Chapter 415:
"Huh?"
Seeing Serperior's expression, Kaede's initially cheerful face instantly fell.
Looked like Serperior didn't miss him.
But that's okay, he could miss Serperior!
Quickly stepping over to Serperior's side, Kaede wrapped his arms around it from behind in a big hug. "Haha, it's fine. You don't have to miss me; I missed you~"
"Serperior?! Serperior!"
But this overly obvious action made Serperior's tail move. It coiled around Kaede, lifted him up, and set him down properly.
"Serperior... Serperior!"
"Alright, alright, I get it."
Kaede chuckled and didn't press further. He glanced at Steenee and Tsareena nearby, and the trio of Leafeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon still trailing him, his smile growing even goofier.
As nice as it was seeing all those Pokémon outside, nothing felt as heartwarming as being back with his own.
He wanted to protect his Pokémon well, never letting them feel the slightest bit wronged!
"Serperior..."
Serperior looked at Kaede like this, a bit exasperated.
But then, it gently lowered its head, resting its forehead against Kaede's.
A faint wave of Aura energy flowed between them.
*'I missed you too.'*
"Huh?"
"Hah... Hahahahaha~"
Kaede froze for a second, then a grin spread uncontrollably across his face.
He suddenly felt brimming with energy.
"Hehehe..."
╮(╯▽╰)╭: "Serperior...." (*Sigh...*)
Serperior let out a sigh, looking at the remaining area to tend to today, then at Kaede, and thought about the World Tree matter.
It figured it could wait a few more days.
After all, he'd just gotten back.
Once he'd laughed enough, Kaede turned his attention to Tsareena, who had come over with Steenee.
"Tsareena, how are you finding it? The weather's gotten much warmer here. Are you adjusting okay?"
Tsareena hadn't been here long, arriving in winter when temperatures were in the single digits every day. Even staying in the little house with Steenee, the climate here was no match for Alola's perpetual summer.
It must have been tough.
At first, it had been pretty startled by most of the Pokémon in the Breeding House too.
But it was much better now.
"Tsareena~"
Tsareena smiled, thinking this place was good. Even though it had missed most of its child's growing up and there weren't many of its kind here, the environment and natural energy were far better than its previous home.
"Glad you're adjusting! But it's okay. When winter comes, let's buy a place in Alola this year and spend the New Year there, huh? Heh~" A spur-of-the-moment idea popped into Kaede's head.
Winters in the Eastova region were a bit chilly for most of his Pokémon.
Pokémon like Serperior, Dragonite, Salamence, Goodra, and Milotic... they all preferred warmer seasons.
So, why not just move there for the winter?
"Steenee~"
"Tsareena!"
Hearing this, the two Pokémon immediately looked delighted.
While this place was great, being able to go back for a visit sometimes sounded wonderful too~
Especially for Steenee, who hadn't been back to Alola since arriving in Eastova.
Patting Steenee's head, Kaede then looked at the Sentret picking Berries.
These were all little ones.
Though they'd been born a while ago, evolution conditions in the wilderness area weren't easily met.
So they were still around levels 12 to 15.
Only the one that evolved early, the Furret, had the best aptitude.
Looked like they were all born around the same time as Furret?
While Kaede observed them, they were also sneaking glances at him, picking Berries and passing them down while carefully watching Kaede out of the corners of their eyes.
When they realized Kaede was looking back, they quickly averted their gazes.
To them, Kaede was the owner of all these Berry trees, and he had all those powerful Pidgeot around him.
So he was pretty intimidating.
Sentret were actually Pokémon with very strong vigilance.
Before evolving, the reason their tails grew so long was to observe farther distances and keep themselves safe. (Through lifting themselves up by their tail)
Sentret's mother originally didn't want to listen to Skwovet's talk about how helping the human work meant getting tasty Berries.
And it was "more work, more rewards" too.
But...
It had too many kids to feed—five of them! And as they grew, they ate more and more. It was at a loss.
Logically, Sentret at this age should be able to be let out to live on their own.
But Sentret's mother couldn't bear to part with her children, especially with one having such a distinctive color. Letting it out would be dangerous.
So she kept putting it off.
But their food needs were indeed growing.
So, steeling herself, she finally followed Skwovet to give it a try.
Unexpectedly, everything Skwovet said was true.
Just pick Berries, and you get delicious ones to eat.
And the Berries in this plantation were huge and tasty.
Every so often, this human's Pokémon would bring over yummy Energy Cubes for them to eat.
It was really great!
Seeing the little ones so wary, Kaede found it amusing and couldn't help but beckon to them with a soft "tsk, tsk, tsk..."
This made the little Sentret, who were already stealing glances, jump like startled birds, hopping behind their mother.
"Sentret... Sentret..."
"Sentret, Sentret..."
"Skwovet? Skwovet?"
Skwovet paused too, as did the Ponyta below, and even Meowth stopped.
Serperior over there paused as well, though it just glanced over before turning away again.
Here we go, here we go, the little fluffy Pokémon enthusiast!
Whenever he saw fluffy Pokémon, especially the smaller ones, he couldn't resist wanting to hug them.
The Sentret huddled together, some looking at their mother, some at the largest Furret, then hesitantly at Kaede.
They whispered among themselves, discussing something.
The other Pokémon, except Skwovet, reacted similarly.
Kaede wasn't too surprised by this.
After all, apart from Skwovet, he hadn't really interacted with the other Pokémon here. It was normal for them to be cautious.
But if these Berry trees kept producing, they'd be in contact long-term. Even though they were wilderness area Pokémon, they shouldn't remain complete strangers~
That's what Kaede thought.
