"Darn it."
Shauna's small face was pressed tightly against the Breeding House's glass window, looking at the raindrops falling outside, and she cried out in disappointment.
It's finally the weekend, how can it be raining!
Hmph! Bad weather!
Shauna breathed on the glass window, then started drawing.
"Uncle––––"
"No."
Lucas closed his eyes and refused Shauna without hesitation.
"I promise, I'll only go out to play for a little while."
Shauna ran over, pulled Lucas's hand, and started to Charm.
Lucas still had his eyes closed.
"It's raining outside. I'll let you go out to play after the rain stops."
Shauna pouted, "Hmph! Bad uncle!"
After speaking, she ran back to the window, continued to press her small face against the glass, staring at the street outside, waiting for the rain to stop.
Lucas opened his eyes a slit and glanced at Shauna, who had put on her exquisite princess dress again. At this moment, she and Chimecho were staring intently out the window, her small face full of sulking expressions.
What's so good about going out in this weather? It's better to just sleep.
Lucas thought so, then slowly closed his eyes.
The Breeding House's door was still open, but to Lucas's surprise, no flies flew in on rainy days here. If it were before, if he dared to open the door and windows on a rainy day, there would definitely be flies in the house.
Just kidding, there would be flies even if he didn't open them.
But it seems he hasn't seen flies in this world.
Lucas thought so, raised his hand and clapped in the air, then there was movement on his thigh. Lucas put down his hand and stroked Ninetales's head, then gently rocked the rocking chair.
Shauna turned to stare at Lucas, becoming angrier the more she thought about it, her mouth puffed out.
Just as Shauna was about to speak, she heard the sound of a motorcycle outside the door. She turned her head and saw that it was Jenny.
Shauna jumped down from the window and quickly ran to the door, "Sister Reese~"
Jenny had just parked her motorcycle and walked into the Breeding House when she saw Shauna pounce on her. She smiled and bent down, picking up Shauna who had rushed into her arms.
After hearing Shauna's voice, Lucas sat up immediately and greeted Jenny, who was holding Shauna in her arms, "Sister Reese."
Jenny nodded wearily, then carried Shauna to the lounge area and sat on a chair. She looked at the footprints she left on the Breeding House floor and said apologetically, "I accidentally got your floor dirty."
"It's okay, it's been raining these past few days, and the Pokémon that come back from deliveries will also get the floor dirty. Gothitelle and Gengar will clean it up then."
"Gen Gengar––"
Yes.
Meowstic sister brought out a pot of hot tea from the kitchen. After pouring a cup for Lucas and Jenny, she returned to the kitchen.
She and Alcremie have been busy in the kitchen lately, working enthusiastically to research a new type of dessert.
Jenny was not polite, picked up the tea and took a sip, then let out a comfortable sigh.
"Still on duty in the rain?"
Lucas asked, looking at Jenny's dusty appearance.
"Do you think I'm as idle as you?"
Jenny pinched Shauna's face in her arms and said crossly, "As a police officer, unless it's vacation time, you need to be on duty no matter the weather. The more unusual the weather, the more likely accidents are to happen."
Speaking of which, Jenny rubbed her temples with a headache, "And there have been some very troublesome things happening in town these past two days."
"What happened?"
Lucas asked.
Jenny didn't hide anything and spoke up, "Many children have mysteriously gone missing in town these past few days."
Shauna: ???
Jenny looked at Lucas and continued, "I've been looking for these children's whereabouts these past few days. Just now, I found a lost child in the forest west of the Breeding House. I asked my colleague to send the child home, and I took this opportunity to come here to rest and ask for a cup of tea."
Lucas frowned, "Children missing? Many?"
"More than that–––– since the first missing person report two days ago, seventeen children have gone missing so far."
Jenny said with a gloomy expression.
"Seventeen? That many?"
Seventeen children missing in two days is no small number.
"Have they all been found?"
Jenny shook her head, "Including the one just found, only five have been recovered so far."
"Have you asked the children who were found how they got lost?"
Jenny nodded, "I asked, but they all said that after something grabbed their hands, they felt dizzy, like something was pulling them forward, and when they regained consciousness, they saw the adults who came to find them."
After Jenny finished speaking, she drank all the hot tea in her cup in one go, then put Shauna down from her lap and stood up.
