"The royal three families?" Sakuragi chuckled. "That's an interesting name."
"That's just a name I came up with to make it easier to refer to them." Xia You waved his hand, then asked, "Sakuragi, do you know if there are any wild royal three families around here?"
"As for the royal three families, you might find Charmander in volcanoes or lava caves, and Squirtle on more secluded coasts and isolated islands. As for Bulbasaur, you should be able to see them in dense forests. But as for nearby…" At this, Renji seemed to recall something. "Do you know about Wonder Garden?"
"Wonder Garden?" Hearing that name, Xia You felt a sense of familiarity.
Sakuragi explained, "Legend has it that Wonder Garden is where Bulbasaur gather to celebrate their evolution festival. However, because very few people have ever been there, most people consider it to be just a place that exists in fantasy."
Upon hearing this, Xia You seemed to recall the plot related to it. He remembered that in the original series, Ash once entered Wonder Garden to look for his Bulbasaur!
It's just…
With some doubt, Xia You couldn't help but ask, "But is it their festival season now?"
"I'm not entirely sure about that," Sakuragi thought for a moment and added, "But I can confirm that Wonder Garden is real, and even if it's not the festival season, I think there must be many Bulbasaur living and inhabiting that area."
"I see." Xia You nodded. "So, are there any clues now? Or rather… how should I look for it?"
Sakuragi operated the computer, bringing up a map of the area around Vermilion City on the large screen.
Pointing to a specific area on it, Sakuragi said, "Although I don't know the exact location of Wonder Garden, in our previous observations, we found many wild Bulbasaur active deep in the forest north of Vermilion City. Perhaps you can try your luck there."
"I see." Xia You scanned the map, committing the location to memory, then sincerely thanked him, "You've truly helped me a great deal this time, Sakuragi! Thank you so much!"
…
Walking down the steps of the research lab with Koharu, Xia You looked back and saw Sakuragi's Yamper running out of the lab, wagging its tail and following closely behind Koharu.
Seeing this, Xia You couldn't help but smile, "It seems to really like you."
"Really?" Koharu looked down at Yamper, her tone showing no obvious change. "I don't feel anything special. It often clings to my parents at home too. It's probably the same with everyone."
Through their brief interaction, Xia You found that Koharu was not a talkative person. Although she was still underage, her personality was calm and steady, giving people the impression that she was very sensible and well-behaved.
Bending down, Xia You stroked Yamper's forehead. It squinted its eyes comfortably and even stuck out its long tongue at him.
It likes to be scratched, which makes it no different from a dog, really.
"Alright, you don't need to see me off anymore. Well then, Koharu, we'll meet again if fate allows!"
Waving goodbye to Koharu, Xia You didn't immediately set off to find Wonder Garden. Instead, he first went to an outdoor supply store in Vermilion City and bought a baseball cap, a sleeping bag, a water bottle, binoculars, portable food, and a simple cooking set, packing them all into a large backpack.
Since he was going into the wilderness, he naturally had to be fully prepared. Otherwise, if he missed a town at night, he would have to rely on this equipment to camp out in the wild.
…
Leaving Vermilion City, Xia You and Ralts headed north. After walking for a long time, they finally left the urban area and climbed over a small hill before arriving in a dense forest.
The plants here were noticeably thicker and more robust than in other forests in the surrounding area.
Entering the forest, his cell phone signal quickly disappeared as he moved away from the city. With the navigation not working, Xia You could only rely on his intuition to wander through it.
Everywhere he looked was green. Only now, surrounded by nature, could he feel how small he was.
Although Xia You had been in many forests before, this was his first time entering such a vast sea of trees.
It was quiet all around. Fortunately, Ralts was with him, which made him feel less lonely.
Along the way, he found that this forest was indeed very primitive.
There were large trees with lush branches everywhere. At first, there were a few small paths where people had walked, but as they went deeper, the paths gradually disappeared. To go further, Ralts had to use Confusion to move the branches aside before they could continue.
It was silent all around.
Whether it was Caterpie or Weedle, Oddish or Bellsprout, these common Pokémon in the forest were nowhere to be seen. The more this was the case, the more certain Xia You became that he had indeed come to the right place.
After all, only when they reached the habitat of a certain ethnic group, due to territorial awareness, would they expel other Pokémon, thus forming such a situation!
In this forest, which was like a giant maze, they walked and stopped, and it took them more than two hours until, finally, at dusk, Xia You faintly heard the Growl of many Pokémon coming from ahead.
However, the path ahead was blocked by thick vines. These vines were like a wall, not only very tough but also covered with sharp thorns, preventing any creature from approaching.
This was not natural Growth!
It seemed that Wonder Garden should be behind this vine wall!
Xia You gave Ralts a look, and Ralts nodded understandingly. Immediately, it activated its Psychic ability, and an invisible, transparent energy ball shot from its hand, hitting the vines and instantly opening a small gap!
Although the gap was not big, it was enough for them to pass through.
Using his hands and feet, Xia You passed through the vines, then lightened his steps and continued forward.
And when he pushed aside the branches, he saw that the front suddenly opened up, and in the boundless dense forest, a basin appeared!
Looking from afar, there was a giant withered tree in the center of the basin, and around the withered tree, countless Bulbasaur were playing and frolicking.
Wonder Garden, though located in the very center of the forest and protected by a vine wall, he had finally found it by luck!
But thinking about it, it made sense. After all, this basin was huge, and even with the vines protecting it, if one wanted to find it, it would be impossible to hide.
It was just that very few people had reached it.
Stopping his steps, Xia You looked at this peaceful habitat. He did not presumptuously enter and disturb them. Instead, he took out his binoculars and, with the lingering glow of the sunset, carefully observed the situation inside.
After scanning a few times, he aimed his binoculars at a Bulbasaur.
In terms of appearance, Bulbasaur is a quadruped Pokémon, like a green frog. Besides its bright red eyes and dark green markings, its most prominent feature is the garlic-shaped bud on its back.
These Bulbasaur were clearly unaware of Xia You's arrival, but because there were so many of them, it was easy to get dizzy. And it was difficult to discern their personalities just from their appearance. Therefore, after observing for a while, Xia You's gaze was Lock-On to a Bulbasaur that had just walked out of the basin.
Perhaps because no one had intruded here for a long time, this Bulbasaur was looking very leisurely at the moment. It occasionally used Vine Whip to pick berries from the trees and tasted them, quickly moving away from its group.
Seeing this opportunity, Xia You no longer hesitated, moving his steps lightly, trying not to make any sound, and approached it.
The reason for choosing this Bulbasaur was actually the safest method.
If he went too deep, it would likely cause panic and disturbance among these Bulbasaur, and if they attacked him en masse, it would be a bit of a loss.
Bulbasaur had no awareness of the approaching danger.
However, upon getting close, Xia You did not choose to ambush but instead directly came to its front.
And hearing the movement and seeing a human suddenly standing in front of it, Bulbasaur was startled at first.
But immediately, it bent its four limbs and assumed a battle stance!
From the bud on its back, two Vine Whips suddenly extended, flailing in the air, seemingly trying to intimidate Xia You!
Their eyes met. Xia You waved his hand, and Ralts beside him took a few steps forward.
And seeing Ralts, Bulbasaur seemed to realize something, continuously letting out 'Bulba, Bulba' Growls, and its gaze instantly sharpened!