Eterna Forest

(A/N: Announcement at the end of the chapter!)

Shuichi was currently on the road towards Eterna Forest, and with him was currently the whole team. He took Drifloon to Nurse Joy and was thanked with a nice meal by the family as Drifloon was checked out, Drifloon was soon cleared for good health.

So Shuichi thought it might be a good idea to introduce the new teammate to the team, Eevee and Combusken quickly accepted Drifloon however there was a small problem with Clamperl.

"Oh come on Clamperl, yes I know about Driflblim and Clamperl not being very friendly towards each other but he's a Drifloon and by the time he evolves you will also have evolved." Shuichi tried to reason with Clamperl.

Clamperl was still in a bad mood, Drifloon tried to talk to him but he was rebuffed every single time, Shuichi sighed "Alright then how about this, Clamperl if you learn Shell Smash I will evolve you." 

Everyone perked up at that news, Clamperl needed an item to evolve and the special thing about Clamperl was that there were two items for two completely different evolutions. Clamperl was more willing to accept Drifloon after hearing that Shuichi had promised it to evolve.

Eevee was a bit disappointed that he was not the first one to evolve, "I'm sorry Eevee, if you evolve now then learning some important moves becomes much harder in the future." Shuichi consoled Eevee.

Shuichi would train Drifloon to learn Ominous Wind, which was a move where the Pokémon would emit a ghostly wind towards the opponent. It also had a minimal chance to give Drifloon a boost in all of his capabilities.

As for the poffin flavour, Drifloon liked dry foods same as Eevee. It also was another hit towards Shuichi's wallet as he needed more vitamins, luckily he was prepared for Drifloon as he mixed Iron, Zinc and Carbos into his poffin batches. 

Speed was key for battles, Shuichi had learned that much by now. Zinc and Iron would allow Drifloon to gain more defences against physical and special attacks, normally Drifloon and Drifblim were not that defensive however Shuichi was planning something special with Drifloon. It would take a while for Drifloon to be caught up to the team though.

It took five days for Shuichi to backtrack and enter Eterna Forest, Eterna Forest was a big forest and it would take Shuichi nearly a week to traverse it. Shuichi looked around and took in the beauty of the forest, the occasional Pokémon minding their own business, the lush greens, and the green-haired lady who was walking towards Shuichi.

('Hang on a minute, that's normally not part of a forest.') Shuichi stopped and looked as the woman approached him, she had long green braided hair a light green top and a dark green skirt along with brown boots.

"Uhm, excuse me. Do you happen to know the way to Eterna City?" The woman asked Shuichi, Shuichi knew the woman was the same sort of trainer as Marley but didn't remember her name. "Yes, I'm heading to Eterna City as well," Shuichi replied to her question.

The woman gave a slight sigh of relief, "Oh great! Mind if I join you? I'm Cheryl." Cheryl introduced herself and asked if she could join Shuichi. "Sure I don't see why not." Shuichi was happy to have a travelling companion with him, the last time he was with someone was with Ash and his group.

Cheryl and Shuichi chatted for a bit to get to know each other better, Shuichi originally thought Cheryl was a Pokémon trainer like him and that she would challenge the gyms but she surprised him. Cheryl was a treasure hunter which meant that she would find hidden areas and treasures.

Cheryl also had Pokémon however she currently only had two team members, A Chansey and a vine-like Pokémon. Its body was covered with blue vines covered with tiny hairs. Two big eyes and two red feet were all that was visible under the vines. A Tangela she found here in Eterna Forest.

"I found Tangela recently, I just finished my very first treasure hunt with some other friends." Cheryl recounted her first treasure hunt and it surprised Shuichi that he knew her other friends.

Cheryl's first treasure hunt was for the enchanted honey which was hidden in the Amber Castle in the forest, Cheryl met up with Ash and his group and together with their effort, she managed to get the honey.

