Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

"They said they would help, but how are we supposed to find the lost Pokémon in such a big place?"

Upon arriving at the forest the researchers had mentioned, Xiao Guang began to regret agreeing to their request so easily.

"There's nothing we can do about it. We can only search slowly. Logically speaking, it should be in this area and not have gone far."

Brock also frowned. Although he was comforting Dawn on the surface, Brock himself was also worried about whether they could find the lost Pokémon in such a large forest.

"It's fine."

Xiao Zhi spoke up:

"Didn't those researchers say that the Starhawks are very docile and that they only ran away because they were scared? They should come back on their own once they calm down, right? The problem still lies with the remaining Piplup and Chimchar."

Compared to the flying Staraptor and the others, Piplup and Chimchar are clearly in a more dangerous situation.

It is said that the depths of the forest are the territory of Ariados. Although the Ariados population is much less intimidating and destructive than Beedrill and others in the wild, if surrounded, it is still not something that rookie Pokémon like Piplup and Chimchar can handle.

If we look at it from this perspective alone, the current situation is actually quite critical.

After listening to Ash's reasoning, both Dawn and Brock nodded in agreement.

Just as Ash said, Flying-type Pokémon don't get lost in this forest. The only reason they might get lost is that they don't want to come back.

However, after ruling out the only possibility, their targets were actually only Chimchar and Piplup.

Once they find these two Pokémon, their mission will be successfully completed, but the problem lies in...

"A fork in the road..."

They came to a fork in the road, where two paths lay before them.

"What should we do? Should we choose one path? Or...?"

"We definitely need to split up in this situation," Xiaozhi decided immediately.

Based on past experience, if everyone takes the same route, they will only end up getting lost. Whether to avoid getting lost or to expand the search area, splitting up is the best option.

"Yes, I agree."

Brock, who also had plenty of experience getting lost, naturally understood that Ash's suggestion was correct. After considering the situation of the three of them, Brock said:

"Then I'll take the right path by myself, Ash and Dawn, you two can take the left path."

Ash is the strongest among them, while Dawn doesn't have any Pokémon yet, so pairing the two of them together is the safest approach.

Even the most skilled Pokémon trainers must maintain a basic sense of awe when facing such an unknown forest.

Otherwise, when the forest slaps you in the face in ways you never imagined, it will be too late to be cautious and respectful.

After a brief division into groups, the three began to carefully explore the interior of the forest.

"Ugh... What bad luck! I didn't expect to encounter so many troubles on the first day of my trip. Maybe I didn't choose the best time to travel?"

Dawn, who was right behind Ash, couldn't help but complain in a low voice.

Before she arrived here, she never imagined that simply receiving a new Pokémon would become so complicated and difficult. If she hadn't come with Ash, she probably wouldn't have been able to get here on her own.

"Try to think more positively. It's still better than what I was in, isn't it? Besides, nobody knows if this is a bad thing for you. Even though it seems unlucky on the surface, there might be some opportunities hidden inside."

Ash said this not simply because he had heard about today's events from Dawn before, but mainly because Ash himself had gone through the same thing.

The more troublesome and dangerous a place is, the more opportunities it presents. He met and formed bonds with many legendary Pokémon under such circumstances.

"If that were the case, that would be great."

Hikari could only take Satoshi's words as simple encouragement; her bad luck today had made her lose the confidence to continue saying her catchphrase.

All she wants right now is to find her lost Pokémon as soon as possible and go back.

Ash understood Dawn's thoughts, but ultimately didn't say anything more. Some things can only be truly understood through personal experience.

......

The two had been in the forest for almost 20 minutes.

Although the forest appears quite large at first glance, it is actually only a small forest in terms of depth, and it wouldn't take too long to reach the end.

"The fog is so thick..."

Dawn, who was following behind Ash, began to get nervous, and without realizing it, she had tightly gripped Ash's clothes.

Even someone as optimistic and cheerful as her would find it hard not to be afraid in such an environment.

This is a forest, a place fraught with danger. When there was no fog, she could still observe her surroundings with her own eyes, but now, under such thick fog, her visibility was only three or four meters. The tension and fear of the unknown quickly overwhelmed her.

"Is there a large lake nearby... otherwise, this place shouldn't have such thick fog."

"A lake...?"

Reminded by Ash, Dawn seemed to remember something and quickly replied:

"So...we should be near Lake Heartbeat now, one of the three major lakes in the Sinnoh region."

The largest and only lake in this forest is Xinqi Lake, located in the heart of the forest.

However, Hikaru never expected that they had already reached the vicinity of Heart Lake. If they continued walking, they would stray far from True Sand Town...

Just as Dawn was feeling worried, Pikachu, who was walking ahead, twitched its ears twice and reached out to stop Ash and Dawn from continuing forward.

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu's tone was serious.

Just as Xiaoguang was about to ask Pikachu what it had discovered, the surrounding fog seemed to dissipate as she wished, and it was the dissipation of the fog that made the figures of the predators that had surrounded Xiaoguang and the others clearly visible.

"Ariados?! And so many..."

In just a moment, Xiao Guang had already spotted no fewer than ten Ariados in his field of vision.

In this tense situation, Dawn couldn't help but move even closer to Ash.

.......