This Aron originally lived with its group, but it disliked the monotonous life and was full of yearning for the outside world.
So, while its parents weren't paying attention, it sneaked out.
It planned to take a stroll outside and return home to brag to its friends.
Unexpectedly, it accidentally fell into a cave. Not knowing the way, it wandered aimlessly and inadvertently provoked a group of Zubat.
The Zubat chased it, and in a panic, it didn't watch where it was going.
It ended up crashing headfirst into the tail of an Onix that was resting in the cave.
Ryan pieced together this information from Aron's gestures, making educated guesses along the way.
It might not be entirely accurate, but it should be close to the truth.
"So, what do you plan to do now?"
Ryan patted the large, round head of the Aron, finding it surprisingly pleasant to the touch.
"Aron~"
Aron was starting to miss home, its parents, and friends.
"Well, I'll help you to the end and find the way home with you."
Ryan didn't feel comfortable letting this rather absent-minded Aron wander off on its own. Who knows, it might bump into another Pokémon.
"Aron~"
Aron was grateful to this human in front of it. Not only did he rescue it, but he also fed it, and now he was even helping it find its way home.
It seemed like its parents were wrong when they said all humans were bad. This human was a really good person.
Unaware that it had been given a "good person card," Ryan instructed the Diglett to wait for him at the base of the mountain, saying he'd meet them there later.
Then he set off with Aron to find its way home.
Though Ironstone Mountain wasn't particularly tall, it covered a large area. The terrain was also complicated, so finding a few Pokémon in the vast mountains wasn't easy.
They searched the mountain for half a day. Not only did they not find Aron's home, but Ryan himself was on the verge of getting lost.
"Randomly searching like this won't get us anywhere. You really have no memory of these paths?" Ryan asked, resting his hands on his knees, panting heavily.
"Aron..." Aron shook its head, its voice heavy with sadness.
It truly couldn't remember. After falling into the cave and being carried who knows how far by Onix, it had never seen these mountain paths before.
Aron wanted to give up, but the thought of being alone and vulnerable, potentially bullied by other Pokémon and not having enough to eat, made it sadder.
The more it thought about it, the more upset it became, tears welling up in its eyes.
At that moment, the human beside it squatted down and wiped away its tears.
"It's no big deal, don't cry. If we really can't find your home, just stick with me for now. We can always look again later."
Hearing Ryan's gentle words, Aron widened its eyes. To it, this human seemed to glow with light.
"Aron?" (Really?)
"Of course. You'll get food and shelter, and when we find your home, you can leave whenever you want. So, what do you say? Stick with me?"
Aron nodded enthusiastically, afraid Ryan might change his mind.
"Alright, let's head down the mountain first. The Diglett are still waiting for us."
"Aron!"
As they descended, Ryan habitually opened his panel.
"Hmm? Creation points were consumed? Used to create a player's body... Did someone die?"
"Looks like something's happened. Better head back to the territory quickly to check it out."
Ryan quickened his pace down the mountain.
Earlier that morning, the players had been busy chopping trees.
"Hey, Vrix, aren't you going overboard? No breaks at all?" Bryan looked at Vrix, still chopping away, with admiration.
Chopping trees was hard work. Typically, after an hour of chopping, you'd need to take a break.
But this guy had been at it for nearly two hours without stopping.
"Is that special reward really that important to you?"
Vrix paused, clearly worn out.
Even though players' bodies weren't much stronger than in real life, Vrix was already exhausted.
"The special reward is nice, probably a Pokéball, but what I care more about is the right to use the farmland."
Vrix took a drink from his water bottle, wiped his mouth, and continued.
"We noticed yesterday that this game has hunger and thirst values. You get hungry, you need to eat. You get thirsty, you need to drink.
We don't know if the characters can die from hunger or thirst, but with how realistic this game is, that seems likely.
So, we need stable food and water supplies. Water's not too hard to find; the rivers are clean and drinkable.
But what about food? We're in the beginner phase now, and Lord Ryan might provide some, but what about later? Buy it?"
Bryan was puzzled after hearing Vrix's reasoning. He hadn't expected someone to worry about food in a game.
"Why not just buy it?" Bell chimed in.
"The problem is we don't have any money. Even if we earn some from quests later, spending a lot on food would leave us with little to raise our Pokémon."
"Does food really cost that much?" Bryan asked, still confused.
"Don't forget, this world may be magical, but the setting is similar to medieval times. Production methods are primitive, and food supply is likely low. So, prices would be high."
Vrix continued explaining.
"And with farmland, we could be self-sufficient and even sell extra food. More players will join this game, and they'll need to eat too."
"Oh~"
The rest of the group began to understand. It seemed like the right to use the farmland was indeed important.
"No wonder you're a professional gaming YouTuber. You've got a keen sense for these things," Leaf praised Vrix.
"It's nothing special. You pick up a few things after playing enough games," Vrix said, scratching his head in embarrassment. Seeing the others still wanting to praise him, he quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, where's Heracross? Lord Ryan said they'd meet us here, right?"
"Yeah, we've been chopping for almost two hours now, and they still haven't shown. You think they took the reward and ran?"
"No way. These Pokémon are honest and kind. Maybe something came up."
Just as the players were discussing Heracross, they suddenly heard loud roars from the depths of the forest.
They saw many Pokémon running towards them, including the three Heracross from the day before.
The Heracross waved their arms, trying to signal something.
But unlike Ryan, the players couldn't understand their gestures.
It wasn't until they saw a giant brown bear Pokémon charging toward them that they understood: Heracross wanted them to run.
"Holy crap! A level 33 Pokémon!"
"What are you standing around for? Run!"
But they had already wasted too much time standing still, and there was no chance to escape.
As the bear got closer, Leaf stepped forward.
"If we keep running, it'll catch up. I'll lure it away!"
He stopped, picked up a rock, and hurled it at the bear.
After successfully angering the bear, he ran in a different direction.
The other players didn't have time to stop him and continued fleeing toward the edge of the forest.
Bryan shouted back as he ran, "Leaf! Climb a tree and hide! It can't climb after you!"
Leaf took the advice and scrambled up a large tree, thinking he was safe.
But the bear climbed up after him, faster than he did.
"Uh... pretend I didn't say anything," Bryan muttered, covering his eyes.
"This is going to end badly."