Shuichi and Cheryl travelled through the forest and eventually came to a waterfall, the waterfall was around the green giving a serene feeling. So serene in fact that Shuichi felt something inside him calm down.

The past few days were rough for Shuichi's mental state, trying to meditate while occasionally hearing voices was not easy. Maybe this forest scene would help him meditate, "Cheryl, I'm sorry but I need to sit for a minute here. Mind waiting for me?" Shuichi asked slowly as he didn't want to lose focus.

Cheryl could see something was bothering him, "I suppose I am a bit tired from all the action recently." She said as she began to sit down. Shuichi nodded and sat down as well, he sighed and closed his eyes to focus on the sounds of the forest.

The sounds of the forest were slowly drawn out as he opened his eyes, he suddenly found himself not in the forest anymore as he looked around. He was standing in a familiar hallway, after thinking about it for a second he recalled where he was. It was his old family home in his first life.

Opening the door to the living room he could see that no one was around, he looked around the house before walking upstairs to his old room. Opening the door and looking inside he could see someone on the bed, a boy was sitting on the bed playing on a DS.

The boy looked up and said "Hello Shuichi," Shuichi knew who this was "Hello Kristoph," It was Kristoph, the interesting thing about this encounter was that this wasn't a nightmare.

Shuichi looked at Kristoph playing on the DS. "Guilt and sadness, can you tell me more about these feelings?" Shuichi asked Kristoph.

Kristoph didn't look up from the game "Why should I tell you? You banished me here remember." Shuichi still stood there "That's because you were giving me horrible nightmares!" He said as he defended himself.

Kristoph was still on the DS "Right, but why did I give you those nightmares? You know the answer deep inside you." Shuichi was no closer now than he was a few minutes ago and it was getting annoying.

Kristoph wasn't giving him an answer as he continued to focus on the game, Shuichi decided to leave Kristoph alone as he went to the final place he hadn't looked. Walking downstairs and pulling the rug off the floor gave way to the hatch to the shelter.

Shuichi opened the hatch and climbed down, he looked around only to find nothing out of place. Everything was in pristine condition. He remembered the time in the shelter, he played with the DS until the battery ran out. ('Guilt, Sadness, the DS?') Shuichi felt like he was grasping at something.

Walking back upstairs and back to Kristoph, he revealed he was still sitting there on the bed, instead of standing across from him he sat on the bed next to him and looked at the DS. The game Kristoph was playing was Pokémon Platinum, his favourite game.

"Sadness, your sadness of never experiencing Pokémon and the beauty of it. And guilt, my guilt of cropping you here." Shuichi eventually said as it slowly hit him.

Kristoph stopped playing on the DS as he looked at Shuichi again. "It was my dream too you know! To be a Pokémon trainer. But you closed me off completely after you regained your emotions." Kristoph explained his side. 

Shuichi didn't say anything as Kristoph wasn't done yet. "I wouldn't have minded it if you didn't become a trainer but once you did I had to remind you." Kristoph continued. "Remind me of what?" Shuichi asked.

"Remind you that I exist!" Kristoph yelled as he looked at Shuichi, "I'm not just something you can forget existed and only use when it's convenient for you, it just doesn't work like that." Kristoph continued.

Shuichi thought about it and realised he must've unconsciously locked away his past from himself as he regained his emotions but something still didn't make sense, "Hold on, you kept trying to make me lose my emotions in the nightmares." Shuichi remembered his nightmares.

Kristoph nodded "Correct, but that was only the first few times and not later. I realised that emotions are needed in life because I've seen them through your eyes." He explained.

Shuichi was a little silent at this, "So, what now?" he eventually asked. Kristoph still looked at him and said "Either you keep suppressing me and I will keep throwing nightmares at you." Kristoph began and Shuichi already didn't like that option. "Or, you accept me and we'll be one once more."

"But, that will mean you will have to accept all of me," Kristoph said as more people walked into the room, they were all Kristoph at different points in his life. "You will change mentally and even your personality will change somewhat, this is unavoidable. I am over 50 years old, remember." Kristoph gave out the conditions.

