Chapter 3: Trainer of Spikemuth

The dawn in the Sunset Forest was silent, as hardly any bird Pokémon could be seen here.

The creaking sound of stepping on wooden stairs at this moment seemed particularly harsh. The sound-sensitive Grookey immediately opened its eyes, realizing there was a stranger around. It hastily nudged Summer, who was still asleep.

"Huh? What's wrong, Grookey?" Summer sat up, rubbing his eyes. He hadn't fully adjusted to waking up early yet.

With a sudden click, the wooden door was pushed open. Grookey felt a bit scared at first, but remembering Summer's kindness, it mustered up the courage and took the wooden stick off its head, assuming a defensive posture.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

The girl who pushed open the wooden door and Summer, who was sitting on the bed, looked at each other, and the scene became awkward for a moment.

The girl had an expressionless face, with a hint of confusion in her eyes. She wore a cute pink dress, paired with a punk-style black jacket, giving her a unique charm that was hard to describe.

Summer suddenly became more awake. He recognized the girl in front of him, a trainer from Spikemuth, Marnie, also a popular idol in Spikemuth, with her own fan club called Team Yell.

Out of politeness, Marnie cleared her throat and asked, "Who are you, and why are you sleeping here? Are you a passing trainer?"

To prove his legitimacy, Summer reluctantly replied, "I'm Summer Leaf, a new forest ranger in Sunset Forest."

With that, he got up, picked up his jacket from the chair, and took off his badge.

"If you don't believe me, I have my badge here to prove my identity."

"Forest ranger, huh? It must be tough being a forest ranger in such a remote forest."

But wait, am I the one being comforted? But since she acknowledges my identity, there shouldn't be any misunderstanding.

"My name is Marnie, a trainer from Spikemuth. Sorry for disturbing you, Mr. Forest Ranger."

Marnie bowed apologetically. At that moment, Morpeko poked its head out of her backpack, happily munching on tree fruits, one after another.

"Overall, it's because of this little one." Marnie patted Morpeko's head. "I came to this forest to look for tree fruits and then found this cabin, so I used it as my secret base."

"Tree fruits, huh? Morpeko can get aggressive when hungry," Summer said, looking at Morpeko. He was quite knowledgeable about all Pokémon living in the forest now.

"That's right, but that's also part of its charm," Marnie said with a fond look in her eyes and a rare smile on her lips.

"In that case, you must be the owner of those books," Summer suddenly said.

Pokédex for Dark-type Pokémon, how to communicate with people, the essential knowledge for trainers, all of it matches up with Marnie's interests. Summer felt relieved; thankfully, it seemed there was no ghostly activity.

Marnie's cheeks blushed instantly. She quickly ran to the bookshelf, put three books into her backpack, and as she noticed Summer witnessing her rare moment, Morpeko flashed a smile and waved its little hand.

"Did you see?" Marnie asked softly.

"I flipped through them a bit. After all, I needed to check what was inside the cabin."

"Ah, it's so embarrassing!" Marnie blushed even more, feeling exposed about her hobby. She wished she could disappear into the ground.

No, Marnie, you're not that crybaby anymore. She clenched her fists, encouraging herself. So what if he saw it? Just admit it boldly.

Marnie took a deep breath, calmed herself, and then turned around to face Summer seriously.

"Yes, I like Dark-type Pokémon and battling! I like it very much! So much that I can't even handle it!"

Ignoring the part about communication with people? Well, it's better to give her an out now.

"Oh, that's a nice hobby," Summer responded.

Facing Summer's reply, Marnie pursed her lips, still blushing slightly. Her black eyes stared at the floor, silent for a while, then muttered softly:

"As for the content of the last book, please keep it a secret, Mr. Summer."

"Sure, I'll keep it a secret," Summer replied calmly, thinking that refusing might lead to being hunted down by Team Yell.

With a positive response, Marnie gradually regained her usual expression. Still feeling a bit embarrassed about her outburst, she suddenly asked:

"Mr. Summer, what do forest rangers do?"

"Well, simply put, we protect the forest and the Pokémon in it."

Summer, neatly dressed, extended his arm, and Grookey swiftly jumped onto his shoulder. Then, he sat down on the edge of the bed and began to explain to Marnie.

"Oh, then picking tree fruits shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Summer waved his hand, indicating it was fine.

"As long as you don't harm the forest resources, it's not illegal. Oh, speaking of tree fruits, Miss Marnie, how do you search for tree fruits in this forest?"

At this season, tree fruits should be hanging from the branches. It's strange not to find a single one.

"Because I've been living with Morpeko since I was little, I'm very good at finding tree fruits." Marnie showed a proud expression. "But lately, it's been getting harder to find them. Could it be that Mr. Summer knows something?"

"Morpeko..." Suddenly, Summer thought of something. "Miss Marnie, are there a lot of Morpeko in this forest?"

"Yes, many Morpeko were released into this forest by everyone. I take responsibility for this."

The combination of Marnie and Morpeko has many fans in Spikemuth. They imitated their idol and tried to raise Morpeko themselves, only to find out about the less cute side of Morpeko. Firstly, they eat a lot, and when hungry, they become aggressive and difficult to deal with. Over time, everyone couldn't stand it and released them into the nearby Sunset Forest, leading to a rapid increase in Morpeko's population.

"The increase in Morpeko threatens bird Pokémon, so Bug-type Pokémon can thrive without any threat," Summer didn't expect to see species invasion in the Pokémon world.

At this rate, the forest's ecosystem will collapse sooner or later, and the trees won't withstand so many Bug-type Pokémon gnawing at them.

"Is the forest in a bad condition now?" Marnie asked.

"Yeah, we need to find a solution."

Marnie felt guilty; she didn't want Sunset Forest to decline because of her. She already regarded it as part of Spikemuth, her most cherished hometown.

[Protecting the forest is the duty of a forest ranger. Accessing Sunset Forest's data.]

Familiar voices echoed in Summer's mind as a three-dimensional map of Sunset Forest appeared before him.

[Tree distribution and types: Green Oak 56%, Black Pine 23%, Oran Tree 11%, Citrus Berry Tree 6%, Thorny Pomeg Tree 4%]

[Obtain the Forest Ranger skill Rapid Growth, Effect: Let a sapling grow rapidly, limited to once a day. ]

[Obtain the Forest Ranger skill Variety Optimization, Effect: Optimize the quality of trees, limited to once a week. ]

[Obtain the Forest Ranger skill Carpenter Apprenticeship, Effect: Your carpenter skills reach a proficient level. ]

[Obtain props, several saplings of Coba Berry and fruits, Coba Berry, the favorite of bird Pokémon. ]

The constant voices surprised Summer. Is the forest ranger such an all-round profession?

But these words also gave Summer an idea. The words in his mind gave all the skills to point to one point, that is, to introduce bird Pokémon.

"Mr. Summer, I will take responsibility. I will catch these Morpeko." This is the most direct solution that Marnie can think of. Without Morpeko, bird Pokémon will come back.

Summer raised his head and looked at Marnie, then said confidently:

"No, this matter will be solved by me, the forest ranger. If there is a problem with the Pokémon ecology, just pull it back on track."

  (End of this chapter)