Naoki had heard from the townspeople that the oni responsible for the deaths of the three Loyal Pokémon was still rumored to dwell in Oni Mountain.

  Because of this, the locals rarely ventured deep into the mountain, staying mostly at its base.

  But it seemed not everyone was so cautious.

  When Naoki spotted the mysterious figure, he felt no particur fear or suspi.

  He shifted his gaze to another part of the mountain, i on tinuing his search for Hell Valley, the supposed home of the Slugmas.

  He wasn't expeg Koraidon to suddenly charge forward without warning.

  Startled, Naoki called out, "Koraidon, where are you going?"

  Pawmot, equally puzzled, floated nearby. "Pawmot?"

  "Ah, gah!"

  Koraidon gnced back but couldn't expin its as. Instead, it transformed from its mount form into its battle-ready form, scooping Naoki onto its shoulders. With a powerful leap, it bounded from one rocky outcrop to another.

  Naoki barely had time to react. "What the—?!"

  Pawmot followed closely behind, still baffled, while Naoki g on for dear life.

  The sery blurred as Koraidon dashed through the rugged terrain with incredible speed. For Naoki, it felt like areme bungee-jumping experience. By the time Koraidon finally pced him ba solid ground, he was dizzy and disoriented, barely managing to keep himself from throwing up.

  Koraidon and Pawmot watched him with .

  Taking several deep breaths to steady himself, Naoki waved off their worry. "I'm fine, I'm fine. But… what did you find, Koraidon?"

  Koraidon nodded vigorously, its head bobbing up and down before it turs gaze forward.

  Naoki followed Koraidon's line of sight and found himself standing on a secluded cliff.

  Ahead y the imposing Oni Mountain range, with a majestic waterfall casg down from above. Green foliage g to the rocky surfaces, and a narrow path ss way from the cliff to the rest of the mountain.

  "What is this pce…?"

  Koraidon's attention was fixed on a dark cave led into the cliffside. Without hesitation, it started walking toward the entrance.

  Realizing something might be inside, Naoki followed cautiously, with Pawmot close behind.

  The cave entrance was narrow, f Koraidon to lower its head to fit through. The passage stretched for about three meters before opening into a surprisingly spacious chamber.

  When Naoki saw the se inside, he froze in shock.

  The cave wasn't rge, but its interior was uedly . Stones of varying sizes had been polished smooth, arranged like furniture. e, ft stone resembled a bed, while a square stoood beside it like a table, and a smaller one nearby looked like a stool.

  In the far er of the chamber, the figure Naoki had seen earlier was huddled, trembling.

  It was afraid.

  Naoki could sehe other party's fear immediately.

  He studied the creature carefully.

  It had a green, cloak-like body, and its face resembled a small e with eyes that sparkled like starlight. Beside it y a green mask.

  This… wasn't a human.

  "A Pokémon?" Naoki whispered, fused. He had never seen a Pokémon like this before.

  "Ah, gah…" Koraidon muttered, tilting its head.

  "Pawmot…" Pawmot, too, seemed unsure of how to approach the situation, though its expression softened with .

  Pawmot was the first to act. Remembering Alcremie's love for making friends, it seemed to have an idea.

  "Pawmot!"

  Pawmot floated forward, pulling a berry from somewhere and it to the trembling figure, pg it gently ooable.

  Naoki, seeing how timid the Pokémon was, tried to calm it.

  "Hey… it's okay. We're not going to hurt you."

  The Pokemon looked up, its starlit eyes filled with caution.

  But as it took in the sight of Naoki and his panions, its expression shifted. Fear transformed into panic.

  With a sudden burst, the Pokémon scrambled to its feet and bolted toward the cave entrance, leaving the mask and the berry behind.

  The berry Pawmot had offered rolled to the ground, untouched.

  Naoki stood there, bewildered. "What just happened…?"

  He moved to follow, but the Pokémon was astonishingly fast, vanishing into the rugged terrain outside.

  Naoki stopped short, realizing that chasing after it would be pointless. The creature was far too skittish, and the mountain's uerrain made pursuit dangerous.

  Chasing after the Pokémon would only frighten it further, and the risk of it falling off the cliff was too great.

  Ohe Pokémon had vanished from sight, Pawmot returo the cave, pig up the berry it had offered earlier with a dejected expression.

  Meanwhile, Naoki surveyed the cave's interior.

  A smooth stone bed, a table, and a chair...

  "It looks like someone once lived here in seclusion," he mused.

  Or perhaps the Pokémon itself had created this makeshift home.

  Naoki's eyes shifted to the mask left behind oone bed. "It's green—probably a Grass-type Pokémon," he specuted aloud. Iing the mask more closely, he noticed leaf-like details etched into its design.

  He didn't reize the Pokémon but had a hunch. "It's likely one of the new Pokémon introduced with the Kitakami region DLC," he thought.

  Pawmot, still standing nearby, wiped the dust off its berry with its paw pads, its small shoulders drooping with disappoi.

  Naoki crouched down aly reassured it. "Don't be sad. It's just scared of us right now."

  "Pawmot!" The little Pokémon perked up, its tail wagging.

  Smiling, Naoki reached into his pockets, then rummaged through his backpack. He pulled out a colle of berries, carefully stag them onto the stoable until they formed a small, colorful mound.

  "There," he said, standing baire their work. "This looks like its home. If we leave the berries here, it'll e back to eat when it gets hungry."

  Pawmot gnced betweeable and the berry in its paws. After a moment's hesitation, it joyfully added its own fruit to the pile.

  "Pawmot~"

  "Alright," Naoki said with a deep breath, straightening up. He hadn't fotten his inal goal. "Let's go find those Slugmas and make some new friends."

  At the mention of Slugmas, Pawmot's excitemeurned. It zipped around Naoki, chirpihusiastically, "Pawmot! Pawmot!"

  Naoki chuckled, shouldering his backpack. "Let's get moving, then!"

  Koraidon, having shifted bato its mount fnced back at the cave o time. Its eyes darted between the cave and Naoki, its expression puzzled.

  Realizing Naoki and Pawmot were already several steps ahead, Koraidon huffed softly before bounding forward to catch up.

  Some time passed after they left.

  From the narrow mountain path, the green figure cautiously crept back toward the cave. Its starry eyes darted around nervously, sing the area fns of danger.

  The Pokémon stepped is small frame tense as it ied the cave's interior.

  Upon spotting its mask still resting oone bed, it breathed a visible sigh of relief. It hurried over, cradling the mask gently in its arms as though it were the most precious thing in the world.

  But then, something else caught its attention.

  It turs gaze toward the stoable and froze, its wide eyes fixated on the pile of berries stacked like a miniature mountain.

  fusion flickered across its face.