Chapter 123: The Little Jar of Vinegar
Mabel had lived in Azalea Town since she was born, forty-two years now. Her grandparents had settled here over eighty years ago when it was still just Azalea Village, a peaceful paradise secluded from the world.
Inside the small wooden house Mabel lived in now, a fire was burning in the stone fireplace. Next to Azalea Town was the Ilex Forest, and its wood was used to make charcoal for heating, making the house incredibly warm despite the cool spring weather.
Ryu, Mabel, and her Eevee sat around a tea table, eating a meal of steaming vegetable soup and soft bread. While Ryu and Eevee were engrossed in their food, Mabel couldn't help but keep looking at the Sprigatito in the corner, who was being punished by being made to face the wall.
"Big lizard, hurry up and let the little cat come eat," Mabel said, patting Ryu's arm. "Look how thin she is; she doesn't even have the strength to stand anymore."
"Don't let her eat. Let her recognize her mistake," Ryu responded deliberately in a loud voice.
"Oh my, such a big Pokémon, still competing with a little cat," Mabel sighed. She couldn't stand it anymore, got up, and brought the sniffling Sprigatito over.
'I'm big? If you count by age, I'm probably only half a month older than her,' Ryu thought, but he didn't stop Mabel. He needed a way to back down, and this saved him the effort.
"Oh dear, my poor little one. You've cried so much you look like a little calico cat," Mabel cooed. Sprigatito shrank into her arms, her pink eyes timidly glancing towards Ryu.
"You're still crying? You first— Mph!"
Before Ryu could scold her, Mabel stuffed a large spoonful of soup into his mouth. "You just eat quietly," she said.
"Meow..." Sprigatito let out a desperate cry, lamenting her fate.
The sight made Mabel's heart melt. "My poor baby, wait, Auntie will get you a bottle." She poured some vegetable soup into a baby bottle and held it to Sprigatito's small mouth.
Seeing this scene, a chill ran down Ryu's spine. Dead memories suddenly attacked him, reminding him of a thousand years ago when Hestia would force-feed him until she thought he was full. "Thinking about it now," he mused, "at least half of the reason I got so fat later on must be Hestia's fault."
He looked again at the Sprigatito. Even he had to admit, she was incredibly cute.
"Meow," she chirped, pushing the bottle away and looking at him. Her meaning was clear: she wanted him to hold her.
"Have you recognized your mistake?"
"Meow?" Sprigatito shook her head. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong.
"Why did you suddenly attack Eevee?"
"Meow! (Don't let others get close to you!)" she replied righteously.
"So you're a little jar of vinegar," Ryu said, finally understanding. She wasn't just targeting Eevee; she was targeting everyone who got close to him. "From now on, you can't just attack others randomly. Who I socialize with is my business."
He took her from Mabel's arms, tapping her little nose. She was developing a personality just like Ash's Chikorita, and he had to stop it before it got out of hand.
"Meow..." Sprigatito nodded dejectedly.
Ryu returned her to Mabel's arms, but the little cat painstakingly hugged the bottle and brought it back to him, wanting him to feed her. He let her lie in his lap and hold the bottle herself while he ate his own bread.
After dinner, Ryu opened the green box from Director Clavell. Sprigatito and Eevee both ran over curiously. Inside was everything a cat Pokémon could want: a scratching post, a cat wand, a comb, nail clippers, yarn balls, catnip, and silver vine chew sticks.
Sprigatito was immediately drawn to a catnip ball and began inhaling deeply. After a couple of sniffs, she started kicking her legs out as if she were drunk.
"Go away! Go play with this," Ryu said, snatching the catnip ball back and tossing her a yarn ball. The excited Sprigatito immediately chased after it, and to his surprise, generously shared it with Eevee.
"Not bad, she's an obedient baby after all," he nodded in satisfaction.
"Lizard, come here and help Auntie with something," Mabel called from the corner of the room, pointing to two large wooden boxes.
Ryu picked one up. It weighed about 20 kilograms and seemed to be filled with some kind of spherical object.
"I didn't expect you to be so strong despite being so thin," she commented.
She picked up the other box and led him out of the house and all the way to the wooden house next door. A few knocks later, a black-haired, muscular man with a somewhat fierce look on his face opened the door.
"What's this?"
"Don't you remember the Alliance's Poké Ball order? Hurry up and start making them. The Apricorns have all been picked for you."
[Inorin Note:
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