Noon.
With the Distortion World available as a shortcut, the return trip was incredibly fast.
At around eleven o'clock that morning, Lin Feng had still been in Kanto.
Before noon arrived, he was already back in the Donghua Region.
The place where he emerged was the reservoir near his ranch.
At the time, Milotic was watering the plants. When a black mirror-like portal suddenly appeared on the surface of the water, accompanied by strange ripples of energy, she instinctively tensed up.
Even though she had seen it many times before, the sight still startled her.
But the moment she saw Lin Feng step out of the portal, surprise instantly turned into joy.
She swam excitedly toward him.
"Oh? Milotic's watering the flowers?"
"Haha, long time no see~"
The moment Lin Feng returned from the Distortion World and saw his Pokémon again, his mood immediately brightened.
"Yuuuu~!"
Milotic let out a bright, melodious cry.
She swam directly to his side, lifted her head proudly, and before Lin Feng could react, hoisted him onto her back while happily swaying from side to side.
"Hey... hey, easy there!"
Caught off guard, Lin Feng nearly lost his balance and had to grab onto her neck.
Behind him, Salamence, Dragonite, Gardevoir, and Mewtwo emerged one after another from the portal.
"Yuu Yuu!"
Milotic's excitement only grew stronger.
No amount of comforting could calm her down.
Thinking about it carefully, Lin Feng had left on March 16.
Now it was March 24.
He had been away for a full eight days.
Since deciding to become a breeder and inherit the family ranch, this was the longest he had ever been away from home.
No wonder Milotic was so happy.
"Alright, alright. Settle down."
Lin Feng could only smile helplessly as he patted her.
Then he looked toward the enormous head emerging from the portal behind him.
"Thanks, Giratina."
"Wait a little while. I'll bring you something delicious later."
Giratina's crimson eyes quietly observed Milotic for a moment.
Then it glanced at Lin Feng.
Without saying anything, it slowly submerged back into the water and disappeared.
Salamence flapped his wings.
Dragonite took a deep breath.
After being away for so many days, breathing in the air of home felt different.
The lingering gloom from everything that had happened in Kanto seemed to fade away instantly.
Meanwhile, Gardevoir floated quietly in the air.
Closing her eyes, she spread out her psychic senses and examined the surroundings.
After confirming everything was peaceful, she drifted back to Lin Feng's side.
Soon, the rest of the Pokémon around the ranch heard the commotion.
The first to arrive was Pidgeot.
The massive bird descended from the sky with a sharp cry.
Lin Feng instinctively looked up.
The moment he saw Pidgeot, his eyelid twitched.
Had it gotten even bigger?
That cry seemed to act like a signal.
One.
Two.
Three.
Suddenly, Pokémon began rushing over from every direction.
The first among them was Serperior.
She calmly slithered out from the garden.
The moment she saw Lin Feng, the heavy weight in her heart finally disappeared.
He had been gone for eight days.
Before leaving, he had mentioned that the trip might be dangerous.
The first day had been manageable.
The second day, she simply wondered when he would return.
But by the third and fourth days, worry had begun to creep in.
By the fifth, sixth, and seventh days, that worry had only grown stronger.
She had wanted to go look for him.
But she didn't know where he was.
Nor could she reach him even if she did.
Every day, she also had to answer Alolan Ninetales and Eevee's endless questions.
She kept telling them not to worry.
She reassured them that everything would be fine.
In truth, she had been worried herself.
Now, seeing Lin Feng standing safely in the ranch once more, Serperior finally felt at peace.
Naturally, Lin Feng noticed her as well.
A bright smile immediately appeared on his face.
"Serperior!"
But before he could walk over, a snowy-white blur shot down the path at astonishing speed.
It rushed toward him so quickly that even he was surprised.
Fortunately, he was still sitting on Milotic's back, separated from shore by the water.
The white blur could only skid to a stop at the edge of the reservoir, anxiously stomping its paws.
It barked repeatedly at Lin Feng.
Then it stretched one paw into the water as if preparing to charge straight across.
And a second later...
It actually did.
"Hey, hey, wait!"
Before Lin Feng could stop it, Alolan Ninetales leapt directly into the reservoir and splashed through the water.
Moments later, she landed on Milotic's back.
"Don't do that, Alolan Ninetales. You're completely soaked..."
Before he could finish speaking, the drenched fox bounded across Milotic's back and threw herself into his arms.
Lin Feng could only sigh helplessly.
"Whine..."
Alolan Ninetales paid no attention to her soaked fur.
She buried her face against his chest and rubbed against him repeatedly.
His clothes were completely soaked within seconds.
But Lin Feng didn't complain.
Instead, he crouched down and gently hugged her.
"Alright, alright."
"I'm back now, aren't I?"
"Whine..."
(You were gone too long.)
Watching Alolan Ninetales blink at him like a child fighting back tears, Lin Feng couldn't help smiling.
At the same time, a trace of sadness tugged at his heart.
To him, a week wasn't very long.
But for the Pokémon waiting at home, it had felt like an eternity.
Perhaps it was because he rarely left.
Or perhaps Pokémon simply treasured companionship more than anything else.
Having friends by their side every day was enough to make them happy.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
When Ash set off on his journeys to new regions, what did the Pokémon waiting at Professor Oak's Laboratory feel?
Lin Feng shook his head.
There was no point dwelling on it now.
Holding Alolan Ninetales, he rode Milotic back toward the shore.
By the time they arrived, a crowd had already gathered.
Tsareena.
Oricorio.
Indeedee.
Blaziken.
Butterfree.
Even Primarina had heard the commotion and swum over through the irrigation channels.
Lin Feng greeted every one of them.
Originally, he planned to head inside and change his soaked clothes first.
But before he could move, a loud growl echoed through the air.
Grrrrrr...
Everyone turned toward the source.
Lin Feng looked over.
Blaziken immediately froze.
He looked... slightly embarrassed.
Unfortunately for him, everyone else's eyes followed as well.
"Blaziken..."
The fiery Pokémon looked even more awkward now.
Getting hungry at a moment like this felt somewhat inappropriate.
After all, Lin Feng had only just returned.
Then again...
It was lunchtime.
Looking at the familiar scene, Lin Feng burst out laughing.
"Alright, alright!"
"Let's go!"
"Gardevoir, Indeedee, come help me."
"We're making lunch for everyone!"
Over the past several days, Indeedee and her younger brother must have been exhausted.
After all, even though Dragonite and Salamence, the two biggest eaters, had been away...
There were still other bottomless pits at home.
Goodra.
Blaziken.
And that wasn't even counting Milotic and Serperior, whose appetites were far from small.
On top of that, while Lin Feng had been gone, they occasionally had to help out at the breeding ranch as well.
They must have been incredibly busy.
So today, now that he was finally home...
It was his turn to take care of everyone.
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