xiaoye broke into his life.

When it was a lone ranger in the forest, its life was very monotonous.Foraging, hunting, fighting against powerful enemies, and resting cautiously on guard - of course, Riolu is not dissatisfied with its life dominated by blood and battle.Rather, for it with the fighting attribute, warlikeness is engraved in its genes, and fighting is a matter of course.

It has been a loner since birth.It has no partners and has never felt the need for them. It relies entirely on its own fists and feet.

——Then, Saya and the forest lizard appeared.

It was obviously so strong that it couldn't resist, but it didn't show any malice. The forest lizard always looked at it with calm and calm eyes, and the same was true for Xiaoye, the "leader" of the forest lizard.

Riolu, who had survived the constant fighting and fighting, did not have an overly complicated way of thinking.If you want to survive, you have to fight, and when you encounter enemies, you have to fight. These simple logics support it to get to this point almost without any distractions.However, it was unable to understand Xiaoye's behavior.

Although it was powerful enough, it never regarded it as prey; when it was attacked by a group of fossil pterosaurs, it was clearly unable to protect itself, but it still attracted the firepower directed at it, preventing it from being killed by the fossil pterosaurs. under her claws; unpreparedly giving it a magical item that can heal wounds, even though it is not a member of her tribe; when encountering a dying Pokémon on the road, she does not hesitate to lend a helping hand , as if saving others is as natural as "fighting to survive".

Although he couldn't understand it, Riolu was still attracted by Saya's way of doing things.The initial slight curiosity gradually became intense, and many things were gradually mixed into it.The "moral sense" and "conscience" that only humans possess may be difficult for Riolu to understand.It cannot describe its feelings accurately, but it finds that it can "see" more and more things.

Riolu, who had always only focused on his own survival and strength, began to pay attention to his surroundings.At the moment when the wildness of beasts and human intelligence collide, its vision becomes broader, and the emotions that are almost frozen in the endless battle become richer.Riolu saw many things that he had never noticed before, like——

It was like seeing a brand new world.

And all of these are the indelible changes brought to it by Xiao Ye.

It knew very well that it could no longer go back to the cold, single life filled with fighting.

Riolu never thought that Xiaoye would leave this land forever so soon.It originally thought - or it hoped that it could continue to follow in the footsteps of the forest lizard and Xiao Ye, continue to challenge and grow, continue to travel all over the world, climb over the snow-capped mountains, cross the grasslands, and see more brand-new breadth Things have been going on like this...

The next second, Riolu suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked in the direction Xiao Ye left.

——It knows what to do.

====================

evening.

When he could vaguely see the sparkling lake in the distance, the big bird landed and took a final rest.The remaining distance is negligible, and it is enough to walk before sunset.

Xiaoye carefully combed the feathers of the big bird.The Pichu on his shoulder turned his head and looked behind him.

"As expected, that guy won't follow me...Although he always fights boring battles, I really can't bear to leave Qiu."

"Yes." Xiaoye said.

After getting along for nearly half a month, it was naturally impossible for Xiaoye to have no feelings for Riolu.In fact, when she asked "What do you want to do?", Xiaoye hoped that Riolu would choose to follow her like Yukidouzi.

Xiaoye has always been very aware of Riolu's wariness towards the outside world. This wariness and rejection was so strong that Xiaoye was unable to treat its injuries for a time.Sure enough... For Riolu, a free life is more comfortable, right?

Xiao Ye guessed absentmindedly.

After everything was rested, Xiaoye put the big bird back into the ball, looked up at the position of the sun, "The time is up, let's go."

"Okay Qiu~" Piqiu, the only one left outside, waved his arm and responded.

I don’t know if everyone has reached the shore of Xingchen Lake.There's still time, I hope I won't be late...

Xiaoye's thoughts suddenly paused.

She turned around suddenly, causing the electric mouse on her shoulder to scream in surprise, almost thinking that Xiao Ye had turned around in the wild for the first time in a century.However, when Xiaoye stared silently at the trees in the distance, Pichu also realized something.

Before the Pokémon's figure appeared, there were the sounds of chaotic footsteps and heavy breathing.

The branches and leaves of the bushes were pushed aside indiscriminately, and the soles of their feet stepped on the green weeds without mercy.As if slowing down for even a second would have irreparable consequences, the haste of the visitor's pace was almost infused into all the noise.

Then, a short blue and black figure broke out from the green.

When Riolu came to his senses, Xiaoye had been gone for who knows how long.Thinking of Xiaoye saying "Today is the last day in the other land", a huge panic hit him.This time, it poured out its energy without reservation, used its top speed, and ran desperately towards the luminous lake.

He has obviously made up his mind.If you don't catch up...

Fortunately, Riolu's luck was not bad after all.

When the familiar purple-haired figure appeared in sight, Riolu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.The scratches scratched by the branches and leaves of the shrubs began to hurt, and the steps became limp and weak.

It reluctantly ran to Xiao Ye, panting and holding on to its knees. It couldn't stand up for a while, but it still held the brand new bottle of wound medicine tightly in its hand.

The lack of oxygen made its eyes dizzy, and patches of black shadows were dangling on the surface of the eyeballs.And in the chaotic field of vision, a hand came in.

It was a right hand that Riolu was very familiar with. He had once given it fruit and medicine, and had also been scratched by its sharp claws.

Riolu gasped and raised his head, his sight hitting a gentle light purple.

"Riolu, will you be our partner?"

Hearing these words and seeing the smiling face as always, Riolu's eyes suddenly heated up.

It pursed its lips and did not hold Xiaoye's hand——

The little Pokémon jumped up and fell into the arms of the person who swore to follow him forever.