Watching Steven Stone and his Metagross disappear into the distance, Silas slowly moved his stiff legs and struggled to free his pant leg from Cyclizar's mouth. Slightly annoyed, he raised his hand and gave it a light smack.
"Why are you still sulking? Upset because you didn't beat Registeel?"
"Cyc…"
Cyclizar turned its head away with a huff, hugging its head with both claws and refusing to look at him.
Clearly, it was angry at him.
"I know I was wrong. Next time I'll let transform and you finish the fight, alright?" Silas crouched down and poked Cyclizar lightly. "Just now, if Registeel had used brute force, you might not have been able to handle it. I switched you out to keep you from getting hurt."
Cyclizar still refused to turn around, but its tail quietly lifted, betraying that it had been comforted. Silas still cared about it, after all.
Noticing the subtle change in its posture and expression, Silas added another sentence.
"How about this. When we go to the Paldea in a few days, I'll only take you along?"
Before Silas could react, Cyclizar suddenly pounced on him.
Its large claws pressed onto his body, its tail wagging like a spinning fan, and its bright eyes sparkled.
"Cyc?" (You're not lying, right? Just me?)
"That's right, just you."
Silas answered firmly.
"Cyc!"
Cyclizar let out an excited howl. Silas never lied to it.
It happily ran circles around him, its steps full of barely contained joy, hopping and bouncing with pure delight.
"Hey, stop spinning, stop spinning. You're making me dizzy."
Laughing, Silas grabbed the overly excited Cyclizar and held it still. It immediately leaned its big head into his arms, already asking when they would leave.
"What's the rush," Silas said with a chuckle, patting it. "I still need to go back to the ranch and talk to Indeedee and the others, and I need to invite Diantha to spend the Coumarine Festival together…"
As Silas listed everything one by one, Cyclizar's excitement instantly deflated. It started counting on its claws. It still had to wait a whole week. That felt unbearably long.
"Be patient," Silas said, rubbing its big head. It recovered quickly.
Waiting a few more days was fine. Once they set out, Silas would belong to it alone.
…
At dusk, in front of the ranch cabin.
"Registeel, you really don't need to eat anything? Stones or ores, maybe?"
The red dots on Registeel's face flickered rhythmically. Silas roughly understood what it meant.
"Alright then. What about a place to stay? Any preferences?"
Registeel stood up and gently set down Cinccino and Alcremie, who had been playing on its body.
It looked around the ranch, then walked to the grass in front of the cabin and compressed itself into a large iron sphere.
Silas fell silent.
"Fine, fine. You can stay here with Arboliva from now on."
"Arbo~"
Arboliva responded, indicating it would take care of the new companion. It moved closer to Registeel, blocking the sea breeze blowing in from the ocean.
It remembered hearing in cartoons that seawater could corrode metal. Sea wind probably had a similar effect.
Looking down at the quiet and reserved new companion, Arboliva stepped even closer.
"Arboliva, dinner's ready. I made your favorite fruit milk, blueberry flavor."
"Arbo!"
Hearing the call, Arboliva's eyes lit up instantly. It dashed toward Silas in three quick steps.
After finishing dinner contentedly, Arboliva returned to Registeel and hesitated, unsure whether to spread its arms and shield it.
When Silas returned after inspecting the ranch, he saw this scene.
Arboliva would spread its leaf-like arms, then pull them back again, clearly conflicted.
In the end, it made up its mind. It extended its leafy arms and pressed itself against Registeel, using its body to block the salty evening breeze.
The red dots on Registeel's face flickered twice in response to this kindness. Even though it would not be corroded by seawater, no one could refuse the pure goodwill of a Pokémon.
Entering the house, the Pokémon were all sitting neatly in the living room, quietly watching TV.
Silas picked up the transceiver on the table and skillfully called Diantha.
Both of them had been busy during the day, so only before sleep could they talk without interruption.
They shared bits of their daily lives, and Silas extended an invitation, asking Diantha to come celebrate the Coumarine City Festival together.
On the other end, Diantha's cheeks flushed red, her fair skin glowing with a rosy hue.
She had not expected this at all. She was completely unprepared.
"Hello? Hello? Did it freeze? Why aren't you moving?"
Before Diantha could respond, the screen suddenly went dark. Her cheeks puffed up like a bun in frustration.
The next moment, a new call came in. Even though she was annoyed, Diantha still answered.
"Can you hear me? So… are you coming to the festival?"
"Since I happen to have that day off, I'll reluctantly accompany you. Hmph."
Even though her heart was already racing with excitement, she still tried to act composed.
Who would have thought that this blockhead could finally blossom.
Diantha's thoughts ran wild, and her cheeks grew hotter and hotter, like ripe apples.
Gardevoir appeared beside her, calmly frying an egg in a pan.
Her trainer was thinking embarrassing things again.
"Diantha, your head is steaming. Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine." She twirled a strand of hair with her finger, unable to hide the joy on her face. Then she quickly changed the topic. "By the way, Couriway Town will be holding a grand waterfall concert. Do Cinccino and the others want to participate? The most popular performers will receive a special reward."
"I'll ask them."
Silas turned his gaze to the Pokémon in the living room and called Cinccino and the others over to ask for their opinions.
"There's a concert. Cinccino, Jigglypuff, do you want to join?"
"Cin Cin!" (Yes, yes, we want to!)
Cinccino raised its little hand high. They had been practicing diligently these days and were sure to amaze everyone.
"And what about you, Jigglypuff?"
"J-Jigglypuff!" (W-we'll try too!)
Gathering its courage, Jigglypuff answered.
"Alright then. Both of your bands will participate."
After confirming, Silas asked Diantha to help register them.
Cinccino, Popplio, and Diancie returned to watching TV, unwilling to miss anything.
Jigglypuff, however, lost all interest in television. The pressure weighed heavily on it. It immediately dragged the Toxtricity brothers away to practice. Their band's first performance had to be perfect.
The two of them chatted casually until it was time to sleep, then said goodnight and ended the call.
Once the call ended and no one was watching, Diantha dropped all pretense. Hugging a pillow, she rolled around on the bed shyly.
Silas, on the other hand, had no such troubles. Amid a chorus of clingy voices, he turned off the TV.
He ushered all the Pokémon back to their nests to sleep.
After saying goodnight to the cats, Cyclizar, Alcremie, and the Toxtricity brothers, Kangaskhan took its baby and Phione to the nursery. Silas and the rest of the Pokémon returned to the bedroom.
The moment he lay down, Cinccino immediately burrowed into his arms.
With his hands resting on its soft belly, he stretched out his legs to separate the squabbling Morpeko and Popplio, then asked Jigglypuff to turn off the lights.
After a while, all sounds faded.
The room became quiet, filled only with the steady rhythm of breathing.
Silas got up once more to tuck the little ones in properly.
Only then did he finally lie down and fall asleep peacefully.
(End of Chapter)