I was still shaking. My body was still processing the last intense minutes of the journey. I sat down on the snow, near where Arti had landed, shivering uncontrollably.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked me with concern.

"Yes," I answered. "But I'm still really cold..."

She sat next to me. "I know, but don't worry. We'll be warm soon enough."

Then she took her wing and pressed me against her. A warmth that I hadn't felt for so long filled me up and helped me to feel better. I started to relax.

"Thank you, Arti," I said. "But, where are we heading now?"

"We are going to our new home for the next few months!" she said in utter excitement. "A huge cave! It's very nice and warm inside! And there is tons of food to eat!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Our journey ended in a cave?! That was it?! I had been looking forward to seeing Kanto for days, but now... Now I am going to a cave?!

"Arti, why did you bring me here?!" I shouted. "There's no way I can live in a cave like this! It will be really cold inside!"

"No, sweetie," she said. "You'll be fine. There are lots of berries to eat, and pokemon in the cave that will keep you warm. And if you want, you can even join my nest! You can sleep with me every night. I promise you won't feel any cold there!"

I couldn't believe what she was saying. "What?! Are you serious?!"

"Of course I am, sweetie!" she replied. "So let's go! Let's explore this wonderful island together!"

I looked at her with disbelief. "This is too much for me..." I thought

A week before, I was just starting a journey to see a legendary pokemon, without a large chance of success. Now, incredibly, I was going to live in a cave with Arti! What the hell?!

"Well, okay then..." I said. "Let's go!"

"Yayyy!" she cheered. "Okay, come on!"

After flying for a minute, we landed near the entrance of the cave. It was huge! I'd never seen anything like it!

It was dark and damp inside, making me feel uneasy. But as soon as we entered, the air got warmer and warmer, until it felt almost hot. So strange.

After walking for ten minutes deeper and deeper into the dark cave, I saw what seemed to be a light source.

What I couldn't believe was when, after turning the last corner, a very luminous giant room appeared in front of me! The sunlight poured in through a transparent piece of ice which acted as a roof.

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "This place is awesome!"

"Yes," Arti said. "It's our new home! Here is where we're staying!"

"Wow!" I repeated. "And this is just one room?!"

"Yes! We have many other rooms," she said. "Come, let's check them out!"

She started walking around the huge place. After some time, we found more rooms, which were all similar to the first one.

I was impressed by how comfortable this place was! There were also many food reserves, which contained everything that I needed for survival. I was happy. We had finally arrived...

"Arti," I said. "I'm so happy here! Thank you!"

"You are welcome, sweetie!" she replied. "Now, let's go to our bedroom!"

We walked towards said room, which was the biggest one and had the warmest air.

She opened the door, and there I saw an enormous bed, made of snow. It seemed that Arti really liked this place too. Inside the room, there were two large windows which gave us a view of the sea lying outside.

"Wow!" I said again. "This is incredible! What a wonderful view!"

"Yes, it's awesome!" she agreed. "Let's lay down on the bed."

So, we stood next to each other, facing the ice window. I watched as the sky turned red with sunset. Then, I felt something on my back. I didn't know what it was, but I knew that it felt nice.

When I turned around, I noticed that Arti was rubbing her head against me, while looking at the sunset. As she did, a soft and warm sensation covered my whole body.

My heart started racing again, as I thought about what could happen if... Well, I prefer to not think about strange things like that. I didn't want to mess up our perfect relationship.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling. Soon enough, Arti stopped rubbing her head against me.

"Are you okay? I suppose you are very tired! You haven't slept for days!".

After completing the great migration, Arti felt very tired and weak from all the fatigue. She wanted to sleep with me, so that we both could rest. I nodded, as tiredness was also getting the best of me.

So, I lay down on the huge bed made of snow. Soon, Arti followed me into it, laid belly flat on the bed, and started to fall asleep.

I watched her as she closed her eyes. It was really beautiful. Then, almost immediately, I fell asleep too. The sun had already, leaving only a faint red light in the sky.

"Hey, sweetie."

I woke up, feeling someone tugging my cheek. I opened my eyes and saw Arti caressing me lightly with her beak. It felt really good.

"Are you awake?" she asked.

"Yes, I am," I replied. "How long have you been there?"

"Let's say I awoke a bit before you..." she said.

"Oh... Okay," I said, still half asleep. "So how is your body feeling? Do you feel better now?"

She moved closer to me, until our bodies were touching. "Yes, thank you. I'm feeling much better now."

"Good!" I said. I thought she would take longer to recover after flying to the other side of the world. But she did just fine!

I moved my head forward and kissed her on the beak, which made her freeze in place! Maybe she wasn't expecting that, even though it was just a friendly kiss.

"Sorry!" I apologized in an instant.

"No, no! It's okay!" she quickly responded. "It's just... Well, never mind. Wanna go out for some fun?"

"What? What do you mean by fun?" I asked. "We're already here!"

"Yeah, but I want to have some fun together," she said. "Don't you think it's time for us to explore Kanto together?"

