"Ahem, ahem! Hahaha! Seriously, you guys! Is this how you welcome me back after I've just returned?! That's way too much!!"
As the sandstorm gradually settled, Liam coughed loudly, spitting sand and grit from his mouth. Although he hadn't actually been injured, being covered from head to toe in sand left him on the verge of tears. Looking at Tyranitar and Steelix, who were slowly running toward him, he covered his eyes and cried out sorrowfully.
"Ban~"
"Hagaa~"
Neither Tyranitar nor Steelix paid the slightest attention to Liam's complaints. They simply ran up to him and began rubbing their hard bodies affectionately against him.
"Wuuuu~"
Liam was instantly reduced to tears.
"Stand properly! Every one of you, stand in line! No looking around! Arbok, stop looking away! I'm talking about you! Behave yourself! If you hadn't attacked Arcanine first, none of this would have happened! Hm? What are you trying to do? Arbok, why are you opening your mouth so wid—HEY! YOU! #*~$"
The moment Arbok snapped its jaws shut, everything Liam said afterward became completely unintelligible.
At that moment, all of Liam's Pokémon were standing neatly in a row in front of the wooden house, watching Arbok firmly clamp down on Liam's head and shake him left and right. No matter how much Liam struggled, it was completely useless.
"…Saa... (Shouldn't we save Master?)"
Standing nearby, Scizor turned and quietly asked Garchomp.
"Gaar~ (It's fine. We're used to it by now~)"
Garchomp replied nonchalantly.
"…Scizor? (Oh. Alright then... but why do we have to stand here too? I didn't do anything.)"
Scizor continued.
"Gaar~"
This time, Garchomp hesitated slightly. Then she let out a low growl, shrugged helplessly, and gave an innocent look.
Scizor: "..."
"Ahem! Alright, alright! Enough fooling around. Where's Delia? Do any of you know where she went?"
After expending enormous effort to pry Arbok's jaws open and pull his head free, Liam watched as Arbok immediately turned around, dug a hole, and escaped underground.
Covered in saliva from head to toe, Liam could only swallow his frustration. Pulling a towel from his backpack, he wiped his face while asking the others.
"Ban~"
The first to answer was Tyranitar.
Tyranitar raised a thick arm and pointed toward the distance.
Following the direction, Liam realized it was where Professor Oak's house was located.
"Oh? She went to Professor Oak's place? But... did something happen?"
Liam frowned.
Under normal circumstances, Delia would spend the daytime taking care of Pokémon at the Day Care. For her to go to Professor Oak's house at this hour, something must have happened there.
Thinking this, a trace of worry appeared in Liam's heart.
He stopped asking questions and immediately took out his remaining four PokeBalls, releasing all of them.
"Everyone, come out. Garchomp, help these new partners get acquainted with everyone else. I'm heading over to Professor Oak's."
As he spoke, Electabuzz, Zorua, Gallade, and Empoleon appeared beside him.
Aside from Electabuzz, the other three were all new faces.
However, Liam did not release Rayquaza or Deoxys.
Rayquaza's emotions were still unstable and unsuitable for release, while Deoxys was still resting. After sleeping for so long, it needed more time to adapt and recover.
The moment he finished speaking, Liam activated the Speed Shoes on his feet and shot forward like a whirlwind.
...…...
The Day Care was quite far from Professor Oak's home, but Liam's speed was astonishing.
In less than ten minutes, he had already arrived at Professor Oak's front door.
Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~
He rang the doorbell several times.
No response.
By this point, Liam's brow was already tightly furrowed. Not knowing what had happened, he stepped back outside and looked toward Professor Oak's Laboratory, intending to check there next.
Just as he was about to start running—
"Oh my? Isn't that little Liam? When did you get back?"
A somewhat surprised voice came from nearby.
Liam froze and turned around.
An elderly woman from town was looking at him.
"Oh, Grandma. I just got back today. But why isn't Professor Oak or anyone else at home?"
Liam quickly walked over and asked anxiously.
"Oh, so you're back. That's wonderful. You wouldn't know since you've been away, but there's great news in the Oak family!"
The elderly woman smiled warmly.
"Professor Oak's daughter-in-law—um, that lovely girl named Lina—went into labor. Early this morning the whole family rushed to the town hospital. At this hour, if everything went smoothly, the baby's probably already been born."
She chuckled.
"Looks like Professor Oak will be handing out celebration sweets before long."
"Huh? Lina's giving birth?! Haha! That's fantastic news!"
Liam immediately relaxed.
All of his previous worries vanished.
"Thank you! Thank you, Grandma! I'm going to the hospital right now!"
After thanking her repeatedly, he dashed off toward the hospital.
For the Oak family, Lina's delivery was undoubtedly a major event.
And as a member of the Oak family himself, Liam was naturally overjoyed to hear the news.
The town hospital was located near the edge of town, not far from the Oak residence.
Less than four minutes later, Liam arrived.
As soon as he entered the hospital—
"Excuse me! Hello, Doctor. Do you know where Professor Oak is?"
He spotted a female doctor and hurried over.
"Professor Oak?"
The doctor looked up at the anxious Liam and smiled.
"The whole family is currently in the third room behind you. Are you one of their relatives too? You look strangely familiar."
Then she added reassuringly:
"Don't worry. The delivery went very smoothly. Both mother and daughter are safe and healthy."
"Oh! That's wonderful! Wonderful! Thank you, Doctor!"
Only then did Liam completely relax.
After thanking her, he immediately ran toward the room she had indicated.
Creak~
Standing before the hospital room, Liam took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the door.
Then he saw—
Inside the room, Professor Oak, Aunt Fumiko, Max, Lina, and Delia were all gathered around a cradle.
Every one of them wore a gentle smile as they looked upon the adorable new life resting inside. Their eyes were filled with affection and tenderness.
The sound of the door opening caught everyone's attention. Under their surprised gazes, Liam quietly stepped into the room.
After gently closing the door behind him, he lowered his voice and said softly:
"I'm back~"