The Charcadet lowered its head and explained in a muffled voice, "Char… ca!"
"Cyclizar, translate for me."
"Cyc!" it responded enthusiastically, as if saying it had got this.
After finishing the last of the hot noodle soup in the pot, Cyclizar wiped its mouth and came over to act as the translator, waving its arms and gesturing animatedly to convey what Charcadet was trying to say.
Silas listened while guessing along the way. "So you ran into some kind of jellyfish that can move extremely fast on land, and your companion got frightened and got separated from you."
"Char!" Charcadet nodded vigorously.
If only it were stronger, then it could have driven away that annoying jellyfish and protected its companion.
"Don't worry too much. There are many caves like this nearby, so maybe your companion is hiding somewhere." Silas comforted the sad and self blaming Charcadet, taking out an Oran Berry and handing it over. "When the rain stops, we will help you search together."
"Cyc!" Cyclizar thumped its chest in agreement, while Greedent and Oinkologne also nodded. Once the rain stopped, everyone would help look.
Meanwhile, Silas continued asking Charcadet for more details about the fast running jellyfish. He could already confirm that it was not a washed up Frillish or Jellicent. Instead, it was very likely the land dwelling Toedscool, which was exactly the Pokémon he had come to Paldea to find.
He had not expected to discover traces of it so quickly, without any effort at all.
The steady sound of raindrops was the perfect lullaby. Silas and Cyclizar shared a blanket, leaning against each other as they dozed lightly.
Greedent, being the type that never worries about anything, had already fallen asleep and was snoring loudly.
Charcadet, however, remained crouched at the cave entrance, staring out into the rainy world, waiting for the rain to weaken.
While Silas was stuck in the cave with nothing to do but rest, something else was happening at the ranch at the same time.
Kangaskhan had gathered all the Pokémon into a circle. The Indeedee siblings handed out snacks as everyone ate and discussed an important matter.
Do not think Pokémon are foolish. They are very intelligent.
"Cin Cin Cin~" (Recently, Silas had been leaving early and returning late every day. He must have found someone new outside.)
As soon as the discussion began, Cinccino was lightly bonked on the head by Kangaskhan. The little one held its head and stuck out its tongue cutely. It had only wanted to liven up the atmosphere.
Kangaskhan spoke seriously, while Cyclizar had apparently already been asked about it beforehand.
"Kang Kang~" (I asked Cyclizar. It seems Silas has been preparing for a confession recently.)
"Morpeko!" Morpeko suddenly popped its head up as if ready to attend a feast.
The younger sister Indeedee raised her hand and used psychic power to gently restrain Morpeko, placing it beside her and handing it a full plate of food to keep it from interrupting again.
Kangaskhan patted the ground to regain everyone's attention and continued.
Cinccino was the first to respond excitedly. "Cin Cin!" (Let's prepare a gift for Silas's confession!)
Popplio and Clawitzer immediately agreed. The Applin group and Arboliva also expressed no objections. Registeel's red lights flickered in agreement.
Dragonite, the Mudsdale brothers, the three Noivern, and the four cats all had no objections either.
The Florges and Shaymin agreed as well.
The decision passed unanimously.
Now the question was what kind of surprise they should prepare.
For a moment, the Pokémon all spoke at once, throwing out ideas, though most were quickly rejected.
The ideas were good, just not suitable.
Shaymin, small and adorable among the larger Pokémon, spoke softly, "Shay~" (When humans confess, they prepare flowers.)
Florges with the red flower immediately said, "Flor!" (Leave the flowers to us!)
Cinccino added, "Cin Cin!" (We need lots and lots of beautiful fireworks, just like on TV!)
Arboliva chimed in, "Arbo!" (And a ring! We need to prepare a proposal ring for Silas!)
Dragonite tilted its head in confusion, a giant question mark practically appearing beside it.
As expected, the discussion quickly went off track, and Diancie became upset.
Silas was about to confess, yet she could not even create a Heart Diamond. She had no worthy gift to give.
Her body dimmed slightly as she muttered to herself in self blame.
Seeing this, Kangaskhan quickly steered the topic back. Silas was only confessing, it was far from a proposal.
Cinccino hesitated. "Cin?" (Then should we still prepare a ring?)
Everyone voted, and in the end, they decided to prepare one anyway.
At that moment, the usually silent Registeel slowly approached. It raised one arm, and a faint light gathered at its fingertip. A metallic ring gradually took shape.
The red lights on its face flickered.
…
Far away in the Paldea region, the rain had continued for an entire day.
Sunlight finally shone through the cave entrance, landing gently on Silas's face. His eyelashes trembled, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Cyclizar resting its head on him.
Sitting up, he glanced outside and shook Cyclizar awake. "The rain has stopped. Time to move."
After packing up their camping gear and stuffing everything into the satchel, Silas called out to the still sleepy Cyclizar and headed outside.
Before leaving, he did not forget to leave a few berries behind for Greedent and the others as breakfast.
As for Charcadet, it had already left, likely rushing out the moment the rain stopped to search for its companion.
"Cyclizar, do you see any Charcadet anywhere?"
Standing at the foot of the mountain, Silas called up to Cyclizar.
Cyclizar climbed up the cliff and looked around from above.
"Cyc!" (I do not see any!)
Silas shouted again, "What about a Toedscool?"
Cyclizar narrowed its eyes, forming its claws into makeshift binoculars as it scanned carefully from left to right and back again, not missing a single corner.
Soon, it spotted something.
To be precise, it caught a fleeting blurry figure, something resembling Toedscool darting into the dense forest.
"Cyc!" Cyclizar cried excitedly, leaping down from the cliff and lowering its body, signaling Silas to climb on quickly.
Man and Pokémon immediately gave chase.
Cyclizar's speed while carrying a rider was at least twice that of Toedscool, giving them a real chance of catching up.
They plunged into the damp forest, where the environment was perfect for Toedscool.
However, for humans and most Pokémon, it was extremely uncomfortable. Within minutes, their bodies felt sticky, as if covered in a thin layer of moisture.
Silas's hair was soaked with dew, strands sticking to his forehead and blocking his vision.
Cyclizar had no choice but to slow down slightly to avoid crashing into trees.
In this environment, even goggles were useless, as droplets would cling to the lenses and obstruct vision even more.
Scanning left and right, they searched for any sign of Toedscool.
"Cyc!"
Cyclizar suddenly shouted excitedly. A shadow appeared straight ahead, and it sped up to close the distance.
Silas quickly wiped the dew from his forehead and squinted forward. The silhouette did resemble Toedscool.
He patted Cyclizar's side, signaling it to go even faster.
Accelerating silently, Cyclizar leaped forward when they were only a few steps away, launching a powerful headbutt.
The next moment, Silas and the Pokémon found themselves knocked over, pinned beneath Cyclizar.
Silas poked his head out from behind and blinked in surprise.
"Huh? Charcadet… and Professor Turo? Why is it you two?"
(End of Chapter)