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Early in the morning, Akari rushed out of her room in a hurry.
"Oh no, I forgot to wake up and make breakfast."
Akari hurried through the corridor and down the stairs two or three steps at a time, but suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She looked at Lucas and the others sitting at the table, talking and laughing, and her brain couldn't quite process the scene.
"Good morning."
Cynthia noticed Akari and greeted her while drinking the soy milk specially ground by Gothitelle.
Lucas was chatting with the grandparents. Hearing Cynthia's voice, he looked up and saw Akari scratching her head. He said with a smile, "Good morning, Akari. Come over and have some breakfast."
"Ah? Oh."
Akari walked over and sat at the table. Looking at the rich breakfast—all of which were foods she had never seen before—she swallowed hard. "This is—"
Lucas, sitting nearby, explained, "To show our gratitude for letting us stay here, just leave the meals for the next few days to us."
Akari looked up at Lucas and saw him gesturing for her to try a bite.
Akari picked up a piece of Youtiao and took a bite.
"Mmm—
How can this be so delicious?"
Lucas continued to sit in his place, chatting with the grandparents.
Seeing that Lucas and Cynthia had already finished breakfast, Akari looked up, swallowed the food in her mouth, and said, "Lucas, do you want to take Big Sister Cynthia for a stroll around the village?"
"We'll go once you finish eating and we've tidied up."
Hearing Lucas's words, Akari waved her hand. "I'll take care of the rest of the tidying up. You guys go ahead and explore."
Lucas and Cynthia exchanged a glance, then Lucas stood up. "Then I'll leave it to you."
"Mhm."
Akari nodded while chewing her food.
Lucas looked at the grandparents again. "Then Grandfather, Grandmother, we'll be going now."
The grandparents nodded with smiles.
Lucas and Cynthia walked out of the house. Looking at the dirt roads, he took Cynthia's hand and walked forward.
Lucas was already quite comfortable with this action, performing it with great proficiency.
Cynthia and Lucas took a lap around the village before heading out. The village was near the sea, with a mountain that wasn't very high to the north. Lucas led Cynthia up the mountain. Standing at the top, Lucas looked at the azure sea ahead. To the right was a large expanse of farmland where many people were preparing for spring plowing. Behind the mountain was a forest—the very forest they had come through.
"Spring is coming soon."
Lucas felt the wind blowing across his face and listened to the songs of Kricketot and Kricketune coming from the forest behind them as he spoke.
"It seems the seasons here aren't the same as the seasons where we're from,"
Cynthia said.
Lucas nodded. The Sinnoh region was currently in winter, while the Hisui Region was about to welcome spring.
Cynthia looked at a Pokémon on the road that was chopping wood for the people.
Lucas looked at the mantis with two giant axes for hands. "That's a Kleavor, the evolved form of Scyther."
Cynthia turned her head and looked at him curiously.
"It evolves from Scyther using a stone called Black Augurite,"
Lucas explained.
Cynthia furrowed her brows, then shifted her gaze away, gesturing toward a dog with a bowl-cut-like head in the distance.
Lucas looked over and said with a smile, "That's the Hisuian form of Growlithe. Its evolved form, Arcanine, looks like a stone lion, and the fur around its neck spreads out like a fresh flower. It's very cool."
Lucas did his best to describe what Arcanine looked like after evolving, and Cynthia did her best to understand.
"Lucas, have you been here before?"
Hearing Cynthia's question, Lucas shook his head. He clasped his hands behind his head and looked at the distant sea, saying, "Like you, this is my first time here."
"Then how do you know the Pokémon here so well?"
Lucas: ————
Lucas looked at Cynthia and found her looking at him with a very gentle expression—the kind of gentleness where, if his answer didn't satisfy her, the Garchomp behind her would slice him in half.
Lucas's expression remained unchanged on the surface. "Ninetales told me."
Cynthia: ???
The Ninetales that jumped out: ???
Huh? Me? I said that?
A very charming smile appeared at the corners of Cynthia's mouth, and the Garchomp behind her began sharpening its scythes.
"You know, this child was entrusted to me by its father."
Lucas grabbed the head of the Ninetales beside him and said.
Cynthia had Garchomp stop its movements and looked at Lucas.
Lucas breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and then said, "Its father was a senior at the Breeding House, my Great-Aunt's most trusted partner. You remember, right?"
Cynthia nodded; Lucas had mentioned it to her before.
Ninetales was also quietly listening to things about its father.
"That Ninetales was the one who told me."
Cynthia didn't question this explanation.
After all, Ninetales were Pokémon rumored to live for a thousand years.
They were very long-lived Pokémon.
If it had told Lucas, then it should be true.
At this moment, hiding in the shadows and watching the show, Gengar scratched its big rear.
"Gen gengar?"
Did he ever say that?
Gengar had a face full of doubt.
