"What? Chatot, you're leaving too?!"
Silas's gaze swept back and forth between Chatot and Zapdos, finally settling on Zapdos, his eyes turning resentful.
What the heck!
All he wanted was to be friends with it, yet Zapdos was actually trying to pry away one of his own Pokémon.
Waving his hand at Chatot, Silas asked once more, "Are you really leaving? Wouldn't it be better to stay at the ranch?"
"Cha-tot!"
Chatot landed on Silas's shoulder, gently pecked his arm with its beak, then rubbed against him with its head before explaining its reasons.
"Cha-tot—"
(Silas is already working too hard. We're almost eating all the feed at the ranch—I don't want Silas to suffer like this.)
Chatot folded its wings together, looking just like a schoolchild answering a question.
"I see…"
Silas nodded, showing that he understood.
These past few days, he had been so busy making special dishes for Zapdos that he hadn't paid much attention to this issue. Now that Chatot had pointed it out, the reality hit him clearly—nearly a hundred bird Pokémon had arrived at the ranch in such a short time. At this rate, there was no way he could support them all.
He already had a decision in mind, but he still asked, "Have you decided where you're going?"
"Cha-tot~"
(We'll follow Lord Lugia's footsteps. Zapdos will be coming with us too, so Silas doesn't need to worry about our safety.)
Hearing this, Silas understood—they had already thought it through. At the same time, his heart felt a bit more at ease. With Zapdos accompanying them, at the very least, their safety would be somewhat guaranteed.
Having traveled outside before, Silas knew better than most that the wilds were not safe—encountering danger was more likely than not. Chatot and the others were all ordinary Pokémon; going out into the world, especially while following Lugia across vast regions, meant facing countless risks.
They could be attacked by wild Pokémon, get lost, fall ill, and so on.
With Zapdos around, things would be a little better.
Silas wanted to persuade Chatot to stay in Salo City with the flock, but when he opened his mouth, the words wouldn't come out. Thinking back on all of Chatot's actions, he wondered—was binding it to the ranch truly the right thing to do? Was that really the life Chatot wanted?
Whether human or Pokémon, everyone had the right to choose.
Once upon a time, he himself had longed for the life of a Trainer and chosen to go adventuring. His family hadn't stopped him—so what right did he have to stop Chatot?
When Chatot had seen enough of the world and chose to return to a quiet life, he and Kangaskhan and the others would still be here at the ranch, waiting for it.
The only condition was that Chatot had to remember the way home.
An idea formed in Silas's mind.
After a moment of silence, seeing Chatot's nervous little movements, Silas reached out to gently stroke it in reassurance, then turned to look at Zapdos beside them.
"Zapdos, may I ask you to help take care of Chatot? When it grows tired of traveling, just make sure it's safely sent back."
"Zap~"
Hearing this, Zapdos nodded noncommittally. Since they were companions following Lord Lugia together, taking care of Chatot was only natural.
"Then I'll leave Chatot in your care," Silas said, nodding as he gestured for Chatot to fly over.
Chatot froze for a moment in surprise—it hadn't expected Silas to agree so readily. A childlike joy spread across its face, just like the moment Silas had received his family's approval back then.
The silhouettes of one person and one Pokémon overlapped, and Silas felt as though he was seeing his past self.
It was still hard to let go.
Seeing them like this, Silas couldn't help but remind them, "But I hope you'll wait two more days before setting off. Chatot, use this time to make your final arrangements and say a proper goodbye to Kangaskhan and the others."
"Cha-tot!"
(Of course—I'll go do that right away.)
Before Chatot left, there were still some preparations Silas needed to make.
For example, he would ask Gym Leader Gurkinn for help and commission the finest craftsman in Shalour City to make a silver leg ring, engraved with the ranch's address. If Pokémon were able to use spatial backpacks, Silas would have made Chatot carry one stuffed full of food and emergency supplies.
Chatot was deeply moved and promised that after some time, it would ask other Pokémon to deliver messages back home to report that it was safe.
Still, Silas felt that wasn't secure enough. Chatot would be following Lugia across the world—he worried it might lose its way home. He planned to create a special kind of dish, giving Chatot several more enhancements.
Opening the refrigerator and taking out the ingredients, Silas began making dish after dish, hoping to obtain the effect he wanted.
After chopping up the fruits he had just bought in Shalour City and juicing them, he paused for a moment before taking out a special Berry. Entirely green, with sharp spikes covering its skin, it was a Salac Berry—a Berry that could increase a Pokémon's speed.
He peeled off the skin and added it to the juice, creating a mixed fruit drink.
[Salac Berry Juice (B−): A purely natural fruit juice, a mixed drink centered on Salac Berry, sweet and slightly sour.
Dish Effect: Escape Acceleration. After consumption, a Pokémon's speed while fleeing is greatly increased, with a small chance of guaranteed escape.]
Silas's face lit up with joy. He immediately called Chatot over and had it drink the juice, then asked if it felt any obvious changes. Chatot said that it did feel like it had become a bit faster.
After sending Chatot off, Silas made several more dishes, but none of them met his expectations—their effects were all rather ordinary.
[Fruit Pizza: Dish Effect—Stamina Recovery (Large).
Sour Berry Grilled Fish: Dish Effect—Fishing Skill Lv.1, making it easier for Pokémon to catch fish and less likely to go hungry.]
Unfortunately, they had time limits and weren't the effects Silas needed. He let Cyclizar, Kangaskhan, and the others eat them—wasting nothing.
…
"All the ingredients are gone already!"
Scratching his head in frustration, Silas realized that even after using up all the ingredients he had purchased, he still hadn't managed to create a second suitable dish. He washed his face and decided to take a walk around the ranch to see what the Pokémon were up to.
Minccino was leading Smoliv and the Flabébé, gathering flowers for Chatot to prepare farewell gifts. The three Noibat and Mudbray were huddled together, chattering away as they discussed what kind of parting gift to prepare.
Cyclizar and Kangaskhan, having just eaten grilled fish, were happily catching fish by the seaside, then sharing them with the bird flock to prepare food for their journey.
Everyone was doing their best, each in their own way, to help Chatot.
Suddenly, Silas's eyes lit up.
He called Minccino over and asked it to help notify the other Pokémon to prepare a type of ingredient for Chatot. He planned to turn them into a suitable dish as a final gift.
Mudbray and Noibat cheered at once—now that Silas was helping, they no longer had to worry. They hurried off to search for appropriate ingredients. Kangaskhan and Cyclizar each caught a beautiful little fish, while Minccino and the others sprang into action as well.
Before long, the ingredients prepared by the Pokémon were delivered to Silas.
After quietly examining them, Silas already had a method in mind.
A unique dish, filled with the blessings of Pokémon, was born from Silas's hands.
Lowering his head, the information of this dish surfaced in his mind, reflecting clearly before his eyes.
(End of Chapter)