Chapter 98:
August 27
5:30 PM — the small town cooled comfortably as sunset approached.
The weather was mild; a gentle evening breeze brought relief to the last villagers finishing the rice harvest. The harvested paddies were bare now — only neat stubble and rows of haystacks left, to be burned and turned into fertilizer come the dry days of autumn. A few Rattata popped up now and then from the fields, scavenging for leftover grains. Once the harvest is done, people generally leave the paddies alone.
Lately, for some reason, a flock of Pidgeotto had taken to perching along the field edges, and a single Pidgeot as well — but those Pidgeotto and that Pidgeot didn't seem interested in the nearby Rattata. That was why the little Rattata felt bold enough to snatch grains across the paddy.
They weren't without competition, though. A greedy Sentret had come out of Aogiri Forest — the sort that hoards. The Sentret popped out of a haystack, grabbed a stalk of rice, and darted off, stuffing the kernels into its mouth like it was afraid someone would steal them. Several Rattata bared their front teeth and lunged; they wouldn't allow another Pokémon to steal their rice!
But the Sentret just dove back into the haystack with its prize and vanished. Outnumbered, the Rattata had no choice but to withdraw.
Some time ago, the once-bare field ridges had been planted with two bright bands of flowers — a strip of blossoms like vivid ribbons laid across the orange-gold embankments. Every bloom was gorgeous in its own way, as if each wanted to be the queen of the flowers; none would give ground to another.
Hayashi Kaede was picking flowers among them now. Tomorrow was the trip to Wineberry Town; today he needed to gather the flowers. He didn't need many — one of each species would do, then store them in a storage sphere.
After finishing, he didn't linger. He returned to the farm and collected some blossoms from the two Bounsweet trees as well. Looking over the Pokémon that were present, he asked, "Tomorrow I'm heading out with Pidgeot — there might be a battle tournament. Anyone want to go?"
"Combusken?"
The first to speak up was Combusken. Its eyes lit up. "Combusken!" — (Me! Me! Me!) After practicing Quick Attack so long, even though it couldn't outrun its Trainer, it couldn't wait to spar with other Pokémon.
"All right." Hayashi Kaede nodded. No objections — anyone who wanted to go could.
"Servine." The Servine blinked at him.
"Okay, I'll bring you." Kaede grinned. Servine was just about ready to evolve; a battle might even trigger it.
"Anyone else?" Kaede looked around.
Bounsweet shook its little head from its perch in the tree; Popplio stayed hidden and quiet. He checked Milotic.
"Milotic…" — "I… I won't go…" It remembered the match at that ranch and still felt nervous.
"Vulpix!" The Alolan Vulpix nudged Kaede's pant leg. Since it hatched, it had never been out of the farm.
"Gardevoir." (floating overhead) "Where are you going?" Gardevoir asked.
"Budo Town is a little over a hundred kilometers, not too far." Kaede explained. Seeing Gardevoir's curious expression he added, "You want to come too?"
Even better. With Gardevoir's teleportation, Kaede could be at Budo Town and back in short order. With Gardevoir backing him, the tournament would be well within his grasp — unless some champion got bored and decided to visit sleepy Aogiri Town.
"Gardevoir." — (Okay.) Gardevoir nodded. One hundred kilometers was somewhat far; it felt a little concerned.
Kaede brightened. "That's great!" He turned to the rest. "That's settled. I shouldn't be gone long. I'll prepare tomorrow's food tonight. Tomorrow — hmm?"
He paused, thinking. He'd assumed Gardevoir would stay home and distribute the rations, but now that Gardevoir wanted to come, plans needed changing. Miltank wouldn't be a problem — milk them and leave the grass dumplings; that would last a day. Milotic likewise. Metapod would be fine. He was worried more about Bounsweet, Popplio, and the Alcremie; they hadn't been at the farm long.
"Popplio…" — "We… we'll take care of ourselves."
"Bounsweet…" — "There's food in the fridge." The two Pokémon seemed to sense Kaede's worry and reassured him. With so many tree-fruits on the farm, they could pick and eat if hungry.
Kaede smiled. "All right then. I'll bring the two of you with me. You don't have to battle — just come play." The pair exchanged glances and lit up with delight.
"Bounsweet!" — "Yes!"
"Popplio!" — "Yes!"
As for the Alcremie… he'd ask Takagi Megumi to look after them tomorrow.
With all the Pokémon settled, Kaede felt a weight lift from his shoulders.
At that moment, in the orange glow of the sunset, a white light shone nearby. Following it, Kaede realized it was Servine — and at that very moment, it began to evolve…