Chapter 273: The Moon is Big and Round
"Aura Power?!" (x3)
Hearing this name, Carmela, Cynthia, and Lila instinctively looked at Lucario, who was standing silently nearby.
"Lucario knows Aura Power too," Lorelei grinned, pulling the wallflower Lucario over.
"Hello." Lucario nodded coolly in greeting.
"?!" (x3)
The three were shocked again.
In this small space, there were actually two exceptional beings who had mastered Aura Power.
"Ah! No wonder Piplup can use Aura Sphere! It's because of Aura Power!" Cynthia finally realized.
"Lucario is one thing, but a Piplup using Aura Power... this is definitely a unique case in the world." Lila shook her head in disbelief.
When the world learned that this Piplup could use Aura, she would be considered a witness to history.
"Alright, alright, don't just stand there. It's lunchtime, the food's getting cold."
Carmela picked up Will, the subject of their discussion, and walked toward the dining room.
"Mom, let me hold him." Cynthia reached out to grab him.
"No." Carmela dodged, suppressing Cynthia with one hand, then hugged Will close and rubbed her cheek against his. "This child smells nice. Is it Lorelei's scent? It seems you hold him often, Lorelei."
"Mhm. Piplup is very lazy. Sometimes when I put him down, he just lies there and refuses to walk. I have to carry him," Lorelei shrugged helplessly.
Will couldn't argue. Because it was true. Sometimes when he was really feeling lazy, he'd just lie on the ground and wait for Lorelei or Lucario to pick him up. Lorelei's mom had spoiled him rotten.
"Hahaha, you can't tell just by looking at him."
"Yeah, in competitions, this Piplup is so majestic, always looking so capable."
Cynthia and Lila covered their mouths and giggled.
"Cute. Just like a little baby. Reminds me of Cynthia when she was little."
Beside them, Carmela kept fussing over Will, liking him more and more.
And what surprised Will was...
Carmela wasn't just petting him randomly like others; she had technique! When her slender fingers rubbed under his wings, Will felt a shiver of comfort run through his whole body.
Before long, Will was completely blissed out by Carmela's petting.
"Be good, sit here first. I'll get cutlery for everyone."
Carmela placed Will on a chair and walked away. Perhaps because of Meowscarada, she was clearly favoring him, while being somewhat indifferent to the others.
At this moment, Cynthia leaned over and picked him up.
"Hehe, Mom's technique is amazing, right? My Garchomp and Sceptile often melt under her scratches too. It's weird... Garchomp's skin is so rough and hard, yet Mom can always find the soft spots."
Cynthia tried to mimic her mother's scratching on Will.
But she couldn't find the right spots. Will felt almost nothing.
Lunchtime.
Will sat on Carmela's lap, eating spoonful by spoonful himself. Although Carmela treated him well, she didn't spoil him to the point of feeding him every bite like Lorelei's mom did.
"It's strange. It's rare to see Piplup so close to others."
Lorelei sat with her legs crossed, swinging her foot, and poked Will in Carmela's arms with her chopsticks.
Will: "..."
"Really? He seems easy to get along with to me," Lila remarked, confused.
"Piplup is indeed more approachable than other Piplup, but not familiar enough to sit on a stranger's lap and eat." Lorelei shook her head. She felt no one in the world knew Piplup better than she did.
"When I first saw him on TV, I felt very close to him. Maybe it's fate. Maybe there's something in our genes that makes us close," Carmela said, looking down at the little penguin with a smile.
Will listened to their conversation without responding.
He didn't mind Carmela and Cynthia being close to him, purely out of respect for Celestia. Did they really think King Piplup was someone just anyone could handle?
"Starting today, Lorelei, you should stay here. You can train here for a while. As for Piplup... I assume you don't usually train together?"
"That's right! There are many Pokémon raised by the uncles and aunts of Celestic Town nearby, and they're all very strong! Plus, there are many Pokémon raised by Mom!" Cynthia chimed in.
"Okay. As for Piplup, he trains with Lucario." Lorelei nodded gratefully.
This way, she wouldn't have to run around until the Elite Four Tournament started.
"Hoho, that's great. In that case, Piplup, you can sleep with me for a while. Cynthia doesn't sleep with me anymore since she grew up. Mom is lonely."
Carmela rested her cheek on her hand, shaking her head with a look of mock sorrow.
