If Ethan had felt like he was standing in an ice cellar a second ago, then his current mood could be described as spring bursting into bloom.
If nothing else, his personal safety in this world was now, at the very least, guaranteed.
"Now then... Cramorant," Ethan started, "use Spacial Rend!"
"Caw?" Cramorant tilted its head, propping it up with a wing in a manner that was oddly reminiscent of Misty's Psyduck.
One second, two seconds, three seconds passed... The silence was broken only by the sound of crows flying overhead.
The Cramorant tilted its head again, its eyes vacant.
"..."
'Seriously? Could it be that my trainer level isn't high enough, so Cramorant won't obey my commands?'
Ethan hesitated for a moment, then thought of the 100 affection points displayed in Cramorant's information panel. He crouched down, pointed at himself, and asked, "Do you recognize me?"
Cramorant finally stopped propping its head and instead began poking at a pebble on the ground with its beak.
"..."
Ethan reached out and cautiously tried to pet the bird. After confirming that Cramorant wouldn't resist, he picked it up from the ground.
"Caw?" Cramorant let out a questioning sound.
Ethan asked again, "Can you understand me?"
Cramorant stared blankly for a moment, then turned away to preen its feathers with its beak.
Watching this, Ethan began to form a rough hypothesis about the situation.
Cramorant didn't resist his touch, meaning it recognized him. But it showed no reaction to his commands or voice.
There were two possible reasons for this;
it was either Cramorant couldn't understand him, or it was deaf.
As someone with zero experience as a Trainer, Ethan was puzzled: 'Could it be that the innate ability of Pokémon in the anime and games to understand human speech simply doesn't exist here? Or maybe this Cramorant isn't a true Pokémon?'
After all, everyone knew that in-game Pokémon were just emotionless strings of data, their behaviors and abilities predefined by programmers.
Thinking this, Ethan grabbed a stone from nearby. When the Cramorant wasn't looking, he threw it forcefully into the river. A distinct splash echoed from the water.
Ethan watched the Cramorant closely. The moment the sound reached it, the bird's head snapped up, its gaze darting toward the river.
'So it's not deaf, it just doesn't understand me. But that doesn't seem right either. Whatever, now isn't the time to dwell on this...' Ethan decided to ask other Trainers once he was out of the forest.
He recalled the Cramorant into its Master Ball, then stood and traveled along the riverbank.
Water was the most vital resource for any living thing. Since ancient times, human settlements had always been built beside water sources. Following the river offered a far better chance of escaping the forest than wandering aimlessly like a headless chicken.
Remembering his earlier encounter with the Beedrill swarm, Ethan moved as quietly as possible this time, avoiding making sounds whenever possible.
Even so, he still drew the attention of some wild Pokémon: a Zigzagoon rustling in the grass, a Wurmple wriggling on a tree branch, an Lombre drinking by the water's edge, and even a rare Mawile.
These Pokémon didn't attack Ethan; they merely watched from a distance, seemingly out of curiosity.
Ethan felt a strong surge of excitement. This was a real Pokémon ecosystem, something games could never fully capture.
He longed to reach out and touch them. Although tempted, reason told him that if he actually tried it, he would undoubtedly trigger defensive attacks.
After walking some distance, Ethan began to feel the burning pain on his waist becoming sharper. Lifting his shirt, he saw the purple discoloration spreading. This was clearly not a good sign. He needed to get out of here quickly, before the situation worsened.
Hunger gnawed at him too.
Summer's afterheat hadn't fully faded; as noon arrived, the air temperature rose. It wasn't normal heat, but a muggy heaviness.
Based on thirty years of life experience, Ethan could tell this meant rain was coming.
"Lombre, Zigzagoon… Could this be the Hoenn region?" Ethan speculated.
But soon, a Greedent appeared in the branches, making him uncertain again.
Greedent first debuted in Pokémon Sword and Shield, making it a Pokémon native to the Galar region.
Then again, reality differed from games. The games were released sequentially; earlier game generations lacked later-generation Pokémon, but newer games often featured Pokémon from past generations.
This meant that Pokémon from regions like Galar and Unova could very well appear in other regions...
Having eaten or drunk nothing since morning, Ethan was starving and parched. His sharp eyes caught the Greedent hugging a Berry.
Greedents' habits were similar to squirrels, with both having the tendency to store food for the winter ahead of time. So if Ethan followed it, he might find something to eat.
With a bit more luck, he might even find a Pecha Berry, which could cure poison.
After only two seconds of hesitation, Ethan decisively made the choice to follow it. After all, given his current pace, who knew how long it would take him to find a way out of the forest.
The Greedent didn't seem vigilant, meaning this area was familiar to it. Cradling a pink Berry, it leapt nimbly between trees.
Ethan followed closely, hiding behind a large tree as he watched Greedent toss the Berry into a hollow trunk.
Once it left, Ethan approached, reached into the hollow, and mentally apologized before pulling out a Berry.
[Oran Berry: Restores a small amount of a Pokémon's HP when eaten.]
The information surfaced in Ethan's mind.
It wasn't what he needed, so he placed the Oran Berry in his left hand and reached in again with his right.
Just then, a heartbroken shriek rang out from a branch above him.
Ethan looked up and met the gaze of the returning Greedent.
"..."
"..."
'How embarrassing...' he sighed awkwardly, 'To think that I, a fully capable adult, would one day stoop to stealing a squirrel's winter stash.' Worse, he'd been caught red-handed.
This was the first time in Ethan's thirty years he had done something like this. Instinctively, he pulled out his hand and showed his empty right palm, attempting to feign innocence.
But Pokémon were far more intelligent than ordinary animals. The Greedent pointed sharply at his left arm, chirping out what sounded like an accusation.
Ethan: "..."
Before he could react, the furious Greedent pounced from the branch.
Caught off balance, Ethan was knocked to the ground by the momentum. The Greedent's tiny fists hammered his forehead.
Ethan hurriedly grabbed it under the armpits, lifted it up, and returned the Oran Berry, shouting, "Stop! It's my fault... here, I'm returning it!"
After all, he was in the wrong here.
The Greedent snatched the Berry with a huff. Suddenly, its nose twitched, and its gaze shifted to Ethan's waist. It had caught the scent of poison and blood.
Noticing this, Ethan lifted his shirt to expose the poisoned wound, feigning pitifulness:
"I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to steal your food. I'm poisoned. Without an antidote, I'll die soon," he spoke carefully, partially testing his previous theory.
If Cramorant couldn't understand him, could wild Pokémon?
The answer came swiftly...
The Greedent hesitated, then dashed back to the hollow. After rummaging inside, it reemerged cradling a pink Berry.
Its fluffy face twisted with reluctance. After a long pause, as if making a grave decision, it pushed the Berry firmly toward him.
[Pecha Berry: Possesses miraculous ability to cure poisoning.]
Ethan was astonished, "For me?"
'Are wild Pokémon really this kind?' he wondered.
The Greedent nodded, chirped twice, then stretched out its right leg towards Ethan's abdomen.
It was only then that Ethan noticed a small, pink, bow-shaped bandage tied around its leg. It had been hidden under the little fellow's fur, so he hadn't spotted it.
It was unmistakably tied by human hands.
Ethan was taken aback. From the Greedent's attitude, he vaguely guessed a possibility: This Greedent had likely been helped by a human in the past. That kindness had bred goodwill towards humans, leading it to help him now.
Considering this possibility, a strange, inexplicable excitement welled up from the depths of Ethan's heart...