The stable.
After filling the water trough to the brim, Silas didn't hurry to leave.
"Mudsdale, does producing this kind of clay cause any loss or harm to you?"
He pointed at a full bucket of mud by his feet. Unlike ordinary soil, the clay mixed with Mudsdale's saliva was snow-white in color.
Even a layman could tell that porcelain fired from this kind of clay would be exceptionally exquisite—and definitely not cheap.
"Mud!" So thirsty!
Mudsdale Number Three stretched its head into the trough and gulped water noisily. Seeing this, the other two quickly gathered around as well.
In just a short while, the trough that had been filled moments ago was empty again.
Silas smiled helplessly. After asking several more questions, he finally figured things out.
Producing this kind of clay caused no harm to three Mudsdale at all—it just required them to drink a huge amount of water.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Be good and go to sleep."
He stopped the Mudsdale brothers from continuing to make clay and urged them to hurry up and rest. It was already quite late.
"Mud!"
Walking out of the stable, Silas checked on Flabébé before going to bed. The five little ones were sleeping soundly, sweet as could be, with a bit of drool dripping onto their flowers from the corners of their mouths.
When he reached the cave, three Noibat flew over enthusiastically to greet him.
As usual, Silas habitually glanced at the bird's nest under the eaves. He wondered how Chatot and the others were doing now—were they eating well? Sleeping well?
Sure enough, he was still worried about Chatot.
Back inside the house, Cyclizar was counting eggs. Five had already been collected.
After reminding Cyclizar to go to sleep, Silas returned to the bedroom.
Seeing him come back, Minccino and the others stopped chatting and each prepared to sleep.
After glancing at Smoliv and Kangaskhan, Silas hugged Minccino and lay down on the bed. "Good night!"
"Min~"
"Smo!"
"Kang~"
"Cyc—"
...
The next day, after Minccino led the rest of the Pokémon in finishing breakfast, they happily dashed out of the cabin to play outside.
Silas called after them with a few reminders, their cries carried back by the breeze.
Shaking his head, Silas gestured for Kangaskhan to go play as well—it could also keep an eye on everyone while it was at it.
"Kang?"
"No need to worry. There's nothing important at the ranch today. Just go have fun."
Kangaskhan happily hugged Silas, then helped wash the dishes before chasing after Minccino and the others.
Once all the Pokémon had left, Silas lowered his head, looked at his feet, and lightly nudged the dog-like Cyclizar.
"Why aren't you going to play too?"
"Cyc!"
Cyclizar lifted its head proudly, posture elegant, as if saying, I'm a grown-up now—I don't fool around.
"Alright then." Squatting down, Silas patted its head and climbed onto its back. "Come with me to take a look around the fields."
"Cyc~"
Cyclizar let out an excited cry, carrying Silas as it strolled leisurely through the fields, its tail swishing back and forth like a spinning windmill.
They first arrived at the berry grove that had been planted the earliest. The trees were growing very well, with thick trunks and lush green leaves.
"Huh?"
Silas signaled Cyclizar to stop. One person and one Pokémon stood beneath a berry tree.
Looking up, he spotted small yellow blossoms hidden among the green leaves.
"They've already started blooming! Looks like we'll be able to harvest the first batch of Berries soon."
At this growth rate, at the latest—by early March, about a month from now, they would be ready for picking.
If one tree had bloomed, the others were probably not far behind.
Silas led Cyclizar from tree to tree, checking them one by one.
At the same time, by the seaside—
Minccino, Kangaskhan, and the others had built a huge sandcastle, big enough for them to play house inside, filled with nonstop laughter and joy.
When they got tired, all the Pokémon sprawled out on Kangaskhan's belly.
Suddenly sensing something, Kangaskhan snapped its eyes open and looked toward the ocean.
Minccino tumbled onto the sand, shook its ears, and quickly darted into Kangaskhan's pouch, only sticking its little head out as it looked up and asked,
"Min?"
(Sister Kangaskhan, is there danger? Smoliv, you all hurry and hide too.)
"Min!"
(There's a group of unfamiliar Pokémon approaching from the sea.)
Hearing Minccino, Smoliv also hid inside the pouch.
Everyone looked toward the ocean. Against the white horizon, a black dot gradually approached, growing larger and more numerous, and soon a distant, melodious singing voice drifted over.
Minccino's big ears twitched. The tension on its little face eased, and it excitedly waved toward the sea.
"Min~"
(It's Little Lapras! Little Lapras is back—it came to see us!)
"Lapras~!"
(Sister Minccino, Sister Kangaskhan, I came to visit you!)
Very soon, a slightly smaller Lapras rushed onto the beach, waving its flippers energetically, eyes full of joy.
It hadn't expected Minccino and the others to be waiting for it ahead of time—so happy, so happy!
"Min~!"
"Lap~!"
Minccino and Little Lapras hugged each other happily, a fluffy, soft little face rubbing against a moist, smooth one.
For adorable Pokémon, this was how they greeted each other—pressing cheeks together.
After they chatted for quite a while, an elderly-looking Lapras behind them called out to Little Lapras twice.
Little Lapras scratched its head sheepishly. Meeting long-lost friends had made it so excited that it had almost forgotten something important.
It explained things to Kangaskhan and Minccino, then pointed toward one of its kin surrounded by the Lapras group.
"Kang?" (Is it sick?)
"Lapras!" (We were attacked by a terrifying Gyarados in the nearby sea…)
The corner of Kangaskhan's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, then quickly returned to normal.
"Kang!" (Come with me. We'll go find Silas for help—Silas will definitely have a solution.)
"Lap!" (Mm-hmm! Silas is an incredibly amazing human!)
And so, guided by Kangaskhan, the pod of Lapras traveled upstream.
They entered the freshwater zone from the mouth of a small stream and followed it straight to the ranch.
"A total of thirteen berry trees have bloomed—all of them are Pecha Berry trees. Looks like this variety grows a bit faster."
Just as Silas led Cyclizar out of the grove, he suddenly saw a large group of Pokémon appear ahead.
He rubbed his eyes, then pinched Cyclizar.
They were still there… that whole group of Lapras was still there. He wasn't seeing things.
"Cyclizar, let's hurry over and take a look."
Ignoring Cyclizar's resentful look, Silas laughed and patted it as he climbed onto its back.
As they approached the lake, Silas spotted Kangaskhan and the others nearby and slowed his steps.
When Silas jumped down from Cyclizar's back, Minccino dashed over in a blur, leaping into his arms and explaining the situation to him.
"Min! Min!"
Kangaskhan added a bit more from the side. Silas nodded repeatedly, quickly grasping the general situation.
At least it wasn't a monster attacking the ranch…
Walking toward the Lapras group, meeting the wary gazes one by one, Silas nodded to Little Lapras and then looked at the Lapras leader.
These were all Little Lapras's family. Since they had come to him for help, there was no way he could just stand by and do nothing.
But first, he needed to know exactly what kind of illness it was.
"Could you let me take a look at the injured Lapras?"
(End of Chapter)