Chapter 491:
June 2nd.
Clear skies.
Alolan Ninetales walked out of the room with dark circles under its eyes, greeting everyone as it emerged. Following behind were Sylveon, Umbreon, and Leafeon, their expressions showing they hadn't rested well either.
Hmm.
Kaede could guess.
They must have stumbled at the second Pokémon in the Dreamscape's first challenge.
The second Pokémon was the Fire-type Elite Four member's Charizard.
That Charizard of his had actually reached Champion level, and both its training and individual potential were exceptional.
Moreover, its typing had an advantage against Alolan Ninetales and Leafeon. This stage's difficulty was simply too high for the current team.
Continuously engaging in high-intensity battles within the dreamscape clearly consumed energy too!
"Ninetales..."
Alolan Ninetales listlessly greeted Kaede.
"Uh... good morning," Kaede replied, then felt that wasn't enough and added, "Well.... try not to stay up too late."
Though he wasn't sure if this counted as staying up late.
"Ninetales?"
Alolan Ninetales swished its tail, leading the Eeveelution squad off to wash up, also needing to discuss battle tactics.
Right now, even a measly little Charizard could block their path. What would they do when facing Rayquaza later?
Regarding this, Kaede could only shake his head.
This Charizard was among the absolute pinnacle of its species.
He followed Alolan Ninetales and the others to the reservoir's edge. Shortly after, around the usual time, ripples appeared on the water's surface, and a small red plane like pokemon emerged from the water.
Kaede promptly tossed a storage capsule and a barrel of Berry Wine into the reservoir, accompanied by Milotic and Primarina, who also surfaced, blowing bubbles.
"I'm here~"
Latias, transformed into Kannon, said cheerfully.
"Mm, still in a happy-to-be-at-work state."
Kaede nodded.
(●'◡'●): "Hehe~"
Latias landed on the ground, giggling happily.
Its laughter, through these days of learning, felt more and more human-like.
Its speech too. If you put it in a human city now, you probably couldn't tell its true identity without using technological means.
"Head to the kitchen first. Gardevoir and the sister Indeedee are waiting there. I'll join you in a bit."
After seeing Latias off to the kitchen, Kaede headed to the garden. Inside the garden, a buzzing sound filled the air. The blooming flowers of various colors, under Serperior's Grassy Terrain, remained vibrant even under the midday sun.
Though it wasn't midday now.
From within the flower beds came rustling sounds as Flabébé and Floette weaved through the blossoms.
They popped their heads out, like a group of little fairies.
Speaking of which, under Serperior's cultivation, some mutated flowers had eventually appeared.
But their effects were rather... peculiar.
For example, [Solar Sunflower — Absorbs the essence of sunlight. Its seeds contain vast solar energy. The longer the absorption time, the more concentrated the solar energy within. Possesses the characteristic of never withering.]
This one was okay, though Kaede wasn't sure of its use.
Because so-called "solar energy" was something Kaede had only heard of in relation to the Legendary Pokémon—the Sun Deity.
It might indeed be useful to It, but the current Sun Deity most likely hasn't appeared yet.
Probably still just a tiny Cosmog.
There were others like [White Rose — A mutated rose. Wearing it will bring short-term misfortune, then cause it to wither.]
[Sweet Lily — Wearing it can attract the attention of the same gender....]
Honestly, when Kaede saw these two flowers, he couldn't help but laugh.
Wearing it brings misfortune....
What use are you to me?
And that other one...
*Ahem*, even less appropriate to mention.
Of course, there were good ones too.
Like [Perfumed Tulip — Possesses a peculiar fragrance. Carrying it can attract Pokémon.]
In short, there were all sorts of strange flowers.
Regardless of good or bad, Kaede transplanted them all to a special flower bed to avoid forgetting about these special blooms later.
Leaving the garden, he returned to the villa's courtyard.
Early in the morning, most of the wild Pokémon—Furret, Skwovet, Meowth, Ponyta, etc.—had already started their "shifts" on schedule.
Kaede didn't force this "work"; it operated on a voluntary principle. They could come if they wanted, so not all Pokémon were seen every day.
Pidgeot stood guard in the courtyard.
Now, it truly couldn't go out anymore.
It had grown to a height of four meters.
Taller than Dragonite. The big tree in the plantation genuinely couldn't support its weight anymore.
So now, Pidgeot stayed guard in the villa's courtyard.
No choice; it was too big. Going out casually would scare people.
"Pidgeot, good morning."
"Pidgeot..."
In the courtyard, besides Pidgeot, there was the brother Indeedee sweeping fallen leaves blown over from the Berry orchard. Today was the weekend, so the Breeding House wasn't open.
It had time to handle such chores in the courtyard.
And then there was Zoroark, just released from its Poké Ball.
As a Pokémon that arrived suddenly, Kaede's original plan was to let it stay at the Breeding House. But the Breeding House environment probably couldn't compare to a Luxury Ball's, so he gave it a Luxury Ball to reside in.
Though at this moment, it seemed rather uneasy in the courtyard.
Its flowing red-and-white mane didn't bring it a sense of security; instead, it created a feeling of detachment.
It knew it didn't belong here.
"Breakfast will be ready soon," Kaede greeted it.
"Zoroark..."
Kaede didn't focus too much attention on it. After the reminder, he headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everyone.
But before he could take a step, the freeloader arrived.
Clearly, it was Megumi.
With her parents not home now, she naturally came over for meals.
"Kaede—"
The words were still in her mouth when Kaede stopped her. "Go sit quietly inside the house yourself. Don't come to the kitchen."
"Hehe..."
Megumi laughed happily and walked toward the house.
Kaede also headed to the kitchen. When he, along with Gardevoir, Latias, and the sister Indeedee, came into the house announcing breakfast was ready,
Megumi, who had been bonding with her newly caught Gabite and Farfetch'd, glanced over casually. Then, her eyes suddenly widened.
There is a... a girl?