"Alright, I have to go. I still need to continue searching for the missing children."
After speaking, Jenny patted Shauna's small head, "Little Shauna, stay well in the Breeding House for now, don't run around, okay?"
"Mhm."
Shauna nodded obediently.
Seeing this, Jenny smiled and pinched her small face, then greeted Lucas and walked out of the Breeding House.
"Wait a moment, Sister Reese, I'll help you look for them."
Lucas called out to Jenny and said.
Jenny was stunned for a moment, remembering Lucas's strength, thought for a moment, and nodded.
"Okay, thank you then. Please make sure to help us find them. Their parents have been worried sick these past few days."
Lucas gave a serious 'mhm', "First, send me the information of the missing children. I'll have the Pokémon in the backyard help us search too. I'm sure they'll play an important role."
Jenny made an OK gesture.
"Then I'll be going."
After speaking, Jenny put on her raincoat and rode her motorcycle away from the Breeding House.
After a while, Lucas received the information sent by Jenny, looked at the counter, and saw Lilligant just walking out from the back.
"Lilli."
Lilligant nodded to Lucas. After hearing Lucas and Joy's conversation, it ran to the backyard to organize the Pokémon.
As the big sister of the Breeding House, its status in the hearts of the forest Pokémon residing in the backyard was even higher than Lucas's.
After all, not a single disobedient Pokémon hadn't been hit by Lilligant's Energy Ball.
Lucas walked to the backyard and looked at the assembled Pokémon, saying, "Everyone, there's something I need your help with. Many children have gone missing in Twinleaf Town, our Breeding House's best friend. Their parents are very anxious, so I want to ask you to help me go out and look. If you see any lost children in the wild, please bring them back to the Breeding House, okay?"
Lucas looked at the group of Pokémon, "I'll make you delicious food when you come back."
After thinking for a moment, Lucas added, "As much as you want."
As soon as Lucas finished speaking, all the Pokémon spontaneously left the Breeding House's backyard.
The Aipom agilely climbed over the fence, then climbed trees and ran towards other forests.
The Starly and Murkrow spontaneously formed teams of two in the air, searching at low and high altitudes.
And other Pokémon, all doing their best to help.
Even though it was raining now.
Even though they were all drenched by the rain.
Unbeknownst to them, at some point, these wild Pokémon no longer held such great hostility towards humans, and even had an expectation of living together with them.
Lucas, meanwhile, sat in the lounge area, waiting for news from the Pokémon.
He had to stay in the Breeding House so that the Pokémon could find him immediately upon their return and report the situation to him.
Shauna sat quietly beside Lucas, hugging a Gengar doll, and Chimecho floated beside her. As if sensing its trainer's mood, Chimecho floated in front of Shauna, pressed its face tightly against Shauna's small face, then gently swayed its body, emitting melodious sounds.
Lucas was attracted by the bell sound and looked at Shauna, finding her eyes full of worry. He smiled and called out to Shauna, "Little Shauna, hug."
Shauna looked at Lucas and saw him open his arms to her. She grinned, and with Chimecho and her Gengar doll, she pounced into Lucas's embrace. Lucas placed her on his lap, pinching her small face.
"Is little Shauna scared?"
Lucas asked softly.
"Mhm."
Shauna pressed her face tightly against Lucas's chest and hummed.
"If Shauna gets taken away, she won't see Daddy and Mommy, and she won't see Uncle and Gengar anymore."
Shauna pouted, "I don't want that, Uncle, I won't go out to play anymore."
Lucas gently patted Shauna's back, "Little Shauna, do you remember what I told you? What should you do when you encounter bad people?"
"Hit them!"
"That's right, whether you encounter bad people or people who bully you, just hit them. Leave the rest to Daddy and Mommy, and Uncle to handle."
"And don't worry about being taken away by bad people, Gengar and the others will protect you."
"Gen Gengar!"
Leave it to me, I'll send all the bad guys flying!
"Whoosh."
"Don't be afraid. Once the rain stops and Uncle finds the mastermind behind this, you can go out and play. How about Uncle takes you camping then?"
"Really?"
Shauna looked up, blinking, and looked at Lucas.
Lucas nodded.
"Pinky promise."
"Pinky promise, hee hee."
