“My feet hurt,” MunchMunch groaned.

  It had been three days now since they lost Teddy and Happy.

  The first day had been fun, even if he was worried about the others.

  The second day Mama Shadow made them walk really fast until they found the path.

  Today, he didn’t feel like walking.

  “Shadow, how do you know this is the right way?” MunchMunch asked, kicking his foot as high as he could. He giggled when it hit his belly and bounced back to the ground.

  She glanced at him. “Because MunchMunch, I have secret knowledge.”

  She kept a straight face for a few seconds before cackling and spinning around him.

  “That sounds awesome! What is secret knowledge like? Oh! I have secrets — is that like secret knowledge?”

  “Yes, but mine is even more special!” she laughed.

  MunchMunch shoved both his paws in his mouth he was so excited.

  Then he frowned. They tasted like berries.

  “Shadow, I love berries, but I’m tired of them right now. I want Chocolate Cake!”

  He stopped in the middle of the path while he thought about food. “And cheese. I’ve decided I really like cheese!”

  “Wait! Shadow!” he shouted, skipping as fast as he could to catch up. “We are going to a new town, that means a new Nurse Chansey! I want — “

  MunchMunch tripped, which meant he fell onto his belly. It was so round he kept rolling, right over his head, which didn’t hurt at all, and back onto his feet again!

  “ —To try her soft-boiled egg the most, right after Chocolate Cake!”

  Shadow blinked.

  “You know MunchMunch, I don’t think I have ever met anyone quite like you.”

  MunchMunch smiled.

  “Thanks! I’ve never met anyone like you, either!”

  Gastly burst into a cackle, so MunchMunch joined her.

  Then MunchMunch remembered he had forgotten! Forgotten to practice his Gengar cackle!

  So he started practicing that too.

  MunchMunch smiled as he watched all the Pidgey and Ratatta run away happily. MunchMunch liked to run too, when he was happy! They must really like all the cackling!

  MunchMunch cackled harder.

  ____

  MunchMunch stared at the tree curiously. He had been gathering berries when he decided to stop for a short nap.

  It was a really great nap, filled with Cake and all sorts of other food. When he woke up, he happily took a bite of his Leftovers to fill his belly.

  But then he had noticed something was wrong.

  There was a new tree.

  So now, he was scratching his belly and looking up at the tree.

  He was used to staring at trees. In fact, he did it all the time.

  The issue was… this tree was staring back. He was pretty sure trees weren’t supposed to do that.

  “Munch?”

  The tree creaked softly, then blinked.

  “Hey, Shadow?” he called, rolling up and turning to look for her.

  Something nudged him from behind.

  MunchMunch spun quickly, but nothing was there. He eyed the tree suspiciously.

  “Shaaaadoooow,” he called, this time keeping his eyes on the tree. It blinked again, but didn’t move.

  “Yes, Sweetie?” Shadow called, returning from her “scouting.” She had left to look around while he re-filled his backpack with any berries he could find.

  “Shadow!” he called in relief, turning to see her drifting his way. “I think — “

  Something poked him in the back.

  “Munch!” he shouted in annoyance, turning back to the tree, which was still standing there doing nothing but blinking.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Gastly floated up beside him.

  “This tree poked me!”

  Shadow blinked slowly.

  “The tree poked you?” she asked.

  MunchMunch nodded.

  “That’s called being in a forest, Sweetie.”

  “No! It did it on purpose! And… and! It blinks! Look!”

  But the eyes were gone!

  “Munch!” he huffed. They had been right there!

  Suddenly, the tree lifted a root and grabbed MunchMunch’s foot, tugging and pulling him off balance.

  MunchMunch tumbled onto his back before continuing his roll to stand again.

  “Mama!” he cried in alarm, then blinked when the tree opened its mouth and shouted in the same voice he did.

  “Mama!”

  By now, MunchMunch felt like he had traveled a lot. He had seen and learned lots of things.

  One thing he knew — trees weren’t supposed to stare back. And he knew they weren’t supposed to blink. And they definitely weren’t supposed to yell with his voice!

  Shadow paused, then started cackling. The tree cackled back, sounding exactly like Shadow.

  Which only made her cackle harder.

  MunchMunch joined in uncertainly.

  “That’s not a tree, it’s a Pokémon!” she laughed.

  “Hi there little guy,” she said to the tree.

  It stood up and shook itself.

  MunchMunch gasped. What he had thought were roots were actually feet, and its branches were arms!

  The tree blinked and then smiled.

  “Did I do a good job? Whatcha think? Couldja tell?” the tree asked eagerly.

  “Tell what?” MunchMunch asked uncertainly.

  “Coudlja tell I wasa tree? I’ve been practicing! But it gets awful boring, standing still and not movin’. Couldja tell I wasa tree?!”

  MunchMunch blinked. “No?”

  The tree looked sad at that.

  “I mean… yes? You looked like a tree?”

  The tree visibly brightened at that.

  “That’s great! Papa told me I should close my eyes, but then how would I see the confusion on everyone’s faces when they think I’ma tree!”

  “I’m Sudowoodo by the way! Wanna be my friend? Wanna help me with my martial arts?”

  MunchMunch scratched his head. Things were happening so fast, but Shadow didn’t seem worried — so it was probably ok?

  “Ok?” he said uncertainly.

  It must have been the right thing, because Sudowoodo shook its leaves happily.

