Chapter 22: The Result of the Prophecy

Chapter 22: The Result of the Prophecy

By the shore of Crescent Lake.

"Thank you for letting us ride with you. You're welcome to visit our valley when you have time," Machop politely thanked Lapras, and Rio chimed in with his agreement.

Lapras nodded gently without speaking, then turned and dived into the lake.

"Big brother, the place that appeared in the prophecy just now, it couldn't be..."

Rio hesitated, leaving his sentence unfinished.

"Yes, a place with so many flying Pokémon, it must be there."

"No way," Rio recalled the first time he was besieged in his Pokémon career and complained, "Those damn birds are no pushovers. After all, Fighting-types can't beat Flying-types."

"Yes, that's why the Leader sent me to investigate with you."

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice spoke.

A frog-shaped Pokémon wearing white boxing gloves, with a spiral pattern on its belly, shot out from Crescent Lake, breaking the water's surface.

"You are... Poliwhirl?!"

Rio recognized this classically styled Pokémon as the Poliwhirl who had been standing silently beside the Golduck Leader earlier.

Machop was somewhat surprised and, smiling, extended a hand, wanting to shake hands with Poliwhirl. "A very warm welcome."

"…"

Poliwhirl looked coldly at Machop's outstretched hand, paid it no mind, and said nothing, silently following the two Pokémon.

This guy is hard to get along with, Rio complained internally. Whether it was the earlier bullying incident or this cold Poliwhirl before him, his favorable impression of the Crescent Lake Pokémon had diminished considerably.

Machop, however, didn't seem to mind. He adjusted the backpack on his back and, beckoning to Rio, proceeded towards the central area of Newmoon Forest—the Forest's Nest.

In the very center of Newmoon Forest, due to abundant sunlight and fertile soil, the trees grew exceptionally tall. Moreover, the closer to the top, the more sunlight they received, and the branches and leaves at the tops of the trees grew even more luxuriantly. Amidst these crisscrossing branches and leaves, a large number of Flying-type Pokémon had built their nests, hence the name "Forest's Nest."

And the leader of the Forest's Nest was the avian overlord known as the king of the sky—Pidgeot.

Leaving the open lake area, they arrived at the densely wooded center of the forest. Rio, on tenterhooks, observed his surroundings left and right, fearing that the flock of crazed Pidgeotto and Pidgey would suddenly rush out again.

"Although my right hand was broken last time, I took one down with me in an extreme exchange. The Elite Pidgeotto on the other side also had its wing broken. This time, even if their whole flock attacks, I no longer have those deadweights with me. Big Brother Machop's strength can definitely handle most of them, and Poliwhirl can take care of the rest."

The thought of having two strong backers this time made Rio regain his confidence.

"But I'm just afraid those damn Flying-type Pokémon will stay completely in the air. Then I'd be totally out of options, unable to even get close, let alone fight desperately... Hmm, this won't do. I can't count on Electric or Ice types. I wonder if Riolu can learn any Rock-type moves..." Rio racked his brains, trying to recall Pokémon information he had seen in his previous life.

"Careful!"

Poliwhirl, who had been silently following behind, suddenly gave a low warning.

"Flap, flap, flap," the sound of numerous wings flapping came from not far away.

"There are many of them. It's not suitable to engage them directly. Let's hide first."

Machop quickly surveyed the area and pointed to a dense patch of grass nearby.

Rio and Poliwhirl had no objections. The three Pokémon quickly hid in the grass, held their breath, and quietly peeked out from between the blades of grass.

Leading the way was a Pokémon very familiar to Rio—Pidgeotto, currently flapping its brownish-yellow wings as it flew through the forest. Although its right wing seemed a bit clumsy in flight, the fierce red glow in its eyes had not diminished, and its sharp talons still glinted menacingly.

Following behind Pidgeotto was a large flock of Pidgey and Spearow. Although they were smaller than Pidgeotto, the sight of such a large group of ferocious bird Pokémon flying past in a dark mass was still quite imposing.

"There's no way I'm fighting desperately, not in this lifetime. Just gotta hide on the side and play it safe for now..."

Rio mentally crossed out his earlier thoughts. Looking at this group of fiends, his scalp tingled. If he had to face this flock of bird Pokémon, he'd be cannon fodder even if he were 10 levels higher.

Evidently, the two Pokémon beside him felt the same. Seeing the Pidgeotto flock fly away, they both let out a sigh of relief in unison.

Just as he was about to get up, Rio suddenly felt like he had stepped on something. Looking down, he saw a small, mud-covered hand being stepped on by him.

"Oh my god!"

