Ever since the daycare closed, Lin Feng's life had settled into a calm and steady rhythm.
Every morning he prepared breakfast. Later in the morning and again in the afternoon, he accompanied Floragato during her skill training. From time to time he also trained outside with Blaziken, Serperior, and Alolan Ninetales to prepare for the upcoming Sovereign Championship.
Occasionally, he would sit on the sofa with Eevee and the others, watching television together.
Within this peaceful routine, time passed quickly. Before long, it was already the end of December.
The year was about to end.
December 29.
As Lin Feng looked at Floragato, who had grown noticeably more mature, a satisfied light appeared in his eyes.
Originally, he believed the lineup for the Sovereign Championship had already been finalized.
But judging from Floragato's current progress, she might be able to join the team as well.
Pokémon: Floragato
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Potential: Red
Individual Values: HP (26), Attack (28), Special Attack (24), Defense (29), Special Defense (25), Speed (31)
Power: Level 34–36
Moves: Ally Switch, Leech Seed, Leafage, Tail Whip, Hone Claws, Quick Attack, Seed Bomb, Grassy Glide…
Affinity: 97
Happiness: 60
She was clearly standing on the brink of transformation.
The Sovereign Championship was scheduled to begin on January 12.
There were still more than ten days left.
Within that time, Floragato would almost certainly evolve into Meowscarada.
"Meowha~"
Floragato licked the fur on her paw, letting out a cheerful sound. Over the past few days she had noticed her own improvement, and she could faintly sense the approaching signs of evolution.
"Quack… quack…"
Near the training area, beside the river by the forest, a swan that no one knew the origin of slowly swam across the clear blue water.
Behind her trailed a line of ducklings.
Their eyes were bright and clear. The feathers on the upper half of their bodies were light blue, while the lower half were a darker shade of blue. At the point where the two colors met, each had a small heart-shaped gradient feather.
They followed behind the swan, pecking curiously at the moss along the riverbank.
For the past few days, this swan and her ducklings had been wandering around the area.
There were thirteen ducklings in total, along with the swan.
Perhaps they had taken a liking to this stretch of water and planned to spend the winter here.
While training with Floragato, Lin Feng often saw Uncle Liang feeding them.
After seeing them so many times, Lin Feng would occasionally greet them as well.
But today felt slightly different.
"Hm?"
Lin Feng counted the ducklings and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
Yesterday there were thirteen ducklings.
Today there were fourteen.
Lin Feng had encountered this kind of situation many times before. Naturally, he understood what it meant.
Mew had returned again.
But what about Latias?
Had she brought Latias back with her?
Lin Feng cautiously scanned the surroundings.
Latias possessed the ability to turn invisible. If she wanted to hide, even his aura sensing might not be able to locate her.
Right now, his only option was to rely on the Eye of Insight.
However, after searching for a while, he still could not find Latias.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Feng took out a few energy cubes that he normally fed to Milotic and walked toward the riverbank.
He waved toward them.
"Hello there, swan, little ducklings."
"Swaa?"
"Quack, quack…"
"Quack…"
Once the swan swam over, all the ducklings behind her followed as well.
They surrounded Lin Feng and began quacking loudly. For a moment the entire riverbank was filled with their lively noise.
"Here you go. Eat up."
Lin Feng placed the energy cubes on the riverbank.
"Quack…!"
The ducklings were already familiar with him, so when they saw him bring food again, their cheerful quacking sounded even brighter.
Watching each of them eat happily, Lin Feng could not help but chuckle.
Nice try, Mew.
Still pretending.
The moment the "duckling" lowered its head to eat, Lin Feng suddenly reached out and grabbed it by the back of the neck.
"Quack?!"
The duckling that was lifted into the air immediately let out a frightened cry. The other ducklings were startled by Lin Feng's sudden action.
They scattered in panic and hid behind the swan.
Even the swan looked at Lin Feng with visible confusion.
"Ah…"
Lin Feng realized his actions might have been a bit too sudden for them.
So he gently used the calming energy of the Everstone in his possession to soothe the swan while speaking to the duckling.
"Alright, change back."
"Quack!"
The duckling protested angrily, but in the next moment it transformed back into its original form.
"Mew…"
(You found me again…)
"Quack?!"
The other ducklings stared with wide eyes.
Just a moment ago it had been a duckling exactly like them. In the blink of an eye, it had turned into something they could not recognize at all.
"Hmm."
The swan also seemed to realize something. No wonder she had felt something strange when looking at her children earlier.
The number had increased by one.
"Well then, did Latias come with you?" Lin Feng asked, not dwelling on Mew's disguise.
"Mew~"
(Her brother said it's too dangerous to travel in winter, so he's worried. He said she can come here to play once the weather gets warmer.)
Mew puffed her cheeks slightly.
"Is that so?"
Lin Feng nodded thoughtfully.
That explanation fit Latios's protective personality perfectly.
"Well, it seems I'll have to wait a little longer before meeting Latias."
Lin Feng did not feel discouraged.
For him, having something to look forward to was not a bad thing.
After feeding the ducklings and the swan, Lin Feng did not stay long. He called out to Floragato.
"Alright, Floragato. Let's head home."
"Meowha~"
Floragato obediently walked beside him.
Ever since she began her intense training, Lin Feng had been accompanying her every day.
When she failed, he comforted and encouraged her.
When she succeeded, he rewarded and praised her.
When she was injured, he patiently used that warm, reassuring power to heal her wounds again and again.
Because of this, she wanted even less to stop training.
But Lin Feng once said he would help her evolve.
After she evolved, would he still come outside every day to train with her like this?
Floragato was not sure.
But she thought that if she evolved a little more slowly, maybe he would continue accompanying her like this for a while longer.
"Meowha…"
Suddenly, Floragato understood something.
She should not eat the evolution candy.
If she avoided it, maybe her evolution would slow down.
But now that she had already begun sensing the pull of evolution…
"Meowha…"
What should she do?
Walking beside Lin Feng, Floragato fell into deep thought.
Meanwhile, Mew watched Lin Feng walking farther and farther away.
From behind, she shouted loudly,
"Mew!!!"
(You didn't even call me, you jerk, Lin Feng!)