"Skwovet?"
"Sentret, Sentret..." (What do we do, what do we do? Is he calling us over?)
"Sentret, Sentret..." (Scary... Will he eat us? We've eaten so many of his Berries...)
"Sentret..." (Mom...)
Listening to the various murmurs, before Kaede could say anything, Skwovet spoke up first.
"Skwovet?" (How could he? He's just asking us to come over.)
It puffed out its chest. It definitely didn't think Kaede was a bad person.
Because these past days, through "Berry picking," it had already filled up two tree hollows! That was impossible before!
But Sentret and Meowth still seemed a bit scared.
Skwovet decided not to overthink it. It hopped a few times and landed on a tree branch in front of Kaede.
Kaede appropriately reached out his hands.
Catching it, he couldn't help but smile.
"Skwovet, tell me, how many tree hollows have you filled with Berries now?"
Greedent: "???"
Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
The moment it heard this, Greedent regretted its decision.
*Curses, how does he know I've hidden so many Berries?*
*Is he after my stash?*
"Skwovet..."
Greedent immediately looked embarrassed. "Skwovet..." (No... I haven't hidden any Berries at all. I eat a lot every day.)
"I'm not going to take them. I already said those are yours. It's fine." Seeing Skwovet's expression, Kaede knew exactly what it was worried about.
He couldn't help but tap its head. "I'm just reminding you, storing them is fine, but don't let them go bad. If they spoil, they won't taste good."
Greedent truly lived up to its name in personality.
Even when it had enough food, it would always search for more and hoard it.
Sometimes it would stash food in several places, even forgetting about some of them.
"Skwovet."
Skwovet nodded vigorously, indicating it understood.
Kaede didn't press whether it really understood. He gave its head a pat and set it back down.
Skwovet breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at the Sentret, focusing mainly on Furret.
Its message: *Don't worry.*
Furret moved its short legs, dragging its long body, still hesitant.
But then, the little Ponyta stepped forward first.
"Neeeigh?"
Ponyta blinked its large, amber-bright eyes and tapped a hoof in front of Kaede.
"Ponyta."
Vibrant flames burned brightly on its body. Its eyes were as clear and luminous as polished amber.
As a Fire Horse Pokémon, Ponyta, like Charmander, had flames on its body brimming with life force.
At the same time, these flames were controllable.
Touching them without the Pokémon's trust would result in a burn.
But once accepted, you'd only feel a pleasant warmth.
It was pretty amazing.
"Let me pet you, okay? Don't burn me." Kaede was still curious about these flames, so he asked directly when Ponyta approached.
"Neeeigh, neeeigh..." (Okay, okay...)
Compared to the more timid Meowth and Sentret, the young Ponyta, fearless as a newborn calf, was clearly much bolder.
When it saw Kaede reach out, it didn't react defensively. Instead, it actively leaned in, letting Kaede truly feel the flames on its body.
It was like a warm breeze, enveloping but without the sensation of being blown on.
*If these flames were a bit bigger, it would feel like being nestled in a cloud.*
"Good boy..."
While stroking the flames on the foal's head, Kaede took a quick look at its stats screen.
[Pokémon: Ponyta]
[Gender: Male]
[Type: Fire]
[Ability: Flame Body]
[Aptitude: Purple]
[IVs: HP (18) Attack (28) Sp. Atk (24) Defense (17) Sp. Def (27) Speed (29)]
[Level: 14-15]
[Moves: Tackle, Growl, Ember, Flame Wheel, Flame Charge, Double Kick]**
[Friendship: 20]
[Happiness: 40]
Stats-wise, this Ponyta wasn't high level.
But then again, it wasn't old either.
Judging by its still-downy coat, this Ponyta was at most a few months old.
A Ponyta this young should still be by its mother's side.
But it was out here so young... "working"?
Kaede suddenly felt a bit self-conscious.
*Was this considered child labor?*
"Neeeigh?"
Ponyta, seeing the human put a hand on its head and then fall silent, called out questioningly.
Kaede snapped out of his thoughts at the sound.
He praised it, "Ha, good boy, good boy."
At the same time, he took out some Energy Cubes from a storage capsule he carried. "Here, have some."
The first one to step up deserved a treat~
"Neeeigh?!"
Ponyta's eyes lit up. It took an Energy Cube from Kaede's hand and happily started munching away.
Kaede wasn't stingy, placing all the Energy Cubes in front of it.
While Ponyta happily ate, Kaede voiced his question. "Ponyta, did you get separated from your mother by accident?"
"Neeeigh?"
Ponyta lifted its head, looking puzzled at Kaede.
"You seem pretty young. At this age, you should still be with your mother, right?" Kaede explained.
"Neeeigh, neeeigh..."
But Ponyta shook its head.
It raised a small hoof, stopped eating the Energy Cubes on the ground, and instead puffed up proudly. "Neeeigh!"
"Ponyta!" (I'm the fastest little Ponyta! So I need to go out and get stronger! Mom said battling humans makes you stronger!)
"Ponyta, Ponyta!" (Battle me!)
Ponyta's meaning was a bit muddled, but with his Aura senses, Kaede roughly translated it to this.
"Oh?"
"Battle?"
Kaede was taken aback. Seeing the blazing fighting spirit in Ponyta's eyes, he almost laughed but managed to keep a straight face. "Your mom's right, but didn't she also say that when facing a very strong opponent, you should protect yourself first?"
"Ponyta, Ponyta!" (She did... but I didn't listen...)
Ponyta was equally serious.