"What? Chatot, you're leaving too?!"
Hayato Sora's gaze moved back and forth between Chatot and Zapdos before finally settling on Zapdos, his eyes filled with grievance.
What the heck?!
All he wanted was to be friends with Zapdos, yet the Legendary Pokémon was trying to take his teammate away.
Waving his hand toward Chatot, Hayato Sora asked again, "Are you really leaving? Wouldn't it be better to stay at the ranch?"
"Caw caw!"
Chatot landed on Hayato Sora's shoulder. It gently pecked his arm with its beak and rubbed its head against him before explaining.
"Caw caw—"
(Hayato Sora is working too hard. We're going to eat all the ranch's food. I don't want Hayato Sora to have to struggle like that.)
Chatot folded its wings together, looking like a schoolchild being questioned.
"I see…"
Hayato Sora nodded, showing he understood.
These past few days he had been focused on creating dishes for Zapdos and hadn't paid much attention to this issue.
Now that Chatot mentioned it, he realized that nearly a hundred bird Pokémon had suddenly gathered at the ranch.
There was no way he could support them all.
Although Hayato Sora had already made up his mind, he still asked:
"Have you decided where you'll go?"
"Caw caw~"
(We'll follow Lugia's path. Zapdos will come with us, so Hayato Sora doesn't need to worry about our safety.)
Hearing this, Hayato Sora understood.
Chatot and the others had already made their decision.
At the same time, he felt somewhat relieved.
With Zapdos accompanying them, their safety would at least be guaranteed.
Having traveled outside before, Hayato Sora understood better than anyone that the wild was dangerous.
Running into danger was practically inevitable.
Chatot and the others were ordinary Pokémon. If they followed Lugia across the world, they would face all kinds of risks.
Wild Pokémon attacks.
Getting lost.
Illness.
But with Zapdos along, things would be a little safer.
Hayato Sora wanted to persuade Chatot to stay in Shalour City with the flock.
Yet when he opened his mouth, the words wouldn't come out.
Thinking about Chatot's past actions, he wondered:
Would tying it down to the ranch truly be a good thing?
Was that the life Chatot wanted?
Both humans and Pokémon have the right to choose their own path.
Back then, Hayato Sora himself had longed for the life of a Trainer and left home to travel.
His family had not stopped him.
So what right did he have to stop Chatot?
When Chatot had seen enough of the world and grew tired of traveling, it could always return.
He and Kangaskhan—and the others—would still be waiting at the ranch.
But first…
Chatot needed a way to find its way home.
An idea formed in Hayato Sora's mind.
After a moment of silence, he looked at Chatot's uneasy movements and gently stroked it to reassure it.
Then he turned to Zapdos.
"Zapdos, can I ask you a favor? Please take care of Chatot. When it grows tired of traveling, bring it back here safely."
"Zee~"
Zapdos nodded casually.
Since they were both companions following Lugia, looking after Chatot was only natural.
"Then I'll leave Chatot in your care."
Hayato Sora nodded and gestured for Chatot to fly over.
Chatot was stunned for a moment.
It hadn't expected Hayato Sora to agree so easily.
Joy spread across its face—like a child whose family had just granted permission for an adventure.
For a moment, Hayato Sora saw his younger self in Chatot.
Still…
It was hard to let go.
Seeing their expressions, Hayato Sora added,
"But I hope you'll wait two more days before leaving. Chatot, use this time to make your final arrangements—and say goodbye properly to Kangaskhan and the others."
"Caw caw!"
(Of course! I'll go right away.)
Before Chatot left, Hayato Sora still had some preparations to make.
For example, he planned to ask Gym Leader Korrina's grandfather, Gurkinn, to help contact the best craftsman in Shalour City.
He wanted to make a silver leg ring engraved with the ranch's address.
If Pokémon could use spatial backpacks, Hayato Sora would have made Chatot carry one filled with food and emergency supplies.
Chatot was deeply touched and promised that from time to time it would send Pokémon to deliver messages to report that it was safe.
But Hayato Sora still didn't feel reassured.
Since Chatot would be following Lugia across the world, he worried it might lose its way home.
So he decided to create a special dish to strengthen Chatot several times over.
Opening the refrigerator, Hayato Sora took out ingredients and began making dish after dish, hoping to achieve the effect he wanted.
He chopped up some fruits he had just bought in Shalour City and squeezed them into juice.
After thinking for a moment, he took out a special Berry.
It was green all over with spiky skin.
A Salac Berry, known for increasing a Pokémon's speed.
After peeling it, he added it to the juice and made a mixed fruit drink.
[Salac Berry Juice (B-)]
A natural fruit juice made primarily with Salac Berry. Sweet and sour.
Cooking Effect:
Escape Acceleration — After drinking, a Pokémon's speed greatly increases when escaping, with a small chance of guaranteeing a successful escape.
Hayato Sora's face lit up with joy.
He immediately called Chatot over and had it drink the juice.
Afterward he asked if it felt any different.
Chatot said its speed seemed to have increased slightly.
After sending Chatot away again, Hayato Sora prepared several more dishes.
But none of them satisfied him.
The cooking effects were fairly ordinary.
[Fruit Pizza]
Effect: Large Stamina Recovery
[Sour Berry Grilled Fish]
Effect: Fishing Technique Lv.1 — Makes it easier for Pokémon to catch fish and reduces the chance of going hungry.
Unfortunately, these effects all had time limits, making them unsuitable for what Hayato Sora wanted.
Not wanting to waste ingredients, Hayato Sora let Cyclizar, Kangaskhan, and the others eat them.
"…I've run out of ingredients."
Scratching his head irritably, Hayato Sora realized all the groceries he had bought were gone.
Yet he still hadn't produced a second suitable dish.
After washing his face, he decided to walk around the ranch to see what the Pokémon were doing.
Cinccino was leading Floette and the Flabébé, gathering flowers for Chatot as farewell gifts.
Three Noibat were whispering with Mudbray, discussing what kind of parting gift to prepare.
Cyclizar and Kangaskhan, having just eaten grilled fish, were happily catching more fish by the shore.
Whenever they caught one, they shared it with the bird flock as travel rations.
Everyone was doing their best to help Chatot.
Suddenly, Hayato Sora's eyes lit up.
He called over Cinccino and asked it to notify the other Pokémon.
He wanted them each to prepare one ingredient for Chatot.
He would use them to make a special dish as a farewell gift.
Mudbray and the Noibat cheered.
With Hayato Sora helping, they didn't have to struggle over ideas anymore.
They hurried off to find suitable ingredients.
Kangaskhan and Cyclizar each caught a beautiful fish.
Cinccino and the others also sprang into action.
Soon, ingredients prepared by the Pokémon were delivered one by one to Hayato Sora.
After taking a careful look, Hayato Sora already knew how to cook them.
A unique dish filled with the blessings of Pokémon was born in Hayato Sora's hands.
As he lowered his head to look at it, information about the dish appeared in his mind.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on Patreon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789
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