  MunchMunch cocked his head. “Mama, what’s a martial art? It sounds like food… “

  He paused.

  Then gasped.

  “Is it good? Mama! Is it like marshmallows?! I want to practice my martial arts, too!”

  He clenched his paws in excitement and turned back to Sudowoodo.

  “Yes! I will have some martial arts with you!”

  ____

  As it turned out, martial arts was not food.

  It just meant Sudowoodo got to trip him every time he moved.

  MunchMunch didn’t think it was very fun.

  “Why don’t you try practicing your tackle?” Shadow suggested. “Now would be a good time to start thinking about Body Slam.”

  Suddenly MunchMunch was much more interested.

  “Munch!” he cried, waddling forward with a Tackle. He slammed into Sudowoodo in excitement, then paused.

  “Oh, are you ok?”

  “Yep! I’m mostly rock, so moves like that don’t really hurt me! Wanna see something cool? I can Mimic your moves and use them right back!”

  The Sudowoodo tucked itself into a waddle and rammed into MunchMunch.

  It didn’t hurt very much, but he used a Defense Curl and took a bite of his Leftovers anyway, enjoying the flavor.

  “Do I really look like that when I use Tackle, Shadow?” he asked in consternation. It looked a lot cooler in his head.

  Shadow cackled. “Yep — don’t you think it’s time for a better move?”

  MunchMunch nodded. He didn’t want to use that move any more.

  It looked like he was falling forward while trying to stand straight!

  Sudowoodo and MunchMunch battled for a while. MunchMunch tried a bunch of different tackles, but each time Sudo copied them, they still looked silly.

  Maybe he was thinking about it wrong?

  “MunchMunch, what makes you strong? Think about that,” Shadow suggested.

  MunchMunch sat down to think. Shadow always knew what to do, so he wanted to take her advice seriously.

  Which meant a munch of his Leftovers to help him think his hardest.

  He scratched his tummy.

  He loved food.

  Like, a whole bunch. He felt a lot stronger when he had food, and when he was trying to get food.

  But food also loved him. He knew that because it always made him happy, and was always there for him to find.

  Oh! Maybe food had a favorite, too? Just like he loved Chocolate Cake the most? If that were the case, food probably loved his tummy the most.

  That made sense.

  MunchMunch took another munch of his favorite-forever-snack.

  He had used Body Slam once before, but it was his magic-paw that let him do it. Whenever he did a magic-paw move, it just kind of happened and he didn’t know how or why.

  But it felt like something had just made sense in his mind.

  “MunchMunch! I’ve got it!” he shouted, standing up.

  He tucked in his arms and legs and then —

  ____

  “Are you sure you are ok?” MunchMunch asked in concern, standing over Sudo who was lying on the ground.

  He looked a lot like a log.

  “Yup! Don’tcha forget, I’m stilla rock! But wow, that was so much stronger! Usually I’m the one knocking Pokémon over!”

  Shadow was cackling beneath a tree, laughter breaking into frantic sobs of air — so he knew he must have done it right!

  “Yea, food loves me the most, so I thought of that!” he explained seriously while Sudo stood up and shook his leaves.

  “Thanks — “

  “Son?”

  A deep voice cut them off. From out of the trees a much bigger Sudowoodo appeared.

  “Heya dad! Look, I made friends!”

  “Munch!” MunchMunch smiled.

  Sudowoodo nodded slowly.

  “Son, what are you doing down by the path?” he asked seriously.

  “I was practicing my martial arts,” he began.

  “Before that.”

  “I… I wanted to trick some humans into thinking I was a tree,” he mumbled.

  The Sudowoodo nodded.

  “And what did I tell you about the path, Bonsly?”

  “Aww Da, I’m not a Bonsly anymore — I’m a Sudowoodo now!”

  “I will call you Bonsly until you stop behaving like one.”

  He walked up to place a branch on Sudo’s shoulder.

  ”Pokémon only come to the path if they want to join a trainer. What if you got put in a Poké Ball? What would your mother do?”

  Sudo drooped his head.

  “Sorry Da.”

  Sudowoodo nodded, then turned to look at Shadow.

  “Thank you for keeping an eye on my little one — he thinks he is so grown up now.”

  ”Yes, that tends to happen,” she said fondly, glancing at MunchMunch.

  MunchMunch giggled while Sudo groaned.

  Shadow cackled softly. “Besides, I think he helped us just as much as we helped him.”

  “Is that so?” the Sudowoodo raised a bark-brow. “I’m glad. You two take care now.”

  “Same to you,” Shadow nodded.

  Sudowoodo turned and his son followed.

  “Thanks for practicing martial arts!” Sudo called over his shoulder with a wave.

  “Munch! Let’s meet up again someday!” MunchMunch shouted back.

  “OK!”

  Then they were gone.

  “Mama, did you see that? I made a friend!” MunchMunch exclaimed.

  “You did so good! And you learned a new move!” Shadow enthused back. “But I think Sudowoodo was right, let’s get a bit off the path though, so no trainer thinks we are available for capture.”

  “Ok!” MunchMunch agreed, rolling through the brush as he left the trail. Shadow cackled and followed behind.

  “I can’t wait to show Teddy my new move!”

  Shadow cackled even harder.

  “Yes, we will have to wait for the perfect time to surprise him!”

  MunchMunch paused his roll, then cackled, too.