"Ok..." I said. "But what exactly are we going to do?"

Articuno 'smiled' and got up from the bed. I couldn't believe I was so good at reading emotions! She started walking towards the door. Then, she turned around and looked at me.

"Well, let's see..." she said. "Truth is that there's lots of things to do! So let's fly to Kanto! The sooner, the better!"

In a matter of minutes, we landed in Vermillion City. We decided to spend our first day exploring it.

We found a nice park, where many people were chatting in friendly terms. I was surprised that nobody seemed to pay attention to the unusual sight of a pokemon walking along with a human.

Even though there were more and more pokemon who fought for their rights, it was so sad to see that the majority of people only saw them as wild, uncivilized creatures who didn't deserve to share spaces with humans.

We also saw some other interesting stuff: a huge waterfall, a small lake with a lot of ducks, and a large ship in the docks.

That night, after the sunset, Arti decided to go watch a movie.

"Do you want to come with me?" she asked. "I'm sure there'll be lots of interesting movies here."

"Sure," I replied. "Let 's go!"

We both walked into the cinema, as I thought that it was a real miracle that nobody noticed something off about my companion.

It wasn't too crowded, so we managed to be together. After some time, the film started.

It was about a group of friends who went on an adventure in order to get rid of their boredom. They had to fight against a giant robot and some monsters. It was a really fun movie.

As I watched , I thought about how entertaining it was to do something like this together! I wanted to tell Arti, but I didn't want her to feel embarrassed about being seen with me. So, I kept quiet about it.

After the movie ended, we left the cinema and decided to go to a restaurant for dinner.

As I thought it was logical that she couldn't enter inside a restaurant, I got our meal, and we went outside again. Then, we found a more secluded place, we ate together. As time passed, I didn't know what to say.

"So... Did you enjoy the movie?" I asked.

"Yes!" she said. "It was very interesting."

"Good," I replied. "Do you like the food?"

She nodded. "Yes, it is great!"

"OK!" I continued. "And did you like the city?"

"Well..." she hesitated a bit. "I think it's beautiful here. But there are surely many other things to see in Kanto!"

"You're right." I agreed. "But maybe we should continue to explore tomorrow..."

"Yeah..." she said. "I want to see more places!"

"Ok..." I said, smiling. "Then let's go back home now. It's getting late!"

We both got up from the place where we ate, and after making sure nobody saw us, I got on Arti's back and flew towards home.

The moon was bright, so we could see each other clearly. We were talking while flying, when I suddenly felt a little cold.

"Hey, Arti!" I exclaimed. "Do you feel cold anytime in your life?"

"No..." she answered. "I'm an Ice-type pokemon! But I prefer to be in more comfortable places, as it's easier for everyone else to be around..."

"Oh..." I said. "That's true. But, don't worry! I love being with you, despite the situation" I said before I tightened my grip a bit more, as if hugging her.

"Really? You don't mind being with me?" she asked.

"Of course not," I said. "You're a lovely bird, right?"

Then I noticed her eyes were filled with tears. She must have been feeling lonely.

"Arti..." I started. "Don't cry... Please!"

"I'm sorry!" she said. "I just feel so sad..."

"Why?" I asked.

"Being a legendary pokemon is not easy," she answered.

"I know!" I said. "But you shouldn't worry about that anymore. After all, we are together now! You can trust me!"

She smiled at me as I wiped her tears away. Then, she turned to look at me.

"Thank you," she said. "For everything."

"You don't need to thank me," I replied. "It's the truth! Besides, what do you mean by 'everything'?"

"Well..." she said. "For helping me get rid of my loneliness, for treating me as an equal, for avoiding taking advantage of me..."

Suddenly, something occurred to me: I realized that Arti was just as lonely as myself. We both lived alone, and our only companion was each other.

Being in the same boat wasn't so bad, but it also made hiding my previous life more complicated. So, I decided to tell her about my past.

"Arti," I said. "I actually live alone too... I have been since I was a kid."

"Really?" she asked. "How come?"

"Well..." I said. "My parents died when I was young, and then my brother took care of me. But he died recently, so I'm all alone now."

"Oh..." she said. "And how old are you?"

"I'm not a teen anymore!" I answered. "I'm not at risk of anything, don't worry. And you?"

"It's a bit complicated... I've been alive for 5000 years..." she answered. "But I'm not sure if it counts that way. Legendary pokemon live much longer than humans, so I guess I'm still not considered an elder!" she laughed.

"Well," I replied. "It doesn't matter. You're beautiful anyway!"

"Thank you!" she said as we were almost there. "I'm glad you like me!"

We arrived back home, and as soon as we entered our house, we headed off to sleep, but for some reason, I couldn't fall asleep that easily.

I spent most of the night thinking about Arti, and how lucky I was to have someone as nice as her as a friend.

Even though she was a legendary pokemon, there wasn't any danger for me, as she was so kind and caring towards me. She was a good pokemon, and she deserved to be called such!