"See, Gardevoir? I told you your method was flawed. If you want a child to listen, you have to gain their trust first," Li Yuan said smugly.
"Ridiculous. I'm her mother; trust is natural between us. I don't need external bribes," Gardevoir retorted, still unconvinced. Seeing her daughter so docile in another's arms didn't make her happy; it just annoyed her.
"You're wrong. Trust exists, but you're ignoring a bigger problem," Li Yuan said, his expression turning serious.
"What?" Gardevoir frowned.
"The mother-daughter relationship is inherently contradictory. As a mother, you want to control your daughter, hoping she follows the path you set. You don't want to see her step outside your control. Am I right?" Li Yuan applied classic human parenting psychology to the Pokémon.
Gardevoir was a conservative mother; her love was likely suffocating.
"Is that wrong? I reached my current strength after many detours and lessons. Why should I watch my daughter make the same mistakes?" Gardevoir's frown deepened.
She wanted to refute him—she wasn't a control freak—but she couldn't. His words were harsh, comparing her to a warden, but he wasn't wrong. She didn't want Ralts to leave her sight. But she believed it was out of love. Ralts was so young; wasn't it her duty to supervise her?
"Yes and no. Your method might save her from detours, but she'll just be walking your old path. Her achievements might never surpass yours. You're ignoring that your daughter is an individual who craves independence. Overprotecting her won't help her grow; she'll become a flower in a greenhouse. Think about it: didn't your own strength come from surviving life-or-death situations?" Li Yuan questioned.
He was bluffing a bit—you can't just let a toddler run wild—but Gardevoir had never experienced the power of "Chicken Soup for the Soul." Hearing that her daughter was just retreading her old path struck her like lightning.
He was right. Her experience came from surviving danger. Verbal education wasn't as real as experience. And as a Shiny, her talent was naturally higher than average. If Ralts just followed in her footsteps, she might miss opportunities tailored for her and never reach her full potential.
Gardevoir panicked. Was her education method really ruining her daughter?
"Then... what should I do?" Gardevoir's expression shifted. She gritted her teeth and asked the human she disliked for help.
"Me? I don't know the specifics of your species. The only method I'm good at is throwing money at the problem. Massive amounts of Energy Cubes and combat training—even a pig could fly with that," Li Yuan shrugged.
"You're the pig!" Gardevoir scowled.
"It's a metaphor. Basically, there are no problems money can't solve. If there are, it's because you didn't use enough money," Li Yuan declared domineeringly.
"Aside from being brainless, your method has one flaw: I don't have that much money," Gardevoir said, getting a headache. What kind of person was this?
"Simple. If you don't have money, ask me. If you let me train Ralts, I guarantee she'll surpass you in no time," Li Yuan said generously.
"Aha! Finally showing your true colors! You were after my daughter from the start!" Gardevoir became alert.
"I don't like that tone. You asked for help; I just gave you a solution."
"Hmph! Is that a solution? You just want my daughter's body!"
"You misunderstand me again. Have you forgotten what I said earlier?"
"What?"
"The one I want most isn't your daughter... it's you, my dear wife~." Li Yuan looked at her with deep affection, boldly grabbing Gardevoir's hand.
The sudden confession and physical contact made Gardevoir freeze. Her face flushed red. Under his unmasked gaze of love, she felt a flicker of panic. She hurriedly pulled her hand back, glaring at him with shy anger. "You are unreasonable!"
"I just fell in love with you. How is that unreasonable?" Li Yuan spread his hands innocently.
"Heh. So you tried so hard to get close to my daughter just to get to me?" Gardevoir acted like she saw through him.
"I won't say your guess is just fantasy, but the question is: if I really want to capture both of you, do you plan to refuse?" Li Yuan asked.
"If I don't refuse, am I supposed to wait around to have your babies?" Gardevoir snapped, annoyed by his provocation.
"But have you considered this? Your refusal won't help your daughter find a new path. It destroys her chance at a better life. Is living with me and eating Energy Cubes every day really so unbearable in your eyes?" Li Yuan countered.
This silenced Gardevoir. He was practically declaring his intent to take them both.
She frowned deeply. She wanted to refuse, but seeing the happy look on Ralts's face as she ate the cube stopped the words in her throat.
Following her meant sleeping in the wind, freezing in winter, and sometimes going hungry. That wasn't growing up; that was surviving.
In contrast, look at Li Yuan's Pokémon. Their fur was glossy, their bodies strong and healthy. He had encountered wild Tsareena and Meowscarada before, but none compared to the ones beside him. It proved that living with a human meant not worrying about survival and becoming far stronger than wild Pokémon.
Especially that Tsareena... her aura was terrifyingly strong.
Was it really right to cut off her daughter's path to a better life?
For the first time, Gardevoir began to doubt her own convictions...