Pokémon: Helping Pokémon Pays Off

The Alola region is warm, with abundant resources. Various kinds of berry trees can be seen everywhere, even on the roadside of towns and in the wild.

But because the growing conditions are so good, these berry trees, like the Alolan Exeggutor, are much taller than those in other regions...

"Cyclizar, Cyclizar~"

"Almost there... just hang on!"

Hoshino stood on Cyclizar's head, stretching his hand to grab and shake a branch since he had no strength left to climb. They could only do this.

Crack—

The branch Hoshino grabbed finally broke, and his expression turned to excitement. But in the next moment, his body lost balance and he fell to the ground below.

"Cyclizar!"

Cyclizar panicked momentarily, but Hoshino rubbed his back, enduring the pain as he got up.

Fortunately, some sand blown from the beach cushioned the fall, preventing injuries. He soon recovered.

He waved his hand to indicate he was fine, then picked up the broken branch.

The branch had over ten magenta-to-pinkish berries, looking heart-shaped, with some white spots and dew drops. These were ripe Pecha Berries.

Their flesh was soft, sweet, and had a refreshing sweetness. Eating them could relieve poisoning, and they could be snacks to fill the stomach. However, Pecha Berries had hollow insides, so the edible part was small and couldn't be considered a meal.

Hoshino also picked up the Pecha Berries that fell onto the sand. Their soft flesh got damaged and some sand stuck to them.

"It doesn't matter, as long as we have something to eat. When you're starving, anything tastes delicious."

He kept the damaged Pecha Berries for himself and gave the rest to Cyclizar, knowing that larger Pokémon needed more food.

"These are Pecha Berries. Go ahead and eat."

"Cyclizar~"

Though it lost its memory, its body still remembered some instincts. It took the branch and began eating the Pecha Berries.

At that moment, a shadow suddenly dropped from above the tree, landing between them aggressively. It swung blue giant pincers, like boxing gloves, towards Hoshino!

Seeing the half-open right eye, as if punched, he recognized it as a Crabrawler, a Pokémon that loved eating berries!

Crabrawler usually shook or punched berry trees to make berries fall, hiding in the pile to eat. It attacked anyone stealing berries.

Since Pecha Berries were prone to damage and spoil over time, this Crabrawler chose to climb up to eat. The branch-breaking action was seen as theft, prompting the attack.

Crabrawler's attack was imminent. The fierce punch wind rushed at his face with speed comparable to Toxapex, if not faster. Hoshino couldn't avoid it!

But at that moment, Cyclizar suddenly reached out, grabbing Crabrawler's claw.

Crabrawler's body stopped in mid-air, stunned. Before it could react, it was spun 180° and thrown against the tree trunk.

"Cyclizar!"

Cyclizar turned swiftly, biting a Pecha Berry, and stood protectively in front of the slightly startled Hoshino. Its black eyes locked onto Crabrawler, displaying intense hostility.

"Still able to fight despite amnesia..."

Hoshino realized it was the innate battle instinct of wild Pokémon. Crabrawler's hostility and attack triggered Cyclizar's natural response.

The next development seemed to be a battle. Not turn-based guessing games but real combat!

His trembling hands showed his excitement. He raised his hand and shouted, "Let's have a Pokémon battle! Cyclizar, use... um...

Hoshino's hand froze mid-air, his expression completely blank. He realized he didn't know what moves Cyclizar had; it had forgotten them all.

The battle instinct was still there, and so were the moves, but it was like using Substitute against Mega Garchomp—it was useless.

"Never mind, just ram it!"

Hoshino thought of one characteristic of Cyclizar, which was its extremely hard head—a strong attack method in battles. So, he decided to ram.

Whether Cyclizar understood the command or not, at the moment when Crabrawler's angry punch came rushing over, it suddenly kicked its hind legs and charged with all its might!

Bang—

Crabrawler's fragile small body couldn't withstand such a fierce impact. The punched-out fist got knocked away upon collision, and its body turned into stardust, disappearing silently into the night sky...

"Is it really that strong..."

Looking at Crabrawler being taken down in one hit, Hoshino scratched his head, feeling a bit unresponsive. He thought he might have underestimated Cyclizar's strength before it lost its memory.

But for now, he didn't dwell on it. His eyes instinctively fell on the colorful berries that dropped from Crabrawler's impact.

"Defeating monsters drops items, berries and Cheri Berries... great, we can have a snack!"

"Cyclizar~"

Cyclizar also happily jumped twice, showing no signs of having just fought, as if it didn't even consider Crabrawler as a threat.

Among the berries Crabrawler dropped, not all were suitable for human consumption, but they could be processed into seasonings and berry dishes.

If given the chance, Hoshino wanted to use the world's various food ingredients to showcase his cooking skills. He was quite confident in this area...

Under the night sky, eating a few berries barely replenished some energy, though they still felt hungry. However, with Crabrawler driven away, it meant they could continue picking from that tree.

After all the fuss, the man and the Cyclizar finally got their fill. The juicy Pecha Berries also quenched their thirst.

Hoshino sat under a coconut tree, looking out at the sea. He saw some lights flashing in the distance, which he remembered as the location of the artificial island Aether Paradise, the base of the Aether Foundation.

Curiously, he moved the map cursor over to find the map showed "Aether Research Center Headquarters," a major facility for Pokémon research in the Alola region.

The detailed description inside didn't mention protecting Pokémon, but the artificial island was still under expansion, with more projects to be added later.

"The predecessor of Aether Paradise? After the expansion, it should be the establishment of the Aether Foundation. It seems the timeline of this world is a bit different. But it's normal, as the Pokémon world's timeline is always a mess, with no clear explanations—parallel worlds."

Hoshino moved the cursor back to his location and then maximized the map, displaying the entire Alola region.

Looking at everything, he sighed, "It's still a bit hard to believe I actually traveled to the Alola region..."

"Cyclizar?"

"Don't worry, I'm 1000% fine."

Hoshino smiled, patting Cyclizar's head. Pokémon did indeed exist, not as a game, but as reality!

After calming down, he refocused on the flashing dots, finding some had disappeared while new ones appeared, possibly due to his movement.

He then clicked on the friendship app's shortcut in the lower right corner. The content was minimal, but he could see the friendship he gained from Cyclizar recently.

The friendship given by the Rotom Phone was just a beginner's tutorial, so it didn't appear. This left his talent list with only one entry, making other places seem pitifully empty.

"As expected, I still have to be the good guy and help everywhere. It feels troublesome, but it seems I can even help Pokémon with trainers. But gaining their friendship... does this count as c*ckolding?"

For some reason, Hoshino suddenly thought of this. Sure enough, once people have free time, they start daydreaming, but these thoughts weren't important...

He stood up, patted the sand off his body, then stretched his arms, taking a deep breath of Alola's fresh air.

Although this start felt like surviving on a deserted island, at least he wasn't alone anymore.

"Let's go! Let's set a small goal first: to get you a Poké Ball!"

"Cyclizar~"