"Bonnie, do you only have these two Pokémon?" Jas, holding the visibly reluctant Squishy, and Vincent—who had been shocked into a daze by Dedenne's Nuzzle—couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah, having the two of them is enough," Bonnie answered.
"Really?" Jas tilted her head in thought. "But they both look really weak."
Even though a Pokémon's strength wasn't determined by its physical size, both Squishy and Dedenne looked astonishingly weak, as if they could be knocked over with a single punch.
"Zy-ga?" Squishy immediately lifted its head, hating only that there were no cells distributed here, leaving it unable to transform into a giant mecha on the spot for the kids.
"Haha, it's actually really strong," Bonnie couldn't help but defend Squishy. "It's just that it can't transform here in Pelican Town."
Ron took a glance from afar, then walked straight toward the Wizard's Tower.
As soon as he entered, the Wizard's resentful gaze was cast upon Ron.
"Morning?" Ron paused. "Did I come at a bad time?"
"No—" The Wizard took a deep breath. "It's just that, there's a matter... it's been a year now."
"A year?" Ron repeated, suddenly remembering what the Wizard was referring to. "Beldum...?"
"Yes, when are you planning to bring it to me?" the Wizard asked.
"——" Ron fell silent for a moment. "Wait until the farm work is done... Pokémon aren't something you just run into whenever you want."
"..." The Wizard understood the logic too. Hearing this, he took a deep breath and changed his mind: "Then how about this, this time, I'll go to Kalos with you, and I'll catch it myself."
As for coming back, the Wizard wouldn't have much difficulty. At worst, he could use a warp totem. But for getting there, following Ron would conserve a bit of his own arcane energy.
"Alright." Ron immediately agreed, and as a friendly sponsorship, provided some Poké Balls, as well as money the Wizard might need in Kalos.
At this very moment, on Ginger Island.
Since the matter of sneaking off to the Flower Dance hadn't been discovered by Ron, Indeedee was humming a little tune, strolling around the Ginger Island farm.
Even though it wasn't at the main farm right now, because Indeedee's culinary skills were far better than Team Rocket's combined, the emotional value it had been missing at the farm was now fully made up for by their relentless flattery.
Of course, Indeedee did miss Ron a little. It was just that it was currently being punished, plus it would be able to go to Kalos with Ron in a while, so Indeedee's mood wasn't as bad as it was at the very beginning.
"Morning, meow." Meowth greeted Indeedee, then picked up a hoe and set off to plow the fields with James and Jessie.
Team Rocket's current job on Ginger Island was to put the fully grown Ancient Fruit into the Seed Maker, and then plant the resulting seeds into the empty plots.
Aside from that, Meowth needed to regularly fetch some seasonal seeds, and as long as there was empty land, it would find a place to plant them.
"This kind of life isn't bad either, meow," Meowth said, driving the hoe heavily into the ground and pulling it back. "It's just that the things here are a bit weird, meow."
Based on Meowth's previous life experience, seeds mostly came from the crops themselves, either from the roots and stems or the fruit. At worst, they were propagated by directly planting cuttings. There was no such thing as tossing a fruit into a machine and having it conjure up one or two seeds.
Then there were the forage items you could find in various seasons in Pelican Town. Logically, forage items that only appeared in winter should require a cold environment to grow. But surprisingly, they could be grown here, yet not on the main farm.
"Maybe it's a rule set by some powerful Pokémon," James couldn't help but say.
Meowth thought for a moment, suddenly recalling the strange barrier covering the town. Before Meowth could figure it out, a flash of light appeared not far from the farm, and then Ron walked out of it.
"Morning." Ron greeted the group and announced the plans for after summer started.
It was nothing special, just that because Indeedee had to go to Kalos with him, the farm's lunch would probably need Team Rocket's help to make.
Additionally, the warp totem poles between the farm and Ginger Island were now fully set up, so Team Rocket could move back to the farm to live at night.
Hearing this, Team Rocket looked at each other.
"If you don't want to cook, you can also go to the saloon. The money is with Magearna," Ron added.
Hearing this, Jessie and James immediately cheered.
"Indeedee."
Indeedee hurriedly trotted over in front of Ron. It looked up at him: "Indee?"
"You... can also move back to the farm to sleep tonight," Ron said.
"Indeedee!!"
Indeedee immediately cheered.
Time flashed forward to the evening. When Froakie and Bellossom finished their battles in the Volcano Dungeon and were preparing to get a good rest, Froakie noticed something wrong.
"Froakie?"
"Bellossom?"
Where is everyone?
Where are the people who should be on the farm?
On the other side, regarding the fact that Indeedee could return to the farm to rest at night, Bonnie, who shared a room with it, cheered.
"In, indeedee." Indeedee called out to Bonnie, feeling moved.
Counting it up, it had actually been less than four days. Minus the time it sneaked off to the Flower Dance venue that day, Indeedee hadn't actually been away from the cabin for that long.
Yet it felt like a lifetime had passed.
"Indeedee, indee."
——
"Long time no see, meow." Meowth scratched its head. "Has it really been that long? During the Flower Dance the other day, weren't you still—"
Indeedee anxiously covered Meowth's mouth, couldn't help but lower its voice and threaten: "Indeedee, indeedee." (Don't you dare say it!)
"Oh, that can't be mentioned, meow. Sorry, meow." Meowth scratched its head awkwardly. "My bad, meow. Meowth didn't say anything, meow."
Having no intention of dwelling on this, Ron cooked the meal and glanced at Indeedee, who looked like it had thoroughly turned over a new leaf.
"In, indeedee."
Under Ron's gaze, Indeedee bowed deeply to Serena and Bonnie.
"It says it's sorry for making you help with its prank, meow. It won't happen again, meow."
"It's fine," Bonnie said. "I ended up dancing with Abigail anyway."
"Indeedee, indeedee."
"It says it's turned over a new leaf, meow."
Ron brought the food to the table, ignoring this stage play explicitly performed for his benefit.
"Indee, indeedee!"
"It says—"
"Alright, that's enough, time to eat." Ron then added, "You still have to go to Ginger Island during the day tomorrow, until we leave for Kalos."
"Indeedee."
Indeedee sat back in its seat, disappointed. It thought that good behavior would reduce its punishment!
"Indeedee, indeedee."
"It says to pretend it didn't say all that just now, meow," Meowth immediately translated.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)