"Hm?"
The moment Lin Feng saw Serperior's expression, the smile on his face vanished.
Apparently, Serperior hadn't missed him at all.
But that was fine.
Even if Serperior hadn't missed him, he had definitely missed Serperior!
Laughing, Lin Feng quickly walked over and wrapped his arms around Serperior from behind.
"Haha, that's okay. Even if you didn't miss me, I missed you a lot~"
"Ser?! Serperior!"
The overly affectionate gesture immediately triggered a response.
Serperior's tail snapped around him in an instant, binding him tightly before tossing him aside.
"Serperior! Serperior... Serperior! Serperior!"
"Alright, alright, I get it."
Lin Feng chuckled and said nothing more.
Glancing at Tsareena nearby, along with Steenee, Leafeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon, the smile on his face only became more foolish.
He had met countless Pokémon while traveling.
Yet after returning home, he still felt that his own Pokémon were the most familiar, the closest to his heart.
He had to protect them well.
He would never let them suffer any unnecessary hardships.
"Serperior..."
Serperior looked at him speechlessly.
After a moment, however, it lowered its head and gently pressed its forehead against his.
A faint stream of Aura flowed between them.
"I missed you too."
"Huh?"
Then Lin Feng froze.
A second later, the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curled upward.
"Ha... hahaha!"
He suddenly felt completely refreshed.
"Serperior..."
╮(╯▽╰)╭
Serperior let out a helpless sigh.
It glanced over the remaining work for the day, then looked back at Lin Feng and thought about the World Tree.
In the end, it decided to bring that matter up a few days later.
After all, he had only just returned.
Once he had laughed enough, Lin Feng turned toward Tsareena, who had arrived together with Steenee.
"Tsareena, how's life here? The weather's much warmer now. Have you gotten used to it?"
Tsareena had not been here very long.
She had arrived during winter, when temperatures often hovered in the single digits.
Although she lived comfortably in the cottage alongside Steenee, the climate was still a far cry from Alola's year-round warmth.
The adjustment had not been easy.
At first, she had even been intimidated by many of the Pokémon living at the ranch.
Things were much better now.
"Oh-ji-ru~"
Tsareena smiled.
She genuinely liked it here.
Though she had missed most of Steenee's childhood, and Pokémon with experiences like hers were rare, the environment and natural resources here were far superior to where she had lived before.
"As long as you're comfortable, that's all that matters."
Lin Feng grinned.
"Though when winter comes around this year, we'll buy a house in Alola and spend the New Year there. How does that sound?"
The idea formed almost instantly in his mind.
Donghua Region winters were a little cold for many of his Pokémon.
Serperior, Dragonite, Salamence, Goodra, Milotic...
Most of them preferred warmer climates.
If that was the case, why not simply spend winters in Alola?
"Steenee~"
"Oh-ji-ru!"
The two Pokémon immediately brightened.
This place was wonderful, but it would be nice to go back and visit home once in a while.
Especially Steenee.
Since arriving in the Donghua Region, she had never returned to Alola.
Lin Feng gently rubbed her head before shifting his gaze toward several Sentret busy harvesting berries.
They were all still little ones.
Although they had been born quite some time ago, evolving in the wild was not easy.
Most of them were still only around Levels 12 to 15.
Only Aipom, which had evolved early, stood out as exceptionally talented.
They seemed to belong to the same generation.
As Lin Feng observed them, they secretly observed him as well.
While carrying berries down from the trees, they continuously stole glances at him from the corners of their eyes.
The instant they noticed him looking back, they quickly averted their gazes.
To them, Lin Feng was the owner of all these berry trees.
And he had many powerful Pidgeot working for him.
That made him particularly intimidating.
Sentret were naturally vigilant Pokémon.
Before evolving, their long tails allowed them to stand watch from higher vantage points and monitor distant surroundings, keeping themselves safe.
At first, Mother Furret hadn't wanted to listen to Skwovet.
Skwovet had claimed that helping humans would earn them delicious berries.
Not only that, but there were plenty of opportunities.
But...
She had given birth to too many children.
Five of them.
As they grew, their appetites grew with them.
The burden became overwhelming.
Technically, Sentret at this age should already be capable of living independently.
Yet Furret couldn't bear to separate from her children.
Especially one of them.
Its unusual coloration made it stand out far too much.
If she sent it out alone, it could easily attract danger.
So she kept delaying the inevitable.
Still, the food requirements kept increasing.
Eventually, she steeled herself and followed Skwovet here.
To her surprise, everything Skwovet had promised was true.
As long as they harvested berries, they could eat delicious berries.
The berries here were large, sweet, and plentiful.
Sometimes Lin Feng's Pokémon even shared Pokéblocks with them.
Life was wonderful.
Watching the little Sentret maintain their cautious expressions, Lin Feng couldn't help finding them adorable.
He waved.
"Come here."
Instantly, several Sentret that had been secretly watching him jumped in fright like startled birds and scrambled up the tree behind their mother.
"Sentret... Sentret..."
"Sentret..."
"Squeak?"
Skwovet stopped.
The Ponyta below stopped.
Even Meowth paused.
Only Serperior glanced over before turning away again.
Everyone already knew what was happening.
Their fluffy-Pokémon-loving human had struck again.
Whenever Lin Feng saw fluffy Pokémon, especially baby Pokémon, he couldn't resist wanting to hug them.
Several of the Sentret continued looking around nervously.
Some looked toward their mother.
Others looked toward the largest Furret.
Then they hesitantly peeked back at Lin Feng.
They chattered among themselves endlessly.