Rio leaped up abruptly, various horrifying images flashing through his mind.

Hearing Rio's shriek, Machop and Poliwhirl quickly entered a combat stance. However, after a moment of cautious vigilance, they found no trace of an enemy.

"What are you screaming about?" Machop said irritably, but he quickly noticed the object Rio had stepped on. "Huh? What's this?"

Fumbling in the direction of the outstretched small hand, the Pokémon found a human lying face down behind a large tree, with a left hand extended.

Machop turned the human over, brushed off the mud and fallen leaves, revealing a very young appearance. The overall physique was not large, probably around 10 years old in human terms.

"Still breathing." Seeing that this unknown object was a creature he was once most familiar with, Rio quickly came to his senses. He extended his paw and placed it under the human's nose to check for breath. To his pleasant surprise, although the breathing was very weak, there were still signs of air movement, indicating that this human child was still alive.

This was the first human Rio had seen in the Pokémon world, and he was overjoyed, naturally not hoping to find a corpse.

"Birds flying past, a figure falling in the jungle... Could this human child be the clue we're looking for this time?" Machop recalled the scene from [Future Sight] and guessed.

"There's a backpack here too."

Ignoring Machop who was pondering nearby, Rio found a small backpack not far from the human child. He picked it up with his paw; the backpack rattled as if it contained many miscellaneous items.

Because Machop himself was carrying a large backpack, Rio carried the human child on his back and held the retrieved small backpack in his hand. Thanks to the strong physique of a Fighting-type Pokémon, carrying a human child plus a small backpack was not too strenuous for Rio.

"Well, are we going to Crescent Lake, or directly back to Sunrise Valley?" Rio asked Machop.

Machop also looked somewhat troubled. "Going back and forth will take quite a bit of time..."

Just as the two Pokémon were in a dilemma, Poliwhirl spoke again. "No need for such trouble."

With that, he looked around, walked to a particularly stout tree, channeled a mysterious energy into his hands, and then slapped the tree trunk forcefully.

"Slap," "Rustle, rustle—"

The slap shook many leaves from the tree, but what was surprising was that a wooden ladder incredibly descended from the tree.

"Ah, this is!"

Greatly astonished, Rio instantly thought of a skill, [Secret Power]. This skill, when not in combat, could create a secret base in special large trees, patches of grass, or caves.

Poliwhirl calmly took the small backpack from Rio's hand and climbed up the wooden ladder.

"Actually, he might be a good Pokémon, just a bit cold in personality," a thought drifted through Rio's mind. He supported the human child on his back with his left paw and climbed up the wooden ladder with his right.

After some climbing, the three Pokémon (and one unconscious human child) arrived in a spacious area at the top of the tree.

"This move is really amazing! It's practically an essential skill for outings." After putting down the human child, Rio looked at the wide surroundings and couldn't help but feel envious.

Machop, truly a Pokémon who had followed a knowledgeable Professor, was evidently aware of the [Secret Power] move's capability, so he appeared relatively calm in the face of this incredible secret base.

"Swish—"

Poliwhirl sprayed a stream of water from its mouth, washing the mud and fallen leaves off the human child.

The cleaned human child had short black hair, which lay limply against his face after being washed by the water. He was wearing a tracksuit and sports shoes. Perhaps stimulated by the water, his originally closed eyes twitched and slowly opened.

Suddenly waking up to see a gray, humanoid Pokémon with three tile-like crests on its head, a round-bodied frog-shaped Pokémon with a spiral pattern on its belly, and a blue-black, slender-limbed, small dog-shaped Pokémon staring at him, the human child was momentarily stunned.

Just like that, a human cub and three Pokémon stared at each other, big eyes meeting small.

Then, the human child shouted with a joyful expression, "%$#@%*"

"???" Even Rio, who had been a human in his previous life, was completely baffled. This didn't match any language from his past life. Could this be the human language of this world?

Machop, as if remembering something, slapped his forehead and quickly rummaged through his backpack.

The human child also understood that the three Pokémon before him couldn't understand what he was saying. He gestured continuously with his hands, trying to use body language to help express himself: "$#%%##****@#"

The frantic gestures and gibberish made Rio even more confused.

Just then, Machop finally pulled out an earpiece-like device from his backpack, put it on the human child's head, and adjusted it slightly.

The human child fiddled with it curiously, and as if understanding something, a happy expression appeared on his face. He opened his mouth and spoke.

This time, the Pokémon finally heard a vibrant, energetic, and tender voice.

"Pokémon, hello, I am Takuma."

…

High above the secret treehouse, a dark shadow with spread wings was slowly descending!