Shuichi thought about it and realised what this all meant, strangely, he didn't have many habits or even thought processes from his past life. This didn't make sense, but he never stopped and thought about it.

"But I will still have my emotions correct?" Shuichi asked Kristoph, Kristoph nodded "Yes you will, it will be difficult but you will be able to hold onto your emotions." The change was scary but having nightmares and constantly suppressing Kristoph was not healthy.

Shuichi eventually nodded, "Fine then, let us become one once more." Kristoph also nodded and all the people in the room turned into light, they all gathered towards Shuichi as he absorbed all the light particles.

Back in Eterna Forest, Shuichi opened his eyes and took a deep breath. The air felt lighter as he was completely at peace. He felt different, like a part of him was missing for so long and now he's finally found it again.

The voices were gone but he could also feel his thought process being different. Cheryl looked at Shuichi a little confused "Are you okay?" She asked him with some concern.

Shuichi looked at Cheryl and said "Perfectly fine," a little gruffly. A habit from his old life had suddenly returned, surprising Shuichi, he wasn't the only one as Cheryl recoiled a little. She giggled a little and said, "You sound just like my grandfather!"

Contrary to how he usually would've acted Shuichi wasn't embarrassed, she was correct after all he was just as old as a grandfather. "Maybe I am as old as your grandfather, who knows? Do I look as old as him?" Shuichi sarcastically asked. 

Cheryl found Shuichi's change in personality interesting, it was quite nice actually because it felt like she was talking to her grandfather whom she had great respect for. Cheryl hummed a little as she closely studied Shuichi, "Not enough grey hairs." Cheryl ended her evaluation.

Shuichi smiled, he was glad Cheryl didn't find him weird for changing so suddenly. He then turned serious again "Mind waiting for a bit longer? I need to talk to my Pokémon. In private." Cheryl nodded, understanding the seriousness.

Shuichi walked a little bit away to get some privacy and then released his team, his Pokémon came out and they were immediately on guard. Shuichi could still feel emotions and he could feel confusion and some nervousness among his Pokémon.

"All of you stand down," Shuichi spoke with a commanding voice, his Pokémon all instinctively sat down. "You all realise something has changed about me, long story short I've solved my nightmare problem," Shuichi explained curtly, he didn't elaborate on it nor share the details.

His Pokémon were happy but still nervous and worried about the big change in his demeanour, "I understand this is a big change but It's still me underneath." Shuichi appeased their worries. They were still a little worried but they all learned by now to trust Shuichi, even Drifloon.

Shuichi recalled his Pokémon and returned to Cheryl, "Apologies, shall we continue?" He said to Cheryl who nodded "Indeed we shall, Mr Shuichi." She giggled at Shuichi. Shuichi just smiled and didn't say anything.

Shuichi and Cheryl travelled through Eterna Forest, there were trainers on the path to Eterna City and wild Pokémon. It was normal until about two days after Shuichi and Cheryl met.

"Hm?" Shuichi stopped and looked at the Ursaring that was running across from them, Ursaring were normally not to be trifled with but this was different. Shuichi could feel Ursaring's greed in its emotions.

Cheryl also noticed the Ursaring sprinting "My grandfather always said, if you see a running Ursaring then you should be prepared for tough times." She said, in the past week Cheryl had shown to know a lot of sayings.

"It seems to have a crazed look in its eyes, almost like it was locked onto something." Shuichi didn't tell Cheryl that he could sense the emotions of Pokémon and only gave her the half-truth.

"Should we check it out? It could be dangerous." Cheryl asked Shuichi, as a treasure hunter she wasn't afraid of danger. "Hm, let's march over there," Shuichi answered and walked to where Ursaring was going.

Shuichi and Cheryl walked for about 15 minutes following the footprints of the Ursaring, they eventually came to a big tree with Ursaring standing across from another Pokémon. The Pokémon was a Primeape.