Cynthia: "..."
Cynthia shrugged helplessly, watching her mother act.
"Lorelei doesn't mind, right? If I'm in a good mood, I might be willing to give you some pointers."
Carmela's gaze swept over the beauty beside her, her tone full of temptation.
Will was stunned. He didn't know Cynthia's family had this kind of move.
Wait...
Back then, Celestia seemed to use this kind of temptation to get him to fight her fiancé. But the allure of a woman was significantly discounted for Will, who was already a father at the time.
"Ugh... alright. For the sake of staying here for special training, I'll sacrifice Piplup." Lorelei clutched her chest, looking heartbroken.
Will: "..."
He should have tricked Lorelei into becoming an actress. Instead of suffering here.
"Hehe, that's wonderful." Carmela smiled and nodded. She didn't ask for Will's opinion at all.
Time passed slowly.
In the afternoon, Cynthia took Lorelei and Lila around the neighborhood to familiarize them with the terrain and inform them of places off-limits to outsiders. By the time they returned in the evening, Lila had already left.
Dinner time.
"By the way, Senior Carmela, Cynthia... don't your Pokémon stay in the house?"
Lorelei looked around confusedly. There were no Pokémon in sight inside the house.
However, there were many Pokémon items, and footprints left by Pokémon in many places. Clearly, Carmela's Pokémon often came inside.
"Garchomp and Sceptile rarely move around inside the house because they tend to break things," Cynthia shrugged helplessly, then pointed to a potted plant by the hallway. "Roserade likes to live in the flowerbed outside, and Milotic is too big to fit. Only Togekiss and Spiritomb stay inside occasionally."
Lorelei turned to look.
Only then did she notice that it wasn't an ordinary potted plant, but a Spiritomb disguised as one.
When her eyes met Spiritomb's, Lorelei felt a chill run down her spine.
If a thief broke into this house, they probably wouldn't even know a Pokémon in the hallway was watching their every move.
"And over there." Carmela pointed again.
On top of the refrigerator in the kitchen, there was another identical "potted plant."
But this one felt less gloomy and terrifying. It must be Cynthia's Spiritomb, far weaker than Carmela's.
Compared to the startled Lorelei, Will and Lucario were much calmer.
Legend said Spiritomb was formed by 108 spirits gathering together, an evil thing born from wicked thoughts. Although it might not be that exaggerated in reality, in their Aura perception, Spiritomb's Aura was indeed more intense and obvious than other living beings.
To use a metaphor: other living beings were fireflies in the night, while Spiritomb was a candle.
After dinner, everyone sat together and watched TV for a while before returning to their rooms.
Will instinctively tried to follow Lorelei, but Carmela grabbed his tail halfway and carried him to her room.
Night fell.
Will was hugged tightly by Carmela, the force almost suffocating him. He quickly patted Carmela's forearm and scratched her stomach with his tail.
In her sleep, Carmela dreamed of something unknown, blushed, and turned over, putting her back to Will.
"Phew..."
Will sighed in relief and closed his eyes.
Just as he was dozing off, Carmela started acting up again. She pulled Will back into her arms, giving him a vicious face-smothering hug.
Will couldn't breathe for a moment.
He didn't know how much time passed. As his consciousness faded, he glimpsed out the window. A round moon hung high in the night sky.
"Tonight's moon... is so white, so round, so big."
When Will opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning.
Everyone walked out of their bedrooms looking radiant, even Lucario and the two Spiritombs looked sunny.
Except for Will.
"Piplup?! What happened to you?!" Lorelei stared at Will in shock.
Will stood there, looking haggard and emaciated. He looked like a Snorlax that had been drained dry by a Buzzwole.
"Is Senior Carmela actually a Fairy-type Pokémon that sucks the essence of male Pokémon?!"
Lorelei looked at the rosy-cheeked Carmela in horror. Although Lorelei was still an innocent maiden, she could tell Carmela looked thoroughly nourished!
"Ah~" Carmela blushed, covering her face shyly, as if her secret had been exposed.
"What are you talking about? Please, be careful Lorelei doesn't misunderstand."
Cynthia facepalmed and sighed. She picked Will up and rocked him gently. Will fell asleep almost immediately.
"This child was probably tossed around all night. Mom's sleeping posture is terrible. It's hard to sleep in the same bed as her."
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