Lucas was shocked to learn that Petilil wanted to stay here.
He checked Petilil's status bar and found that it still showed her being afraid of the dark.
Looking at Petilil's fearful eyes, which held a hint of anticipation and determination, Lucas understood what was happening.
He looked at the Torterra nearby; a female Torterra was uncommon, and Petilil must have gotten along very well with her, leading her to want to stay here and spend the night with her.
Thinking that this might help Petilil overcome her fear of the dark, Lucas agreed to Petilil's request.
"I'll be in the room.
If you get scared, just call me, and I'll come and take you home," Lucas said with a smile, bending down and patting her little head.
Feeling Lucas's concern, the fear in Petilil's eyes disappeared, and she let out a delicate Growl.
"La Ji~"
"Torterra, I'm entrusting Petilil to your care tonight.
I'll make you something delicious tomorrow," Lucas said to Torterra.
Torterra nodded, then walked over, lowered its head, and gently placed Petilil on its back.
Seeing this, Lucas left with Gengar.
Late at night, as Lucas's steady breathing filled the room, Gengar opened its crimson eyes.
It glanced at the deeply sleeping Lucas, then quietly floated out of the bedroom, came to the Lake to check on Petilil, greeted the Machamp nearby, and then floated off to other places.
Arriving above the forest, Gengar spread its hands, its eyes emitting a peculiar light, and an invisible force field covered the area.
A Staravia flew into it and, the next second, plummeted towards the ground.
No matter how much it flapped its wings, it couldn't fly.
Just as it was about to hit the ground, the force field suddenly vanished, and it quickly flapped its wings and flew away.
Ambipom and Electivire saw Gengar in the air and followed.
The next second, Gengar looked at them, and they instantly felt an invisible pressure weighing down on them.
"Kou Jie?"
Realizing it was Ambipom and Electivire, Gengar dispelled the gravity, floated in front of them, and greeted them with a grin.
Meanwhile, Lucas threw off his covers, looked around, and didn't find Gengar.
He then went downstairs to the Lake and watched Petilil on Torterra from a distance.
He was still worried about Petilil, so he secretly got up in the middle of the night to check on her.
Seeing Petilil sleeping soundly on Torterra, Lucas breathed a sigh of relief and stood there, watching quietly.
Gengar, who was chatting with Electivire and the others, sensed Lucas's presence nearby.
It said goodbye to them and floated over to Lucas.
It arrived by Lucas's side and followed his gaze towards Petilil.
"Gengar, what do you think about finding a little companion for her?" Lucas suddenly asked.
"Kou Jie." Gengar nodded.
Lucas glanced at Gengar beside him; it looked especially reassuring in the moonlight.
Recalling his time with Gengar, he only needed to call out its name, and it would always appear by his side instantly, no matter what it was doing.
The usually playful Pokémon had become much more stable since Petilil arrived, constantly monitoring Petilil's condition.
"It seems our Gengar really likes this little sister."
Thinking about how he had already forged bonds with so many Pokémon in his short time in this world, Lucas chuckled, looked at Gengar, and teased it.
"Kou Jie?"
Little sister?
Lucas had said that when Petilil first arrived.
Lucas tugged at its mouth.
The temperature in the Sinnoh region was low at night, and Lucas was only wearing pajamas.
At that moment, a cold breeze blew by, making him shiver.
"Let's go, Gengar, it's time to go back to sleep."
Shivering, he turned and left.
Gengar watched Lucas's retreating figure, repeated Lucas's words, and then, with a grin, chased after him.
"Kou Jie."
I like my little sister.
Once despised, feared, hated, and misunderstood, Gengar, who had come here alone and suffered from loneliness, now had precious family of its own.
After greeting the Machamp nearby, Lucas returned to his room and pulled up the covers.
"Goodnight, Gengar."
"Kou Jie."
The room light was still on.
Ambipom and Electivire came over to Torterra when Lucas turned to leave.
Their voices woke Petilil.
She opened her eyes and found herself in the dark outside, her body trembling uncontrollably.
It wasn't until she turned and saw the faint but warm light in the distance that she slowly calmed down.
Noticing Petilil awake on its back, Torterra sent Ambipom and the others away.
"Yo la."
They care about you very much.
Torterra had already woken up when Lucas arrived, and then it noticed three Machamp in the distance watching anxiously, followed by Lucas and Gengar.
The entire Breeding House was worried about Petilil.
"La Ji." Petilil remembered Lucas and Gengar's care for her.
She let out a happy, sweet cry.
I want to grow up quickly so I can help him better.
Listening to Petilil's words, Torterra slowly lay down.
Under the moonlight, Petilil looked at the dark forest in the distance and suddenly felt less afraid.
She didn't understand why and asked Torterra in confusion.
Torterra remained silent.
It knew the answer, but it didn't intend to tell Petilil.
Petilil needed to find the answer herself.
And so, Torterra slowly closed its eyes.
A gust of wind brushed past the deep-in-thought Petilil.
She suddenly turned and looked at the distant light.
That light, which would always shine for her, dispelled all the darkness before her.
She found the answer, and then, in the cold, windy night, she fell soundly asleep in a warm embrace.
The leaves on her head were verdant and deep.
That night, she had a dream.
She dreamt that after losing a battle again, one late night, a boy took her to a Pokémon Center, bent down, and told her to rest assured during treatment, as he would be back soon to pick her up.
She waited for a long time but he never came, so she secretly ran out when Joy and Blissey weren't paying attention.
That was also late at night.
Later, Joy and Blissey found her in a small alley, again on that dark night.
From then on, she knew she had been abandoned, and from that moment, every time she closed her eyes, she would dream of what happened that night.
This time, when she returned to that alley and faced those few Pokémon, she was fearless, staring intently at them.
She knew he would be behind her, and they would be behind her too.
"La Ji!"
She charged past those Pokémon, head down.
Looking back, those Pokémon had vanished, replaced by Lucas, Gengar, and the Machamp, who were smiling at her.
Then, Lucas, Gengar, and the others slowly transformed into specks of light, merging into her body, which felt warm and made the top of her head tingle.
She opened her eyes, and what greeted her was Lucas's smiling face, gently gazing at her, a pair of scissors in his hand as he trimmed the leaves on her head.
"Good morning, Petilil."
Hearing Lucas's words, she looked around from his arms.
The Machamp were on patrol, Gengar was filling a Blastoise watering can by the Lake, and Torterra and Electivire were chatting nearby.
At that moment, a ray of sunlight fell upon her, as warm as the specks of light in her dream.
She squinted at the newly risen sun.
It was daylight.
....
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