Elf: Who told him to be an investigator!

Chapter 15, First Pokémon

"Huh? You..."

Zeshu looked at the yellow object half-buried underneath, with only its pointed tip showing, with a puzzled expression. It was a Pokémon wrapped in something like a straw hat, its 'true form' inside was pitch black, with only a pair of blue eyes timidly staring at him.

He crouched down, asking in confusion, "Snow Child?"

Isn't this the breeding area for Dr. Yamanashi's starter Pokémon? How come there's a Snow Child here?

"Yoki..."

Seeing that Zeshu had crouched down, and under the huge shadow of him, Yukidouji frantically tried to bury his head back into the ground.

It can happen immediately.

It found itself buried downwards, yet its gaze rose higher and higher, gradually becoming level with the human in front of it.

Ze Shu lifted it up.

Upon seeing the full size of the Snow Child, he exclaimed, "...It's so small!"

Even though Zeki had never seen a Pokémon like Snorunt before, the one in front of him seemed incredibly small no matter how you looked at it. It was so small that Zeki could completely cover its body with both of his hands, like playing with a figurine.

Feeling the warm hands caressing her body, Yuki-Douji trembled all over, but only dared to shyly close her eyes.

"Little guy," Ze Shu smiled, "If you stay here, they might bully you. Do you want me to take you out of here? Or, why don't you come with me?"

"Yoki..."

Snow Child kept his eyes tightly closed.

However, the soft voice that came out did not indicate any disagreement.

But since there was no disagreement, that meant tacit agreement! Taking this Snow Child out was a gain in itself, as there was no air force involved.

Zeshu immediately took Yukidouji's trembling body into his arms.

Without lingering there, after reminding Piplup and Chimchar to stop fighting, he left with Glaceon and Snorunt, as they nodded eagerly.

I saw Ze Shu's departing figure.

"Poga~!"

"spread--"

Piplup and the little Flame Monkeys here couldn't help but breathe a deep sigh of relief.

The 'demon' is finally gone!

In an instant, Piplup and the Chimchar exchanged relieved glances. But they immediately snorted, remembering Zeki's "advice," and didn't fight again.

……

Sawaki carried Yukidouji away from the breeding area and walked around Dr. Yamanashi's laboratory, trying to find Dr. Yamanashi.

Snow Child's body had stopped trembling.

Nestled in the warm embrace of the Zeshu tree, for some reason, its fear of strangers seemed to gradually disappear, and it felt only a sense of security.

Snow Child opened his icy blue eyes and secretly looked down at Ze Shu's face, quietly lost in thought.

Glaceon followed at Zeju's feet, somewhat curious about the little creature Zeju was holding in his arms. It knew that Zeju had gone to the breeding area to find their new companion.

For the past three years, it had relied on Ze Shu for survival, so the sudden appearance of a new partner made Glaceon feel a bit curious.

"Buyi—"

Glaceon greeted Snorunt.

Yukidouji's body trembled slightly, then he immediately buried his face in Sawaki's warm embrace, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. But after a moment, Yukidouji managed a weak, barely audible response: "Yo, yo-ki..."

Glaceon didn't hear clearly and tilted its cute head: "Eevee?"

Upon noticing this, Ze Shu blinked.

A timid Snow Child? A little shy, huh?

...

Ze Shu searched for Dr. Yamanashi at the research institute for a long time without success. It wasn't until he asked several passing researchers that he finally learned Dr. Yamanashi's location.

A corner of Dr. Yamanashi's research institute.

When Zeshu arrived, he saw Professor Yamanashi solemnly speaking to a birdcage. Inside the cage, the noisy bird that had just tousled Professor Yamanashi's hair held its head high, like a warrior facing death.

As you approach, you can clearly hear Dr. Yamanashi's voice, which sounds somewhat melancholic.

"...I'm telling you! Don't mess things up so easily, understand? Only then can I let you out! Look, look, you've pulled all my hair out! If this keeps up, I'll become a bald doctor!"

But the noisy bird still held its head high, fearless: "Coo-coo~ Scratch bald~ Bald head~ Looks good~ Go mess around~"

Ze Shu: "...Happy."

He suspected that the noisy bird wasn't as stupid as it seemed.

Hearing a barely suppressed laugh behind him, Dr. Yamanashi turned around abruptly: "Someone's laughing at me?... Oh, it's Sawaki."

Ze Shu quickly covered his mouth, looking bewildered, and said, "Who? Who's laughing? I didn't hear anything."

"Really?" Dr. Yamanashi scratched his head in confusion. "I think I heard it... Never mind, let's not worry about that for now."

His gaze fell upon the Snow Child nestled deep within Ze Shu's embrace: "This child... how did you encounter it?"

Zeshu laughed and said, "It's right there where the starter Pokémon are. I think my second Pokémon will be this one, anyway, the kid didn't object."

Upon hearing this, he noticed the snow child in his arms tremble slightly, but still did not refuse. Ze Shu couldn't help but smile again.

"Hmm... so that's where you hid."

Dr. Yamanashi pondered for a moment, "No refusal...that's fine too."

After following Professor Yamanashi to a chair in the research institute, he said, "Speaking of which, this Snow Child has some connection with you, Sawaki, since you both have some relationship with Pokémon hunters."

Ze Shu paused for a moment, then asked, "Huh?"

Dr. Yamanashi sighed: "In every cold region where snow children are said to live, there is a legend that the places where snow children dwell will have many descendants, prosperous families for generations, and become wealthy."

"This is a beautiful blessing."

"But because of this, it has attracted many Pokémon hunters who want to take advantage of the rumors to make a fortune and sell their Pokémon at a high price."

"This Snow Child is the same. Although I don't know the specifics, it was undoubtedly hunted by Pokémon hunters, but luckily it fell from Mt. Coronet, got injured, and was eventually found by a ranger from Mt. Coronet and brought to me."

"Although its injuries have healed, it has become very timid and afraid of humans ever since, refusing to approach anyone and often hiding in places we don't know."

"What's strange is that even though we've deployed quite a few Psychic-type Pokémon to search for it, we still often have trouble finding it. This kid must have an extraordinary talent for hiding; sometimes, even when it's right in front of us, it's impossible to spot it."

Dr. Yamanashi sighed.

He looked at the Snorunt, who was trembling again after telling the story, and smiled apologetically: "Unfortunately, I don't know much about how to alleviate a Pokémon's mental illness, which has delayed it and let down the rangers' trust."

"but."

His expression suddenly turned serious as he looked at Ze Shu:

"Now, you've encountered it, Sawaki, and even gained the approval of Snorunt. Perhaps this is fate. Although I'm not Professor Oak, I believe in the bond between humans and Pokémon, and I believe in you, Sawaki."

"Sawaki. I'm entrusting Yukidouji to you!"

Ze Shu: "..."

There's no need to make such a formal request.

but.

He stroked the trembling snow child in his arms and whispered, "Did you hear that?"

"If you'd like, could you please respond? Besides, if you follow me, fighting will be unavoidable."

"..."

As Zeju stroked it, Yukidouji's trembling gradually stopped. A moment later, a very soft reply came from its arms: "Yo-ki..."

"What?" Ze Shu laughed.

"Yo, yo-ki...!"