Pidgeot flew next to Misty and the others, hovering in the air as Roy landed while holding Jenny.
"Misty, Delia, why are you two here?"
Roy looked at Misty and Delia, feeling somewhat surprised.
Misty didn't speak.
"Roy!!"
Misty suddenly threw herself into Roy's arms.
"You idiot! Jerk! Dummy!"
Misty's hands pounded on Roy's chest; she wasn't using much strength, and it felt more like she was acting like a spoiled child using Charm.
"It rained so hard last night, why didn't you come back!"
"Do you know how worried I was about you!"
"I didn't sleep all night!"
"I thought something had happened to you!"
Misty's voice choked up, and tears began to fall pitter-patter down her face.
Her words were a jumbled mess, saying whatever came to mind, completely lacking her usual logical flow when they bickered.
She usually loved to talk back to Roy and play around.
But her feelings were truly deep.
Now that she had met Roy, all the worry, fear, and grievance surged out, turning into unstoppable tears.
Roy gently held Misty, one hand lightly stroking her back.
"Alright, alright, am I not perfectly fine?"
Misty buried her face in Roy's chest, crying even harder.
"Waaah... do you have any idea... I was really so scared..."
"The world's number one beautiful girl won't look good if she cries!"
Roy raised his other hand and used his fingers to gently wipe away the tears from the corners of Misty's eyes.
Misty looked up, her eyes red and her nose red as well.
"I... I'm not crying!"
She wiped her tears and said stubbornly.
"I... the wind and sand were just too strong just now!"
"The wind just blew sand into my eyes!"
To the side, Jenny looked at Misty's tsundere appearance and couldn't help but purse her lips and smile.
Delia smiled as well.
Everyone knew Misty was just being stubborn, but no one called her out on it.
Roy also nodded, dotingly patting Misty's back.
"Right, right, it was the wind and sand."
"You weren't crying."
"How could my mermaid cry, right?"
Misty gave a huff and snuggled into Roy's arms again.
"It's so good that you're both alright!"
Delia also let out a great sigh of relief, the expression on her face relaxing.
She had been very worried last night as well, but to look after Misty's emotions, she hadn't let it show.
Now that she saw Roy return safely, she could finally rest easy.
"I'm sorry for making you worry."
Roy looked at Delia, his gaze filled with apology and tenderness.
Delia shook her head, smiling to indicate it was fine.
Just then.
The roar of an engine came from the ground, breaking the warm atmosphere in the air.
Roy and the others looked toward the sound.
A luxury off-road vehicle was bumping along the mountain road, its body splashed with quite a bit of mud, showing it had rushed all the way here.
The off-road vehicle stopped not far from where Roy and the others had landed.
The car door opened, and Gravid and his wife jumped out.
"Oh! Officer Jenny, we've finally found you!"
"Officer Jenny, Mr. Trainer, thank you so very much!"
"Thank you so much!"
Gravid's attitude was extremely enthusiastic, even carrying a few tremors from being overly excited.
"Thanks to you, my son was able to be rescued!"
Gravid became more excited as he spoke, starting to become incoherent again.
Fortunately, his wife Yumi came forward to prompt him.
Only then did Gravid take an envelope out of his pocket and hand it to Roy with both hands.
The envelope was bulging, clearly containing a lot of money at first glance.
"Mr. Trainer, Officer Jenny, this is a small token of my appreciation, please do accept it!"
"This is the gratitude of our entire Family!"
Roy took the envelope.
"Mr. Gravid, you're too kind."
"Doing what's right is what every Trainer should do."
Gravid heard this and nodded repeatedly.
"Mr. Trainer is right!"
"There are far too few Trainers with such a sense of justice like yours these days!"
"A person like you will surely become a great figure in the future!"
Gravid said many more words of thanks, speaking for nearly ten minutes before reluctantly saying his goodbyes and leaving.
The off-road vehicle started up again and drove away along the path it came, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Only after the vehicle disappeared from sight did Misty snap out of it.
"Wow, that uncle seems really rich."
Misty remarked.
"The money he gave must be quite a lot, right?"
Roy patted the pocket containing the envelope and smiled without a word.
"Little money-grubber, stop thinking about the money."
"Let's go, we should continue our journey."
But before that.
There was something that needed to be handled first.
Roy looked at Jenny.
Jenny was also looking at him.
Their gazes met in the air.
Jenny's eyes flickered slightly, as if asking Roy something.
