"This wine is suspicious..."
"It has to be because of the wine. The last time he made her drink something, she completely embarrassed herself."
The strange emotions that welled up inside Serperior the moment she drank the Peach Berry Wine immediately led her to that conclusion.
Just as I thought.
Watching the other Pokémon gather around Lin Feng and snuggle up to him after taking a sip, she became almost certain the wine had some kind of special effect.
So what if it does?
As Serperior watched Leafeon curled up comfortably in Lin Feng's arms, an overwhelming urge rose within her.
She wanted to slither over...
And curl up beside him too.
"...I've already drunk it anyway."
That thought flashed through her mind.
Without another moment of hesitation, she glided naturally toward him, placed her head into the hand Lin Feng reached out, and rested it gently across his other leg.
"Good girl... You're so adorable."
His praise made Serperior blush with embarrassment.
But instead of pulling away, she slowly raised her elegant body and wrapped herself around him, letting him lean comfortably against her coils.
"This feels amazing..."
Lin Feng relaxed backward, resting comfortably against Serperior's body.
He looked down at the Peach Berry Wine in his hand and couldn't help smiling.
He wasn't sure whether he was praising the wine...
Or the peaceful atmosphere surrounding them.
Either way, his mood had become unbelievably wonderful.
A gentle breeze drifted through the orchard.
Carried on the wind came Serperior's unusually soft voice.
"Serperior..."
"Hm?"
Lin Feng had been gently stroking her head when he suddenly paused.
"Serperior? What's wrong?"
"Serperior..."
(The power of Aura... I want to see the World Tree.)
Although she had shown great interest in the World Tree before, this time there was no hesitation in her voice.
She simply sounded calm.
"You want to visit the World Tree?"
Lin Feng blinked before opening her status panel.
Pokémon: Serperior
Gender: Female
Type: Grass
Ability: Contrary (+)
Potential: Gold
Individual Values:
HP (31+2)
Attack (24+1)
Special Attack (31+2)
Defense (29+1)
Special Defense (25+2)
Speed (31+3)
Level: 69
Moves: Vine Whip, Leech Seed, Leer, Aura Sphere, Grassy Terrain...
Friendship: 100
Happiness: 75
(Go to the World Tree... Become even stronger... So wherever you go in the future, I can always stay by your side...)
There was no question about it.
Serperior was his strongest Pokémon.
The mysterious potion she had received long ago had allowed several of her individual values to surpass the natural limit of thirty-one, and over the past few years her overall strength had continued to improve.
"Level sixty-nine..."
Lin Feng hadn't intended to peek at her thoughts, but the message displayed on her status panel immediately caught his attention.
Level 69.
Only one step remained before reaching Level 70.
And now he finally understood.
The reason she wanted to visit the World Tree and become stronger...
Was because the last time he traveled away from home, he hadn't taken her with him.
Although she had never complained...
She had quietly carried those feelings inside her all this time.
Thinking of that, Lin Feng smiled gently.
"Of course."
"The next time Mew comes back, we'll ask it to take us to the World Tree."
He was certain Mew would gladly agree.
"Serperior~"
She nodded softly.
Silence settled over them once more.
After a while, Lin Feng broke it with a smile.
"Want some candy?"
He took out a Rare Candy and held it toward her.
Without saying a word, Serperior flicked out her tongue and swept the candy into her mouth.
Her level slowly climbed.
69...
70...
71...
Lin Feng chuckled.
"I'll keep this Peach Berry Wine in the storage room. Whenever you want some, just ask Indeedee to pour you a glass."
"It really tastes great."
It was obvious Serperior loved it.
Her Happiness value had jumped dramatically.
It had already risen to 85.
"Serperior~"
(I understand.)
Just as Lin Feng was about to continue relaxing against Serperior and enjoy the peaceful afternoon...
Several noisy voices suddenly shattered the tranquility.
"Happy!"
"Vulpix!"
"Bui! Bui!"
Lin Feng turned around.
A plump little Happiny was charging toward them on her tiny legs.
She was practically rolling across the ground.
Holding her precious egg in both hands, she wore a huge grin that stretched from ear to ear.
Despite those tiny legs, she somehow ran as though she had a turbocharger attached.
Following behind her were Alolan Vulpix and the remaining two Eevee.
The three hurried over and immediately began protesting.
"Vulpix!"
"You secretly had a feast with Big Sister Serperior!"
Alolan Vulpix leaned toward the bottle on the blanket and sniffed deeply.
She had never smelled anything like this Peach Berry Wine before.
That alone convinced her Lin Feng had secretly prepared something delicious just for Serperior.
The other two Eevee stood quietly beside her without saying anything.
Happiny, who had arrived only a little later because she ran more slowly, puffed out her chest and declared righteously,
"Happy!"
"How could you do this?"
Then she lifted her egg excitedly.
"Happy!"
"You drank something so tasty without bringing me any!"
It had been almost a month since Happiny arrived at the ranch.
Her personality had grown noticeably bolder.
Although she had been born only a week earlier, she had already explored nearly every corner of the ranch and Berry Fields.
Once, she had even tried to pet a Primarina that surfaced from the water.
She slipped straight into the pond.
Fortunately, Milotic had been swimming nearby.
Otherwise, the little Happiny clutching her precious egg would have been terrified.
As the weather gradually became warmer, the energetic Alolan Vulpix also became much lazier.
She no longer trained as diligently as before.
Instead, she spent her days either napping beneath fruit trees or running everywhere with Happiny.
"No, no."
Lin Feng quickly explained.
"This is a newly brewed Peach Berry Wine. We were only tasting it first."
"If it didn't taste good, I wouldn't brew it again."
"Eevee?"
"So... is it good?"
Happiny sniffed the sweet aroma lingering in the air.
She didn't doubt Lin Feng's words for even a second.
"It's delicious."
"Happy!"
"Then I want some too!"
She immediately hugged her egg tighter and looked at him expectantly.
"Alright, alright."
"I'll go get some right away."
Lin Feng laughed.
Meanwhile, Alolan Vulpix remained unusually quiet.
It wasn't because she didn't want any wine.
Rather...
The moment she arrived, something about the scene had felt strange.
Only now...
Did she finally realize what it was.
"...Huh?"
Big Sister Serperior...
Was resting her head on Lin Feng's lap...
And using her own body as a cushion for him to lean against?
Somehow...
That didn't seem quite right.
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