Chapter 143: Forest of Bewilderment

Speaking reasonably.

This was the first time Baimu had learned that the Tutu Dog's 【Sketch】 could actually be used like this.

Triggering moves through drawing.

But if one didn't draw fast enough, wouldn't that make it easy for the opponent to seize the initiative?

— Regardless, this calligrapher's Tutu Dog was far stronger than he had anticipated. Because of this he also arrived at a conclusion: no matter whether a blue-talent Trainer was a rookie or not, their Pokémon would absolutely never be at a rookie's level.

Clefairy was the same, Psyduck was the same, and the Tutu Dog before his eyes was no exception.

Only, as the calligrapher's Pokémon, it was somewhat regrettable that the Tutu Dog couldn't use moves by writing characters. If instead of drawing a bolt of lightning, one wrote the character for "thunder," it might have been even more interesting.

It would give one the feeling of a Daoist priest drawing talismans.

Of course, that would be asking a bit much of a dog — perhaps the Tutu Dog's 【Sketch】 really could only be activated through drawing, and writing characters simply couldn't trigger it.

Within the frame.

The calligrapher discovered she had defeated a wild Trainer, a smiling-face icon floated above her head, and it seemed the pressure in her heart had been released somewhat.

From the look of it, Pokémon battles had also become an excellent outlet for her.

Only, unlike the chef who had a clear goal, for her battling, traveling, and even challenging Gyms were nothing more than ways to pass the time and stave off boredom.

Having debuted as a calligrapher from childhood and always basking in the praise of those around her, this was the first time the calligrapher had experienced such a tremendous Waterloo in her life — she could no longer see where the road ahead lay.

Therefore the passion after victory lasted only a short while.

She set off once more toward Black Gold City.

As the background gradually turned a dim, sullen yellow, nightfall was about to arrive.

Unable to find a Pokémon Center, the calligrapher had no choice but to figure out how to solve the overnight problem herself. After stumbling through it helplessly, she barely managed to pitch a tent and light a campfire, but cooking really wasn't her forte.

Attempting outdoor cooking for the first time, she naturally produced a pot of garbage.

【You regret not having bought some ready-to-eat food; the hunger gnawing at your belly leaves your heart in turmoil】

Seeing the swirls of messy black lines float up above the heads of the calligrapher, the Tutu Dog, and the Morlull, Baimu couldn't help but break into a smile.

While the sky hadn't yet fully darkened.

The calligrapher extinguished the campfire, led her two Pokémon into the forest, and tried to find some Berries to stave off her hunger.

The forest at dusk was quiet and desolate — an atmosphere the calligrapher had never felt before, and for a moment she was somewhat entranced.

But without a doubt, as a rookie traveling for the first time, she who hadn't done enough homework quickly got lost, returning again and again to the starting point the Tutu Dog had recorded.

Seeing half the sky had already gone dark.

She asked the Tutu Dog and the Morlull if they had any good ideas.

Unfortunately, one only knew how to write characters and leave markers, while the other only knew how to imitate the expressions and actions of the one before it.

This left the calligrapher feeling immensely irritated.

【You are hungry and exhausted, and can't help wanting to vent your emotions on the two Pokémon — but before the words leave your mouth, you suddenly recall the evaluations of those around you, and the words the Gym Leader said to you — "Clearly a young person, yet the characters you write are stiff and formulaic like a model, as if written solely to win prizes. One cannot see you as a person in them at all."】

【You realize they are like a reflection of your soul, displaying your rigid and imitative sides — you have no standing whatsoever to reproach them】

【Your turbulent emotions rapidly cool down】

Suddenly.

The frame suddenly shifted upward.

A little girl in white, crouching beneath a tree, appeared before Baimu's eyes.

Above her head, wuwuwuwu — sounds like moaning, like crying — kept drifting up, and combined with the hazy, indistinct forest at dusk and sunset, even without the addition of background music, it looked incomparably eerie and terrifying.

He couldn't help but get a bit of gooseflesh.

Dusk.

The neon-lit Hour of Meeting Demons — when any manner of monster or ghost might show its head.

Immediately afterward, the calligrapher and her two Pokémon also discovered the crying girl, and above their heads …… kept flying out — presumably wavering between fear and hesitation.

Both worried the other might be a ghost, and worried the other might truly have run into trouble.

After agonizing for a while.

The calligrapher, unable to endure the condemnation of her conscience any longer, voluntarily approached.

【You have discovered a mysterious little girl deep in the forest; after much hesitation, you decide to ask whether she needs help】