In Twinleaf Town, under a drizzling sky, a balloon-shaped Pokémon was staring at a little boy who had gone out to buy candy. It floated up gently, following behind the little boy.
Just as the little boy was about to reach home, it accelerated toward him, but stopped the next second.
On the eaves behind the little boy, a fierce, massive Staraptor was staring at it with cold eyes, emitting an aura that made it feel afraid.
The balloon floated forward tentatively. Staraptor didn't move, but it could sense that Staraptor was brewing energy within its body.
It believed that if it took one more step forward, it would be met with Staraptor's unparalleled attack.
It stood in a standoff with Staraptor until the little boy opened the door and walked inside the house.
It looked at Staraptor and, in the end, could only turn and float away into the distance.
Staraptor remained on the eaves until the balloon-shaped Pokémon was about to disappear, then it suddenly flapped its wings, flew into the high sky, and closely followed that balloon Pokémon from above.
Staraptor had excellent vision; even on a rainy day, from a great distance, it could accurately Lock-On that balloon Pokémon.
the Cottage.
Gothitelle walked out holding the child's hand, then personally escorted each of them back to their homes.
Fewer children had come to the Cottage over the past two days, but some still did. For safety, Gothitelle would personally escort them home before returning to the Breeding House.
After politely greeting the last child's parent, Gothitelle floated back to the Breeding House. Before walking into the Cottage, it looked back at the sky outside the Breeding House. It sensed a familiar aura, and immediately afterward, it saw a balloon Pokémon flying across the sky, with a Staraptor following far behind it in the high altitude.
Gothitelle frowned in confusion. The Staraptor in the high sky also saw Gothitelle and nodded toward it.
Gothitelle stopped its motion of entering the Cottage and instead floated onto the eaves of the Cottage, standing there quietly.
The Pokémon working at the Cottage, upon hearing Gothitelle's voice, also came out of the Cottage, then surrounded the Cottage and dispersed into the surroundings.
It felt like something was going to happen tonight.
Gothitelle recalled everything that had happened over the past two days, so it had the Cottage's Pokémon disperse to help keep an eye on Twinleaf Town, while it stood on the roof, waiting for Staraptor's reply.
Staraptor landed on a tree, looking at the Cave ahead. It saw the balloon Pokémon going in and out, and it also heard the voices of children.
Just as it was thinking about what to do, it discovered some familiar figures, so it flew over.
Breeding House.
Lucas looked at the Zangoose leader who had suddenly appeared at the door. After listening to what it said, he said with surprise: "You found them?"
Then he stood up, took out his phone, and made a call to Jenny.
The call connected quickly.
"Sister Reese, they've been found."
The noisy sounds on the other end of the phone instantly quieted down. After a while, Jenny's voice came through, "Where?"
Seeing that the Zangoose leader couldn't say the name of the place, Lucas had to say, "It doesn't know the specific name. I'm coming to find you now."
"Okay."
Hanging up the phone, Lucas looked at Lilligant. Lilligant had already called Dash and the others over.
Lucas recalled them into their Poké Balls, then sat on Ninetales' back, preparing to follow the Zangoose leader to Twinleaf Town. However, when he saw Shauna sitting in the rest area, he hesitated for a moment, then said, "Does little Shauna want to come along?"
"Can I?"
Shauna's eyes were full of anticipation.
Lucas nodded, "Of course."
Since he knew the culprit wasn't a human, it wouldn't be that hard to solve. Shauna had been cooped up in the Breeding House all day, so it was a good time to take her out to clear her mind.
Shauna nimbly climbed onto Rapidash's back, with Chimecho floating beside her, and grinned at Lucas.
After asking Meowstic to help keep an eye on the shop, Lucas followed the Zangoose leader and ran toward Twinleaf Town.
After meeting up with Jenny, the group continued to follow behind the Zangoose.
After arriving at a forest, Lucas saw Gothitelle standing on a tree, as well as Latias, who had suddenly appeared beside him.
"Lucas, I went in and checked. Not too many, not too few, 12 of them, all inside."
Lucas patted its head and praised it, "I'll make you something delicious when we get back. You did a good job this time."
"Hehe."
Lucas looked up and saw Staraptor standing on a tree. Upon seeing Lucas and the others arrive, it nodded.