Primeape were a bipedal, simian Pokémon with a round body covered in whitish, shaggy fur. Its arms and legs are brown and have metal shackles on the wrists and ankles. 

Primeape and Ursaring were standing off against each other and Shuichi didn't need to use his ability to see the two were fighting about something. "Look! Up there!" Cheryl whispered and pointed at the tree.

Bright purple berries were hanging from the tree and Shuichi could smell the sweet flavour hanging in the air, these were Magost berries. Magost berries were much sweeter than Pecha berries while also having a slightly bitter taste, many people used them in recipes for poffins.

Not only them, but all sorts of berry trees were around. Berries were capable of being stored much longer than fruits in Shuichi's past life, it was quite convenient indeed. Shuichi thought of his past life, if they had these berries then hunger wouldn't have been such a problem.

Shuichi shook his head, now wasn't the time to reminisce on the past. More and more Pokémon slowly came and they all eyed the berries on the trees, soon a massive battle would erupt and Pokémon would fight for food.

It was the law of the jungle for the wild Pokémon here, It's also why so many Pokémon agree to travel with trainers. The ability to provide food was already enough for many Pokémon, being able to train them and make them stronger was just a bonus.

"So, what do you plan on doing?" Shuichi asked Cheryl. Cheryl looked at Shuichi confused, "What do you mean 'what am I planning?' You're planning on taking part?" Cheryl understood Shuichi's words.

Shuichi just rolled his eyes "Great observation, so what are you going to do?" He asked Cheryl once more, Cheryl thought about it for a second before she smiled. "What great treasure hunter cowers away when a treasure is right in front of her eyes." She stated.

Shuichi smiled, "Just so you know you're on your own for this one, let's meet up where we saw the Ursaring pass." He didn't want to babysit Cheryl constantly, Cheryl nodded and looked forwards at the trees. Shuichi also looked forward, he had one target tree that he could see; Sitrus berries.

Shuichi had learned the power of the Sitrus berries back in Bewilder forest and they were good, they were pretty much consumable potions that could help a Pokémon in a time of crisis. No wonder the shops sold them for ₽600 a piece.

He calmed his heartbeat, slowed his breathing and slowly walked silently through the forest closer to the tree. Cheryl was surprised once more, if she wasn't looking at Shuichi leaving she would almost think he was still there. She also looked at a target tree and sneaked over.

Shuichi got closer to his target tree and looked around to see the competition, some Roselia were present along with some Beautifly and even some Buneary. But the biggest competition wasn't them, Shuichi looked over at one specific group of Pokémon.

There were multiple white-furred Pokémon, bearing some resemblance to a sloth but with a large tuft of red fur on its forehead. They also have very small ears and teeth. Their arms are very long and the hands and feet have two long, black claws. They were a group of Vigoroths.

Vigoroth was the evolution of Slakoth, Slakoth were sloth Pokémon and as expected were extremely lazy. Vigoroth on the other hand were the total opposite, very active and aggressive. 

The Vigoroth were all extremely excited and their emotions mirrored their behaviours, there was also a level of confidence in them. 

They were all waiting, the berries weren't ripe yet and needed a little bit more time to become ripe. It gave Shuichi some time to come up with a plan, he covertly released his Pokémon and gave them a task each. 

All the Pokémon and Shuichi waited calmly until the berries were ripe, the moment they would fall was the moment they were ripe enough. Seconds slowly turned into minutes as they waited.

Suddenly one Sitrus berry fell to the ground, it was a sudden occurrence with no announcement. Soon multiple berries littered the ground as they all fell. The Vigoroth had waited long enough and sprinted towards the berries, this was the starting sign for all the Pokémon to rush towards the berries.

The Vigoroth were easily the fastest Pokémon here and they would be able to reach the berries first, suddenly a big fireball and a big star cut off their paths as they all came to a screeching halt. Eevee and Combusken blocked their path of advancement as they looked at the Vigoroth.

