After some thought, I decided on going for the kitsune for my team, as I was struck by the rod of inspiration for choosing its nickname. After all, wouldn't it be funny to start every battle with "Go! Believe it!"?
Afterwards, I replenished my supply of Toho Orbs before looking for a few more additions for my Ayanote.
While doing this, though, something was bugging me. I think it may have been my conscience, or maybe it was just a lingering sense of being creeped out by that old man earlier. It really made me stop and take a look at what I was doing: capturing little girls and training them to fight. Yes, I realize they're technically magical puppets (or something along those lines), but a part of my mind was still nagging me. I did my best to surpress it for now, as I wanted to let Believe it! catch up to the rest of my team. (I'm compulsive like that.)
Once I felt ready, it was time to enter the Viridian Forest.
According to the locals, fairies were a common sight in this forest. Actually, from what I've heard fairies were a common sight everywhere in Gensokyo, but I guess times have changed when Touhoumon began supplanting the local wildlife. Still fascinating, though.
While examining the new Touhoumon in the area and finding all sorts of useful loot just lying around for no reason, I kept getting approached by little boys with insect nets. Honestly, do people in this world have no concept of personal space?
Just as I expected, it was amazingly fun starting the battle off with "Believe it!"
Believe it! did a good job fighting off the boy's collection of fairies, but it did kind of disturb me to see him treat his Touhoumon so callously against an obviously superior opponent. Are they really no more than pets?
This forest was apparently crawling with just as many boys with no sense of personal space as it was with fairies. There was something about a bunch of little boys playing with fairies that seemed rather unsettling. Trying to shake off the feeling, I had Shinku waste his complete set of mischievous fairies quickly.
This next young lad gave me more trouble, though. While his chibi Sunny Milk and chibi Star Sapphire succumbed quickly to Magical Mary's thundershock, his electric-type chibi Luna Child was a tougher customer. The match devolved into a slugfest of weak physical strikes, with Magical Mary emerging victorious but injured. I knew I was near the next town, so I made a beeline for the exit, knowing that Magical Mary needed to be healed ASAP. However, these fairy catching boys just wouldn't leave me alone. You'd think that in a world populated with Touhoumon, they'd have been used to seeing girls by now.
Angered by this interruption, I made sure to show him no mercy. After a brief and victorious battle, I was free to be on my way. I was very much aware that my Touhoumon needed some medical assistance, but before I could leave something remarkable happened to me.
Once again, I was stopped by someone, but I could tell that he was no random fairy catcher. He was a young man with spiky red hair and a cape, who asked me to show him my Touhoumon. Guaging him to not be a threat, I obeyed. Reaching down, he touched each of them and closed his eyes. To my astonishment, my Touhoumon were all healed by his touch, their injuries from those prior battles disappearing before my eyes. Naturally, I just had to ask how he was doing this.
"Do you know much about the Viridian Forest?" he said. "Viridian means an emerald hue, deep and rich. It's a vast and lush forest with a mystical power to it. It is said that once every few years, a child here is born possessing the mysterious powers of the forest. And indeed...I am one who possesses those powers."
He explained to me that the power of the Viridian Forest allowed him to both heal Touhoumon on contact with his own energy and to telepathically understand these creatures. Fascinated by his abilities, I asked him to tell me more. However, I was not prepared for what he told me next.
"When I was a small child, I remember finding an injured Touhoumon in the wild. She was dying from the waste being spewed as a result of Gensokyo's industrial revolution. As I held her in my arms, I felt the pain and anger she felt because of humanity. Treated as mere pets, slaves, or worse, these creatures have been oppressed for far too long. Every two-bit hack who calls himself a trainer can just capture them in droves and mistreat them with no repercussions. Ask yourself, would YOU like to be a pet kept locked up by a thoughtless trainer?"
"Aren't you a trainer, too?" I asked. "Are you saying we should just stop?"
"No, that's not it," he responded. "Touhoumon can grow and reach potentials never attainable in the wild when paired with strong and trustworthy humans. However, such humans number to a precious few. All other people are just trash. What about you?"
I didn't know what to say to his question, but he continued speaking all the same.
"My allies and I long for a Gensokyo cleansed of humanity's arrogance, where all Touhoumon can live in freedom. If you wish to join us, come to the Indigo Plateau. To gain admittance, though, you'll need to collect all 8 badges from the gym leaders in the land. Think of it as a test."
With that, he turned to leave, never so much as giving me his name. While walking away, he left me with a final warning.
"Be kind to your Touhoumon. We'll be watching you."
Stunned by this unexpected conversation, I slowly continued to the next town, my mind trying to process what I had just heard.
Not thinking about where I was going, I tried to pass through the city and continue on the road, but a random person just grabbed me and dragged me to the town gym. Hey, didn't that Viridian Forest man tell me to challenge the gyms as a test? Looks like I ought to stick around in town for this first. But a gym battle would surely be a whole different world compared to the amateur fairy catchers I've faced thus far. I'll need some serious preparation before I'm ready.
Looking around town, I saw the Pewter City Museum and tucked it away in my mind for future viewing. In a stroke of good fortune, I also met an old woman who had sympathy for my journey and offered to give me a Touhoumon that I've never even seen before. Looks like I'll have plenty of things on my plate for tomorrow. But for now, it's time for me to call it a day, and what a day it's been.