For a moment, the entire harbor was drowned out by the sound of bird calls.
"Can they even tell who's saying what with all this squawking?" Willy couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
"What?" Penny shouted, covering her ears.
"Never mind." Willy waved his hand. After pondering for a moment, he pulled out his fishing rod, found a quiet corner, and started fishing.
The argument over there seemed to reach a small climax. Penny could even see Leo's expression beginning to show emotion.
But because she didn't understand a word of bird speak, Penny could only wait quietly for the flock and Leo to reach a conclusion.
And she silently prayed that Linus could convince Leo to return to Pelican Town with her.
It wasn't long before the discussion seemed to reach a verdict. The flock of birds suddenly took off in the direction of Pelican Town. Leo tilted his head up, watched the parrots fly away, and only then turned around and ran toward the bushes where he lived.
"What happened?" Penny asked. "Did they say no?"
"No, he's moving to Pelican Town," Linus replied, looking in the direction Leo had run off to. "The birds want him to go to Pelican Town too. They hope he can live with his own true kind."
Although Linus himself liked living out here, for a child, being able to receive an education in Pelican Town while still living in the wild with him would be fantastic.
Of course, even after getting an education and getting used to life in Pelican Town, if Leo eventually wanted to live a normal life in town like a regular person, Linus would support that decision too.
"Really!" Penny cheered immediately. She looked at the bushes over yonder and pondered, "How about the two of you go back together tomorrow? We can use the Warp Totem Ron set up at the farm."
"Tomorrow?" Linus was just about to decline when he remembered that Pelican Town was still in winter. For a child like Leo, who had always lived on a tropical island, moving there in the dead of winter obviously wasn't a good idea. After mulling it over, Linus agreed.
"What about you?"
"I'll head back with Willy today and get a room ready for him," Penny said. "It just so happens that my house—"
Linus realized what she was going to say and immediately informed Penny that the birds had flown to Pelican Town to build a treehouse for Leo, right next to Linus's tent.
Penny froze for a moment, then couldn't help but smile.
"It seems his 'family' loves him very much too."
Even though they were birds, Penny felt the word "family" was perfectly applicable here.
"I'll go back and take a look today. If I can help out with the treehouse at all, I will."
Saying this, Penny took Linus to the farm to confirm the location and usage of the Warp Totem. Only after saying goodbye to Linus did she return to Pelican Town with Willy.
"That kid is moving to Pelican Town?"
"Yeah." Willy turned to look back at the small island. "That's good."
On the other side, having finished their day's work, James and Meowth were strolling around Pelican Town. Since it was the last day of winter, after a quick discussion, James decided to go soak in the hot springs with Meowth.
They made their way to the mountain path, and just as they were about to head up, a massive flock of parrots flew right past them.
"What are those, meow?" Meowth tilted its head back. "Chatot? They don't really look like them—are they regional forms?"
James, on the other hand, pulled a massive stack of pictures from his pocket, squinting as he constantly compared the flying birds to the images in his hands.
"By the time you figure it out, they'll have flown away already, meow." Meowth said. It had just been about to grab one to take a closer look, but remembering its conversation with Ron on the day of the Feast of the Winter Star, it had to forcefully suppress the urge, settling for squinting at them instead.
While they were still standing there bewildered, the massive flock of parrots swooped down toward a nearby tree.
"What are they doing, meow?"
"I don't know. If they aren't going to attack us, let's go take a closer look?" James said, slowly creeping a few steps forward with Meowth.
The moment they got close, Meowth's jaw dropped. It stared dumbfounded at the wooden cabin taking shape at an incredible speed up in the tree.
"Pinch me, Meowth," James said, staring blankly up at the canopy.
Hearing this, Meowth bared its claws and gave James's arm a hard pinch.
The very next second, James let out a shriek.
"Ow! Any harder and you would've punctured it!" James said angrily, looking at the two little bloody holes in his arm.
"So it's not a dream, meow."
In the brief moment of their exchange, the flock of parrots had already finished building the treehouse. As if admiring their handiwork with satisfaction, they beat their wings and flew off.
"Is this treehouse their nest, meow?" Meowth asked.
"How should I know—" James said. "Should we climb up and take a look?"
"Let's not, meow. If they can build a house using just their beaks and claws, they could tear you and me to shreds, meow." Meowth muttered, "The Pokémon around here are so bizarre, meow—no wonder Ron isn't afraid of Team Rocket, meow."
Just then, Penny came jogging up the mountain path, carrying a blanket. Seeing James and Meowth, she greeted them.
"What are you two doing here?" Penny asked, glancing up at the already completed treehouse. "They built that so fast."
"Are those your Pokémon, meow?" Hearing Penny's remark, Meowth realized what was going on and couldn't help but ask.
"Pokémon? No, they aren't Pokémon. They're just regular parrots."
James and Meowth couldn't help but exchange a glance.
"Don't tell me this place is like Alola, and has Ultra Beasts too, meow."
"Probably—no wonder she isn't fazed by them."
Meowth couldn't help but rub its arms. Even in Alola, very few people actually possessed Ultra Beasts, and those beasts had combat power that surpassed ordinary Pokémon.
If that were the case here, everything would make perfect sense.
"Are we still going to the Spa, meow?" Meowth asked in a hushed voice.
"Let's go." James took one last look at Penny climbing up to the treehouse, grabbed Meowth's paw, and turned to leave.
Up in the treehouse, Penny surveyed the small but surprisingly cozy little cabin.
Even though it had just been built, it seemed the insulation was done quite well. At the very least, no cold drafts were coming in, and it looked quite habitable.
The parrots had also made a little bed for Leo out of feathers, which felt incredibly soft to the touch.
Penny looked it over, draped the blanket she had brought over the feather bed, and glanced around. Then, she placed a flower on a small table nearby, followed by the picture book she had originally brought to the Fern Islands to show Leo.
She had specially picked it out. It had no words, the pictures were simple and easy to understand, and the story was very engaging. It was perfect for a child like Leo.
With this in mind, Penny stretched, looked forward to the approaching new year, and left the treehouse.
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