Only Skwovet remained completely unfazed.
Lin Feng wasn't surprised.
Except for Skwovet, none of the Pokémon had interacted with him much before.
Their caution was perfectly normal.
Still, since these berry trees would remain here permanently, they would be seeing each other often in the future.
Even wild Pokémon couldn't stay strangers forever.
At least, that was what Lin Feng thought.
"Sentret? Sentret..."
"What do we do? Is he calling us over?"
"Sentret..."
"He's scary. Will he eat us? We've eaten so many of his berries..."
"Sentret..."
"Mom..."
Listening to the strange conversations around him, Lin Feng was about to respond when Skwovet spoke first.
"Skwovet?"
"What's there to be afraid of? He's just asking us to come over."
Skwovet puffed out its chest proudly.
It had never considered Lin Feng a bad person.
After all, during the past few days, it had managed to fill two separate tree hollows with stored berries.
It had never achieved something like that before.
Even so, Furret and Meowth still looked nervous.
Skwovet couldn't care less.
With a few hops, it landed on a nearby branch in front of Lin Feng.
Lin Feng immediately held out his hand.
The moment he picked it up, he laughed.
"Skwovet, tell me honestly. How many tree hollows have you stuffed full of berries by now?"
"Skwovet?!"
Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
The little Pokémon instantly regretted coming over.
How did this human know?!
Was he after its berry stash?!
"Skwovet..."
"No, no. I haven't hidden any berries. I eat them all every day."
Seeing the guilty expression on its face, Lin Feng immediately understood what it was worried about.
He patted its head.
"I'm not taking them away. I already told you they're yours."
"I just wanted to remind you not to let them spoil. Spoiled berries don't taste good."
Pokémon like Skwovet truly lived up to their reputation.
Even when food was abundant, they constantly gathered more.
They hid supplies everywhere.
Sometimes they even forgot where they had hidden them.
"Skwovet!"
The little Pokémon nodded repeatedly.
Whether it truly understood or not, Lin Feng couldn't be sure.
He simply patted its head one last time and set it back down.
Skwovet visibly relaxed.
Then it turned toward the Sentret family, focusing mainly on Furret.
In other words:
See? Nothing to worry about.
Furret shuffled forward on her short legs, still hesitant.
But before she could decide—
Someone else took the first step.
"Neigh?"
The little Ponyta blinked and lightly tapped the ground in front of Lin Feng with a hoof.
"Oh? Ponyta."
Flames burned brightly along its body.
Its eyes were clear and amber-like.
Like Charmander's evolutionary line, Ponyta's flames burned with vibrant life force.
Yet they were also completely controllable.
Touching them without permission would result in burns.
But once Ponyta accepted someone, those flames felt warm rather than hot.
It was fascinating.
"Can I touch your flames? You won't burn me, right?"
Lin Feng asked curiously.
"Neigh... neigh..."
"Okay."
Compared to the timid Meowth and Sentret, this young Ponyta was incredibly bold.
Seeing Lin Feng extend his hand, it didn't retreat.
Instead, it stepped forward willingly.
The moment Lin Feng touched the flames, he felt something remarkable.
The sensation was like standing in a warm breeze.
Not hot.
Not burning.
Just comfortable warmth.
If the flames were larger, it might feel like standing inside a cloud.
"Good boy..."
Lin Feng gently stroked the fire atop Ponyta's head while checking its status.
Pokémon: Ponyta
Gender: Male
Type: Fire
Ability: Flame Body
Potential: Purple
Individual Values:
HP (18) | Attack (28) | Sp. Atk (24) | Defense (17) | Sp. Def (27) | Speed (29)
Strength: Level 14-15
Moves: Tackle, Growl, Ember, Flame Wheel, Flame Charge, Double Kick
Affection: 20
Happiness: 40
Looking over the information, Lin Feng noted that Ponyta wasn't particularly powerful.
More importantly, it was still very young.
Judging by its fluffy appearance, it couldn't have been more than a few months old.
A Ponyta this age should still be traveling with its mother.
Yet here it was, already "working."
Lin Feng suddenly felt a little guilty.
Was this child labor?
"Neigh?"
Ponyta tilted its head curiously.
Lin Feng snapped out of his thoughts.
"Haha, good boy."
He reached into a storage Poké Ball and took out several Pokéblocks.
"Here. Have some."
The first Pokémon brave enough to step forward deserved a reward.
"Neigh?!"
Ponyta's eyes lit up.
It immediately grabbed a Pokéblock and happily chewed.
Lin Feng generously poured out the rest.
While Ponyta ate, Lin Feng asked,
"Did you accidentally get separated from your mother?"
"Neigh?"
The little Pokémon looked confused.
"You seem very young. Pokémon your age are usually still traveling with their mothers."
Lin Feng explained.
But Ponyta shook its head.
Then it lifted a hoof proudly and declared:
"Neigh!"
"I'm the fastest Ponyta! I want to become stronger!"
"Mom said battling humans can make me stronger!"
Then it stamped the ground energetically.
"Fight me!"
Though the meaning was somewhat rough around the edges, Lin Feng's Aura allowed him to understand the general idea.
"Oh?"
"A battle?"
Looking at the blazing determination in Ponyta's eyes, Lin Feng nearly laughed.
He held it back and answered seriously.
"Your mother isn't wrong."
"But did she also tell you that when facing opponents far stronger than yourself, protecting yourself should come first?"
"Neigh!"
"She did say something like that..."
Ponyta nodded solemnly.
"But I wasn't really listening."
------------------------------
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