Chapter 3: 3. Chapter 3: The Mysterious Garden

Chapter 3: The Mysterious Garden

"The 'Starter Trio'?" Professor Sakuragi chuckled. "That’s certainly an interesting way to put it."

"It’s just a name I came up with for convenience," Xia You waved his hand dismissively. He then asked, "Professor Sakuragi, do you know if there are any wild Starter Pokémon around here?"

"As for the Starters, you can usually find Charmander in volcanoes or lava caves, while Squirtle requires searching remote coastlines and isolated islands. As for Bulbasaur, you should be able to see them in dense forests. But as for the immediate vicinity..." At this point, Renji seemed to recall something. "Do you know about the Mysterious Garden?"

"The Mysterious Garden?" Hearing the name, Xia You felt a sense of familiarity.

Beside them, Professor Sakuragi explained, "Legend has it that the Mysterious Garden is a place where Bulbasaur gather to hold a festival to celebrate their evolution. However, because very few people have ever been there, in the eyes of most, it is merely a place that exists in fantasy."

Hearing it put that way, Xia You seemed to recall the plot related to it. He remembered that in the original series, Ash had once entered the Mysterious Garden while looking for his Bulbasaur!

But...

Feeling a bit doubtful, Xia You couldn't help but ask, "But is it the season for them to hold their festival now?"

"I’m not entirely sure about that," Professor Sakuragi thought for a moment and added, "But it is certain that the Mysterious Garden truly exists. And even if it isn't the festival season, I believe there must be many Bulbasaur living and residing in that area."

"I see." Xia You nodded. "Then, are there any clues? Or rather... how should I go about finding it?"

Professor Sakuragi operated his computer, pulling up a map of the area surrounding Vermilion City on the large screen.

Pointing to a certain region, Professor Sakuragi said, "Although I don't know the exact coordinates of the Mysterious Garden, our previous observations revealed that there is a lot of wild Bulbasaur activity deep in the forest north of Vermilion City. Perhaps you could go there and try your luck."

"I understand." Scanning the map, Xia You committed the location to memory and then expressed his sincere gratitude. "You’ve been a huge help, Professor Sakuragi. Thank you so much!"

……

Walking down the steps of the laboratory with Koharu, Xia You looked back and saw Professor Sakuragi’s Yamper running out of the lab, wagging its tail and following closely behind Koharu.

Seeing this, Xia You couldn't help but smile. "It looks like it really likes you."

"Does it?" Koharu glanced down at the Yamper, her tone showing no obvious change. "I don't really feel that way. It often pesters my parents at home, too; it’s probably the same with everyone."

Through their brief interaction, Xia You discovered that Koharu wasn't the talkative type. Although she was still a minor, she had a calm and steady personality, giving off the impression of being very sensible and well-behaved.

Bending down, Xia You patted the Yamper on the head. It squinted its eyes comfortably and stuck out its long tongue toward him.

It liked being petted; looking at it this way, it really wasn't any different from a dog.

"Alright, no need to see me off any further. Well then, Koharu, until we meet again!"

After waving goodbye to Koharu, Xia You didn't set off immediately to find the Mysterious Garden. Instead, he first went to an outdoor supply store in Vermilion City, where he bought a baseball cap, a sleeping bag, a canteen, binoculars, portable food, and simple cooking utensils, packing them all into a large backpack.

Since he was heading into the wild, he naturally had to be well-prepared. Otherwise, if he missed a town by nightfall, he would have to rely on this gear to camp out in the wilderness.

……

Leaving Vermilion City, Xia You and Ralts headed north. After walking for a long time, they finally left the urban area and climbed over a small hill, arriving at a dense forest.

Compared to the forests in the surrounding areas, the plants here were noticeably thicker and more robust.

Entering the forest, because they were far from the city, his phone signal quickly vanished. The navigation became useless, and Xia You could only follow his intuition as he trekked through.

Everything in sight was green; only when surrounded by nature like this could one feel how insignificant they truly were.

