"Meow…"
Sprigatito slowly opened its eyes. Ah… it was an unfamiliar sofa. It didn't know how long it had slept, but its head hurt, and its stomach was rumbling.
It tried to move, but found itself tied, making movement very difficult. It suddenly realized it was wrapped in bandages.
Just then, a lazy voice came from not far away: "Yo, you're awake. The surgery was a success. You are now… uh, that thing."
"Meow?!"
Sprigatito struggled to turn over and look. It saw the human it had kicked twice sitting at a desk, eating noodles and reviewing a book. But those noodles smelled really good…
Hoshino glanced over, put down his book, and squatted down in front of it with his bowl of noodles. He deliberately slurped his noodles and slowly said, "You thieving cat, I finally caught you. Do you remember what you stole from me?"
"Meow…"
Sprigatito shook its head slightly, looking a bit flustered, but still managed to force a smile, showing its sharp little teeth, trying to charm its way out of it.
But Hoshino didn't fall for it. He tapped its head with his chopsticks and continued, "You've been lying in my house for three days, occupying the nest I made for Gengar to rest. Don't you see who's been taking care of you all these days? Aren't you going to show some gratitude?"
"Meow?"
Sprigatito touched its head and realized it was indeed lying in a small nest, covered by a pink blanket with a Gengar pattern.
However, it quickly reacted. Three days? Three days had passed? So fast?
Seeing its shocked expression, Hoshino slowly added, "You little fellow really can cause trouble. You fought with those Meowth, didn't you? Those guys always go for the kill. It's a miracle you won…"
"You ran into the back kitchen of Smile Restaurant covered in injuries. Nai-chan brought you over and asked me to take care of you. I owe her a lot of favors, so there's no way I couldn't help."
"So taking care of you is purely part of the request, don't overthink it. But I didn't expect you to really be able to sleep. Are you digesting after eating too much?"
"Meow…"
Hearing about food, Sprigatito's gaze instinctively moved to the bowl in Hoshino's hand. It didn't think about anything else; it was hungry. It was mealtime now!
But just as it was about to turn over, Hoshino suddenly drank all the noodle soup, smacking his lips. He suddenly noticed the gaze and murmured, "I used a new Herba Mystica today. It tastes really good. It's a unique flavor for a late-night snack while studying."
Killing a cat and breaking its heart, killing a cat and breaking its heart!
Sprigatito could see that this guy was doing it on purpose, so it instantly bristled, quickly waving its front paws to scratch him. But Hoshino directly grabbed them and then squeezed its paw pads, laughing, "The texture is really nice~"
"!!!"
"Why are you angry?!"
Hoshino grabbed its ear in return, no longer pretending, and shouted with a pained expression, "My Titan Pokémon ingredient! That Klawf claw shell didn't even have any flavor left after being boiled into soup! You owe me a Klawf claw!"
"Meow!"
"Meow your head!"
He pulled out his chopsticks and tapped Sprigatito's head again, then stood up and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go downstairs and get you something to eat, lest you faint from hunger and Nai-chan comes looking for me and I have nothing to say."
"Meow?"
Sprigatito looked suspicious, and only after watching him leave did it finally breathe a sigh of relief…
Hoshino quietly went downstairs to the Izakaya to buy some food. It was already very late. Cyclizar and Gengar had both gone to bed, and only he was still studying.
For these three days, Gengar hadn't gone to school with him. Instead, it stayed home to take care of Sprigatito, fearing that if the little one woke up, it would run away again like last time. Clearly, it was bothered by letting it escape before.
Moreover, after school these days, he would go to Lillie's place for tutoring and basically eat dinner there directly, then come back to review a bit before resting. He needed to finish these things quickly.
Professor Burnet seemed to have some research to do, so she went to the spatial research institute on the neighboring Akala Island. Professor Kukui would also go there to help after school.
So, only Lillie was left at their house. Fearing she would be lonely, Moon went to sleep with her, which led to a certain person being ridiculed quite a bit during tutoring. They really seized the opportunity…
Hoshino bought some food from Slowking and returned to the living room upstairs, just in time to see Sprigatito on the sofa, trying to untie its bandages by itself.
"Meow?!"
