[Meat-and-Vegetable Platter (A): A dish made using the simplest of ingredients, yet rendered extraordinary because it carries a unique emotional weight.
Dish Effect: Eternal Compass. After consumption, the Pokémon gains the ability to never lose its way and will always be able to find the path home.]
This was it—this was exactly the effect Silas wanted.
With this, he no longer had to worry about Chatot flying too far away and being unable to find its way back home. Only then could he truly set his heart at ease.
He called Chatot over and had it eat everything without leaving a single bite.
Meanwhile, Silas stood to the side, earnestly reminding it of all sorts of things, his tone heavy with concern—like a child about to leave home, filled with reluctance and worry.
He was truly afraid that Chatot might encounter danger out there.
"Cha-tot~"
Chatot nodded repeatedly, indicating that it remembered everything Silas had said.
Suddenly, Silas realized he had nearly forgotten something—taking a photo.
Last time, he had said he would send a family photo to his mother, but he had never found the time to do it. Now that Chatot was about to leave, if they didn't take one now, there might not be another chance.
In a hurry, Silas rushed to Shalour City, found a photo studio, and asked them to come to the ranch to take pictures.
The background was the ranch cottage. Silas stood in the center, surrounded by the Pokémon. Even Zapdos was included, hovering in the sky above them.
With a crisp click of the shutter, that moment was forever frozen in the photograph.
Silas asked the photographer to print a few extra copies, one to hang in the house, and another to mail to his mother. He had originally wanted to give one to Chatot as well, but the studio didn't offer ultra-ultra-ultra tiny photos, so he had no choice but to give up on that idea.
Time flew by, and before they knew it, the day of Chatot's departure arrived.
Standing at the gate of the ranch, Silas and all of the Pokémon bade farewell to Chatot and Zapdos, seeing them off together.
"Go on! If one day you no longer feel like traveling, come back to the ranch. The ranch will always be your home."
Silas waved goodbye to Chatot, his reluctance plain to see.
In response, two especially clear and resonant cries rang out as Chatot and Zapdos took off almost simultaneously, soaring into the sky.
Soon after, flocks of bird Pokémon flew out from the woods, following closely behind them, heading beyond the ranch and toward the open sea.
They followed the oceanic airflow path formed by Lugia's flight, flying on and on.
Whenever they grew tired, they rested on isolated islands. Once they had recovered their strength, they continued their journey.
After flying for who knew how long, Chatot and the others finally saw another continent.
From an extremely great distance away, they spotted a snow-capped mountain that seemed to pierce straight into the clouds.
Chatot and Zapdos discussed it briefly and unanimously decided to stop and rest for a while.
Thus, the flock descended beside a vast lake.
They temporarily settled there. Chatot stood in front of a wooden sign, curiously examining the words carved upon it.
As it did, a clear, ethereal voice suddenly echoed in its heart.
"This is Lake Acuity. What brings you here?"
Chatot was startled. It looked around in alarm, and finally its gaze fell upon a pink, fairy-like Pokémon standing on the surface of the lake, also looking at them with curiosity.
…
Chatot's departure left Silas feeling melancholic for a long time.
Yet life at the ranch had to go on, and gradually, Silas's days returned to a peaceful routine.
He harvested ripe crops from the fields and placed them into the shipping bin before evening. Each day, a considerable sum of money was credited to his account, and Silas's savings once again approached one hundred thousand League Coins.
The materials previously consumed while building the silo and chicken coop had also been replenished, meaning he would soon be able to upgrade the ranch house.
Speaking of the chicken coop, Cyclizar, that little guy, stayed by the hens every single day, waiting for them to lay eggs—and today was no exception.
After finishing his daily work, Silas was just about to rest for a bit, calling Minccino over to give it a few affectionate rubs, when he caught sight of Cyclizar out of the corner of his eye.
Cyclizar was standing upright, wobbling as it hurried toward him. It seemed to be holding something carefully in its two foreclaws, its posture extremely cautious.
"Cyclizar, what are you doing?"
Silas and Minccino both looked over with curiosity, waiting for Cyclizar to explain.
Cyclizar wore an excited expression as it carefully opened its claws, revealing a round, plump egg.
"Is that an egg the hen just laid?"
"Cyc~"
Cyclizar had been waiting for several days already, keeping watch for the hens to lay eggs. It had even gotten into a fight with the big rooster over it.
"Do you want to eat it?"
"Cyc!"
Cyclizar shook its head vigorously, gently placed the egg on the ground, and then carefully sat down on top of it.
In an instant, Silas understood what Cyclizar was trying to say.
It wanted to hatch chicks.
"You want to hatch chicks? One egg isn't enough yet."
"Cyc!"
Cyclizar looked a little dejected—so it still couldn't hatch chicks yet?
It was eager to hatch chicks in order to increase the size of the flock. That way, they could collect more eggs and help Silas even more.
Patting the little guy, Silas suggested, "We can save this egg for now. Once we've collected a batch of eggs, we can hatch them all together into chicks."
"Cyc!"
Cyclizar nodded in agreement, then grabbed Silas and hurriedly urged him to help make a small, separate box for storing eggs.
It wanted to hatch lots and lots of chicks so that the ranch would never run out of eggs again.
Since it was only temporary storage, this was easy for Silas to make.
First, he built a square wooden box. Then, using thin wooden slats, he divided the interior into small square compartments. Finally, he lined the bottom with straw to prevent impacts, and the job was done.
Cyclizar happily placed the egg inside, carried the box into the cottage, and set it down in the corner where it usually slept.
After washing his hands and putting the tools away, Silas glanced at the sky and headed toward the tulip field.
There, he saw five Flabébé diligently flitting back and forth among the flowers, storing the nectar they collected into glass bottles placed at the edge of the field.
Three bottles were already filled to the brim with golden-yellow nectar.
Scooping a little from the edge, Silas tasted it.
The nectar collected by Flabébé was different from honey—it carried a unique floral fragrance and tasted especially sweet.
After sealing the three bottles, Silas waved toward the field and called out, "Flabébé, that's enough for today. You should all come and take a break."
"Flabébé~"
Their voices approached from afar, and several small, adorable figures flew out of the flower field.
The five Flabébé, each carrying their beloved flower, gathered around Silas.
Silas reached out and caught one of them, gently flicking its forehead.
"These are more than enough. You all need to rest more too."
"Bébé~"
The Flabébé affectionately hugged his finger and rubbed against it, expressing that they wanted to help Silas and earn him lots and lots of money.
"What adorable little ones," Silas said, gently patting each of them before letting them rest. "That's it for today. I'll go bring you some food."
With that, Silas returned to the house.
He took out the small egg tarts he had prepared in advance from the refrigerator.
When Silas came back again, two more Pokémon were at his side.
Minccino held a small egg tart, savoring it in tiny bites, its eyes full of bliss.
Cyclizar stared intently at Silas's pant leg, ready to act at any moment.
"Here, these are for you."
"Flabébé~"
The Flabébé let out cheerful cries as they happily accepted the egg tarts—these were their favorites.
After having Minccino take the Flabébé off to play, Silas mounted Cyclizar and, carrying the three bottles of nectar, left the ranch.
(End of Chapter)