A blue beam was suddenly fired off on the other side creating a wall of ice that blocked the other Pokémon from advancing, Clamperl had fired it off from their initial starting position. 

Pokémon from ahead were also having trouble due to sudden strong winds that were created by Drifloon, the winds weren't strong enough to blow them away but strong enough to resist their momentum.

This was Shuichi's plan, Combusken and Eevee blocked the Vigoroth group. Clamperl and Drifloon would block the rest of the positions. As for Shuichi? He was currently running and gathering as many Sitrus berries as he could, he was stuffing them all in his bag and would count them later.

The Pokémon were correctly so not amused by the situation, the Vigoroth yelled and charged at Combusken and Eevee only to get repelled by both of them. On the other side, Pokémon tried to break through the ice wall however, Clamperl just repaired the wall with another Ice Beam.

Drifloon was arguably the one who struggled the most, he had been with Shuichi the shortest and still wasn't as strong as the rest. Shuichi gave a quick look around and noticed only a few berries that were too far away, he decided to leave them as he already had more than enough.

Shuichi turned around and ran towards his point of entry, "Drifloon, stand down." He said as he recalled him. "Clamperl, get ready." Shuichi gave Clamperl the sign and he started to charge up a big Whirlpool, with no more Ice Beams coming meant that the wall was quickly broken down.

Some Pokémon scrambled to the few berries on the ground but most of them started to chase after Shuichi. "Combusken, Eevee, retreat." Once Shuichi reached the halfway point he had Combusken and Eevee come back, he didn't recall them yet as they were still needed.

Combusken and Eevee both used Quick Attack to quickly retreat and catch up with Shuichi, They all suddenly stopped once they were next to Clamperl. All sorts of Pokémon were angrily chasing Shuichi to grab some of his berries.

"Combusken, big Ember straight up," Shuichi instructed and Combusken fired off a big fireball in the air, Shuichi quickly recalled Combusken afterwards and the fireball kept going until it slowly started to fall.

Shuichi looked at Clamperl and said "Fire." Clamperl released the big Whirlpool at the fireball and was also quickly recalled, "Now Eevee." Shuichi quickly gave the sign as the fireball and whirlpool met each other.

Fire and water met each other in the air and both attacks were no slouch on their own, a big explosion erupted and the surrounding Pokémon were swept away. A big cloud of smoke and mist suddenly covered a large area.

Inside the smoke and mist was Shuichi who had made himself small enough to be covered by Eevee's green dome of Protection. He quietly recalled Eevee as he started to sneak out of the area with the smoke and mist as his cover.

Shuichi slowly retreated to the agreed meeting point, it took him around 30 minutes to get there. Along the way, he stayed vigilant and made sure no Pokémon was following him.

Once Shuichi was at the agreed meeting spot he looked around only to not see Cheryl, he thought for sure she would be the first one here but he didn't mind waiting for her. He released his team again to check up on them and let them rest.

Drifloon and Clamperl were only a bit tired and had no injuries, Combusken and Eevee were a different story as they had multiple scratch wounds on them from the Vigoroth. Shuichi sprayed some sprays of a potion on them and covered them with bandages, they should be back to full strength later in the day.

After that he went on to count his bounty, and what a bounty it was. There were a total of 15 Sitrus berries! This was more than enough for the foreseeable future, it brought a smile to Shuichi and his Pokémon as they all calmed down and recollected their strength.

Suddenly the bushes rustled which put everyone on high alert, they all turned to the sound ready for battle. "Don't panic! It's just me." Cheryl said as she came from the bushes, Shuichi and his Pokémon breathed a small sigh of relief and stood down.

"How did your treasure hunt go?" Shuichi asked Cheryl, Cheryl smiled and said "It went well, I managed to grab some Oran berries. How about you?" She told Shuichi and posed the same question to him. 

