"Hiss—! Crunch!"
With the combined efforts of Icarus and Airi, the Arbok was quickly reduced to pieces.
All the usable snake meat was packed into Icarus's backpack. Neither of them really cared about splitting it—Airi and Shitou usually ate at Icarus's place anyway.
After that brief incident, they finally reached the outer forest.
With several normal-level Pokémon traveling together, their combined aura kept weaker wild Pokémon from approaching.
The rest of the journey passed without trouble.
"Brother Icarus, I'll start cooking!"
As soon as they got home, Airi dropped her backpack and headed straight to the kitchen.
"Alright."
Icarus nodded and walked to the backyard with his Pokémon.
"Come out, Houndour!"
With a flick of the Poké Ball, the small black canine appeared again.
"Woof!"
Houndour barked the moment it came out—it clearly didn't like staying inside the Poké Ball.
"Easy, easy. That was just a special situation. Normally, I won't keep you inside."
Icarus patted its head.
"Come on, let me introduce your teammates."
He pointed first to the bird Pokémon grooming its feathers.
"This is Pidgeotto, my second Pokémon."
"Pidgeotto~!"
Hello, Houndour! We'll be fighting together from now on!
"Woof! Woof!"
Hello, senior! I'm Houndour!
"And this—"
Icarus turned toward the plant Pokémon.
"—is the backbone of our team. My first Pokémon—Weepinbell."
"Bell! Bell!"
Little one, don't worry—I'll help you grow stronger!
"Woof! Woof!"
Hello, Brother Weepinbell! You're amazing—you beat that big snake!
Houndour had seen the battle from inside the Poké Ball and was clearly impressed.
"And over there—that's Airi's Pokémon, Poliwhirl."
"Poli gulu"
Poliwhirl greeted it, then playfully blew out a few bubbles.
"Woof?"
Curious, Houndour tapped one with its paw—
Pop! Pop!
"Woof! Woof!"
Its eyes lit up—it found it fun.
"Alright, time to eat."
Icarus took out their meals.
(Poliwhirl's food had already been handed over by Airi earlier.)
There were no energy cubes for Houndour yet—just a chunk of raw Pokémon meat.
"Woof~!"
Houndour happily bit into it.
Icarus chuckled.
"Take it slow. I'll introduce you to something better later."
"Brother Icarus! Time to eat!"
Airi's voice came from inside.
"Got it. Pidgeotto, go call Shitou."
"You guys—take Houndour and play for a bit."
He wasn't the type to train nonstop—rest mattered too.
"Bell~!"
"Poli~!"
The two older Pokémon happily ran off with Houndour.
"They're still kids…"
Icarus smiled and headed inside.
"Brother Icarus, try this!"
"This one too—I just learned it!"
"Hmm… not bad."
While they were eating—
Knock knock knock—
"Come in, Shitou! Door's unlocked!"
"Brother Icarus, Airi—you're back."
Shitou stepped in.
"Yeah. Have you eaten? Want some?"
"I've eaten already. How did the mission go?"
"It went great!" Airi answered immediately.
"Look, Brother Shitou! I bought a Pokédex!"
She proudly showed it off.
"But… the Sandshrew you mentioned was already caught. And its aptitude was only average."
"Oh… that's fine," Shitou said honestly.
"As long as I can help you sooner, that's enough."
Icarus put down his chopsticks and looked at him seriously.
"I already sold it."
"If I'm helping you become a trainer, I'm not going to let you end up as cannon fodder."
"You're my teammate. My brother."
"We'll get you at least a good-quality Sandshrew. That's a promise."
"Yeah!" Airi added quickly.
"I'll help too! Poliwhirl and I were amazing in the cave!"
A small water sphere formed in her hand as she spoke.
"Mm."
Shitou felt warmth in his chest.
He didn't say thank you—just nodded firmly.
"Woof! Woof!!"
Suddenly, loud barking came from the backyard—full of hostility.
"Brother Icarus, did you get a new Pokémon? A dog?"
"Yeah."
Icarus stood and opened the back door.
"Relax, Houndour. This is the teammate I told you about."
"Woof…?"
Houndour froze.
It had just been aggressively barking—only to realize it was yelling at its trainer's teammate.
"…Woof…"
It glanced back at the others, who were clearly holding in laughter.
"Hello, Houndour. I'm Shitou."
"Geodude!"
Seeing its trainer calm, Geodude greeted it cheerfully.
"Woof…"
Sorry about that earlier!
Houndour barked awkwardly.
For the first time—
the team truly felt complete.
(End of Chapter)
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