Roy nodded slightly, giving her an affirming look.
Jenny took a deep breath, as if she had made some kind of decision.
Misty noticed the small interaction between the two and asked suspiciously:
"What's wrong with you two? Making eyes at each other."
Jenny met Misty's gaze, and her heart began to race again.
Tell them, tell them now.
Jenny encouraged herself in her heart.
She was of the Jenny Family; she had always been decisive and efficient in her actions.
This kind of thing shouldn't be dragged out either.
And...
She had already made a promise with Roy.
Jenny took another deep breath and summoned her courage to say:
"Misty, Delia, I have something I want to tell you."
Delia blinked, and seeing Jenny's serious expression, she asked with a smile:
"What is it? Why so serious?"
A trace of a blush appeared on Jenny's face, and her voice became lower.
"I..."
She paused for a moment and glanced at Roy again.
Roy stood to the side, looking at her with a gentle gaze, silently giving her support.
A warm current surged through Jenny's heart, and her courage rose with it.
"I... Roy and I... are together."
Jenny finally managed to say those words.
After saying it, her heart was beating incredibly fast.
She knew that Misty and Delia's relationship with Roy was unusual.
If she suddenly inserted herself, what would they think?
Would they be angry?
Would they reject her?
Jenny's heart was in turmoil.
Misty was stunned for a moment.
Delia was also stunned for a moment.
They both widened their eyes, looking at Jenny.
Jenny was so nervous her palms were sweating.
"You..."
She cautiously looked at Misty, then at Delia.
"You... won't be angry, will you?"
Misty was silent for a while.
In those few seconds, Jenny felt as if she were standing trial.
Then, Misty suddenly burst into laughter.
"Why would I be angry?"
Misty's eyes curved into crescents from her smile.
"Roy is so outstanding, it's only normal that you'd like him."
She said it as if it were a matter of course, without the slightest hint of reluctance.
Jenny was stunned.
"Re... Really?"
"Of course it's true!"
Misty stepped forward and took Jenny's hand.
"Officer Jenny, welcome to the group!"
Delia also stepped up, looking at Jenny tenderly.
"That's great, Officer Jenny."
"Welcome aboard."
Delia welcomed the new sister as gently as always.
The Harmonious Family Halo caused the affection Delia and Misty felt for Jenny to instantly jump up by a large margin.
The bit of unease and tension in Jenny's heart completely vanished within the smiles of Misty and Delia.
Her eyes grew a bit moist.
"Thank you... thank you both..."
Jenny's voice was a bit choked up.
Misty let go of Jenny's hand, tilted her head, and a gossipy light suddenly flashed in her eyes.
"But..."
Misty drawled, looking at Jenny with a mischievous smile.
"Eh? When did it happen?"
Jenny's face instantly turned bright red.
"It... it was..."
She stammered, not knowing how to say it.
Misty became even more excited and pressed on:
"When was it? Tell us, tell us!"
Jenny said softly:
"It was last night, during the rainy night..."
"Last night?"
Misty's eyes instantly lit up.
"Wasn't it raining heavily last night?"
"Right, right, right!"
"Officer Jenny, weren't you pursuing poachers with Roy last night?"
"Could it be that was when it happened?"
The blush on Jenny's face deepened, and her voice grew smaller and smaller.
"Um... during the pursuit, an accident happened..."
"Our clothes got wet... we built a fire in a cave to dry them..."
"The timing was right... so I... and Roy..."
Jenny's voice grew quieter and quieter, the last few words almost inaudible.
But Misty's ears were very sharp.
"Wet? Clothes?"
Misty's eyes were wide, and the mischievous smile on her face was even more obvious.
She turned to look at Roy, her gaze full of gossip.
"Roy, did you pull any tricks!"
Roy, listening to the conversation between the two, couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't you know me? I'm a man of integrity."
Roy spread his hands, looking like a perfect gentleman.
Misty and Delia looked at each other.
Then they both laughed at the same time, saying in unison:
"You are indeed very 'upstanding'~"
The way they dragged out the word was clearly sarcastic.
Roy laughed too.
The group shared a laugh, and the atmosphere instantly became relaxed and pleasant.
Misty walked up to Roy, stood on her tiptoes, and patted his shoulder.
"Roy, you really are something!"
"You actually managed to win over Officer Jenny."
Misty's tone was teasing, but also held a bit of genuine admiration.
