"It's Sylveon." Jas lay on the side, staring at the Sylveon leaping on the screen. "So pretty."
This kind of Pokémon seemed born for Pokémon Contests, possessing beautiful ribbons, a graceful body, and a dreamlike color palette.
Meanwhile, offstage, Bonnie held Ribbon, staring intently at Serena on the stage.
"Rattata~"
Originally, they wanted Ribbon to experience the Appeal Round with Haley or Serena, but Ribbon refused. Compared to that, it wanted to see what a real Pokémon Contest looked like in person, so Ron had sent it over.
Just as it had told Ron before, it wanted to wait until the day Ron wasn't busy, so he could bring it personally.
Until then, Ribbon would keep working hard on its own, constantly striving until that day arrived, and it would stand on its dream stage together with Ron.
"Beautiful, isn't it." Bonnie lifted Ribbon up a bit, looking at Serena on the stage. She then looked down at Ribbon and said, "One day, you can be like that too."
"Rattata!"
Ribbon widened its eyes, staring at the leaping Sylveon on stage, and for a moment, began to fantasize.
——
Meanwhile, Ron.
After the initial awkwardness passed, Indeedee quickly immersed itself in the amusement park atmosphere, happily scurrying around the various rides.
"Indeedee, in."
"Play." Ron said while pulling Indeedee along in the line. "If you want to play, just play."
The two had just joined the queue when they ran into Viola, who had also come here for fun.
Viola was holding an ice cream in her mouth, discussing with her assistant which ride to go on next, when she turned her head and saw Ron holding Indeedee's paw.
"What a coincidence, Ron." Viola greeted him. She looked up at the ride he was queuing for and couldn't help but say, "I thought you'd already gone back to Pelican Town. I didn't expect you'd have time to play here."
"Indeedee~" Indeedee generously waved its paw at the two. "Indee~"
"Hello to you too~" Viola greeted back. She then squatted down and pinched Indeedee's cheek. "Thank you for the tea, it was really delicious."
"Indeedee!" Indeedee waved its paw magnanimously, then pointed to the Ferris wheel they were about to ride and asked, "Indee?" (Do you want to ride together?)
"What did it ask?"
"It's asking if you want to ride together." Ron translated. He thought for a moment, stared at Indeedee for a while to confirm it wasn't showing any guilty behavior or planning to cause trouble later, and then sincerely extended the invitation.
"Four people should be just right," Viola glanced at the cabin. "Let's go together. The Ferris wheel here reaches right to the top where you can see the Santalune Forest. At night, a lot of Zubat fly out from the forest."
It could be considered a kind of rustic charm.
"In, indeedee." Indeedee chimed, looking up and pulling Ron's hand as it sat on one side of the Ferris wheel cabin.
It lay against the glass, looking out the window with an excited face, waiting for the Ferris wheel to rise higher and higher.
"Indeedee——"
So high——
Watching the Pokémon and people on the ground become smaller and smaller, Indeedee's gaze darted around curiously.
At this moment, it didn't look like it was trying to help Ron conquer anyone's heart at all; it was like a child, earnestly enjoying this moment of playtime.
Viola rested her chin on her hand, looking at Indeedee's back. She then turned her head to glance at Ron, who was also watching Indeedee, and couldn't help exchanging a look with her assistant.
"So gentle," the assistant suddenly said.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing." Seeing Ron look over, the assistant averted their gaze. "It's just that among Trainers, this kind of personality seems quite rare."
But thinking about how Ron was involved in Pokémon breeding and running a farm, the assistant realized, "Come to think of it, it makes sense. If you can't gently and harmoniously get along with Pokémon, you probably couldn't run a Pokémon facility either."
Indeedee was currently breathing on the window, having just drawn a pattern by wiping the condensation with its paw. Hearing the assistant's words, it couldn't help but turn its head to look at Ron.
For those Pokémon that came to the farm later, the assistant's description was perfectly fine.
But before that—
"Indeedee." (You weren't always gentle.)
"Uh——" Ron awkwardly looked away. He paused, then reached out and patted Indeedee's head. "You guys have worked hard."
"Indeedee." That's more like it.
Indeedee chimed and started drawing patterns on the glass again.
"By the way, where's Ribbon?"
"It went to watch the Pokémon Contest," Ron said. "It doesn't have time to compete right now, so we could only let it experience the atmosphere first."
"I see, then about when are you planning to officially participate in a Contest?" Viola asked. "The Grand Festival should be held in six months at most, right?"
"We won't be participating this time," Ron replied. "We're preparing for the next one."
Viola nodded thoughtfully. Just then, the Ferris wheel reached its highest point. The sun was setting in the west, casting its evening glow over the distant Santalune Forest, followed immediately by a massive swarm of Zubat startled from the woods.
There were also a few Fletchling chasing each other out of the trees, flying past the Ferris wheel as they played and frolicked.
"Indee~"
"It's beautiful, isn't it."
"Indeedee!"
At the Pokémon Contest, both Haley and Serena had made ample preparations, so the battle went right down to the wire. In the end, Haley won by an extremely narrow margin.
Emily, standing under the TV, was as proud as if she were the one who had won. She smugly surveyed the crowd before saying, "I told you! Haley was definitely going to win this time!"
Clint clapped along to show his support. Since he had contributed the gems on the dress, he also felt a share of the glory.
After Emily gave a victory speech on Haley's behalf, Clint carefully walked up to Emily's side.
"Um... Emily."
"What's wrong?" Emily turned her head, looking at the awkward Clint. "Did you need me for something?"
"Hmm——" Clint hesitated for a moment. Thinking about the Flower Dance, he couldn't help but muster his courage and ask, "Are you free these next few days?"
"These few days?" Emily frowned and started counting on her fingers. "Hmm... Tomorrow I have to help Leah make furniture for the Raccoon, the day after tomorrow I need to tailor Haley's new dress, and there's the accessory Ribbon ordered from me——"
Emily listed a whole bunch of things. Just when Clint still felt there was hope, Emily added, "Oh right, after that won't work either. You'll have to wait a bit, because Ron and I promised to go camping together after he gets back... so before he returns, I won't be penciling in any definite plans on my calendar."
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