Footprints—an unfamiliar set of footprints.
They were left on the fence, only a very shallow layer, so faint that one would hardly notice them without careful observation.
They were clover-shaped footprints, with a distinct paw pad in the center.
"A feline Pokémon?"
Only cat-type Pokémon leave footprints with such a clear central paw pad; this was very easy to identify.
Memories of his conversation with the ranch owner from a few days ago surfaced in Silas's mind, and his expression subtly changed.
If he remembered correctly, there were very few active feline Pokémon along Route 12.
He had seen the footprints of Pyroar and Litleo before, and these were completely different—there was a very clear distinction.
If that was the case, then there was only one possibility.
The Meowth grain thief—a notorious criminal that had committed numerous thefts, was wanted by Officer Jenny, and had recently wandered to Route 12.
From the back-and-forth footprints on the fence, it was clear that the group of Meowth had already paid a visit to the ranch.
Yet the ranch's feed didn't seem to be missing any. Had it changed its ways?
What Silas didn't know was that ever since the gray Meowth had been accidentally spotted by Cyclizar that night, it had never dared to return to this ranch again.
Instead, they had been targeting other ranch owners. However, as their mischief grew more serious, the ranchers were notified and made preparations, which resulted in the Meowth being unable to succeed anywhere.
Left with no choice, they returned to the vicinity of this very ranch—the one where they had previously failed—hoping to try again after nightfall.
As long as they could grab some food to fill their bellies, they would leave immediately and never linger.
Having made up their minds, the Meowth thieves quietly waited outside the ranch for darkness to fall.
Meanwhile, after discovering the Meowth footprints, Silas grew alert.
After observing for quite some time, he came to a conclusion.
The Meowth thieves were extremely cautious; catching them would be very difficult.
Moreover, after already failing once, it was uncertain whether they would even come back again.
After thinking it over, Silas decided that for the next few days, he would assign one more Pokémon to stand night watch.
Starting from today, to prevent the Meowth thieves from paying another visit.
Patting Riolu, Silas praised it, "Thank you, Riolu. You discovered this potential danger ahead of time."
"Riolu~"
The taciturn Riolu nodded, then turned and walked toward a tree stump in the corner, waving its little fists and punching nonstop.
Compared to playing hide-and-seek, Riolu wanted to become stronger.
It wouldn't allow itself to waste time—it wanted to master the power of aura as soon as possible.
Seeing this, Silas ran to the cabin, took out a cup of iced herbal tea, and placed it under the shade of a tree nearby.
After saying a few words, he left without disturbing Riolu's training.
On the other side, Korrina was dragging a group of Pokémon into the second round of hide-and-seek.
After asking Korrina to pass the message along that there was chilled herbal tea in the fridge to cool off, Silas returned to the cabin and turned on the air conditioner.
He adjusted himself into a comfortable position on the sofa and watched TV, feeling utterly relaxed.
If only he could hold a Minccino in his arms—now that would be perfect.
Speak of the devil, and the devil appears.
Minccino came riding on Noibat's back, rushing straight into the room and hurriedly arriving at Silas's side.
Catching Minccino as it jumped down, Silas asked, "What's going on?"
Minccino gestured wildly with its hands and feet, while Noibat added explanations from the side.
Watching their performance, Silas roughly understood what they were trying to say.
"So you're saying that there was a very, very ugly fish stranded on the beach, and you brought it back and put it into the lake?"
"Min~" Minccino nodded vigorously, then indicated that the strange fish had also brought along a peculiar egg.
"A very, very ugly fish?" Silas silently guessed. "Could it be Feebas?"
If it really was Feebas, that would be an absolute jackpot—who wouldn't want a super beautiful Milotic!
Letting Noibat lead the way, Silas turned off the TV, lifted Minccino onto his shoulder, and together with the two Pokémon headed to the ranch's lake.
Korrina, Serena, and Kangaskhan had already gathered there, standing by the shore and watching curiously.
Korrina even wanted to jump into the water to catch it, but Kangaskhan picked her up and stopped her from doing something dangerous.
As Silas approached, Cyclizar happily ran over and rubbed against him with its body.
While stroking Cyclizar, Silas looked out toward the Pokémon hiding in the center of the lake.
From afar, its scales looked like stone, with strange patterns on the surface—it wouldn't have been strange to say it was a fish made of rock.
Yet Silas recognized its identity at a glance: a Pokémon that had once been considered extinct.
A long-lived Pokémon—Relicanth—which had remained unchanged since a hundred million years ago.
If he remembered correctly, this Pokémon lived in the deep sea. How could it have been washed up onto the shore?
At that very moment, a fish with pink spikes appeared in the stream leading to the sea, swimming upstream and approaching quickly.
Upon closer inspection, it was indeed that Veluza.
An egg?
Locking its gaze onto the Relicanth carrying the strange egg, Veluza swam over. The two fish Pokémon began to communicate.
After a moment, as if having made a decision, the two fish Pokémon approached together with the egg.
Then, just like that, the strange egg gently floated through the water, drifted toward Silas, and landed in his arms.
The entire time, Silas was completely dumbfounded—somehow, without understanding what had happened, he had obtained a Pokémon Egg.
…
"Ah!"
"So this egg is the gift from the Prince of the Sea?"
Relicanth: "Re…"
The seemingly dull Relicanth nodded, splashing up large amounts of water, as if to say that yes, that was probably the case!
After all, Relicanth had traveled for a very long time, and its mind wasn't very sharp—it couldn't remember many things clearly. Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken more than two months to arrive.
Looking speechlessly at this simple-minded child of a Pokémon, Silas couldn't understand why the Prince of the Sea would choose it as a messenger.
Then again… it seemed possible that Relicanth was the only Pokémon left in the deep sea.
If not it, then who—Kyogre?
Holding the Pokémon Egg, which was extremely likely to be Manaphy, Silas turned to ask another important question.
"How am I supposed to deliver the coconut juice soup to the Prince of the Sea?"
Since it was a gift, there had to be an exchange.
He glanced at Relicanth—clearly, that wouldn't work.
Relicanth: "Ree."
(I don't know either. His Highness only told me to deliver this.)
Hearing that, a bold idea formed in Silas's mind.
Could it be that he was supposed to hatch the Pokémon Egg, and then, once the Pokémon inside was born, take it along to find the Prince of the Sea and deliver the coconut juice soup?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Hadn't he just become a babysitter?
He seriously suspected that Manaphy itself didn't want to take care of a child, and was using the coconut juice soup as an excuse to find a babysitter for the Pokémon inside the egg.
Thinking of this, a trace of resentment rose in Silas—he felt like he'd been taken advantage of for free.
But it vanished in the blink of an eye. He wasn't losing out at all.
No matter how weak Phione might be, it was still a Mythical Pokémon.
Getting a Mythical Pokémon for free—what was there to complain about?
After figuring it out, he gladly accepted the gift.
As Pokémon that had responded to the call, Relicanth and Veluza naturally stayed at the ranch.
To celebrate the addition of new partners to the ranch, Silas decided to prepare a grand feast.
In the evening, Silas carried out plate after plate of dishes and set them up by the lake.
Relicanth wasn't interested in the food—it only ate planktonic organisms in the water.
Veluza, as an ascetic of the sea, tasted a few dishes lightly before stopping.
In contrast, the rest of the Pokémon were overjoyed, eating heartily and to their fill.
Not far from the ranch, within a patch of forest, the three Meowth of different colors swallowed hard in unison, their uncooperative stomachs growling loudly.
(End of Chapter)