In front of the ranch house, Dragonite landed steadily on the ground.
The little Litleo on its back jumped down, its bright eyes darting around as it curiously observed everything in the ranch.
It was fascinated by everything here.
With a dull thud and the fluttering of feathers, Altaria crashed straight into the grass.
It had completely crash landed.
Along with it, the other Pokémon were instantly covered in dust, looking quite miserable.
"Draaa?!"
Dragonite hurried forward with concern, helping Altaria and Scraggy up.
It had already offered to share the burden, but Altaria had insisted on doing it alone, saying that its job should be completed by itself.
Fortunately, although they looked a bit disheveled, none of them were actually injured.
Dragonite flapped its small wings, creating a gust of wind that quickly blew the dust off them.
The commotion here quickly attracted the attention of the Pokémon playing nearby. Kangaskhan and the Indeedee siblings approached.
When they saw it was Litleo and the others, Morpeko and Cyclizar immediately ran out, greeting them enthusiastically.
By the time Silas arrived, this was the scene he saw.
Two unfamiliar Pokémon were facing off against Jigglypuff, sparks practically flying between them, their intent obvious.
At any moment, they would start playing rock music and begin a full on musical showdown.
The Pokémon standing opposite Jigglypuff were familiar to Silas.
The moment he saw them, he understood that they had been drawn here by the flyers distributed earlier.
Aside from differences in temperament and the patterns on their heads and bellies, the two Pokémon looked almost identical, like twin brothers.
"Toxii!" x2
They plucked the strings on their chests, and with dazzling electric sparks flashing, the sound of electric guitars instantly rang out.
Combined with their confident expressions, it placed immense pressure on Jigglypuff.
"Everyone, cheer for Jigglypuff," Silas said to the Pokémon around him.
This competition between the three Pokémon would determine who would take the lead in the band going forward.
"Cin Cin!"
"Doll~"
"Phion~"
"Cyc!"
"Kang~"
"…"
Everyone cheered together, encouraging Jigglypuff and boosting its morale.
Hearing the cheers, Jigglypuff took a deep breath. The tuft on its head stood upright, and its gaze became firm.
"Jiggly!"
It would not let everyone down. Everyone trusted it so much.
Jigglypuff stepped forward to face the two Toxtricity, pulled out its microphone, and chose to take the initiative, starting an intense and thrilling musical showdown.
Gripping the microphone tightly, its round body rose and fell with its breathing as it sang with everything it had.
"Jiggly~ Jiggly~ Jigglypuff!"
As soon as an expert made a move, the difference was immediately clear.
The current Jigglypuff had undergone systematic training, and compared to before, its improvement was far beyond just a little.
The moment the Toxtricity heard Jigglypuff's voice, they instantly dropped their earlier arrogance.
They exchanged a glance. If they did not go all out, they would likely lose badly.
The yellow crested Toxtricity on the left suddenly arched its body. The six strings on its chest burst with brighter electric sparks, and its fingers moved twice as fast, unleashing a wild and dense stream of electric sound.
The blue crested Toxtricity on the right leaned back, hooking onto its four strings and strumming back and forth, producing a deep bass tone.
The high and low melodies intertwined, forming a powerful and impactful rock rhythm.
They clashed directly with Jigglypuff's unique vocal performance, fighting for control.
Jigglypuff was not thrown off at all. Instead, it followed their rhythm and raised its voice even higher, reaching nearly the highest pitch it had ever sung.
"Alcremie, quick!"
Sensing something was wrong, Silas quickly pulled Alcremie into his arms.
Alcremie immediately understood and hurriedly activated its Sweet Veil ability, blocking the hypnotic effect in Jigglypuff's singing and preventing everyone from falling asleep.
Completely immersed in its singing, Jigglypuff's voice spread throughout the entire ranch.
Although they were protected, it did not mean other Pokémon were spared.
The apple Pokémon in the berry orchard, the Noivern and Carbink in the cave, the Heliolisk group on the beach, the Florges and Shaymin in the garden, and even the three people fishing at the winter lake behind the mountain…
All of them suddenly felt their eyelids growing heavy as a wave of drowsiness swept over them.
"Phew, that was close."
Watching the three Pokémon immersed in music ahead, Silas gently rubbed Alcremie.
Thankfully it was there, otherwise everyone would have been affected.
Alcremie looked a little nervous and glanced up at Silas.
"No need to worry. Jigglypuff will definitely win."
It did not take long for the result of the musical showdown to become clear.
In the end, the Toxtricity brothers were the first to lose their rhythm. Their performance began to stutter slightly, and the initiative completely fell into Jigglypuff's hands, forcing them to follow its lead.
As for Jigglypuff…
Although its cheeks were flushed red and sweat appeared on its forehead, its singing remained steady. It focused on hitting every note perfectly, and the gap between them became obvious.
The rock sounds of the Toxtricity grew weaker and weaker until only Jigglypuff's voice remained.
Their eyelids became as heavy as lead, and the sound of steady breathing suddenly appeared as both of them were lulled to sleep.
"Jiggly?"
Jigglypuff looked toward Silas for confirmation.
"You won, Jigglypuff."
Silas nodded firmly. Upon hearing this, the surrounding Pokémon immediately gathered around Jigglypuff, cheering loudly.
Especially the group led by Cinccino, who once again launched into a wave of praise, complimenting Jigglypuff so much that it became shy and tried to refuse bashfully.
"Roar!"
Litleo tugged anxiously at Silas's pant leg, urging him to check on the Toxtricity brothers.
"No need to worry. They are just exhausted and asleep. A Chesto Berry will wake them up."
Walking over, Silas fed them berries and observed them closely.
Toxtricity were Pokémon first discovered in the Galar region. They naturally had two forms, Amped and Low Key.
The Amped form was confident and hot tempered, the kind that would fight the moment you made eye contact.
The Low Key form was not much better, more like a typical arrogant rival who looked down on others and feared no opponent.
One played electric guitar, the other bass.
And now…
They had just lost in their strongest field, rock music, to Jigglypuff.
Based on Silas's understanding of Toxtricity, they would probably listen to Jigglypuff from now on, though they would treat others however they pleased.
As expected, when the Toxtricity woke up…
They ignored all the other Pokémon and fixed their gaze on Jigglypuff.
"Toxi!" (Big boss!)
Jigglypuff froze in shock.
Its small hands waved frantically, its eyes wide open, completely stunned.
"Jiggly! Jigglypuff!" (No, no! I am not the boss!)
Its face turned red as it panicked, the tuft on its head standing straight up.
It was still just a child, so how did it suddenly gain two underlings?
"Jigglypuff…"
Silas leaned close and whispered something into its ear, giving it a serious look.
Jigglypuff gathered its courage and stepped forward, extending an invitation.
"Jigglypuff?" (Just call me Jigglypuff. Do you want to join my band?)
(End of Chapter)