According to Steenee's memories, she and her mother were not originally from Alola.
However, judging from the recollections of Mallow's Sprigatito, the Sprigatito queen who came searching for her child didn't actually live here. She seemed to come from another island, but somehow ended up in Alola. Ever since then, she had been asking every day if anyone had seen her child.
It seemed that a trainer participating in an island challenge had once captured the Queen Sprigatito elsewhere. Upon learning of her situation, they had no choice but to release her.
By that time, the young Sprigatito had already bonded with a Torchic and Popplio, and later was taken under Gardevoir's care.
Of course, this was all Lin Feng's speculation.
He stepped lightly to the entrance of a tree hollow, guided by a group of Sprigatito, and peeked inside.
Inside sat a Steenee queen.
Unlike other queens, whose upward-arching red eyebrows gave them a noble, graceful aura regardless of expression, this queen looked lost.
She sat in the hollow in a daze.
A few long leaves draped down like hair, settling on the soft grass inside the hollow. She didn't seem to mind the bits of grass clinging to the leaves.
For a Queen Sprigatito, this was highly unusual.
Every Sprigatito loved beauty.
After evolving, this trait became even more pronounced.
"Sweetie?"
A Sprigatito crept into the hollow, gently poking the long-residing queen with a leaf.
This queen had been here for quite some time.
At first, she had wandered the forest, asking every Sprigatito if they had seen her child.
All had said no.
Gradually, hope had faded, and she spent each day in the hollow, lost in thought, wondering what she was even searching for.
"…."
The queen glanced at the Sprigatito without speaking, turning her head away.
"Serena?"
Lin Feng crouched down, looking at the slightly dejected Queen Sprigatito.
Pokémon: Sprigatito Queen
Gender: Female
Ability: Chlorophyll Guard
Nature: Neutral
Level: 28–29
Moves: Aqua Tail, Rollout, Sweet Scent, Leaf Blade, Leech Kiss, Attract, Stomp, Power Whip
Friendship: 0
Happiness: -35
There were no extraordinary stats to speak of; this was just an ordinary Sprigatito Queen.
Lin Feng didn't mince words. "Are you looking for your child?"
The queen's attention was immediately drawn to that key phrase.
She stared at Lin Feng in surprise, then stepped forward and reached toward him, muttering absentmindedly, "Oh… my child? Oh… my child!"
"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, this should be your child, right?"
Lin Feng took out his phone, pulling up the photos he had secretly taken earlier of the Sprigatito and Steenee.
Though she looked no different from other Sprigatito, the queen immediately recognized her child from the pictures.
It was her child!
She reached eagerly for the phone, and Lin Feng handed it to her.
"Oh, Jill!" (Yes, yes, this is my child! She…)
The queen was overwhelmed with joy. Looking at the photos on the phone from Sprigatito to evolved Steenee this was the first child she had ever hatched, and she was almost speechless with excitement.
Then, as if remembering something, she looked at Lin Feng with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. "Oh… Jill?"
"Don't worry. She's fine. She's resting at home, and I even built her a new house," Lin Feng reassured her.
Hearing this, the weight on her heart finally lifted.
Tears streamed down her face.
Congratulations! The guest has increased the queen's happiness from -35 to 90. Rewards: 10 Medium Rare Candies, 10 Medium Golden Berries, 1 S-Rank Leaf Stone, 1 Grass-Type Z-Crystal.
A happiness jump of 125 points…
Lin Feng had never witnessed such a spectacular sight.
He was slightly concerned the queen might faint from overwhelming emotion, so he quickly used the power of the Eternal Stone to stabilize her.
It took some time, but her emotions eventually calmed.
The first thing she did once composed was to impatiently ask, "Where is my child?"
Lin Feng sat in the hollow and explained, "Due to various circumstances, your Sprigatito was taken by Gardevoir, and they ended up traveling to the Huadong region. She's currently in my nursery."
There wasn't enough time to explain everything in detail.
The most important thing was understanding the queen's wishes.
"Oh… my!" The queen still seemed a little agitated.
"Listen to me first," Lin Feng said, patting her shoulder.
The Queen Sprigatito immediately calmed down.
"That's a very faraway place. I can take you there to find your child, though the climate is different from Alola. Of course, I'll make sure you have a warm winter there."
Sprigatito was a Grass-type Pokémon.
Considering that all Grass-types can photosynthesize, most clearly thrived better in Alola.
But if Serena was willing to return with him, Lin Feng would make up for the difference through careful care and attention.
"So… are you willing to go to the Huadong region with me?"
"Oh, Jill… oh, Jill…"
The queen immediately nodded enthusiastically.
Lin Feng smiled. His mission in Alola had always been to find the Sprigatito queen.
Wasn't it to reunite her with her child so that Steenee could meet her mother?
"And then?"
Lin Feng took out a Luxury Ball. "Please stay inside this Pokéball for now. Once we return, I'll release you, okay?"
"Oh, Jill!" (Yes!)
This time, the queen didn't resist at all. With a few clear clicks, she was safely stored inside the Luxury Ball.
"Now… Steenee should be happy!"
Looking at the Pokéball in his hand, Lin Feng couldn't help but smile with joy.
Bonsweet, who had led him here, tilted its leaf curiously and asked, "Sweetie?" (Has she found her child?)
Lin Feng held her gently, shaking his head with a grin. "She's about to find her child, and her child is about to reunite with her mother."
"Sweet… sweet…"
The little Sprigatito's confused leaves seemed to curl with anticipation and excitement.