Lin Feng gently shook his head.
"That was Jirachi's decision. It never told us it was going to fall asleep. I only happened to learn about it by chance."
"Mm…"
Qin Shu nodded quietly.
While they were talking, the little attendant in Lin Feng's hand had already finished synthesizing the energy cube. It now rested on his palm, its gaze moving back and forth between the two of them.
It seemed to sense Qin Shu's gloomy mood.
The tiny creature flew behind her and flapped its wings lightly.
Lin Feng also patted her shoulder.
"It's alright," he said gently. "One year will pass quickly. Maybe the next time you come back from a journey, Jirachi will already be awake."
"Yeah!"
Qin Shu did not dwell on the matter for long.
She patted her chest confidently, showing that she was tougher than she looked.
Then she waved to Lin Feng.
"I'll head home first."
"Alright," Lin Feng replied.
Watching Qin Shu's figure gradually disappear along the bluestone path, Lin Feng shook his head and prepared to head back as well.
...
The next day.
January 8th.
Lin Feng woke up early as usual and went out to train with Floragato and Pidgeot.
The morning wind carried a sharp chill, but Floragato walking beside him only puffed up its fur and looked perfectly comfortable.
"Here, have some candy."
Counting the days, the last time Floragato ate a Rare Candy had been six days ago.
Logically speaking, it should already be able to eat another one.
Right now, Floragato's energy level had already reached Level 38 to 39.
If Lin Feng remembered correctly, after eating this Rare Candy, it would be almost ready to evolve.
"Meow…"
However, Floragato, who normally loved candy, showed resistance this time.
This was the second time it had refused a Rare Candy.
Instinctively, Floragato took a small step backward.
Lin Feng crouched down and looked at it carefully.
There seemed to be something difficult to express hidden in its face.
"You don't want to eat it?" Lin Feng asked softly.
Floragato silently nodded.
Lin Feng continued, "Do you want to evolve through your own effort instead? Or is there another reason?"
Although Lin Feng could easily use the power of the Eternal Stone to understand Floragato's thoughts, he believed that if something could be asked directly, that was the better approach.
After all, Pokémon possessed high intelligence.
Casually probing into their inner thoughts was not always appropriate.
Floragato looked at Lin Feng.
A trace of hesitation flashed in its eyes, and its body stiffened slightly.
"Meow…"
It clearly did not know how to explain itself.
What it really wanted to ask was this.
After it evolved, would Lin Feng stop training together with it?
And if it still wanted Lin Feng to keep training with it after evolving, would that be too greedy?
Over the past few days, Lin Feng had stayed by its side every day.
Floragato could not bring itself to ask.
It also could not express its wish for Lin Feng to always stay with it.
"Hmm…"
Lin Feng was puzzled at first.
But he was no longer the inexperienced trainer he had once been, the one who could not fully understand Serperior's feelings.
Since Floragato could not explain things clearly, he could try guiding it step by step.
Of course, some of this involved guesswork.
Originally, Floragato disliked its current form after evolving from Sprigatito.
It had wanted to evolve again as quickly as possible.
Because of that, it had cooperated enthusiastically with Lin Feng's training and eagerly ate every Rare Candy he gave it.
But during the last few days of training, its attitude had clearly changed.
It seemed distracted.
Its focus had weakened.
It almost looked like it did not want to train anymore.
At the same time, Lin Feng could feel that Floragato already possessed enough energy to evolve at any moment.
Yet it still had not evolved.
Did that mean it simply did not want to evolve?
This strange change had only appeared within the last few days.
Lin Feng tried recalling everything that had happened recently, but no matter how much he thought about it, he could not find the reason.
So he asked directly.
"Floragato, do you not want to evolve right now?"
"Meow…"
Floragato carefully glanced at Lin Feng before finally nodding.
Lin Feng thought for a moment and offered a suggestion.
"If you don't want to evolve right now, that's alright. You could hold an Everstone and temporarily stop training. That way you won't evolve."
But before he could finish the sentence, Floragato shook its head vigorously.
"Meow! Meow!"
That was not what it meant at all.
"You want to keep training, but you don't want to get stronger?"
Lin Feng looked confused.
Training stimulated a Pokémon's energy activity, allowing it to grow stronger faster.
Normally, when a Pokémon carried an Everstone, its genes and energy growth would both be suppressed.
As a result, the effects of training would become much weaker.
So why would Floragato…
Lin Feng instinctively looked into Floragato's eyes.
Inside those pink eyes, he saw both dependence and hesitation.
He froze.
Then, suddenly, understanding dawned on him.
"Floragato… you want to evolve, don't you?"
"Meow? Meow…"
Floragato was startled.
"You want to evolve, but…"
Lin Feng stopped halfway through the sentence.
A flash of realization appeared in his eyes.
He already understood.
Floragato cared deeply about its appearance.
Of course it wanted to evolve.
But it was worried.
After it evolved, would Lin Feng still train with it?
Lin Feng suddenly remembered the early days when Sprigatito had just arrived.
Back then, its daily routine consisted of only a few things.
Sleeping.
Drinking milk.
Crying loudly and running everywhere to find him.
At that time, Hattrem had even complained to him about it.
Later, when Sprigatito grew older, it became more sensible.
It stopped running around to find him every day.
But whenever he came nearby, it would lift its head and quietly watch him.
Only after he left would it lie down again.
Lin Feng had never paid much attention to those moments before.
Now, memories of those scenes filled his mind one after another.
Thinking about it, when the Alolan Vulpix had first hatched, he used to carry it in his arms every day as well.
"Floragato?"
"Meow?"
Floragato did not understand why Lin Feng suddenly stopped speaking.
Lin Feng thought carefully before continuing.
"How should I explain this…"
He spoke slowly.
"The purpose of training isn't just to look good. It's also to become stronger."
"Meow?"
Floragato tilted its head, confused.
"So training is a continuous process," Lin Feng continued gently. "You don't stop just because you've improved. If you still want to become stronger after evolving, then you can keep training."
He placed his hand on Floragato's head and gently stroked its fur.
Floragato's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Meow?"