Originally, Shen Yu had wanted to take her Blaziken with her on explorations, as it was her strongest Pokémon and she would feel more at ease with it by her side.
However, on second thought, if her campsite was left unattended by a capable person, what would happen if it were raided? It would be more appropriate to leave her most trusted Blaziken at home to guard it. As for danger, she could simply avoid going too far.
After arranging for home security, Shen Yu continued into the forest. Although Snorlax wanted to follow, Shen Yu decisively put it into a Poké Ball. "You shouldn't come along. What if you get hungry?"
Although trainers had pooled their wisdom and long ago researched an ultra-filling Oran Berry that weighed a ton, Shen Yu lacked the necessary ingredients to make it.
After recalling Snorlax into its Poké Ball, Shen Yu called out to Akong, "Akong, let's go."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Shen Yu turned to look at the Bisharp. Given Bisharp's load-bearing capacity and stamina, taking Snorlax along would be no problem at all. Moreover, from what she could see, Bisharp and Snorlax had a good relationship, so bringing Snorlax along was fine.
"Never mind, let's go, let's go."
Shen Yu led Bisharp into the forest. On the other side, Blaziken and Lopunny were left to guard the campsite. Shen Yu, walking ahead, didn't know how long she had been walking. Although she had been marking her path, she was starting to feel a bit lost.
Just then, a fireball rose into the sky and exploded. Seeing this, Shen Yu immediately climbed onto Akong's back. "Akong, home is that way. Let's go back!"
Akong quickly brought Shen Yu back to their campsite, only to find that half the campsite was gone. No camp, just land...
Where was the tent? Where did my tent disappear to? What were you two doing?
Of course, these were just Shen Yu's thoughts. The most urgent matter now was to figure out how her home had disappeared.
Shen Yu did not possess the ability to communicate with Pokémon like Xia Huanao. She could only watch as Blaziken anxiously gestured, and after much effort, finally understood, "Oh, you mean a Pokémon came by and used Sleep Powder, and then you two fell asleep. When you woke up, the tent was gone, right?"
Shen Yu watched as Blaziken threw a pile of leaves into the air, then set them on fire with its flames, turning them to ash, before lying on the ground and pretending to sleep. Shen Yu roughly guessed. Blaziken nodded, indicating that her guess was correct.
Shen Yu squatted down and looked at the drag marks on the ground where the tent had been, heading in the opposite direction of where she had left. Shen Yu tidied up the debris on the ground. "Let's chase. Otherwise, we'll be sleeping on the streets tonight."
With that, Shen Yu followed the tracks into the forest, her Pokémon trailing behind her.
After searching the forest for a long time, they finally found their tent by a small lake. Near the tent, Shen Yu found nothing, not a single Pokémon, as if nature itself had masterfully orchestrated everything.
Shen Yu carefully inspected the tent from the outside and found nothing amiss. Looking at the surroundings, it was indeed better than being in the dense forest. However, the inability to see the sea and any ships was problematic. She couldn't just chop down all the surrounding trees.
Shen Yu was somewhat conflicted. At this moment, she suddenly wished for a Pokémon that could teleport.
After much deliberation, Shen Yu ultimately decided to camp by the lake. The main reason was that moving the tent back would be too troublesome.
Shen Yu looked up at the sky and found it utterly absurd. Shen Yu felt like two or three hours had passed, yet the sun hadn't moved much. Could it be that there were islands in the polar regions with perpetual spring? But it was already the period of polar day and night? It was only November.
Shen Yu was confused, but as she had said before, eating when hungry and sleeping when tired would never be wrong. She made a simple lunch, ate her fill with her Pokémon, and then continued to pass the time on the island. Or rather, just by the lake.
She hadn't looked closely earlier, but the lakeside was truly a treasure trove. There were all sorts of berry trees, enough to last her for months without worry. Since this was the case, Shen Yu decided to gather all the berries and put them in her backpack. It was better to store them in her bag than outside, where they might rot. Her bag would preserve them effectively.
...
As time passed, Shen Yu didn't know how long it had been when she looked up at the sun in the sky. Finally, the sun was setting, and it was almost evening. Shen Yu felt as if a century had passed.
She hadn't been idle for this short half-day. Her small tent had evolved into a small wooden cabin, and every now and then, two Pokémon would spar with her, allowing her Pokémon to grow significantly.
