"Compared to all this excitement~ haven't you all~ forgotten something~?"
Julian put away Carbink's Luxury Ball and turned toward the four Pokémon who had gathered around him. He wore a forced, narrow-eyed smile—the kind of smile that usually preceded a very long lecture or a very short dinner.
"Floette-flo! (Forgotten what? No, nothing at all! Everything is perfect!)" Floette chirped nervously, her wings buzzing a bit too fast to be natural.
"Jia gei gu! (That's right! Did Julian forget something? Maybe he needs a nap!)" Togetic played dumb, tilting her head with an innocent, wide-eyed gaze.
"Sylveon-fly! (Exactly, Julian~ when did you become so forgetful? We were just standing here being productive!)" Sylveon quickly retracted the ribbons she had been using to gossip, wrapping them guiltily around Julian's wrist as if she'd been a supportive partner the whole time.
Among the four of them, only Growlithe remained unshaken. In fact, he was the only one who leaned into the danger. He darted in front of Julian, wagging his thick, orange-and-black tail so hard it created a breeze, swaying it back and forth right in front of Julian's eyes.
"Woof~ (That's right, Julian~ you seem stressed. Do you want to come and sniff my tail? It smells like cedar and victory.)"
"Ahem. I didn't forget anything. Shouldn't you all think carefully about what happened back in the lab?"
Julian said the words with a stern tone, but his body was completely incapable of following through.
Facing Growlithe's shameless, fluffy invitation, Julian's willpower crumbled like a dry cookie. He quickly squatted down and scooped up Growlithe, hugging him into his chest with lightning speed. The transition from "stern disciplinarian" to "fluff-addicted mess" took exactly 0.8 seconds. His left hand supported Growlithe's weight, fingers already digging into the soft underbelly, while his right hand began a high-velocity stroking motion from Growlithe's head all the way to the tip of his tail.
Growlithe barely had time to blink before he was being petted up and down with the intensity of a thousand brushes. He let out a low, contented whimper.
"Woo~~~ (A little bit to the left~~~)"
"Hehe~ ٩(๑´3`๑)۶ Is it right here? Is this the spot?"
Following Growlithe's direction, Julian let out a slightly unhinged, giddy chuckle, his fingers scratching a very specific patch of fur on the edge of the puppy's belly.
"Woo~~~ (Yes, yes! Right there! Heaven is real!)"
Made perfectly comfortable, Growlithe's tail began to wag at such a high frequency that it literally became a blur of orange and cream. Julian, whose face and neck were being slapped by the rhythmic thumping of the big, soft tail, only looked more excited.
Finally, the temptation became too much. Julian buried his entire face into the base of Growlithe's tail, mumbling muffled, happy nonsense. A strange, slightly high-pitched laugh bubbled out from beneath the fur.
Snorlax snorlax~ (Three times in a row.)
The other three Pokémon stood in a row, watching their Trainer have a complete emotional breakdown in the middle of a fluffy tail. They didn't dare disturb him; instead, they all let out a synchronized sigh of relief.
They quickly began communicating with frantic eye movements and silent gestures.
"It's a good thing Growlithe's 'Operation: Belly Trap' actually worked," Togetic pointed a wing toward Growlithe, whose fur was rapidly becoming a static-charged mess, and then toward the "perverted" Trainer who was currently lost in a world of bliss.
"No kidding!" Floette nodded, patting her chest and then pointing at her stomach. "If it weren't for him, I'm 90% sure Julian would have fed us nothing but plain Lettuce Pokéblocks for the next three days!"
"Hmph!" Sylveon puffed out her chest, glaring at Growlithe with a hint of jealousy. "I could have done that too. Next time, it's my turn to be the sacrificial fluff!"
"That's not the point right now," Togetic gestured wildly, trying to keep the group focused. "We need a long-term plan. Even if he's distracted now, he did find out we were laughing at him. What happens when he comes to his senses?"
"I don't want to go without dinner!" Floette shivered at the thought, her eyes welling up with imaginary tears.
"It's just one meal, what's the big deal?" Sylveon shook her ribbons, acting cool. "He wouldn't actually let us starve."
"Oh, really?" Floette pointed at Sylveon, then at Julian—who was now making a weird 'nom-nom' sound against Growlithe's side—and then made a sleeping gesture followed by a swift kicking motion. "If I remember correctly, your punishment for the 'Bed Incident' last month was being banned from sleeping in his arms for a week. Are you sure you can handle that again?"
Sylveon's eyes went wide. The bravado evaporated instantly. She began running back and forth in a frantic circle. "!!! That's right! I forgot about the 'No-Snuggle' policy! What should I do? It took me three months to get him to agree to let me use his arm as a pillow! ε(┬┬﹏┬┬)3"
"So we need to—"
Floette was mid-gesture when a figure appeared on the horizon of the vast grassland.
Julian, despite being buried neck-deep in Growlithe's mane, seemed to sense the change in Aura. With a reluctant groan, he pulled his face out of the fur. He looked incredibly refreshed, his eyes bright with the "Glow of the Groomed." He quickly began smoothing out the messy patches of fur he had just created on Growlithe, trying to look like a normal, dignified Trainer again.
However, while his right hand was "neatly brushing" Growlithe, his left hand was still secretly, restlessly rubbing the puppy's belly beneath his arm.
The figure approached. It was a young woman, dressed in rugged travel gear that was covered in a thin layer of road dust. She had sharp, determined eyes and striking purple hair tied back into a high, single ponytail.
"Hello," she called out, stopping a few paces away. "Are you coming from the Nursery? Do you know if they're still open?"
"Ah! Yeah, I just left," Julian replied, standing up while still keeping Growlithe tucked under one arm. He glanced at the sun, which was now halfway behind the hills. "But looking at the time, you'll probably get there just as they're locking the doors."
"I see..." The purple-haired Trainer sighed, her shoulders dropping slightly. "What a pity. I was hoping to check everyone in before tonight."
Julian observed her carefully. There was something strangely familiar about her. The sharp line of her jaw, the intense focus in her eyes, even the way she stood... it felt like he was looking at a face he'd seen in a dream, or perhaps on a screen.
"That's too bad," Julian offered. "But the Nursery isn't going anywhere. Did you just finish a long stretch of your journey?"
"Yeah," she said, brushing some dust off her shoulder. "I just got back from a long circuit in the Hoenn region. Since Solaceon isn't far from my hometown, I thought I'd stop here first to let my team get some professional rest and relaxation before I head home to see my younger brother. Looks like it'll have to wait until tomorrow."
"Returning from Hoenn? You must be an experienced Trainer then," Julian said, a lightbulb finally flickering in the back of his mind. [Purple hair... Veilstone City... a younger brother... wait...]
The Trainer noticed his gaze and smiled, scratching the back of her head. "Oh, I'm sorry! I haven't even introduced myself. I'm a Trainer from Veilstone City. I've been traveling for about two years now."