"It went good, I managed to grab some Sitrus berries," Shuichi told her. He explained his thought process and plan to Cheryl, Cheryl also told her plan for the Oran berries. She had her Chansey distract the Pokémon and Tangela would grab some berries with his vines.

It was a lot more simplistic than Shuichi's plan however, she didn't have to combat a group of hyperactive Vigoroth.

Shuichi and Cheryl continued on their way through Eterna Forest, they both battled trainers and while Cheryl didn't make bets Shuichi did. He only made bets with trainers who had one badge, he also didn't bother to fight trainers who didn't want to bet.

Since leaving Floaroma town and through Eterna Forest Shuichi had fought many battles with bets, Shuichi managed to win most of them making his current total ₽6,000 along with a Nugget he still has to sell.

It took another five days until they finally exited Eterna Forest, once outside the forest, they encountered a mountainous path to Eterna City with a river to the side.

"Ah! We are finally out of the forest!" Cheryl took in a deep breath as she talked, she loved nature but a change in scenery was nice after being stuck in the forest for weeks. Shuichi nodded in agreement with her.

He then turned to Cheryl, "What do you plan to do now?" She originally only joined him until she was out of the forest and now that goal had been achieved. Cheryl thought about it for a second and looked around.

She noticed how a red fish-like Pokémon which was a Magikarp was swimming in the river, she also noticed a Nuzleaf was following Magikarp but was also looking at the environment and taking in the view. 

"My grandfather always said, look closely at the Pokémon if you're undecided. They can give you clues and help you along the way. For instance, Nuzleaf is watching over the Magikarp, so I will play the part of the Nuzleaf and watch over you." She explained.

"Am I a Magikarp now?" Shuichi sarcastically joked, he understood what she meant and was happy she was willing to come along with him. She was good company and more mature than Ash and his group.

Cheryl giggled and joked alongside Shuichi as they walked to Eterna City, as they were walking they were suddenly interrupted by a voice that Shuichi knew "Hey! Shuichi!" The female voice yelled.

Shuichi turned around and looked at who called him, a short red-haired woman was walking towards him. "It's nice to see you again, Ms. Zoey." Shuichi politely said. Zoey was a bit taken aback, did he speak like this when she had first met him?

"Right… I was wondering where you were when I didn't see you with Dawn recently." Zoey mentioned she had met Dawn recently. "Well, I'm right here," Shuichi responded sarcastically.

Zoey was sharp and this was the second time Shuichi's acted off, "Are you okay? You've been acting differently since we last met." Cheryl decided to cut in now. "Shuichi's had a spiritual awakening in the forest which causes him to talk like an old man now."

Zoey looked at Cheryl a little off and looked back at Shuichi, Cheryl exclaimed a little and quickly introduced herself. She had actually forgotten to introduce herself.

"How about a battle Shuichi? I've recently caught a new Pokémon and was hoping to test him out." Zoey suddenly asked Shuichi for a battle. Shuichi wouldn't back down from a battle "Sure, I also have a new capture and this will be his first battle."

Drifloon still hadn't participated in a battle due to Shuichi only having betting matches and he didn't want to risk losing with Drifloon, Drifloon also recently managed to learn Ominous Wind with the help of the Spell Tag. 

Shuichi didn't forget he had this handy item for ghost-type Pokémon, Drifloon was also slightly influenced when holding the Spell Tag. He would be more confident when using his moves and in training, seeing Drifloon's more confident side confirmed to Shuichi that he had made the correct choice with Drifloon.

Zoey stood on one side of the field and Shuichi stood on the other side, "I do have to warn you, Ms. Zoey, I become a completely different person during battle." Shuichi said confusing Zoey a bit. 

Suddenly Shuichi emitted a threatening aura, it was different from before. Before it was wild and uncontrollable this time it was controlled and calm like a professional killer. Wild Pokémon quickly scurried away and Zoey felt her hair stand on end, "Woah." She muttered this battle wouldn't be easy for her.