Seeing that the Breeding House's herbal medicine was very helpful for Zoroark's injuries and that Zorua also liked the Breeding House very much, Kurute and Liuka left the Breeding House after finishing dinner.
Lucas stood before Raikou and the others, reaching out to stroke them one by one. Feeling the completely different textures against his palm, Lucas squinted his eyes comfortably.
After stroking them for a while, Lucas withdrew his hand and looked at them. "We should be considered friends now, right?"
The Legendary Beasts before him seemed to have very good tempers; Entei and Raikou weren't as irritable as he had imagined.
They nodded.
Seeing this, Lucas smiled. "If you pass by the Breeding House in the future, feel free to come by as guests. After all, we are friends."
Suicune nodded.
I will.
Raikou and Entei also indicated they would.
Before they left, Lucas pulled out three small wooden plaques and asked them, "I made these for the friends of the Breeding House. Do you want them?"
After saying that, Lucas took out the small wooden plaque from around his neck. "This represents our friendship. No matter where we are, friends can always sense each other's presence. Do you want them?"
Suicune nodded as usual.
Lucas smiled and tied the wooden plaque onto it. Seeing Suicune nod no matter what Lucas said, Raikou and Entei gave it a helpless glare before nodding as well.
With a slight smile on his face, Lucas also put the small wooden plaques on Raikou and Entei.
Inwardly, he was already blooming with joy.
"If you encounter anything you need help with, you can tell me."
Lucas withdrew his hand and looked at the Shinny Legendary Beasts before him. "It's only right for friends to help each other."
Suicune continued to nod.
You can also call upon us.
Entei walked between Lucas and Suicune, separating them.
Raikou looked at Lucas and gave a few low growls.
Call us if you need our help; consider it a thank-you gift for protecting our beloved city.
"I will. Thank you."
As soon as Lucas finished speaking, Raikou vanished instantly.
Entei led Suicune and followed after.
Watching their departing figures, Lucian came to Lucas's side and asked, "Since you like them, why didn't you try to make them stay?"
Lucas shook his head. Snowflakes began to drift from the sky. Lucas rubbed his palms together, blew a breath of warm air onto them, and said, "We're friends. Liking something doesn't mean you have to keep it. Every person and every Pokémon has a place they want to go and things they want to do. It's enough as long as they can remember at some point that there is such a place, such a person, and such a group of Pokémon there."
Lucas felt a warmth on the top of his head. Looking up, he found that Gengar, afraid he would catch a cold, had put a hat on him that Gothitelle had knitted for it.
He made a funny face at Gengar, and after receiving a funny face in return, Lucas looked at Lucian and smiled. "This is what friends are, isn't it?"
Lucian smiled knowingly. "This is why I like the Breeding House so much."
"Oh? Is that so? I thought it was because your room and board are free while you're living at the Breeding House."
Lucian paused and gave a guilty cough.
"No way? It couldn't really be that, could it?!"
"Go back inside and rest early, Manager. It's snowing; don't catch a cold."
"Lucian, don't change the subject."
"Goodnight, Lucas. Sweet dreams."
As Lucian shut the door, Lucas reached out and tugged at the corners of Gengar's mouth. "That guy Lucian."
"Gengar, let's head back to the room too."
Gengar gargar
On a distant mountain peak, Raikou and the others stood as snowflakes fell freely around them.
They looked in the direction of the Breeding House.
This doesn't seem like your usual self.
Raikou looked at Suicune. It had been nodding all day, not at all like the Suicune they knew.
Suicune stood ramrod straight.
He carries a familiar aura, seemingly the aura of the Sea God.
Sea God?
Raikou looked toward the ocean.
The Sea God Suicune spoke of was also known as the God of Currents and Monsoons.
Does he still have a connection with it?
Suicune nodded.
Forging a bond with us is not necessarily a good thing.
Suicune shook its head.
From the moment he said he was friends with us and we did not refuse, haven't we already forged a connection?
Raikou and Entei fell into silence.
With a leap, Suicune vanished into the night.
Entei looked at the small wooden plaque hanging from its neck, gave a light chuckle, and also departed.
Raikou stared at Lucas's Breeding House for a long time without speaking.
Finally, it turned around and slowly walked away.
Inside his room, after taking a shower, Lucas looked at the lines of text popping up before him, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
[We Are Friends: You protected Crown City, the city that Celebi, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune protected together. You stopped Koutai's plot, protected Celebi, and prevented the city from repeating the tragedy of twenty years ago. You have received gifts from the Celebi of Crown City and the Legendary Beasts.]
[Gift from Crown City's Celebi: "Ever Upward" — It has given your Lilligant the same gift as Celebi. Lilligant's perception and application of Grass-type energy will continuously improve. Your Lilligant can now restore plants to a lush state.]
[Entei's Gift: The Fire-type Pokémon in your Day Care have received a gift. Entei has given Ninetales a spark of Entei's Fire. The power of Ninetales' Fire-type moves will receive a significant boost.]
[Raikou's Gift: The Electric-type Pokémon in your Day Care have received a gift. The power of Luxray's Electric-type moves will receive a significant boost.]
[Suicune's Gift: The Water-type Pokémon in your Day Care have received a gift. The power of the Lapras Siblings' Water-type moves has received a significant boost.]
[Thank You, Lucas: You protected Zorua and Zoroark, rescuing them from Koutai's hands. They have sent you their best gifts.]
[Zoroark's Gift: "Oh? You like it? Then I'll teach you." — During this time, Zoroark will teach Gengar moves.]
[There's a surprise! — Zoroark]
[Zorua's Gift: "Pokémon Affinity" — Pokémon have become easier to get close to you.]
[We are best friends, aren't we? — Zorua]
Lucas let out a "Wow."
This wave, this wave of improvements was huge.
Lilligant now possessed the ability to revive plants; from now on, Lilligant was officially a mini-Celebi.
After being strengthened by Ninetales' moltres feather, Ninetales had once again received Entei's blessing.
Recalling the scene of Ninetales standing with Entei, Lucas lay on the bed, turned over, and stroked Ninetales' head with his hand.
"As everyone knows, Entei has another name called 'Little Ninetales'."
Ninetales tilted its head and looked at Lucas, wondering if he had gone crazy.
Raikou's blessing went to Luxray? Lucas thought of that Luxray staying in the forest, protecting it.
"As everyone knows, Raikou is also known as 'Little Luxray'."
As for Suicune's blessing, when he met that Suicune in the future, Lucas would directly send out the Lapras Siblings to let it see who the true incarnation of the North Wind and the real "Suicune" was.
He just didn't know what moves Gengar could learn from Zoroark.
And then there was Pokémon Affinity.
Every single one was an excellent gift.
Lucas kept thinking to himself, then slowly closed his eyes.
Seeing that he wasn't covered by the blanket, Gothitelle floated in and tucked him in. After saying goodnight to Gengar and the others, she turned off the light and left.
Zorua lay nestled in Zoroark's mane, sleeping soundly.
It dreamed of a scene where it was playing with Shauna, playing Eagle Catches Chick. At a particularly intense moment, it gave a little kick with its leg.
Zoroark opened its eyes, feeling the emotions coming from Zorua in its mane. Its lips curled up slightly, and then it closed its eyes.
Goodnight, Zorua.
Goodnight, ma.