On a sudden whim, Lucas extended his arm and held it out in front of himself.
The sound of wings flapping rang out, and the next second, a fierce and handsome Staraptor was standing on Lucas's arm.
"So cool—"
A police officer saw this scene and couldn't help but shout.
The young man sitting on the back of the tall, beautiful Ninetales, with an equally fierce and handsome Staraptor perched on his arm—
That's just incredibly cool!
Decided, I'm going to go catch a Staraptor too.
Meanwhile, Lucas, who had just pulled off a cool move, had veins popping on his forehead.
So—so heavy—how did you get so fat too?!
He put on a smile and used his other hand to pat Staraptor's head, "Thank you for your hard work, a perfect way to handle it."
Then, with a wave of his arm, Staraptor took flight and landed on a tree.
Gothitelle, who had come to his side, pretended not to have seen Lucas's expression just now.
Lucas and Jenny exchanged a look. She led the other police officers and rushed into the Cave. Before long, she walked out with a group of children.
The children, having regained consciousness, all started crying loudly.
This scene—
Lucas sighed, feeling mentally exhausted.
Shauna, riding on Rapidash, took a deep breath and then let it out.
"Stop crying!!!"
It startled everyone present.
Even the children stopped their crying.
"If you cry again, I'll beat you up, believe it or not? If you don't cry, I'll let you pet my Rapidash, how about that?"
Children are easily distracted. Hearing that Shauna was willing to let them pet the Rapidash—a Rapidash with a flame color they hadn't seen before—they all gathered around and started petting Rapidash.
Rapidash looked like it had given up on life. It had just wanted to suggest they go pet Ninetales, but was dissuaded by Ninetales' "kind" smile.
Gengar gave Shauna a thumbs up.
Shauna grinned.
"Hehe, children and the like are the easiest to coax."
Lucas couldn't help but laugh on the side, wondering who it was that had been so scared just now that they hid in his arms and wouldn't come down.
"It's confirmed, it was just a prank by a bunch of Drifloon and Drifblim."
Jenny walked over and said.
Drifloon? Drifblim?
Lucas looked at the pile of balloons behind.
So it was them; that's not surprising then.
Just as everyone was preparing to head home, a Drifblim broke free from its restraints, floated toward Shauna, wrapped around her arm, and prepared to carry her into the air.
A Dark Void instantly appeared in Gengar's hand. Gothitelle appeared in the air behind the Drifblim in an instant, its eyes cold.
The weather around Lilligant became clear, and Dash reached out, preparing to scoop Shauna into its arms.
Arcs of electricity flashed on Luxray, and Staraptor spread its wings and flew high.
The Pokémon from the Breeding House all reacted at the first moment.
Zorua looked at the expression on Shauna's face, its small mouth slightly open, eyes unfocused, suddenly recalling something unpleasant.
The next second, just as the Drifblim was about to take off with Shauna, it saw Shauna pull her arm back, clench it into a fist, and then smash it down toward it.
The Drifblim was directly smashed into a dent by the fist. It released Shauna, dizzy and disoriented, while its body emitted a sound like a mournful wail.
The Drifblim had been punched until it leaked air by Shauna—
—
"How dare you scare me! Uncle said that bad guys are meant to be beaten up!"
Shauna came back to her senses, pouted, looked at the Drifblim angrily, raised her little fist, and said.
Jenny looked at Lucas.
Lucas coughed, "Well done, little Shauna."
Zorua, seeing this scene, quickly hid in Zoroark's mane. It was all too familiar with the power of that punch.
"Still scaring people? Believe it or not, I'll beat you up again! My uncle is here, I'm not afraid of you!"
Hearing the Drifblim still wailing as it leaked air, Shauna raised her fist and threatened it.
Drifblim: —
I don't want to! I'm leaking air!
Fortunately, one Drifloon tore the bandage off another Drifloon's mouth and stuck it on, which finally stopped the wailing.
Lucas looked at Jenny's gaze, feeling a bit guilty.
But soon he became righteous and confident again.
Who said a girl who convinces others with "reason" wasn't a girl?!
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Thoughts on where the plot is heading? Let me know in the comments! If you're enjoying the ride, please leave a quick review and toss a few Power Stones my way. Every bit of support means the world! 🙌