Auron Vale lifted his eyes, gaze soft as he watched Crobat sweep across the sky with Swablu cradled in its claws.
"Yeah," he said, "it evolved yesterday. Honestly, I didn't expect it."
Tim Wynn was a little envious. They'd gotten their Pokémon at the same time, and the other party's was already in its final form, while his was still at the second stage.
Then he thought about it again: that elegant, blue Dragonair becoming a plump, yellow Dragonite… Looked at that way, keeping a Dragonair wasn't so bad.
The courtyard wasn't large. Soon enough, they reached the ginkgo tree said to have been planted by Emperor Taizong of Tang.
Truth be told, a ginkgo at this time of year wasn't much to look at. There were none of those golden leaves carpeting the ground, none of that glow when the whole tree turns yellow in late autumn.
After they made a circuit around the grounds, it was nearly noon. They pulled out the blanket they'd used on their last camping trip and spread it on the ground. Then they unpacked the food they'd prepared. People and Pokémon sat in a ring, happily eating and chatting.
Suddenly, Auron's Aura twanged—like someone had plucked an invisible string.
He stirred, turning toward the source he sensed through Aura. At the same time, Snorlax lifted its head and looked up into the ginkgo's crown.
From the canopy fluttered a drowsy little Pokémon: yellow body, red, winglike ear-crests.
Auron's heart leapt. Victini?!
He'd learned his lesson from Suicune last time. He didn't cry out, but hurriedly drew his gaze back, afraid of startling it.
Victini drifted out from the leaves, intent on seeing who had woken it. It was the off-season, and there weren't many people—Victini had been sleeping in every day. This time, though, someone had woken it up.
A touch of groggy temper flared. Half-lidded eyes, it floated forward—and then its gaze snagged on the people and Pokémon below… eating.
Its sleepiness popped like a bubble. Those drowsy eyes went round in an instant.
Grinning, Victini zipped toward Auron and the others, reached straight into Snorlax's box, tugged out a Poké Puff, then darted back into the branches. Tucking itself between two limbs, it started to savor its prize.
Auron hadn't wanted to stare at Victini. But Victini's nerve was something else.
Right in front of him, it had pilfered from Snorlax's stash? It even wiggled its little backside at him. Too much.
He found himself looking up again, a little dazed, at Victini perched on the branch. "Huh… why does Victini look a bit… round?"
Victini took a bite of the Poké Puff—(nom!)—then squinted with bliss. Its short legs swung back and forth over the branch, so very pleased. As it happened, it had grabbed one of Snorlax's. The Puffs Auron made for Snorlax were all sweet. If it had snagged one of Gengar's tart Puffs or Crobat's mildly bitter ones, its expression would not have been the same.
(Gengar had tagged along too, shadowing Auron as usual. With a seven-seater car, one more wasn't "over capacity.")
Victini was about to go in for a second bite when, out of the corner of its eye, it noticed someone in the group looking in its direction.
(That can't be right. I'm invisible. He shouldn't be able to see me.)
Victini tilted its head. It wanted to test whether that human could truly see it. So it scooted its little butt a few steps over to the side.
But it found that human was still staring—was that a hint of a smile?
Unconvinced, Victini chomped the Puff, then huffed and marched to another branch, chewing as it went. It plopped down again and checked: was that person's gaze still on it?
Auron's eyes were indeed still on it. Not only that, the corners of his mouth had crept higher.
Victini bristled. It didn't stop to consider how Auron could see it. It just glared right back.
Only after it glared did it realize Auron wasn't meeting its eyes. Following the line of his gaze, it felt like he was looking somewhere around its waist.
Not buying it, Victini stood, twisted its waist—and Auron's gaze tracked the motion.
That settled it. The human was staring at its waist.
Victini glanced down. There wasn't anything there—just a bit of pudge around its belly. After all, offerings here were easy to eat, and after eating, it could just doze on the tree. If the weather turned bad, it slipped into the main hall. Nobody could see it anyway.
Eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat, sleep—inevitably, it had gotten chubby.
Suddenly, a thought popped into Victini's head.
He's looking at my tummy, isn't he?
With that, Victini decided to test it once more. The hand not holding the Puff reached out two fingers and pinched a little roll at its waist.
Auron couldn't help himself. His mouth parted; he tried to hold it in, but anyone with eyes could see how delighted he was.
Victini, of course, had eyes. It saw it too.
That human was mocking its belly fat.
Unforgivable! How could it swallow such an insult?
Fuming, Victini tossed the remaining half of the Poké Puff into its mouth and dove for Auron.
From Auron's perspective, it was comical. The Puffs he made for Snorlax weren't small. Even half of one bulged adorable against Victini's cheek, puffing it out as it flew.
Victini halted over Auron's shoulder, puffed up with indignation, and raised its little palm.
But it didn't swat—first it had to finish chewing and swallow.
It worked its jaws double-time and gulped everything down. Just as it was about to smack Auron on the head—
A pink, round little cookie appeared in front of its nose, sprinkled with tiny red flecks of who-knew-what.
(I, Victini, have never in my life defeated a small round cookie!)
Its purpose vanished. Eyes shining, Victini snatched up the treat and began to eat.
Auron had handed over a Poffin—a sweet-and-spicy one. This Victini was simply too cute, the kind of cute that makes your heart burst; he couldn't stop himself from feeding it.
Victini took a blissful bite of the little round Poffin and squinted in contentment. The way it looked when it tasted something it liked was exactly like Snorlax.
Bite by bite, the spice rose through the sweetness.
Victini couldn't help opening its mouth, panting a little—"hahh… hahh…"
Seeing this, Auron quickly passed it a can of milk.
Victini seized on the straw like a lifeline and drew great gulps.
The milky taste dulled the heat. The burn in its mouth faded for the moment—along with the fog in its head. Suddenly, Victini's brain came back online.
It spotted the blind spot.
(This human—why can he see me? And he's feeding me… What if this stuff is poisoned? Why am I this close to a human?)
Flustered, Victini flicked a glance at Auron's profile. It didn't dare move much. Out of the corner of its eye, it looked down at the little round Poffin in its hand, reluctant to let go.
(But this is so delicious… He must be a decent person to give me something this good, right?)
Victini shook its head furiously.
(No, no. I can't be like this. I'm not the kind of Pokémon who only knows how to eat.)
Curious, Auron watched Victini suddenly shake its head. "Hm? What's wrong? Want me to get you a different one?"
(End of this chapter)