Roy smiled and intentionally puffed out his chest, making a strong pose.
"Of course, my wrist is very strong!"
...
Hearing this, Jenny was so embarrassed she lightly slapped Roy's arm.
"Oh~ it's broad daylight, don't say such things~"
Jenny's voice was both embarrassed and annoyed, her face red like a ripe apple.
This guy Roy, how can he just say anything out loud!
Watching the two bicker, Delia couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha, Officer Jenny is blushing."
Misty put her arm around Jenny's shoulder, acting like a good sister.
"It's fine, it's fine! I've been bullied by him too!"
Misty spoke with total confidence, not feeling embarrassed at all.
Jenny looked at Misty with wide eyes, her face full of surprise.
Misty actually just said it directly like that?
"However!"
Misty held up a finger, looking like a sage.
"From now on, we sisters will be of one mind, and we can launch a joint counter-attack!"
Jenny was stunned for a moment, then gave an embarrassed laugh.
She took Delia's hand and then Misty's hand.
"Okay! We're a sister alliance!"
"Against the big baddie!"
The three girls' hands were tightly held together.
Watching the three women form an alliance, Roy's mouth twitched slightly.
"Hey, hey, forming an alliance to deal with me right in front of my face?"
"That's a bit too arrogant."
Misty stuck her tongue out at Roy.
"We're just being arrogant, so what?"
"There are three of us sisters, do you think we're afraid of you?"
Jenny also started laughing, her smile holding a bit of playfulness.
Delia smiled gently on the side, but there was also a hint of playfulness in her eyes.
Roy looked at the three of them and shook his head, but his face was full of smiles.
"Fine, fine, you're the bosses."
"But even one against three, the advantage might not be away from me~"
"Oh~ how arrogant! Sister Jenny, Sister Delia, let's get him together!" Misty jumped directly onto Roy's back and started fooling around.
Delia and Jenny were a bit older, so they didn't do such things, only teasing him with words from the side.
The group talked and laughed, the atmosphere very harmonious.
...
Afterward.
Delia made a welcome meal for Jenny.
Although they were in the wild with limited conditions, Delia's cooking skills were excellent.
She took out portable cooking utensils and used ingredients gathered along the way to make a pot of fragrant thick soup and grilled a few fish.
The four of them sat on the grass, eating the delicious food while chatting.
The sunlight fell on them, feeling warm.
The wind blew over, carrying the scent of flowers and grass.
The soup was fragrant, and the fish was fresh.
Jenny ate with great relish.
"Delia's cooking is really good!"
Jenny praised sincerely.
"When I have time in the future, I'll teach you,"
Delia said with a smile.
"Really? That's great!"
After finishing the meal and packing their gear, Roy and the others prepared to set off again; after all, there was still quite a way to go before the next Gym.
As for Jenny, her work mission was still ongoing; during this Pokemon breeding season, she needed to stay in this area to continue her guard duty.
However, she made a promise with Roy that when he entered the Indigo League Conference, she would definitely come to the scene to cheer for him.
When they parted, Jenny stood by the roadside, looking at Roy.
"Be careful on the way, and don't always do dangerous things like jumping off cliffs."
Jenny was truly worried when she said this.
She knew Roy was strong, but he was too reckless sometimes.
Things like jumping directly off a cliff like yesterday—she felt afraid just thinking about it.
Roy nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful."
Misty and Delia also stepped forward, taking Jenny's hand.
"Officer Jenny, you must also pay attention to safety while on duty."
Delia said gently.
"If anything happens, contact us anytime."
"Mm!"
"You too, safe travels."
Finally, after a few more pleasantries, Roy's group of three continued on their journey...
...
Another day passed.
Roy's group finally left that dense Reserve and stepped into the territory of the Wild Area.
The scenery before them suddenly opened up.
An endless prairie, where the wind blew and waves of grass surged one after another.
In the distance, several Tauros were galloping, their hooves striking the ground with a rumbling thud.
There were also several Dodrio, their three heads each looking in different directions, running in a way that was both fast and comical.
"Wow!"
Misty spread her arms and took a deep breath.
"We've finally made it out of that hellhole crawling with bugs!"
"The air here is sweet!"
Delia also wore a relaxed smile.
"There really were too many bugs in the Reserve; it felt weird even sleeping at night."
Roy gazed at the vast wilderness before him, and information about the Wild Area surfaced in his mind.