"Meow?"
"Meowscarada?"
Lin Feng paused.
Meowscarada had suddenly leaped onto his shoulder, startling all the Bounsweet gathered around him. With frightened cries, the little Pokémon scattered in every direction.
Meanwhile, Meowscarada deliberately turned its head away, pretending nothing had happened.
Lin Feng blinked.
Then realization struck him.
"Haha... I get it now."
"You were jealous, Meowscarada."
Meowscarada had always been a jealous Pokémon by nature.
Seeing that expression instantly reminded him of Serperior back at the ranch. Serperior had worn the exact same face before, but at the time Lin Feng hadn't understood why.
Now it all made sense.
"So that's what was going through your little head."
He gently pinched Meowscarada's cheek.
"Alright, alright. Let's go find Steenee and Tsareena."
Releasing her cheek, he stopped chatting with the wild Bounsweet and headed straight toward the giant tree where the mother and daughter were waiting.
When they reached the familiar tree hollow, Lin Feng looked around in surprise.
The last time he'd visited, the place had been messy and overgrown.
Now it was spotless.
Even the old branches that had been hanging around for years had been neatly trimmed away, most likely with Leaf Blade.
Even if they rarely came back here now, this had once been their home.
Lin Feng smiled.
"It looks great."
"Now that it's all cleaned up, when winter comes we can spend the season here again."
"You'll be able to come home whenever you want."
"Stee?"
"Boun?"
The mother and daughter looked at him in confusion.
"I told you before, didn't I?"
"When winter gets cold, we'll come to Alola and stay here for a while."
"When that time comes, you can visit your old home whenever you like."
He gently patted Steenee's little head.
ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ
"Stee~!"
"Yay!"
"So..."
Lin Feng asked with a smile,
"Do you two want to stay here for a couple of days? We'll probably head back in two or three days."
Traveling was different from life at the ranch.
Most Trainers kept their Pokémon inside Poké Balls while traveling.
But not every Pokémon actually liked staying inside a Poké Ball.
Especially his Pokémon.
Almost none of them had ever truly lived inside one. Every single one had their own little room and their own home.
Even though Lin Feng had bought Luxury Balls for all of them, now that Steenee and Tsareena had a choice, he wanted to hear what they really wanted.
The moment Steenee heard his question, worry immediately appeared on her face.
"Stee?"
"Stee..."
You're... not leaving us here forever?
Lin Feng couldn't help laughing.
"Of course not."
"When it's time to go home, I'll come pick you up."
"And why would you even think that?"
"The ranch still needs your fresh berry juice for everyone."
He affectionately rubbed Steenee's head.
Back then, Torchic and Primarina, the two little Pokémon that Gardevoir had first brought home, had both been abandoned. Steenee had practically raised them herself.
So after hearing Lin Feng's question, she had mistakenly thought he believed they would be happier living here permanently.
In reality...
Lin Feng couldn't bear to leave her behind at all.
He simply felt that since they'd traveled all the way here, it would be a shame not to spend some time enjoying nature.
"Stee..."
Steenee hesitated before turning toward her mother.
She herself wasn't particularly attached to this place anymore.
But she thought maybe her mother would miss her old home.
However, Tsareena simply looked quietly at her daughter, leaving the decision entirely in her hands.
Steenee's eyes gradually became firm.
"Stee!"
Then I don't want to stay here.
I want to stay with you.
"Then let's go."
Lin Feng smiled, taking out their Poké Balls and recalling both Pokémon.
"The next stop..."
"Alolan Ninetales and the Eevee squad."
When Lin Feng returned to the place where they'd separated earlier, he was surprised to discover that Alolan Ninetales and the three Eeveelutions were already waiting for him.
However...
Every one of them looked rather disheveled.
Their beautiful fur was ruffled, with leaves and dirt clinging to their coats.
Lin Feng frowned.
"What happened?"
"Where did you all go?"
"Kyu! Kyu! Kyu!"
The moment Alolan Ninetales heard the question, it immediately began excitedly explaining everything.
"Kyu..."
"A giant bear?"
"You fought it?"
Lin Feng stared in surprise.
Alolan Ninetales nodded repeatedly before continuing its story.
After separating from Lin Feng, the group had stood around wondering what they should do.
It was everyone's first real adventure away from home.
After discussing it for a while...
No one had any ideas.
Finally, Team Strategist Ah-Jiu, Alolan Ninetales itself, came up with a brilliant plan.
It remembered hearing that many Trainers battled wild Pokémon during their journeys because those battles helped their Pokémon grow stronger.
The Pokémon living around Wutong Forest near the ranch were simply too weak.
There had never been worthy opponents there.
But now that they were somewhere completely new...
Surely they'd find powerful enemies!
The moment that idea was suggested, the self-proclaimed future Dragon Slayer Squad immediately became excited.
Anything that could make them stronger was worth trying.
Following Captain Alolan Ninetales' orders, the entire squad set off to search for worthy opponents.
And unbelievably...
They actually found one.
According to Alolan Ninetales, it was an enormous bear Pokémon with incredible muscles, wearing what looked like a black bib across its chest, with an unusually fierce expression.
At first...
They sent Umbreon, Ah-Wu, into battle.
Only to discover...
Even Ah-Wu couldn't win.
Next...
Leafeon, Ah-San, joined the fight.
The two of them battled together.
They still couldn't defeat it.
Finally, Alolan Ninetales personally entered the battle, joining its two teammates against the giant bear.
Even then...
The best they could manage was a draw.
The worst part was that the bear was unbelievably stubborn.
It didn't seem to understand anything they were trying to communicate.
They had repeatedly explained that this was only a friendly challenge.
The bear ignored every word and relentlessly chased after them.
Fortunately...
Alolan Ninetales finally managed to freeze it solid with an Ice Beam, giving the team enough time to escape.
"So..."
Lin Feng rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"You're saying..."
"You lost?"
The question immediately piqued his curiosity.
After all, Alolan Ninetales was already approaching Level 70.
Although Lin Feng had warned it not to casually unleash large-scale attacks, its individual strength was still extraordinary.
Ordinary wild Pokémon simply shouldn't have been able to overpower it.
Not to mention it had several powerful Eeveelutions fighting alongside it, each strong enough to dominate most wild territories.
From the description alone...
Lin Feng already knew exactly which Pokémon they had encountered.
Bewear.
The legendary "Bear God" of Alola.
He hadn't expected these little troublemakers to run into that monster on their very first outing.
Then again...
That absolutely sounded like Bewear.
Once it picked a target, it simply refused to give up.
"Kyu!"
Alolan Ninetales immediately puffed up its chest in protest.
"We didn't lose!"
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