Although Xia You had entered many forests before, this was his first time entering such a vast sea of trees.

The surroundings were deathly quiet, but fortunately, with Ralts accompanying him, he didn't feel quite so lonely.

Along the way, he discovered that this forest was indeed very primitive.

Everywhere were towering trees with lush foliage. At first, there were a few small paths left by travelers, but as they ventured deeper, the paths gradually disappeared. To continue further, he needed Ralts to use Psychic to move the branches aside.

The surroundings were silent.

Whether it was Caterpie, Weedle, Oddish, or Bellsprout—common Pokémon in such forests—he couldn't see a single one. The more this was the case, the more certain Xia You became that he had come to the right place.

After all, only when one reached the habitat of a specific group would they drive away other Pokémon due to territorial instincts, creating such a situation!

In this forest, which felt like a giant maze, he walked and stopped intermittently. It took over two hours, and by dusk, Xia You finally faintly heard the cries of many Pokémon ahead.

However, the path in front of him was blocked by thick vines. These vines were like a wall; not only were they incredibly tough, but they were also covered in sharp thorns, preventing any creature from approaching.

This wasn't natural growth!

Looking at it this way, the Mysterious Garden must be behind this wall of vines!

He gave Ralts a look, and Ralts nodded in understanding. It then unleashed its psychic powers; a mass of invisible, transparent energy emitted from its hands and struck the vines, instantly opening a small gap!

The gap wasn't large, but it was enough for them to pass through.

Using his hands and feet, Xia You climbed through the vines, then lightened his footsteps and continued forward.

As he pushed aside the branches, the view suddenly opened up. In the middle of the dense, boundless forest, there was actually a basin!

Looking from afar, there was a massive dead tree in the center of the basin, and around it, countless Bulbasaur were playing and frolicking.

The Mysterious Garden—although it was in the heart of the forest and protected by a wall of vines, he had finally found it by luck!

But thinking about it, it made sense. The basin was huge, and even with the vine protection, if someone really wanted to find it, it couldn't be hidden forever.

It was simply that very few people ever reached this far.

Stopping in his tracks, he gazed at this peaceful habitat. Xia You didn't rashly enter to disturb them. Instead, he took out his binoculars and, aided by the fading glow of the sunset, carefully observed the situation inside.

After scanning a few times, he focused his binoculars on a single Bulbasaur.

In terms of appearance, Bulbasaur is a quadrupedal Pokémon, much like a green frog. Aside from its bright red eyes and dark green spots, its most prominent feature is the bulb-shaped bud on its back.

These Bulbasaur clearly hadn't noticed Xia You's arrival, but because there were so many of them, it was easy to get dazzled. Moreover, it was hard to tell their personalities just from their appearance, so after observing for a while, Xia You locked his gaze onto a Bulbasaur that had just walked out of the basin.

Perhaps because no one had intruded here for a long time, this Bulbasaur looked quite relaxed. It would occasionally use its Vine Whip to pluck a berry from a tree to taste, and soon it had wandered far from its group.

Seeing this opportunity, Xia You didn't hesitate. He moved his feet gently, trying his best not to make a sound as he approached it.

Choosing this specific Bulbasaur was, in fact, the safest method.

If he went too deep, he might cause panic and chaos among the Bulbasaur. If he were to be attacked by the whole group, the loss would outweigh the gain.

The Bulbasaur had no awareness of the impending danger.

However, after getting close, Xia You didn't choose to ambush it; instead, he walked directly in front of it.

Hearing the noise and seeing a human suddenly standing before it, the Bulbasaur was startled at first.

But immediately, it bent its four limbs and struck a battle stance!

Two vines suddenly shot out from the bulb on its back, whipping around in the air as if to intimidate Xia You!

As their eyes met, Xia You waved his hand, and Ralts stepped forward a few paces.

Seeing Ralts, the Bulbasaur seemed to realize something. It kept letting out "Bulba, Bulba" cries, and its gaze instantly turned sharp!