Blaziken had already evolved into Braixen. Xia Huanao hadn't progressed this quickly, had he? And it wasn't just Braixen; the other Pokémon had also made considerable progress. Snorlax had completed its evolution, and even Zorua was just a step away from entering Zoroark's domain.
Shen Yu lit a bonfire and sat on a log, looking at the small lake in front of her. It had been a tiring day. Shen Yu sat on the wood, feeling incredibly comfortable, humming a little tune.
The evening breeze gently blew across Shen Yu's face, tickling her skin. Shen Yu yawned, and sleepiness washed over her.
"Strange, what time is it? Why am I so sleepy already?"
After saying that, Shen Yu shook her head. "No, I'm already quite tired. It's only natural that I'd be sleepy."
With that, Shen Yu stretched and was about to head into her small wooden cabin to rest. However, as soon as she stood up, a strong cold wind blew from behind her, causing Shen Yu's hair to stand on end. A chill ran from the base of her spine to the crown of her head. With a shiver, Shen Yu turned her head and saw a large bird flapping its wings towards her.
"Fearow? Such a large Fearow."
A normal Fearow is about 1.5 meters tall, but this pink-feathered Fearow in front of Shen Yu was about 2 meters tall.
Shen Yu patted her Poké Ball. "You've come at the perfect time. I was just missing a Flying-type Pokémon to leave here. Braixen, Fire Spin!"
Braixen waved its branch-like magic wand. The Fearow didn't hesitate, directly taking flight and using its wings to create a powerful gust of wind, kicking up grass roots and blinding Shen Yu's eyes. Shen Yu rubbed her eyes and looked again, only to find that the Fearow was gone. Only a large black dot remained in the sky, flying into the distance.
Shen Yu looked at her small wooden cabin, then at the flying Fearow. "We're going after it! Snorlax, Lopunny, guard the house!"
Shen Yu ran towards the setting sun to chase the Fearow in the sky. Running in the sunset was truly her flying youth. On the other side, guarding the house was a simple task for Snorlax. The big guy simply sat at the entrance, blocking the door completely, making it impossible to enter. As for the windows, Lopunny was inside the house; if you dared to climb through a window, it would kick you out with a rabbit kick.
Meanwhile, Shen Yu chased the Fearow. Even though the paths in the forest were not easy to navigate, she did not lose sight of it. This wasn't because Shen Yu had exceptional tracking skills, but because the Fearow had no intention of flying out of Shen Yu's pursuit range. Otherwise, with its flying speed, Mach 2, it would have disappeared in an instant.
Shen Yu ran, panting, and sighed as she ran. "Really, I should have just given up chasing. I can't possibly catch it, so how can I capture it?"
After running another ten meters or so, Shen Yu became a little angry. "Braixen, Future Sight!"
Braixen slammed on the brakes, then stared intently in the direction of the Fearow and activated Future Sight. At this moment, the Fearow seemed to have reached its desired location, began to slow down, and descended. However, Shen Yu didn't know this and continued to pursue. As the Fearow was halfway down, it was hit on the head by the Psychic attack launched by Future Sight.
The Fearow's head buzzed, and it then plummeted towards the ground.
"Great, now I can catch it. Braixen, let's go!"
Shen Yu continued to run forward, only to see a dark shadow fly up and carry away the falling Fearow. Not only that, but it flew directly towards Shen Yu.
Shen Yu was startled. "Braixen, Fire Spin!"
The Fire Spin met the dark shadow's head, but the shadow broke through it. It descended in front of Shen Yu with a gust of wind, spreading its wings and screeching.
Skarmory, Steel-type and Flying-type, about 1.7 meters tall on average. It glared menacingly at Shen Yu, its entire body shimmering in the setting sun. Shen Yu swallowed. To be honest, in Shen Yu's opinion, Skarmory was indeed cooler than Fearow.
But the cool Skarmory was very angry right now. This Fearow was its good friend, and it had almost fallen to its death headfirst. How could this be allowed? It had to retaliate.
Shen Yu could feel the low pressure around Skarmory and said with a hint of apology, "Skarmory, don't be angry. I didn't know Fearow was your friend. I just wanted it to help out..."
Skarmory completely ignored Shen Yu's explanation, flapping its wings, the metallic wings striking towards Braixen.
"Steel Wing, huh? Braixen, use Heat Wave!"
Braixen waved its wooden stick, and a ball of flame spun rapidly, colliding with Skarmory's Steel Wing.