Chapter 8: Forest Guardian Squad - Marnie's Dream

In the cabin nestled within the forest, Summer looked at the freshly made bird's nests with a satisfied expression. After a week of work, his craftsmanship had improved significantly.

"Well, it's done. Corvisquire, can you deliver these to the new residents?"

Summer lifted the bird's nests, and Corvisquire, perched on the roof, let out a caw and flew down.

"By the way, how many bird Pokémon are there in the forest now?"

Corvisquire landed on the ground and used its claws to draw the numbers 2 and 1. It couldn't speak human language, but it had learned to recognize ten digits and could communicate simply with Summer.

"I see. Then I'll need to make three more nests. If there are any new settlers, I'll leave it to you."

"Caw~"

Corvisquire nodded and grabbed a nest, flying into the sky. In just five days, the forest had gained over twenty bird Pokémon. With this group of natural predators, the rampant population of Bug-type Pokémon had sharply declined, and his plan was halfway successful.

Most of these bird Pokémon were Starly, with a few Pidgeotto and Taillow. Overall, their combat strength wasn't very high. However, under Corvisquire's command, they could easily sweep through groups of Bug-type Pokémon, becoming the forest's guardian squad.

Watching Corvisquire fly away, Summer began to contemplate what to do next.

"Introducing bird Pokémon has solved the ecological imbalance, but we shouldn't overdo it. Otherwise, it'll be no different from the rampant Bug-type Pokémon."

Once Bug-type Pokémon and bird Pokémon reach a balance, he'll ask Corvisquire to stop other bird Pokémon from settling in. It's quite clever and should be able to understand.

"Come to think of it, I'm completely in the mindset of a forest ranger now."

Summer gradually adapted to life in the forest. It was leisurely every day, and he began to feel a sense of belonging to Sunset Forest.

"Rrrrr~"

Grookey approached with a piece of wood in its arms, walking towards Summer. These days, Summer had been asking it to gather wood, so it had become familiar with the forest.

"Mr. Summer, what are you doing collecting wood?"

Following behind Grookey was Punk Girl Marnie. After enduring for several days, she couldn't resist and came to Sunset Forest. She loved her hometown and also loved this forest.

"Making bird's nests," Summer replied.

"Bird's nests. Ah, I did see many bird Pokémon on the way here. But how did you deal with the Morpeko?" At this moment, the Morpeko in Marnie's backpack poked its head out, looking at its trainer with confusion.

"Morpeko isn't calling you. Although you are Morpeko," Marnie affectionately rubbed its head. After many years of companionship, she understood how dangerous a group of Morpeko could be. Once they were hungry, they would stop at nothing for food.

"It's simple. As long as they're not hungry, they won't attack bird Pokémon."

"Mr. Summer, are you joking? Morpeko never stops being hungry. That's totally impossible." Marnie looked at the Morpeko beside her, who had been stuffing itself with berries, with a puzzled expression.

"Let's do it this way." Summer placed the wood Grookey brought on the ground, let it climb onto his shoulder, then turned and walked towards the wooden house. "Wait a moment, I'll get something."

Marnie watched Summer's confident expression and temporarily decided to trust him.

"Hey, Morpeko, what do you think Mr. Summer is going to get?" Grookey held out a tree fruit towards Marnie's cheek.

"What are you doing all of a sudden? Oh, you mean the fruit? Geez, you never have enough, do you?"

"I'm back. Here, Morpeko, try this."

Summer approached Marnie, holding two Colbur Berries in his hand.

Morpeko's eyes lit up, jumping out of the backpack and stuffing the berries into its mouth, showing a satisfied expression.

"That was a Colbur Berry, huh? I didn't expect Sunset Forest to have such rare fruit trees."

"Now, take another look at Morpeko, Miss Marnie."

Marnie turned her head, and Morpeko's black pupils met hers, showing a smile. The key was that it wasn't eating the fruit. This rare expression was the look of being full!

Previously, Morpeko had only shown this expression after consuming a mountain of berries. Now, after eating just two Colbur Berries, it was full. Was this really the Morpeko I remembered?

"That's the solution," Summer said lightly.

"That's amazing, Mr. Summer. How did you do it?" Marnie praised sincerely.

"Forest ranger skills. It's a unique training method in my hometown."

"Forest ranger, so cool," Marnie nodded. Every profession has its top players. Could Mr. Summer be the top forest ranger? But why did he come to this remote forest? No, Marnie shook her head. Having such a powerful forest ranger was fortunate for Spikemuth, and Mr. Summer didn't seem to have any grievances.

Ding ding ding~ The rustic ringtone suddenly sounded, and Summer took out his old phone, finding it was a call from Milo.

"It's my call. Excuse me for a moment."

"Sure." Marnie watched Summer walk away and thought to herself, is it a work call or a family call? After all, being a forest ranger is a lonely job, and I can't accept a life away from family.

"Oh, Summer, how's the adaptation going?" Milo's enthusiastic voice came through as soon as the call connected.

"Not bad, I've pretty much adapted."

"That's good. Your work can officially begin now. You should be familiar with tasks like protecting forest resources and Pokémon."

"Yeah, I understand."

"So, next, I need you to investigate the distribution of forest resources. Don't rush, the workload is large. Take your time, and contact me when you're done."

The distribution of forest resources, actually, Summer had already understood. He didn't say this out loud. For someone who had just arrived a week ago, this was too abnormal.

"Yeah, that's about it. If you have any questions, call me."

After Summer replied, Milo hung up the phone. He put his phone back in his pocket and walked back to where he was.

"I'm back. It's about work."

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Summer, don't you feel lonely?" Marnie suddenly asked.

"Well, usually, I have Grookey with me. The forest is busier than you'd imagine. It's actually not bad." Summer smiled. "I've been to Spikemuth too. Your brother's concert was really fantastic."

"Of course, my brother's concert is something to be proud of."

"Yeah, everyone in the cheer squad is very enthusiastic. Everyone is your fan."

Marnie's face turned red, feeling a bit shy. The cheer squad supported her wholeheartedly, and she was grateful, but their enthusiasm was too much. It was embarrassing when mentioned by others.

"So, I don't feel lonely. I think Sunset Forest will gradually become more lively, and so will Spikemuth."

"Mr. Summer, my dream is to revive Spikemuth, to make it lively again. That includes Sunset Forest too." Marnie said seriously, the light in her eyes shining brightly.

(End of this chapter)