The Darkrai hiding in the shadows beside it looked at Gengar. "What's wrong?"
Gengar shook its head.
Could it be that it was getting old? Getting forgetful?
Gengar was completely baffled. It then tried to take out a snack from its bosom to comfort itself, only to find its hand grasping at air. It looked down.
Where are my snacks?
Looking up, it found a pile of snacks floating in the air, being eaten by an invisible Pokémon.
Give me back my snacks! Take my Dark Void!
Latias: ?! ε(°
Darkrai, quick, save me! If you don't save me, you're dead meat.
Darkrai: ∑(°A°; This involves me again?!
Afterward, one fled, one chased, and one tried to mediate.
Seeing this situation, Lucas and Cynthia looked at each other and laughed. "Shall we go into the forest and find more Pokémon belonging to the Hisui Region?"
Lucas suggested.
Cynthia's eyes lit up, and she nodded.
Lucas habitually took Cynthia's hand and walked toward the forest.
"That one is Wyrdeer, the evolved form of Stantler."
Lucas pointed at a Wyrdeer and introduced it.
He then took the camera from Gengar's hand and gave it to Cynthia. "Do you want to take a picture of it?"
Cynthia took the camera without hesitation. She clumsily tried to photograph the Wyrdeer, but found she didn't really know how to use the camera. By the time she was ready, the Wyrdeer had already run away.
Cynthia's mouth pouted.
Seeing this, Lucas quickly comforted her. "It's okay. I believe there will be more Pokémon deeper in the forest."
Cynthia nodded heavily and, wearing her Geta, took the lead in walking deeper into the forest.
"Those are the Hisuian Sneasel and Sneasler."
Lucas stood behind Cynthia, his hands covering hers as he taught her how to use the camera step-by-step. Feeling the hot breath near her ear, Cynthia's face turned red.
"Press down once you're ready."
Lucas's gentle voice came over, and then he pressed Cynthia's finger down on the shutter.
Click.
The Hisuian Sneasel and Sneasler were captured in the photo.
Lucas caught a whiff of the faint fragrance near his ear. Seeing Cynthia's flushed face, he finally realized what he was doing and quickly let go of her hands, his own face turning red involuntarily.
Cynthia also quickly moved away.
They didn't see any Hisuian Pokémon along the way, and neither of them said another word.
"Gen gengar"
What do we do now?
"You're asking me?"
Darkrai scratched its head and looked at the invisible Latias. "What do we do?"
"Ah? Me? I don't know—"
Latias was completely dazed.
Cynthia looked at the Lilligant dancing ahead to the accompaniment of Kricketune. She raised the camera, wanting to take a picture, but her movements stopped.
After a moment of hesitation, she looked at Lucas.
"Help me."
Lucas was stunned. He looked at Cynthia, who was wearing a bathrobe-like Kimono with her golden hair tied up, standing under the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves, smiling at him.
"I don't know how to take the picture. Help me, it's about to run away."
Lucas grinned.
"Coming."
Behind them, seeing this scene, Darkrai grabbed whatever was next to it and bit down hard.
Gengar: ?!
Help! He's eating a ghost!!!
Lucas held Cynthia's hands. Smelling the faint fragrance coming from her, he said softly, "This is the Hisuian Lilligant. If we say the Lilligant in our Sinnoh region is like a cute and beautiful little princess, then the Hisuian form is like a beautiful and elegant ballet dancer."
Cynthia nodded.
After taking the photo of the Hisuian Lilligant, her own Lilligant jumped out of its Poké Ball and joined the dance of the Hisuian Lilligant.
The Hisuian Lilligant clearly welcomed the other Lilligant's arrival.
Lucas and Cynthia both smiled knowingly and pressed the shutter together.
A strong wind blew overhead.
A Hisuian Braviary was swooping down toward Lucas and the others.
Garchomp: ?
Gengar: ??
Latias: ???
Darkrai: ????
Garchomp: Take my Dragon Rush.
Gengar: Take my Dark Pulse!
Latias: Take my Dragon Pulse!
Darkrai: Dark Void, go.
Braviary: Wait, brothers, where did you all come from?
Seeing Gengar and the others emerge from the shadow behind Lucas, the Braviary flapped its wings, wanting to fly back into the sky.
In the next second, it was slammed into the ground by Garchomp, followed by Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, and finally, Dark Void?
The Braviary (Hisuian Form) just fell asleep like that.
Lucas and Cynthia turned the camera toward the Braviary. "This is the Hisuian Braviary. It looks much cooler than the normal form, in my opinion."
"I think they're both very cool,"
Cynthia remarked.
Amidst their conversation, the sleeping Braviary was recorded in the camera, though the pose was a bit ungraceful, given the bird feathers everywhere.
After Lucas and Cynthia turned to leave, the Braviary's talons twitched once, but no one noticed.