"Hey? Wait… whoa, whoa. Is that Serperior?"
Seeing Serperior gliding toward him and nearly flattening him with its size, Lin Feng quickly raised his hands to stop it. But when he noticed that Serperior's face was completely flushed red, realization hit him.
Serperior had clearly gotten drunk.
That brief moment of hesitation was all Serperior needed to close the distance.
"Sshh…"
A soft murmur slipped from Serperior's mouth. Its long tail quickly wrapped around Lin Feng, though not tightly enough to trap him. Instead, it coiled around his waist, holding him gently in place while staring straight at him.
"Shoo… shoo…"
(I want a hug…)
"But it looks like you don't actually want to hug me."
Lin Feng sighed helplessly as he patted Serperior's body.
Without delay, he took out an energy cube about the size of a ripe peach and held it in front of Serperior.
"Here. Eat this."
Serperior obediently swallowed the cube.
Its enormous body rapidly shrank until it became a small, slender snake.
Only then did Lin Feng reach out and stroke it properly.
Serperior immediately slithered up along his arm, though its tail remained wrapped securely around him.
"Heh."
Lin Feng chuckled softly while gently petting its smooth scales.
Opportunities like this were extremely rare.
Serperior normally never allowed anyone to touch its body so openly.
"Shoo…"
(Comfortable…)
Several Pokémon stared at the scene in confusion.
Not far away, the Alolan Ninetales lifted its head, noticed what was happening, then quietly lowered it again.
Serperior was doing this again.
It really was strange.
She could shrink her body whenever she wanted and simply curl up in Lin Feng's arms.
Yet she always insisted on making things complicated first.
"Alright, everyone. Keep eating. I'm going to check the plantation."
Ignoring the curious stares around him, Lin Feng carried Serperior and walked toward the plantation.
In truth, he planned to check the cowshed and see how Giratina was doing.
But a single comment from Alolan Ninetales almost made him trip on the spot.
"Wuu…"
(Lin Feng is taking Snake Sister to sleep.)
...
Over the next few days, life returned to its usual peaceful rhythm.
As the New Year approached, young couples who had been working outside began returning home with their children.
Many trainers who spent most of the year traveling also gradually returned to their hometowns.
Everyone was preparing to celebrate the New Year.
After finishing the Sea Turtle Cup tournament, Qin Shu finally came back as well, bringing her Blastoise and Floragato.
Interestingly, she had also caught a new Pokémon.
A Noibat.
Thanks to the prize money she won during the tournament, she had become quite wealthy. The moment she returned, she excitedly rushed toward the daycare with Blastoise, Floragato, and Noibat, ready to spoil her Pokémon.
But when she arrived, the girl froze in place.
Her eyes widened.
"The daycare… isn't open?"
"It's been closed for about twenty days already. I posted about it on the video account a while ago. Seriously, you've been gone all this time and didn't even call home once."
Seeing Qin Shu finally return, Lin Feng could not help but complain.
After all, they had grown up together as childhood friends.
On New Year's Day, he had tried calling her to send his greetings, but the call never went through. When he finally managed to reach her, the conversation lasted only a few short sentences.
Even someone as carefree as Ash reported his safety to his mother whenever he arrived somewhere new during his travels.
Qin Shu's cheeks turned slightly red.
She immediately began defending herself.
"I was busy, okay?"
"Well, being busy isn't a bad thing."
Lin Feng did not press the issue further.
Instead, he looked at the massive Pokémon standing behind her.
Blastoise.
The towering Pokémon stood nearly 1.8 meters tall.
It had lost the fangs it once had as a Wartortle. In their place was a large, powerful mouth. Its limbs and shell had grown thick and sturdy, and faint scratches marked parts of its body.
It clearly had experienced many battles.
On the upper part of its shell was a slightly raised section from which two heavy cannons extended. The metal barrels glimmered faintly in the light.
Lin Feng casually glanced at its status.
Pokémon: Blastoise
Gender: Female
Ability: Torrent
Ability Potential: Purple
Individual Value: …
Power Level: 45 to 47
Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Withdraw, Hydro Pump, Rapid Spin, Protect, Water Pulse, Rain Dance…
In just over a month, it had undergone a dramatic transformation.
"Boo!"
Blastoise spotted Lin Feng and immediately rushed toward him with excitement.
"Whoa, whoa…"
Lin Feng's expression changed as the giant Pokémon charged at him.
He quickly extended his hands and pressed against Blastoise's head to stop it.
"Stop pouncing on me."
Lin Feng sighed and patted its shoulder.
"She likes you!" Qin Shu said with a grin.
Lin Feng rolled his eyes.
Blastoise was incredibly heavy. This giant chunk of muscle easily weighed over a hundred kilograms.
He could carry the weight if he had to, but being crushed by something that big was never pleasant.
Standing beside Blastoise was Floragato.
It had long since shed the childish look it had as a Sprigatito. Its expression now carried a calm and composed air.
Still, something about it made people curious.
Unlike Blastoise, it had not spent much time around Lin Feng while growing up.
Floragato only remembered that this human owned many, many Pokémon, could cook delicious food, and always had fresh Moomoo Milk.
Oh right.
Floragato suddenly remembered something else.
This man also had another Pokémon of the same species as itself.
That Sprigatito was even younger than it.
But since he had so many Pokémon, other species probably did not receive much attention anyway, right?
That thought comforted it a little.
Unlike this household, its own trainer devoted almost all her attention to it.
With that realization, Floragato no longer felt jealous of that younger Sprigatito.
Lin Feng had no idea that such a short moment of eye contact had already triggered such a long internal monologue in Floragato's mind.
He checked its energy level.
Level 25 to 27.
This surprised him.
Qin Shu's Sprigatito had actually been obtained earlier than his own.
Yet his Floragato was already approaching level forty.
At one point Lin Feng had suspected that his Floragato might simply be evolving slowly.
But after comparing them, he finally realized how fast his Pokémon had been growing.
Speaking of his own Floragato…
Something felt strange.
It still had not evolved again.
Its energy level had already reached 38 to 39.
Recently, Floragato had been acting oddly.
It seemed to be deliberately suppressing its own evolution.
He would need to find time to ask about it later.
"Buzz…"
Lin Feng's thoughts were interrupted by a faint cry.
He blinked and looked up.
Perched on Qin Shu's shoulder was a small Pokémon with enormous ears decorated with circular patterns. A tiny heart-shaped mark sat on its nose. Its yellow eyes blinked nervously as its small wings fluttered.
A Noibat.
A rare Pokémon.
"Did you just catch this one?" Lin Feng asked.
He reached out, hoping to pat the bat Pokémon, but Noibat seemed shy and quickly hid behind Qin Shu's hair.
"Yeah. I just caught it. Hey… wait, Noibat, stop pulling my hair!"
Qin Shu had been smiling proudly a moment earlier, but her expression immediately changed.
She reached up to grab Noibat.
Unfortunately, she missed.
Instead, a strand of her hair ended up tangled in Noibat's tiny claws as the little Pokémon flapped its wings and lifted into the air.