"Trying to escape?"
"Meow…"
Sprigatito quickly waved its small paws, about to look away to ease the awkwardness, but instinctively noticed the food in Hoshino's hand. Its eyes instantly lit up, almost writing "I want to eat" on its face.
"Why so excited? It's for you. Eat quickly. I'll send you back to Nai-chan's place later to avoid a lot of trouble."
Hoshino handed over all the food and watched Sprigatito devour it, feeling a bit speechless for a moment.
He was very clear about what this Sprigatito did a few days ago. A group of Pokémon fighting in the street, such a big commotion, he definitely went to watch the fun.
After things finally settled down, he learned from Octopus Bro that everything was caused by a thieving cat that appeared out of nowhere and stole his skewers.
So, this was trouble. Kabukicho was not a good place. It was easy to get into trouble here. If it got involved with the Elite Four, the consequences were unimaginable.
But Hoshino himself had to take some responsibility for this trouble, because Sprigatito had hidden in his express delivery, smuggled from Paldea to Alola, and then he transported it back to Kabukicho…
"Meow~"
Sprigatito finished the food in a few bites. It licked its paws, seemingly still not satisfied, only about one-third full.
Hoshino understood its meaning and habitually made a note. Then he slightly raised an eyebrow and asked, "Still want to eat? What is your stomach made of? This is enough for Cyclizar's half-meal!"
"Meow~"
"No overeating. It looks like you've recovered pretty well, so let's go."
Saying that, Hoshino didn't bother to listen to it babble on, and carried it outside, wanting to quickly hand this thing over to Nai-chan before it was too late.
But after eating some food, Sprigatito finally regained its energy and had the ability to resist. Petals fluttered around its body, breaking all the bandages. It kicked with its hind legs, successfully breaking free and landing on the ground.
Seeing this, Hoshino was a bit surprised: "Petal Blizzard, you inherited a good move. Your strength should be good too, so why are you still a kitten?"
"Meow~"
Sprigatito didn't immediately run away this time. Instead, it held its head high, puffed out its chest, and wagged its tail, responding with a meow.
Hoshino pondered for a moment, barely understanding the meaning of its words, and asked, "You deliberately don't evolve because this size is more convenient for movement?"
"Meow~"
"Indeed… If you evolve into Floragato, you can only play with yo-yos. It would be difficult to continue hiding from sight to steal food like this."
"Meow~"
Sprigatito nodded, as if praising this human for being able to easily understand its meaning. This situation wasn't unheard of, but it was rare.
Seeing it shamelessly admit that it didn't evolve for the sake of stealing food, Hoshino's mouth twitched, then he suddenly reached out and slapped it on the head.
Then he pointed his finger and sternly scolded, "It's not okay for little ones to steal things. Freeloading is fine, but stealing is bad for civilization, especially when you steal from me. That's an unforgivable crime!"
Suddenly hit and not even reacting, Sprigatito rubbed its head and bit his finger angrily. Feeling the pain from his finger, Hoshino immediately let out a Tom-like scream.
Seeing this, Sprigatito smiled triumphantly, then stuck out its tongue and made a face again, ready to slip away. But Hoshino grabbed its furry tail and lifted it up upside down.
"Hmph! Trying to escape?"
"Meow!"
Sprigatito immediately unleashed Petal Blizzard. It thought the other party would be as easy to defeat as those Meowth, but Hoshino didn't flinch at all.
"You think an attack of this level can repel me? Do you think I'm still the rookie kid from three months ago? I'm now a Super Alolan!"
Hoshino also showed a triumphant smile. Seeing it about to repeat its old trick of confusing people, he quickly grabbed one of its front paws. The same trick couldn't work twice.
"Meow?!"
Sprigatito's expression was astonished. It never expected this human to be so strong. And the next second, Hoshino suddenly said in a deep voice, "This place is not like other places. You must bear the consequences of what you did the other day!"
"No one will compensate you for the losses incurred. So either leave this street and be chased by Meowth, or honestly go to work and earn money. Kabukicho has never been a good place."
Hearing this, a look of fear finally appeared on Sprigatito's cute face, because it felt that this might not be a joke…
"Meow…"
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